CPM-3V... Maybe Sooner than we thought? (see post#22)

BlindMouse2of3 said:
Love me some 3v though I must say your AEB-L offerings have not disappointed.
Click to expand...
3V is for people who are afraid to acknowledge how Awesome AEB-L is.... lol
They won't admit to it...... :p


*Note, I'm guilty of Loving Both AEB-L and 3v.......
And most of the other steels David uses!
 
Crag the Brewer said:
3V is for people who are afraid to acknowledge how Awesome AEB-L is.... lol
They won't admit to it...... :p


*Note, I'm guilty of Loving Both AEB-L and 3v.......
And most of the other steels David uses!
Click to expand...
That was me. I had no appreciation for AEB-L because I had 3v. It was the riverhawk that single handedly changed my mind. Now I love both.
 
David, maybe you answered this for me before, does AEBLā€˜s maximum effectiveness increase with an increase in RC hardness? I have heard it said that it really shines with about 60 RC. Is 3V really tough too where It would be more effective than a good one in AEBL? Or would that be a different use than an AEBL knife? thanks.
 
ā€œMaximum effectivenessā€ā€¦ what does that mean?

AEBL and 3V are simply different with regard to their material properties. Both are extremely tough. AEBL is more stainless. 3V is more wear resistant. 3V is much more expensive, not only as a material but to process, i.e. more time grinding and finishing, more consumables used in the process.

If you want something unbreakable during high impact use, then no its maximum effectiveness gets worse as hardness increases. And so does 3Vā€™s. If you want something with higher edge retention, then yes AEBLā€™s maximum effectiveness improves proportionally to hardness, while itā€™s toughness decreases.

AEBL at 60 is relatively low wear resistance compared to CPM steel but its toughness is outstanding. And that toughness and low wear resistance combine to allow edges that are thinner and thus cut better, even when dull, with significantly less chance of chipping during hard use.

They are easy to sharpen, not only because they respond better to the stones, but also because thinner edges have less materiel to remove in order expose a fresh apex.

AEBL anywhere from 60-63 is great. All within a range were its toughness and ease of sharpening lend it to thin blades designed to cut and be easy to maintain. And with edge retention more than sufficient for at least a day of common cutting tasks and minimal maintenance required to keep it cutting and with anywhere from best in class (60) to very good (63) toughness for a stainless blade steel.

Iā€™ve been approached a number of times by folks asking me to use 3V to make a big chopper. Being a ā€œdo more with lessā€ kind of guy for my whole life, Iā€™ve never felt this was the right use of the material, and Iā€™ve always said so when asked about it. Recently I got set up to make a couple medium choppers with it but even then the customer and I ended up agreeing on AEBL, and from an economic stand point, I think that is a wiser choice.

So when I do eventually design a knife for 3V, itā€™s going to be one that I feel good about presenting to the world, that I can feel justified in the price I have to ask for it. Big choppers, in my opinion, donā€™t need the kind of edge retention that 3V offers. They are not being used to cut carpets. Whatever I design is going to be something that actually uses the steelā€™s properties, thus justifying its cost. So Iā€™m going to need to come up with a knife that calls for high toughness, exceptional edge retention, and has no need to be easy to sharpen. And thatā€™s no knife Iā€™m aware of at this time, so I might need a little help with ideas.

This is my opinion, and you may better understand why it has taken me half a decade to finally be willing to try 3V. Who knows, after using it once in ā€œthe right knifeā€, my opinion of it may change and I may see other uses for it that at this time I do not. But letā€™s not get ahead of ourselves.
 
Shoot you know, maybe this is how I'll dip my feet into 3V... with my favorite EDC knife. That's something I would carry all the time, and would be a great test bed for since I already have a sense of how that exact knife performs in 15N20, 8670, AEB-L, MagnaCut, and LC200N, having carried at least one in each of these steels. Probably try it plain edge and serrated.

When I think about how much I've enjoyed my carbon steel Prevails, and then think about the union of toughness (significantly greater than MagnaCut) and edge retention (significantly greater than AEB-L) that 3V represents.... let's just say I think I am talking myself into 3V more and more.
 
David Mary said:
Shoot you know, maybe this is how I'll dip my feet into 3V... with my favorite EDC knife. That's something I would carry all the time, and would be a great test bed for since I already have a sense of how that exact knife performs in 15N20, 8670, AEB-L, MagnaCut, and LC200N, having carried at least one in each of these steels. Probably try it plain edge and serrated.

When I think about how much I've enjoyed my carbon steel Prevails, and then think about the union of toughness (significantly greater than MagnaCut) and edge retention (significantly greater than AEB-L) that 3V represents.... let's just say I think I am talking myself into 3V more and more.
Click to expand...
I was trying with you earlier to do it...haha

But it's just a little better in little ways.
I bet you'd like Cruwear, too


*I'm almost going the opposite direction with liking HARD AEB-L, and 8670.
I'll try some other "basic" steels super hard like 15n20, and 80crv2 later
 
61....?

Ah Man, you are killing me.
I like my 15n20!!!!

In my defense, I really like D2.
So.... Everything seems good and Tough to me.
Haha
 
cbach8tw said:
David, maybe you answered this for me before, does AEBLā€˜s maximum effectiveness increase with an increase in RC hardness? I have heard it said that it really shines with about 60 RC. Is 3V really tough too where It would be more effective than a good one in AEBL? Or would that be a different use than an AEBL knife? thanks.
Click to expand...

David really answered what you wanted in the 1st paragraph, I think. AEB-L really is very tough, so is 3V. AEB-L takes a thinner edge better as it has very good edge stability. 3V will handle cutting abrasive material much better.

David pretty well covered the rest and we share many of the same opinions on AEB-L and we have gone down that rabbit hole many times as we both study materials, designs, and other knife related content.
 
You must log in or register to reply here.
Back
Top