Blade performance confusion

[ki4dog]

I apologize in advance if this is the wrong forum or a question that has been asked before. I've been lurking on this forum for several years, and finally ran into a situation I can't find an answer to. My current quest is to find "the" deer field dressing knife. I narrowed it down to the Fallkniven F1, a Becker BK16 I customized and the new Cold Steel Master Hunter 3V. I have several Master Hunter Carbon V blades, so I somewhat knew what to expect from the CS 3V. I sharpened each blade on a Ken Onion flavor Work Sharp with the blade grinding attachment using 600 grit. I then stropped with the leather belt. Each blade would easily slice paper or pop arm hair. I shot two deer this weekend so the test was on. The Becker did the job with very little effort. It would just glide through whatever I was cutting. I skinned one of the deer with it and the edge was still paper slicing sharp. The Cold Steel with 3V was the surprise. It simply didn't like slicing meat or other soft tissue. It would do the job, but required considerably more effort. The F1 did fine as expected, but still not up to the Becker level. My confusion is to why the 3V blade didn't perform better on soft tissue. I really expected the thinner blade to perform better. All of the blades appeared to be equally sharp before and after the test. Any insight would be greatly appreciated.

 

[shinyedges]

What are the edge thicknesses behind the edges on all of them? Were all of them sharpened exactly the same?

There must be a literal physical difference that has gone unnoticed.

So to start, list stock thicknesses, edge thicknesses, blade grinds, edge grinds and whether or not they are sharpened identically.

 

[ki4dog]

I'll focus on the Becker and CS since they are both FFG with a convex edge. The F1 is a convex grind and entirely different steel. The blades were sharpened free hand, held level with the grinder belt set at 15deg. for all blades. I was wondering if it could have something to do with the "toothyness" of the edge. I noticed that the 3V shows more grind marks than the 1095CV. Now that I write this I'm wondering if I got the wire edge entirely removed from the CS. This is my first experience with 3V, and it has proven to take a more time to profile and sharpen than 1095 or VG10. I tend to grind at a somewhat slow speed to control heat and minimize mistakes. The CS has a thinner blade overall due to the much more acute distal taper. I'll get the specifics. Thanks

 

[shinyedges]

3v is more wear resistant and will take more time to sharpen. Also take into account the hardnesses of each blade, the harder the blade the longer it will be to sharpen.

I know Beckers are softer (I think 56rc) and will sharpen faster but also lose said sharpness faster. Both being production knives the hardness of them will vary but I'd still wager the 3v is harder.

I have used 3v from a variety of makers over the last few years. It is my favorite steel. All things being equal, 3v is more durable and wear resistant than any of the other steels you mentioned.

 

[BTGuy]

Sounds like there may be a bit more tooth to the edge of your Master Hunter. Finishing with a higher grit and stropping will help smooth the edge on that 3V steel. I've found that little bit of extra belly on the Master Hunter makes it cut a bit differently when using more of the edge (ie. cutting meat instead of paper). I try to angle the handle a bit forward in the direction I'm cutting and it seems to make for easier slicing.

Hope that helps.

 

[Mo2]

im no expert but i would blame cold steel heat treat. not saying its defective at all tho, just not up to the standard for the task you are doing.

 

[shinyedges]

im no expert but i would blame cold steel heat treat. not saying its defective at all tho, just not up to the standard for the task you are doing.

That's the first thing you jump to thinking

While it is a possibility, there are more likely possibilities...

 

[DocT]

Since the Master Hunter was copied by Fallkniven (F1) I doubt knife design had anything to do with it. I would think it had something to do with the sharpening. Without seeing them up close it would be difficult to diagnose.