Two Light Choppers, 3V, micarta

That doesn't mean there is anything to worry about on the current field knives right? Because mine hasn't even needed touched up yet!
 
Nathan the Machinist said:
We did a lot of R&D over the winter which put a dent in our output the last few months which has created a supply/demand imbalance. I recognize the issue. We're working on the problem.

We appreciate your interest in our work, it means a lot to us!

There are a few more of the Light Choppers from this first batch in process now that will be ready over the next couple weeks and we have broken down a couple sheets of 3V to do a sizable run of them that will be finished this summer. We're also running four sheets of 3V for Field Knives which will yield a lot of those later in the year. I'm working on a tweak to the new HT protocol to squeeze a bit more hardness out of it for the smaller Field Knife blade (more R&D :o ). And, Lorien and I are working on another small EDC collaboration. :thumbup:
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Wow! Just WOW!!! :eek:
What a light fast Chopper!!! Is there a signup for the summer production run yet?! I have GOT to get me one of these Nathan!!! :thumbup:
 
Nice work ! Will the Nathan HT of 3V be made public or remain TOP SECRET ? Your efforts will be appreciated either way !!
 
mete said:
Nice work ! Will the Nathan HT of 3V be made public or remain TOP SECRET ? Your efforts will be appreciated either way !!
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He already said that Survive knives is almost identical to his heat treat.. or somewhat close.. so I guess its not that secret anymore.. They both make awesome knives, but IMO Nathan puts a tad more attention to detail, and it helps to have two additional geniuses helping him.

Anytime you have actual users of this product giving feedback to the maker, and the maker being very open minded about the feedback,... you cannot get anything else, at least in the end, other that awesomeness.

Talking about Dan and Lorien.

Not that Nathan hasnt done shit.
 
My son and I will be in line to get one or two of everything you make!! You do a wonderful job thanks for updating us all on your endeavors. From Mike
 
Bigalmalloy said:
That doesn't mean there is anything to worry about on the current field knives right? Because mine hasn't even needed touched up yet!
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The Field Knives represent the best 3V heat treat for that application at this time. It incorporates the earlier tweaks to 3V that I developed that eliminate the need to use the SHH and develop a more homogenous micro structure that supports a fine edge and I bumped the austenitizing temperature to force some plate martensite for a crisper edge. The goal was fine edge stability and wear resistance in a durable knife and it is very good. My heat treat has been used by a lot of other folks in the industry. Done properly it is a very good performer.

The new heat treat seen in this chopper achieves that level of edge stability in a durable lath martensite, which is a new development for 3V. I didn't want to use the heat treat I'd developed for the Field Knife on the chopper because a long thin chopper blade needs more impact strength than that Field Knife.

3V naturally has good impact strength, but in the industry standard heat treat it also has a mushy crumbly edge due to a weak carbon lean martensite, a lot of secondary carbide, and I believe a lack of cohesion in the martensite (and other structures) that form from converted retained austenite during the first temper. Take a look at my video here showing the difference: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=6imZ4Vo8iwA

So, the old Field Knives are much better than an industry standard HT for 3V for that application. But, my goal had been fine edge stability, which I had achieved, but I have now figured out a way to get there at higher levels of gross toughness. There are three significant things I'm doing differently than most people, and there have been several fine refinements to that to get here. So the next step is to tweak the new process for higher hardness and apply that to the Field Knife, trading some toughness for edge retention for the smaller knife.
 
That is very useful information. Thank you for taking the time to explain that! Makes me feel good about wailing on my favorite blade :)
 
mete said:
Nice work ! Will the Nathan HT of 3V be made public or remain TOP SECRET ? Your efforts will be appreciated either way !!
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There has been a lot of work to optimize a heat treat for 3V for cutlery applications, by me and others. Issues with dimensional changes during heat treat that are a concern in a stamping tool are moot in a knife, and issues with fine edge stability in a cutting edge that are a concern in a knife edge are moot in a stamping tool. I applied work I'd done on D2 for an industrial Kevlar cutting application to 3V and had good results without using the SHH. The process, and its variations are all well known. But, there are a couple things about 3V that are different than D2, M2 and other complex tool steels.

There was a problem with some heats of 3V last year where the material did not always respond as expected in heat treat. I experienced it as did a number of other makers. Those of us who test our work noticed the problem. Guy at Survive sponsored this round of development work and he, Dan Keffeler and I worked on the problem over the winter to address that problem and to fully optimize the heat treat for 3V. As a result I do not exclusively own the IP for this protocol and I can not discuss it. But I can tell you there are a couple things I tested that the results went contrary to conventional wisdom. That's what's so cool about all of this, there are still things related to metallurgy that aren't fully understood, at least as they apply to nitch alloys like 3V. So, beyond refining the process, some assumptions that were tested were found to apply differently to 3V than they do other alloys, so not only are there a few refinements done to this new protocol, there are a couple pieces of the puzzle that are actually different.
 
Thank you Nathan for your contribution to making better steel and better knives. I have one of your field knives and am looking forward to being at the right place at the right time to get one of your lightwt choppers :) For those who are frustrated with missing out, just think about how many knives Nathan actually makes available, compared to the more typical one at a time offerings of many makers. Might be more demand than supply, but at least these are not one-off offerings !!
 
Amen dogrunner. Nathan, thanks for sharing. Looking forward to seeing you at Blade. Looks good. Keep it up...
 
Nathan, I have one of your early field knives in A2. I have used it a lot in the kitchen and have yet to feel a need to touch up the edge. In the real world, how much diffence is there between A2 and 3V?
 
UffDa said:
Nathan, I have one of your early field knives in A2. I have used it a lot in the kitchen and have yet to feel a need to touch up the edge. In the real world, how much diffence is there between A2 and 3V?
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That A2 blade is a legitimate high performance fixed blade made of domestically produced Latrobe steel with a good heat treat. It has great edge stability and good overall edge retention in a blade more than tough enough for most uses.

The difference in abrasion resistance is noticeable when breaking down a bunch of cardboard and the stain resistance is pretty obvious.

Most people don't wail on them with a hammer or stab into metal or concrete, but I have and the difference is pretty obvious. But in most normal hard use like it would see around the shop, camp or job site there is less difference. 3V gives you a larger margin of error before something really bad happens, but both are durable and hold an edge well and shrug off abuse that would damage a lot of other knives. 3V shrugs off more.

A2 is nice to sharpen. It's about the same as hard 1095 to me. 3V isn't too bad compared to some other super steels, but it's not as easy as A2. The increasing prevalence of diamond makes this somewhat moot.

To me the biggest advantage that 3V has over A2 is its performance as a skinning knife. The combination of good corrosion resistance and abrasive wear resistance and the ability to hammer through bone make 3V much better in that role, so if that's something you do a lot of you might want to "upgrade". Otherwise they're both good steels. A2 was well suited for that knife, 3V needed more tweaks to get that fine edge stability.
 
Congratulations to those that scored in this sale. I believe that is the most 'i'll take it' posts I've ever seen in the first minute, a testament to the product and the maker IMHO.
 
Hi Nathan and Jo,

I tried to reply to your PM; however, your inbox is full. ;)
 
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