Anyone have TOPS 3V experience?

[Corton93]

Was on The Knife Connection earlier looking at getting some more scales for my BK16. Ended up looking at the Architect knives, specifically the Field Buddy 5.5. Have looked at them before, but am thinking about picking one up now just to try out..

Have had plenty of TOPS 1095 knives, always a good experience, up there with Rowen/ESEE. But I have not had any 3v from them before. Figure I'd give it a try considering it's only a $20 upgrade from the 1095 model..

Now, I'm not expecting it to be near the level of Nathan the Machinist and his Delta treatment by any means. But compared to say like Cold Steel, LT Wright, Bradford, etc. how does it stack up?

 

[BigMoney]

I just came across these too. Did you get one?

 

[BlindMouse2of3]

I just received my field buddy 5.5 3v blank today. So far it looks good, grinds look even and it has a great shape. The grip is a little larger than I had hoped for so Instead of desert ironwood I'm going to experiment with some cord wrapping first. It'll be a little bit before I get to do any real testing with mine but I have high hopes for it.

For reference my current favorites are my LT Wright large northern hunter 3v flat grind and my White River ursis 45.

 

[Corton93]

I just came across these too. Did you get one?

Not yet.. I had actually forgot about them until I got notified of your comment earlier.

The day after I made the post our great danes stomach flipped and she had to have emergency surgery which was $2.2k, which completely derailed my thought process for the week.

But now that you reminded me I may pick one up in the next week or so, and just hope my wife doesn't look at the bank statement

 

[AlongTheRazorsEdge]

Are these thinner than their 1095 knives? Their 1095 knives tend to be super thick/heavy.

 

[Alone]

Are these thinner than their 1095 knives? Their 1095 knives tend to be super thick/heavy.

Yes.

The 3V Architect is .156". Most 1095 TOPS "field knives" are between .188" and .250".



EDIT- 5/32nds versus 3/16ths or 1/4

 

[BlindMouse2of3]

I wrapped my handle this morning before work with a basic pattern, I really like the feel of it now. I'll try and take some pictures today at lunch after I upgrade my account. The only thing I wish it had was a sharp spine. Not a deal breaker but after having my Lt wright I find I use a sharp spine alot. I'll probably just build a striker pouch into my sheath when I make it. I have a few small files I can convert to a nice multi tool.

 

[BlindMouse2of3]

Field Buddy 5.5
LT Wright Northern Hunter (Large 3v Flat Grind)
Benchmade Claymore



My example is a uniform .166 thick measured in 3 spots front to back. At 11" it is definitely a handful but feels very usable and not overly large. (By comparison I have a bark river big sky camp knife. while it is a nice blade it feels it's size and there are many things I would not use it for and normally don't use it because I have to take two blades). I don't feel at this point there are any tasks I wouldn't feel comfortable doing with the 5.5. The bevels are 15 degrees one side and 20 on the other (we've all seen much worse out of the box). It was not shaving sharp out of the box but it didn't take much work to get it to start to shave. (I sharpened with the existing angles.) Because of the cord wrap my blade balances at the rear of the ricasso. While not the easiest knife to wrap the shape and holes don't make it difficult to do. I will probably beat up this wrap a bit before putting scales on it or giving it a nicer pattern. I did not purchase a sheath for it since I have all the kydex and tooling at home to make my own but if a person was to buy the factory sheath for it a wrap may not work (I didn't ask).

I hope to do some proper testing with it in the next couple of days. This may not be the ideal place to leave this but here it is.

one last thought, I do prefer a full flat grind but do to the size of this knife the flats of the saber are almost the same as my Lt wright. It may also make it easier for someone that has a lansky type system. I've used a sharpmaker for the last 16 years so don't quote me on that.

 

[AlongTheRazorsEdge]

Where are you finding these 3V knives? A search of CPM 3V on Tops site comes up with like 6 pages of results and many have no mention of 3V. What models are availible in 3V? Bladehq filter for 3V steel shows no options from Tops. Tops would likely sell alot more if they had a filter to just see 3V knives. I like alot of Tops designs but 1/4" thick 1095 is just unecessarily heavy and thick.

 

[BlindMouse2of3]

They are made for the knife connection.