How do you sharpen CPM 3V?

[Joe Duder]

Just trying to broaden my horizon. I know what works for me. But I haven't worked CPM3V to a very dull edge yet. I don't usually let my blades get too dull, I have a backpack strop. I strop till it's razor sharp. Is this too sharp for this steel? I just want to make sure I'm not missing something.

Any input would be appreciated.

Duder.

 

[james terrio]

How do you sharpen CPM 3V?

The same way I sharpen any other steel Form the edge bevel to an apex until a burr starts to form, remove the burr, polish by stropping or with a very fine stone.

Reports of 3V being difficult or somehow "odd" to sharpen are greatly exaggerated. I suspect much of its bad reputation in this regard comes from knives that are ground way too thick to start with. I do prefer to use diamonds for serious sharpening rather than a whetstone, since 3V has fairly high wear-resistance.

Is this too sharp for this steel?

Nope! 3V is both fine-grained and very tough, which helps it attain and support thin, keen edges. You are absolutely right to hone/strop occasionally rather than letting it get very dull. :thumbup: Of course, that's true of any steel.

 

[Sadden]

I use shapton pro stones.
When i get to the 1k i start adding CBN to the stones. This shapes the carbides in the steel with the supporting metal. Then i take it to whatever edge i am chasing. Outdoors knives get 5k -8k , pocket knives get 15k+

Edge geometry gets determined by the knifes intended purpose...

 

[Joe Duder]

I haven't sharpened it a whole lot, but it does seem easier to sharpen than the horror stories out there. I almost want to really dull it to see just how easy it is to sharpen. But I don't think I can bring myself to do it.

 

[Sadden]

Reprofiling takes some time make no mistake even with a 140 atoma. But once I have the bevels nice and even and im happy there things start to move nicely. Especially with the method I mentioned up above...

Heres a CS CPM3V Warcraft Tanto I did. This is only an 8k shapton with a drop of 2micron CBN.

Can you spot the camera in this picture?



All in all I totally redid the factory bevels , evened up both sides (the factory grinds were wayyyyyyyyyyyy off) and went Atoma 140 , Shapton Pro120 , 320 , 1k Shapton Pro w/CBN 2k, 5k, 8k and stropped with with 1micron CBN a few times just to remove any microscopic burr. The reprofile/repair took about an hour and the sharpening took about the same. All in I was under 2 hours doing this.

 

[DL Robin]

Norton silicone carbide stones (crystolon) have worked great for me. Used in field sharpening of 3V, SR101, and D2. Not too spendy either. Good luck

 

[PB Wilson]

I reprofiled a Koster full-flatground Bushcrafter with a Lansky and diamond hones. Took some time but it works.

Touch-ups with diamond are easy and I'm waiting for it to get dull so I can give it a whirl with an EP and Congress Moldmaster stones.

 

[sodak]

The same way I sharpen any other steel Form the edge bevel to an apex until a burr starts to form, remove the burr, polish by stropping or with a very fine stone.

Reports of 3V being difficult or somehow "odd" to sharpen are greatly exaggerated. I suspect much of its bad reputation in this regard comes from knives that are ground way too thick to start with. I do prefer to use diamonds for serious sharpening rather than a whetstone, since 3V has fairly high wear-resistance.

This is my experience also. I don't find it any harder to sharpen than any other steel. For me, the hardest steels to sharpen are the ones with bad (read soft) heat treat, where the burr just flops back and forth...

 

[james terrio]

This is my experience also. I don't find it any harder to sharpen than any other steel. For me, the hardest steels to sharpen are the ones with bad (read soft) heat treat, where the burr just flops back and forth...

I agree, that's no fun at all.