April 2021 BOTM - 104 Compadre with 3V steel

Lesknife said:
Someone asked what 3V was like. This is from Larins test page.

3V composition
C. Cr. V. Mo.
0.8. 7.5. 2.75. 1.3

3V is non stainless, I couldn’t find a composition of 5160 to see how it stacks up.
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I can't find any Catra edge retention tests on Larrin's site (or in his book for that matter)... But in Larrin's book, he has a handy chart that ranks most steels from 1-10 on toughness, edge retention, and corrosion resistance.

Here's how 3V and 5160 stack up according to him. These results haven't had the hardness normalized like on my chart so the 3V is likely at ~63 - 64hrc, while the 5160 is ~62 - 63hrc:

3v
Toughness - 8.5
Edge Retention - 4.5
Corrosion Resistance - 5.5

5160
Toughness - 9.5
Edge Retention - 1.5
Corrosion Resistance - 0.5

If you're looking for a tough steel that you can beat the ever loving crap out of, while still retaining decent edge retention... I don't know that there is a better steel made for the money.

There is a reason that Carothers (CPK) and Dan Keffeler use it in their choppers. :)
 
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Your Name Goes Here said:
Over 300 have sold ! I had to get a second knife - Christmas gift for my brother (or maybe his birthday, it's next month).

I know he doesn't have a 3V knife. Even better, a 3V knife made by Buck. American made Steel, American made Knife !

It has been a good day ! : )
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Yep! Just did the same. I had purchased a second SKBlades 104 in D2 during the Black Friday sale to give to my little brother... But this 3V is just way too good to pass up. Just posted the backup SKBlades 104 up for sale and bought another in 3V for him, lol. :)

It's going to be fun comparing the D2 and 3V versions side by side next time I go camping.

Who knows how long ago this was planned... But maybe this is the first win for the new guy at Buck, and hopefully the start of more good things to come.
 
Thread title changed to reflect the actual name of the knife released.

This one caught me off guard as we just had another 104 released last Fall but what a great knife! And the steel choice is a shocker. The burlap Micarta handle does look different and may put some off but I found it to be very comfortable on the SK Blades 104 Frontier. Don't hold off just because of that!
 
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Jeff of the North said:
Thread title changed to reflect the actual name of the knife released.

This one caught me off guard as we just had another 104 released last Fall but what a great knife! And the steel choice is a shocker. The canvas Micarta handle does look different and may put some off but I found it to be very comfortable on the SK Blades 104 Frontier. Don't hold off just because of that!
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The Micarta on the SKBlades version was REALLY well done. Like omg good. I wish the BotM came with the wonderful sheath Stephen had made for us.

AxvseBM.jpg

FThD1zE.jpg


Jeff of the North said:
Just wanted to wish all the fellow April birthday members a very Happy Birthday!! I think we've done well this month.
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Mine was March 28th (just missed it!) and my first child was just born on March 31st. :D

I really should have grabbed the March BotM, but my son wasn't supposed to be here until mid April, lol.
 
Just got online a few minutes ago and saw the Buck e-mail, had to grab one for the collection! Wife has been having a hard month, too much work (she's a surgical tech, hospitals are crazy busy), and was looking for a gift to thank her for all her hard work lately and through this whole nasty pandemic, and this should be perfect, she's probably even more of a knife enthusiast than I am and loves the Buck knives she has now. Thanks Buck!
 
Fixall said:
The Micarta on the SKBlades version was REALLY well done. Like omg good. I wish the BotM came with the wonderful sheath Stephen had made for us.

AxvseBM.jpg

FThD1zE.jpg




Mine was March 28th (just missed it!) and my first child was just born on March 31st. :D

I really should have grabbed the March BotM, but my son wasn't supposed to be here until mid April, lol.
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I wouldn't be surprised if many here hit Mike (@Makael) up for a beautiful sheath to go with the knife. I know I will! I'm still hoping he'll do a beauty for my 212 once he's back in action.
 
texpat said:
Just got online a few minutes ago and saw the Buck e-mail, had to grab one for the collection! Wife has been having a hard month, too much work (she's a surgical tech, hospitals are crazy busy), and was looking for a gift to thank her for all her hard work lately and through this whole nasty pandemic, and this should be perfect, she's probably even more of a knife enthusiast than I am and loves the Buck knives she has now. Thanks Buck!
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Wow! You are a lucky man. Most of us have to hide our addiction from our wives. Well...attempt to hide anyway.
 
Still not sold out! I think people are going to be REALLY kicking themselves when they realize what they missed...

GPyro said:
Keep your SK sheath, and sell your SK knife with a regular 104 sheath.
Price it right, someone will buy it. Some prefer the regular sheath anyways.
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I was actually planning on doing just that... Until Jeff came up with the genius idea to have @Makael make one when his books are open. :)

This way I'll have one of the SKBlades sheath for the D2 version, a custom from Makael for the BotM, and then my brother can use the standard BotM sheath with the snap. He's an AVID hunter/outdoorsman so I think he'll appreciate the security of the Buck sheath.
 
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