Macchina
Gold Member
- Joined
- Apr 7, 2006
- Messages
- 5,193
I have had a 4.7 Factory Second in 3V steel for about a year now (it's the version just before the Delta) and brought it to an island hunt this past week. It had the factory edge. I used it to gut and butcher a single white deer which includes cutting the sternum along the cartilage, skinning, and separating 4 shoulder/hip joints before cutting up the meat into sections. I didn't use the knife for any Bushcraft, wood, or other things aside from the single deer.
The edge is significantly dulled, much more than I expected and actually bent in one area and chipped in another. Most of the edge reflects light which is very dull. I have butchered many deer using Fallkniven knives (VG10), Buck knives (420HC), and several Benchmades (D2 and S30V) and never experienced edge deformation after a deer. Rarely do I even need any more than a stropping to get an edge all the way back. I always touch bones during a deer (party of the process to debone), this is normal and never caused edge damage before.
Were there ever any issues with a heat treat where the steel would be significantly softer than intended? Has this happened to anyone else?
These are tough to photograph:

The edge is significantly dulled, much more than I expected and actually bent in one area and chipped in another. Most of the edge reflects light which is very dull. I have butchered many deer using Fallkniven knives (VG10), Buck knives (420HC), and several Benchmades (D2 and S30V) and never experienced edge deformation after a deer. Rarely do I even need any more than a stropping to get an edge all the way back. I always touch bones during a deer (party of the process to debone), this is normal and never caused edge damage before.
Were there ever any issues with a heat treat where the steel would be significantly softer than intended? Has this happened to anyone else?
These are tough to photograph:


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