Someone suggested I drop in here and clarify some confusion.
Like most complex super steels, 3V lacks some of the fine edge stability of simpler steels such as W2 or 52100. This is due to a larger carbide volume, alloying elements, and possibly reduced cohesion in structures formed in temper rather than in the primary quench as a result of retained austenite conversion.
There have been many tweaks to the process to address these issues because a tough wear resistant steel is of less utility if the edge is mushy/crumbly in rough use. Most of the work in this area was in avoiding the secondary hardening hump and addressing RA through other mechanisms.
These early tweaks work quite well and are now available at Peter's HT.
The Delta protocol was developed in collaboration with Dan, Guy and myself. This was done to address an issue that was discovered in 3V due to possible variations in the material condition from lot to lot and its HT response. While we were at it we fully investigated the different variables and their effects on edge durability and dialed in an optimized HT. This is not like baking brownies where your variables are time in the oven and temperature. There are more variables in the matrix and there are actually additional steps added, and there are several ways those steps are implemented that deviate from normal practice. The end result being the heat treat process, while similar in many ways, is fundamentally different. My point here being, it's not a matter of simply saying "we'll just use these times and temps and ta-da". This is not a process they can simply stick in anywhere, it has to be fit in, which can lead to delays. It costs more. It is a bigger PITA. So, in addition to violating a non-disclosure non-compete agreement it would also be more work and more expense. For what? Peter's Heat Treat is a trusted partner in our process. I don't think they're selling a propitiatory heat treat protocol on the side. I think it's much more likely someone is simply confused and is getting the previous low temperature tweak (which both Dan and I did work on) and think it's the Delta protocol. There are many similarities and the previous protocol is very good, but they are not identical.
edit:
There is something I want to make clear here. I do not disparage other makers using 3V and not using our protocol. It's a cool material with a lot of different potential attributes and there are always more than one way to skin a cat. The three of us decided to differentiate our work from previous work because the amount of time and effort that went into developing it was significant and it is demonstrably different and better than industry standard and what came before it. But that's not to say that other folks don't do a good job. I used the previous tweaks for years with good results all around the world. It was good stuff. :thumbup:
Between Delta and the previous tweak, the corrosion resistance is the same, the abrasive wear resistance is the same, the gross toughness (resistance to breaking) is the same, the primary difference is in edge stability, particularly resistance to damage in rough use, which results in better edge retention and more tolerance to accidently hitting a rock or a tough knot etc.
