Cpm 3v

knifehunt

knifehunt

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What exactly is CPM 3V without getting into all the scientific terminology. Is similar to or more of a stainless steel? Can a blade of CPM 3V throw a spark with a firesteel?
 
3V is probably the best steel if you ask for high toughness with good wear resistance.These 2 don't come together.
It will pit if not taken care of.
Can't answer the last one as i've never try it.
 
Jay is correct. It's a modern, high-tech powder that is extremely tough and holds an edge extremely well. It is not stainless. I like it best for choppers.

CPM-3V will throw sparks off a firesteel, but I don't find it especially good at that. But a lot depends on the spine thickness and spine profile. I personally prefer to attach a piece of hacksaw blade to my firesteel. It doesn't add weight or take up any meaningful extra space, but it works a lot better for sparking and saves your knife from scorching/scaring/marring.

Other steels you might like are CPM-M4, which is not quite as tough as 3V, but holds an edge better. In stainless, M390 and Elmax are two of my favorites. Super blue (non-stainless) in my Spyderco Mule is a great sparker and a great steel.
 
Any metal will throw a spark with a firesteel. It's the firesteel that is sparking not the knife.

If you're talking flint, it's a whole other story. Not sure if 3V would work.

I do know that 3V is super tough and holds an edge very well.
 
Twindog said:
Jay is correct. It's a modern, high-tech powder that is extremely tough and holds an edge extremely well. It is not stainless. I like it best for choppers.

CPM-3V will throw sparks off a firesteel, but I don't find it especially good at that. But a lot depends on the spine thickness and spine profile. I personally prefer to attach a piece of hacksaw blade to my firesteel. It doesn't add weight or take up any meaningful extra space, but it works a lot better for sparking and saves your knife from scorching/scaring/marring.

Other steels you might like are CPM-M4, which is not quite as tough as 3V, but holds an edge better. In stainless, M390 and Elmax are two of my favorites. Super blue (non-stainless) in my Spyderco Mule is a great sparker and a great steel.
Click to expand...


Great post!!!:thumbup:
 
knifehunt said:
What exactly is CPM 3V without getting into all the scientific terminology.
Click to expand...

CPM-3V is a tool steel. It was designed for high toughness and good wear-resistance. It's a particle metallurgy steel... that basically means it's manufactured under strict tolerances, and is very clean and consistent.

Chemically, it's actually fairly simple. It has a medium-to-high amount of carbon (8%), moderate amounts of chromium and molybdenum, and a healthy dose (2.75%) of vanadium. It's not stainless, but it does have pretty decent corrosion-resistance.

It has a well-deserved reputation for big, heavy choppers that can really take a beating, but it's also excellent in small, light knives with thin edges. CPM-3V is my personal favorite choice for knives large and small.
 
knifehunt said:
What exactly is CPM 3V without getting into all the scientific terminology. Is similar to or more of a stainless steel? Can a blade of CPM 3V throw a spark with a firesteel?
Click to expand...

This should help explain it:

http://www.crucible.com/eselector/prodbyapp/tooldie/cpm3vt.html

CPM 3V is a high toughness, wear-resistant tool steel made by the Crucible Particle Metallurgy process. It is designed to provide maximum resistance to breakage and chipping in a high wear-resistance steel. It offers impact resistance greater than A2, D2, Cru-Wear, or CPM M4, approaching the levels provided by S7 and other shock resistant grades. CPM 3V is intended to be used at 58/60 HRC in applications where chronic breakage and chipping are encountered in other tool steels, but where the wear properties of a high alloy steel are required.

The wear and toughness properties of CPM 3V make it an excellent alternative to shock-resistant steels such as S7 or A9, where they typically wear out too quickly, but where grades such as A2, CruWear, or CPM M4 tend to fail by breaking or chipping. CPM 3V offers the highest impact toughness of any tool steel with this range of wear resistance.


And I'll add my own experience to it:

3V is a true "super steel". It does nearly everything I want it to do as a knifemaker. It's not too hard to sharpen (compared to S30V, D2). It has tremendous impact strength (typically referred to as "toughness"). It has good wear-resistance (doesn't lose its edge too quickly with normal cutting chores). It can be ground thin or left thick. Works with any grind - hollow, flat, scandi. It does tarnish (not as quickly as O1 or 1095) but it takes a long exposure for it to actually pit. It can handle light/moderate abuse.

From a user's point of view you'll be most likely to notice the edge-holding/wear-resistance. If you keep your knives clean with each use, you'll never have a rust problem. If you do more frequent honing with finer grits, you'll avoid having to reprofile the edge at a coarse grit...which can be a bit of a chore.

Here's the answer to your Firesteel question:

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Zpqx3zt02pk

Thumbgrooves-Firesteel.jpg


Obviously, I'm biased.

:D

Dan
 
See my review on the Fehrman extreme judgment made from cpm-3v, the edge did extremely well under very hard use!
 
A fire steel will generate sparks when scraped by any sharp, hard edge. Does not have to be steel. Glass works.
 
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