Not happy with my SRK in Carbon-V

amroc

amroc

Joined
Jan 4, 2009
Messages
433
First few things, it doesn't cut/chop/act like a big knife much. Also, the steel seems to lose it's edge pretty quick.

I'm thinking about thinning out the blade, allowing me to get a little bit of a better edge, and better penetration on a hack or chop. Any suggestions? Pictures of what you've done would be GREAT.

Thanks!
 
I think Carbon V is pretty good, and CS is usually pretty consciencious about their heat treat.

That said, I took the coating off one and totally reground it. The blade is very thick, saber ground, which to me is a detriment in terms of both weight and cutting ability, and was very roughly finished under the coating.

I am now pretty happy with it, though I also have a couple KMG grinders. Not sure how I would have done it otherwise.
 
amroc said:
First few things, it doesn't cut/chop/act like a big knife much. Also, the steel seems to lose it's edge pretty quick.
Click to expand...

Well it wasn't really designed as a "big chopper".
But it's strange that the steel seems to lose its edge quickly.
That Camillus 0170-6C steel (which Cold Steel called "Carbon V") had a fantastic heat treat.
It took a very sharp edge and held it for a good long time.

I'm wondering - is yours one that came out of the Camillus factory closing auction?

It seems that many of those knives were not fully up to the standards of the
originals meant to be sold in the marketplace - especially the QC aspect.
 
It doesn't chop, hack, or act like a big knife, because it is not a big knife. It stabs good, it will slash, it can be used for more delicate carving tasks, but it is not specifically designed to perform any one thing except be versatile and durable.

What is it you are hoping to hack/chop with the knife anyway?
 
I thinned the edge back on mine with a file and put a convex edge on it, which made it into an awesome slicer. No problems with edge-holding -- it held up well skinning out one moose. The SRK is a superb general purpose blade, tough as hell, but it doesn't excel in any one area.
 
The blade is from the late 90's if it's from when I was told, and it sat in it's box most that time.

I want to be able to use it as a camp knife. A little hard use here and there, splitting wood if need be, chopping off smaller branches, etc. I tried to use it to debark and take small branches off a few weeks back and it just didn't work well.

I think I'm going to try and regrind the edge a little higher and thin it out.
 
It's one of my all time favorite knives in one of my all time favorite steels. Not a chopper, but a great camp knife/general purpose knife.

I don't have it with me right now, but I did thin the edge out a LOT on my Edgepro, and it made all the difference. It looks a lot like my SR Bandicoot, shown here:

p1010471.jpg

p1010473.jpg
 
amroc said:
First few things, it doesn't cut/chop/act like a big knife much. Also, the steel seems to lose it's edge pretty quick.

I'm thinking about thinning out the blade, allowing me to get a little bit of a better edge, and better penetration on a hack or chop. Any suggestions? Pictures of what you've done would be GREAT.

Thanks!
Click to expand...

Lost its edge quick compared to what?

It's a low alloy steel, similar in edge holding to 1095. If you are comparing the edge holding to that of 440C, Carbon V will hold its edge for a shorter period of time if both are approximately the same hardness.
 
Alberta Ed said:
I thinned the edge back on mine with a file and put a convex edge on it, which made it into an awesome slicer. No problems with edge-holding -- it held up well skinning out one moose. The SRK is a superb general purpose blade, tough as hell, but it doesn't excel in any one area.
Click to expand...

2nd that :thumbup: Good and strong Jack-of-all-trades knife. I just narrowed the bevels some , and no complaints. I had one of the first ones that came with a nylon sheath , since upgraded to Concealex. Super steel. I miss Carbon 5 and wish I bought more of CS's products with it.
 
knarfeng said:
It's a low alloy steel, similar in edge holding to 1095. If you are comparing the edge holding to that of 440C, Carbon V will hold its edge for a shorter period of time if both are approximately the same hardness.
Click to expand...

Interesting point.
0170-6C does have some chromium and vanadium though, unlike straight 1095 (as I'm sure you're aware).

In my experience though, simply because a steel is "low alloy" doesn't necessarily mean it's going to lose its edge more quickly than one which isn't.
(Assuming equal hardness, of course.)

For example, it seems to me that 0170-6C aka Carbon V holds its edge longer than, say, AUS8 - which is the steel which originally replaced Carbon V in the SRK.
 
rifon2 said:
Interesting point.
0170-6C does have some chromium and vanadium though, unlike straight 1095 (as I'm sure you're aware).

In my experience though, simply because a steel is "low alloy" doesn't necessarily mean it's going to lose its edge more quickly than one which isn't.
(Assuming equal hardness, of course.)

For example, it seems to me that 0170-6C aka Carbon V holds its edge longer than, say, AUS8 - which is the steel which originally replaced Carbon V in the SRK.
Click to expand...

The small amounts of Vanadium and Chromium won't form enough carbides to affect the wear resistance of 0170-6C (Carbon V). The Chromium is said to be there to improve the heat treat uniformity. The Vanadium is said to be there to reduce grain size, which should improve the toughness at a given hardness. I find the edge retention to be similar to that of 1095.

I find both GEC 1095 and Camillus 0170-6C to hold an edge maybe a bit better than AUS 8 hardened to 59HRC, but a definite step below 440C hardened to a 58. This is based on side by side comparisons slicing manila rope.

440C forms a lot of chromium carbide that greatly improves wear resistance. AUS 8 does not form a lot of carbides, so it does not have the wear resistance of 440C.

So if the OP is comparing the edge resistance of his Carbon V blade to that of blades made of 440C or 154CM, he will definitely find that the Carbon V blade has lower edge retention, though it has other properties that 440C and 154CM lack.
 
I took the knife to a grinder that I have and thinned out the edge a fair amount. I then took it out and tried it out on some random branches I had. Muuuuch better. I didn't thin it out quite as much as that one above, but I did a fair amount. By chopper, I knew it wouldn't be a Busse Battle Mistress or anything, but for a longer blade, it didn't do much. Now, I'll have to bring it camping and fishing and such to really try it out. Thanks for all the info guys!
 
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