How tough CPM-3V really is?

[JoeBusic]

On video here - D3V still took damage from going through a nail.

So I agree that there is plenty of carbon steels tougher than 3V.

Yes, there are. But do they cut? We're talking about knives. 1045 is tougher. And with it your sharpening tool is your best friend. If used a lot, you'll grind of a third of the blade by the end of the year. Is buying every year a 100$ knife better than a 300$ knife every 10 years?

 

[shane45-1911]

But do they cut?

YES.

 

[hugofeynman]

“Geometry cuts. The steel determines for how long” - Roman Landes

 

[Deino]

hugofeynman I checked the knifecenter website earlier and found that they carry the Finnish M95 knife under the Kellam Brand (Kellam is the US importing brand of many Finnish knives).

 

[GatorFlash1]

I concur. Case in point, Spyderco Gayle Bradley. CPM-M4, hollow ground fairly thin. Yet in 8.5 years of ownership, it has never chipped. I've hit staples in cardboard, cut all sorts of stuff.

There are just so many factors that go into it. What you are doing, heat treatment, edge geometry etc. I have a Demko ad20.5 in CPM-3V, and while I haven't done much heavy duty or extensive cutting with it (too new and I'm not doing as much as I once did) but it has seen no issues. The heat treatment seems good as edge retention has been good, but it also is a bit of a thickboy (for me at least I'm not into medford overbuilt type stuff) but still.

Anyway, as Shane said above, optimal heat treatment is going to be a big factor. This is why stuff like chinese d2 often doesn't have the same qualities as American made d2.

Ditto on the Gayle Bradley, my edc is a GB #1 and it has done what I needed from a knife around the house, shop, yard, etc. with little tweaking on my part.