Is CPM-3V supposed to rust this quickly?

[kafolarbear]

Basically decided to test to see if I actually have CPM-3V knowing Bark River’s spotty history, I cleaned it with CLP, let it sit, then scrubbed the CLP off with soap, rinsed off the soap and let the tap water sit on the knife for an hour, these are the results. Now testing my gunny, also supposedly CPM-3V we’ll see how it does.

I understand CPM-3V is not a stainless steel, but I’ve heard several people call it “semi stainless”, and I was under the impression it’s not really normal to see so much oxidation after only an hour.

Edit: Here’s my gunny for comparison, same steel, same water after slightly more than an hour of exposure:

As you can see, it's nowhere near the same amount of oxidation as seen on the Bravo-1, especially missing the big clusters of oxidation seen near the tip of the gunny. The other side of the blade was spotless despite having water on it, as opposed to the Bravo-1 which suffered oxidation on both sides of the blade. Could it just be different qualities of heat treatment? Or is it more likely my Bravo-1 is mislabeled? Or am I just worrying over nothing?

 

[Insipid Moniker]

It’s honestly quite sad because I like their designs, their aesthetic scratches an itch for me, the knives just feel good in hand and after trying the convex grind, I find it difficult to go back to a knife with a secondary bevel. But their quality control is sadly sub par and you’re right, I shouldn’t have a seed of doubt in my mind about whether or not I’m getting what I paid for when I buy a knife from a company.

I hear you. I think their take on the MACV-SOG is one of the best looking fixed blades on the market, but I'm not willing to take the chance. IMO, keep the knife, enjoy using it and let it serve as a reminder to make future purchases from a different company.

 

[rhino]

The surface of the metal can substantially affect how the metal oxidizes. A more polished surface presents fewer nucleation sites for the corrosion to easily occur and rougher finishes conversely will oxidize more easily.

 

[Backyard]

CPM3V's stain resistance is also somewhat affected or determined by the heat treatment used. by the book typical heat treat will be less stain resistant then say the Delta protocol

 

[ephsea]

In my experience (I've owned at least 30 BRK models and still use a number of them regularly/hard) Bark River features what's known as "end user quality control". In their defense all their dealers take returns if you dislike a blade upon receipt, their spa service is great, and they have better resale value used than darn near anything else. I have seen grinds vary from so perfect you feel like you underpayed, to super uneven plunge grinds, and one blade ground actually cock-eyed. I always quip "if you don't like the grind on a Barkie, just flip it over," because the grind lines seldom match from side to side. I know guys that will order 5 of a new model to pick out the one they find most perfect, then return or sell the rest.
I do love a convex grind, and am a sucker for a pretty handle so this explains a lot of the attraction. Also whatever else you want to say about him (lots has been said), the owner is a talented designer especially with ergonomics. I always try to regard a person's work separately from their personality if I can. If you are looking to build trust with a maker, try some of the hundreds of small independent builders, many offer excellent bang for the buck.
Your 3v looks fine to me, that wouldn't scare me or cause me to suspect mislabeled steel. Fix that tip though

 

[jbmonkey]

I can't figure out how of they mix up steels? are they mixing them up before heat treating, or after. seems after, as a2 and 3v can't be that close on heat treat.....

 

[Zulus]

Stainless steel stains !

In Real World stainless steel doesn't exist
That's peddler's pitch only ...

 

[DocJD]

Would A2 have a white/gray rust like stainless tends to or more brown/ black ?

The spots in OP pics looks like what I've seen on my old Cold Steel AUS8A .

I don't have enough experience with rust on either A2 or 3V to know how it looks .

I believe 3V should be much tougher but also harder to sharpen than A2 .

 

[kafolarbear]

I did the same test, only I left it over night:

Only thing that happened was that the water dried out:

question, was the blade oiled at all when you conducted the test?

 

[353]

I did the same test, only I left it over night:

question, was the blade oiled at all when you conducted the test?

It was not oiled.

But then again; it was not cleaned with solvents either.

Maybe I should test one more time with the blades completely cleaned out.

 

[kafolarbear]

It was not oiled.

But then again; it was not cleaned with solvents either.

Maybe I should test one more time with the blades completely cleaned out.

I’d be curious about that, I scrubbed it thoroughly with soap and rinsed before hand, I’m also going to try different quality water when I go home for thanksgiving and see how much of a difference it makes, I’m fully invested in figuring this out now.

 

[OrangeBlueOrangeBlue]

It doesn't look like oxidation to me. I'm wondering if you didn't get all of the CLP/soap mixture off and it got suspended in the rinse water. Did you wipe down with anything like acetone or mineral spirits after the spots showed up?

 

[ferider]

It’s honestly quite sad because I like their designs, their aesthetic scratches an itch for me, the knives just feel good in hand and after trying the convex grind, I find it difficult to go back to a knife with a secondary bevel. But their quality control is sadly sub par and you’re right, I shouldn’t have a seed of doubt in my mind about whether or not I’m getting what I paid for when I buy a knife from a company.

Don't sweat it. I have a Cruwear Bravo 1 that doesn't behave like Cruwear either. Now it's in my toolbox and still gets used. Note that it could be 3V with a bad heat-treat, or A2; which, BTW, is not a bad steel at all for a tough work-knife.

Replace it by a custom from the Exchange .... many knife makers here who you can trust and who will tell you everything about their knives, HRC included.

Roland.

 

[fishface5]

It's going to be pretty hard to tell unless you have another blade that you know for sure is 3V for comparison, and maybe another in A2 so you can compare all 3, but they would all need to be cleaned of oil and have similar blade finishes.

 

[kafolarbear]

It's going to be pretty hard to tell unless you have another blade that you know for sure is 3V for comparison, and maybe another in A2 so you can compare all 3, but they would all need to be cleaned of oil and have similar blade finishes.

Well the bottom picture is actually my gunny after a similar period of time exposed to water, though the blade is far more scratched up, I sharpen them just about the same.

 

[kafolarbear]

It doesn't look like oxidation to me. I'm wondering if you didn't get all of the CLP/soap mixture off and it got suspended in the rinse water. Did you wipe down with anything like acetone or mineral spirits after the spots showed up?

Sadly no acetone, but I was able to scrub most (though not all) of the spotting off with some vigorous scrubbing. The two spots next to the sharpening choil of the blade are exactly that, it’s water I dripped from my hand rather than directly from my faucet, and it dried up into that residue. The other spots are definitely the oxidation although they didn’t cause pitting or anything once rubbed off.