- Joined
- May 27, 2007
- Messages
- 4,210
I've owned this knife for about a month, and beat it like a government mule ever since. It has quickly become a favorite of mine due to the size, lightweight and ergonomics. The Fehrman 3V is as good as any steel I've tried... and I think I've tried most of them.
I approached this review (beating) with slight trepadation due to the 3/16 stock. You guys might have seen my Fehrman Last Chance review. http://www.bladeforums.com/forums/showthread.php?t=726122&highlight=last+chance
The Last chance is 1/4" stock and is an absolute brute (as might be expected), the Shadow Scout much thinner. That fact did not prohibit me from beating it just the same.
The stats are as follows:
Blade Size: 6" x 1.25" x .19"
Overall Length: 10.5"
Steel: CPM-3V
Hardness: 57-59 Rc
Handle: Linen Micarta
To keep things on par with my other tests, I batonned it through a LOT of mesquite wood. Which is dry, very hard and knotty wood. I find it to be an excellent test of wear resistance. The 3V was bashed with great force through knots and forks. Even more impressive to me was that many times the blade was almost as long as the logs I was batonning, forcing me to strike the thin tip of the blade with powerful swings of the baton. No damage.
The blade edge remained pristine during all testing (beatings)...
I'll not go further into the details of the blade durability, as it is well established at this point from my own testing and that of others. 3V is top notch with Fehrman's heat treatment.
Ergo's are largely a personal thing. But this one fits my hand like a sixth finger... I have medium sized hands. A fella with big mitts may not like the ergos. See the pic below: It fits my hand perfectly.
Another factor with any knife is rust. There has been much ado about 3V and rust on this here forum. I assure you that unless you are a saltwater diver 3V is going to be just fine. Over the month I've owned the knife, using it constantly for general cutting tasks, food prep and (yes) batonning... I have not applied any oil or other lubricant to the blade. I simply wiped it dry on my pant leg after usage and stored it in it's kydex sheath. Once I left it a bit wet and sheathed it, leaving a small spot of rust on the tip which wiped off easily leaving a small stain (beer's fault). A months worth of heavy use looks like this:
The stains on the blade are due to the reddish sap of mesquite wood. It's possible that some of it may be very fine rust, but I couldn't tell... even under a magnifying glass. Still, non-issue in my book. I think we can put the 3V rust issue to bed at this point. If I was forced to compare it to another steel, I'd say the stain-resistance is close to but maybe slightly more prone than D2 to stain.
2 minutes and some flitz and it looks like new again... except for some battle scars. But that's ok, we all know chicks dig scars!
Final thoughts, this knife reminds me of Bruce Lee. Diminutive in size... sure... but it can handle anything that comes it's way.
The edge did dull a bit during the last month, but always maintained an edge that would shave arm hair. Earlier today, after batonning it yet again last night, I went ahead and stropped it on a veritas loaded strop. It quickly returned the edge back to a hair-popper.
This is a fine blade fellas... I highly recommend! :thumbup:
Disclaimer: no animals were hurt during the testing of this knife, but several beers were killed.
I approached this review (beating) with slight trepadation due to the 3/16 stock. You guys might have seen my Fehrman Last Chance review. http://www.bladeforums.com/forums/showthread.php?t=726122&highlight=last+chance
The Last chance is 1/4" stock and is an absolute brute (as might be expected), the Shadow Scout much thinner. That fact did not prohibit me from beating it just the same.
The stats are as follows:
Blade Size: 6" x 1.25" x .19"
Overall Length: 10.5"
Steel: CPM-3V
Hardness: 57-59 Rc
Handle: Linen Micarta
To keep things on par with my other tests, I batonned it through a LOT of mesquite wood. Which is dry, very hard and knotty wood. I find it to be an excellent test of wear resistance. The 3V was bashed with great force through knots and forks. Even more impressive to me was that many times the blade was almost as long as the logs I was batonning, forcing me to strike the thin tip of the blade with powerful swings of the baton. No damage.
The blade edge remained pristine during all testing (beatings)...
I'll not go further into the details of the blade durability, as it is well established at this point from my own testing and that of others. 3V is top notch with Fehrman's heat treatment.
Ergo's are largely a personal thing. But this one fits my hand like a sixth finger... I have medium sized hands. A fella with big mitts may not like the ergos. See the pic below: It fits my hand perfectly.
Another factor with any knife is rust. There has been much ado about 3V and rust on this here forum. I assure you that unless you are a saltwater diver 3V is going to be just fine. Over the month I've owned the knife, using it constantly for general cutting tasks, food prep and (yes) batonning... I have not applied any oil or other lubricant to the blade. I simply wiped it dry on my pant leg after usage and stored it in it's kydex sheath. Once I left it a bit wet and sheathed it, leaving a small spot of rust on the tip which wiped off easily leaving a small stain (beer's fault). A months worth of heavy use looks like this:
The stains on the blade are due to the reddish sap of mesquite wood. It's possible that some of it may be very fine rust, but I couldn't tell... even under a magnifying glass. Still, non-issue in my book. I think we can put the 3V rust issue to bed at this point. If I was forced to compare it to another steel, I'd say the stain-resistance is close to but maybe slightly more prone than D2 to stain.
2 minutes and some flitz and it looks like new again... except for some battle scars. But that's ok, we all know chicks dig scars!
Final thoughts, this knife reminds me of Bruce Lee. Diminutive in size... sure... but it can handle anything that comes it's way.
The edge did dull a bit during the last month, but always maintained an edge that would shave arm hair. Earlier today, after batonning it yet again last night, I went ahead and stropped it on a veritas loaded strop. It quickly returned the edge back to a hair-popper.
This is a fine blade fellas... I highly recommend! :thumbup:
Disclaimer: no animals were hurt during the testing of this knife, but several beers were killed.
