3v vs 20CV

OBX351

OBX351

Joined
Sep 29, 2014
Messages
1,132
Sorry if this is a repeat thread. But I wanted to see what people's opinions are of CPM 3v vs CPM 20CV. Most of the Survive! Knives that I have are 3v but I have a 5.1 in 20CV and I just don't like it as much as my 3v 5.1. As usual Guy made it a razor but after some hard use I found that the 20CV didn't hold an edge as well as 3V and was hard to bring back with a strop. Anyway, I was just curious if people had a preference of one vs the other aside from the fact that 3v is less stainless than 20CV.
 
Last edited:
I prefer cpm 3v since I tend to use my knives hard I prefer high toughness rather than stain resistance
 
So far I like my 3V more than 20CV. Hard to explain why, but 3V seems to have more of a "soul", and 20CV didn't live up to my expectations, lost the edge faster than expected and I've also experienced some chipping from light use (but it could have been because a wire edge). I've got a Hinderer in 20CV too, and I like that 20CV slightly better but I can't figure out why.
 
3V holds the carbides better. You proabaly get more damage which is too small to see with the eye on 20.
 
Other than the stain resistance, 20CV is going to have the advantage in abrasion resistance. That makes it harder to strop than 3V.
If you cut a lot of cardboard or rope the 20CV will hold an edge better on a draw cut. For outdoors use that won't be much help.
 
ni1s said:
So far I like my 3V more than 20CV. Hard to explain why, but 3V seems to have more of a "soul", and 20CV didn't live up to my expectations, lost the edge faster than expected and I've also experienced some chipping from light use (but it could have been because a wire edge). I've got a Hinderer in 20CV too, and I like that 20CV slightly better but I can't figure out why.
Click to expand...

What sort of "light use"? From what I've read, 20CV is very tough for a stainless.
 
My 3.5 which is Cpm-20CV works perfectly for me as I prefer an "all weather" very "low maintenance" steel over a non stainless 3V which requires more attention (wiping, cleaning etc.), I don't find myself cutting bricks or cinder blocks or hitting nails within wood.
My 4.1 = M-390 which is superb.
At certain price points I have to have stainless steel, with outstanding corrosion resistance and excellent edge holding over "very high" impact toughness.
 
TrojanSteel said:
What sort of "light use"? From what I've read, 20CV is very tough for a stainless.
Click to expand...

Fiddling around in the garden, cutting up a chicken, that sort of thing. I was quite surprised because all the rave I've heard about it so I must just have been unlucky or sharpened it wrong. I'll look into it this weekend again...
 
Thanks for all the replies. For my light use 3.5 and Necker 2 the 20CV works fine but for my hard use 4.1 and up I find that the 20CV falls short of 3v. I might actually sell my 5.1 in 20cv. It's going back to S!K for resharpening next week.

I am surprised about the chipping that ni1s had. I've been hard using S!Ks for 2 years and I've never had a chip on either of the steels. That includes my 7/7 that hit a rock twice when I was batoning wood. What GSO were you using??
 
I like 3v better than 20cv because it's easier to sharpen. That's really it. I'm not worried about corrosion cause I always wipe my blade down with my shirt or something close by and an occasional swipe of mineral oil. That's my simple answer.
 
I been using 'rusty rags' and it does ok but not as well as i hoped. The sheeps skin rag works wonders to get in small cracks and such but the oil seems to lake on my 'user' blades. Blades in storage do great with it though. My necker II always seem to get one spot right at the drain whole, i figure its from staying in my boot pretty much 24/7. Always wipes right off with my thumb.
 
Texas_toothpick said:
I been using 'rusty rags' and it does ok but not as well as i hoped. The sheeps skin rag works wonders to get in small cracks and such but the oil seems to lake on my 'user' blades. Blades in storage do great with it though. My necker II always seem to get one spot right at the drain whole, i figure its from staying in my boot pretty much 24/7. Always wipes right off with my thumb.
Click to expand...

Which steel are you talking about?
 
OBX351 said:
I am surprised about the chipping that ni1s had. I've been hard using S!Ks for 2 years and I've never had a chip on either of the steels. That includes my 7/7 that hit a rock twice when I was batoning wood. What GSO were you using??
Click to expand...

It's a 3.5. I attached some pics of it. It's just one nick, so maybe I'm too sensitive about it. It just took me by surprise. :)

chip_IMG_0379.JPG


chip_IMG_0381.JPG
 
I have not put my necker II in a hard use situation. Mostly just lite wood processing and some edc uses. I did strip some 750 with it which can be hard on a blade. But i use my traditional TL_29's for that most of the time, so i was pretty sure it wouldnt chip out. I havent had any trouble from my 20cv yet, and it always comes back shaving sharp on my fine grit stones for the sharpmaker. I did get a starter 3.5 in 20cv so i shall see
 
ni1s said:
It's a 3.5. I attached some pics of it. It's just one nick, so maybe I'm too sensitive about it. It just took me by surprise. :)
Click to expand...

Darn that's a pretty good nick! I'm still surprised that resulted from light use. Maybe you hit a wire or rock when fiddling aroundin the garden??
 
I am about to get my hands on my first 20CV 5.1, but I will say that my 7/7 in 3V has had the tip nicked off (see thread I started showing it in the wild getting used) and the blade dulled really bad pruning oak trees and doing some serious batoning. I just keep an eye on the edge and resharpen when needed. I expect the 20CV to holdup fine...no edge will last forever. Perhaps the lines are being drawn too finely here between the two. I will put the 20CV though some paces over the next month or so and let y'all know what I think from a practical standpoint.
 
ni1s said:
It's a 3.5. I attached some pics of it. It's just one nick, so maybe I'm too sensitive about it. It just took me by surprise. :)

chip_IMG_0379.JPG


chip_IMG_0381.JPG
Click to expand...

That's a real chip out of the blade. I am surprised too. I've used mine pretty hard and just get rolls. Have you contacted Survive!? I think this would be a case for some customer service, which I have no doubt will be addressed. Guy and Elly stand behind their products. Again I think the 3v is the better way to go. It might stain and maybe even pit to a very small degree but it can be cleaned up. It's also the best knife steel for durability & edge holding in my findings. I think INFI does a good job too but Busse's are crazy expensive and in many cases too big and heavy to work with beyond chopping and batoning - not to mention the fact that they have to be re-profiled to cut and carve well. But that's a topic for another thread.
 
You must log in or register to reply here.
Back
Top