Recommendation? CPM-3V Bushcraft / Survival Fixed Blade.

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onionsninja

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Jan 30, 2021
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For around $200 to $300, what are your top one or two choices for a 3.5" to 4" or 6" CPM-3V Bushcraft blade (non-coated)? I read into a couple of different steels and settled on the 3V. Something sturdy that may also work food processing, light chopping and batoning, slicing meat and fish.

Bark River was the knife that I was going to buy, but I checked the forums and many posts do not favor their quality control, their mislabelling of the blade steel, Mike's and Bark River's history, poor heat treating, etc. It's too bad because in a perfect world, they seem to make very nice handles, grind and finish.

I don't live the US and it could get tricky should I need to return the blade for any reasons. Would rather go with a safe purchase from a reputable, trustworthy knifemaker.
 
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I don't think it likely that you get a dud from Bark River, I have several, a Fox River, Upland Special, Northstar prototype, Mini Canadian and a Gameskeeper. All are A2 and all perform well. You could also check out Carothers Performance Knives for pretty much the best knife CPM3V can be made into.
 
I've a Bravo 3 in 3V and this chopper is a beast. For me the quality is outstanding, well made and alot of steel for the price. I chose it over the esee junglas as the Bravo 3 is more comfortable in my hands, furthermore the leather sheath is of high quality too. Bark river have a lot of models on offer, however best to meet in person before comitting to a purchase.
 
In before the two pages of guys recommending Nathan Carothers.

He's an amazing maker, his 3V will do everything you want, and you should never have to worry about returning the knife, once you've bought it.

The problem is, his knives are so sought-after that getting one is a matter of pure luck, even if you have the resources to pay re-seller prices.
 
I've had this Bravo 1 LT for years and it performs great , definitely 3V .
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Have a look at Benchmade's Puukko 200 or Leuku 202. I've been delighted with my Puukko 200, although the sheath was not particularly impressive. The leather was thin, although the design was OK. I used it for a pattern and made another out of thicker latigo saddle leather.
 
+1 for bark river. I have a Bravo 1.25 in 3V and a Gunny Hunter in Elmax. If i had to do it over, i would probably get a Bravo 1 LT in CruWear and replace both...Though, the Bravo 1.25 is a batoning champion. That knife and my gransfor bruk forrest axe and i am good to go!
 
I think you would be fine with Bark River. I like the Kephart and mini-Kephart. I also like the LT Wright Genesis which can come in 3v, but I really like the Gen 5, but it is in A2.
 
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cbach8tw said:
I think you would be fine with Bark River. I like the Kephart and mini-Kephart. I also like the LT Wright Genesis which can come in 3v, but I really like the Gen 5, but it is in A2.
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I second LT Wright Genesis in 3V, it stays on my belt the whole weekend camping. Damn thing sneaks into my kitchen some times when trimming and packing meat too...

What knife did you want? Hard to guess in the dark at someone tastes. Also what handle material? You a wood person or modern material?
 
You might consider the Monterey Bay Knives Field Trekker, recently released. Definitely that style of knife, 3V steel, great looking sheath, and what looks like a well executed convex grind as well. Only $190. Overseas made, so if that's an issue for you, there's that. But the knife itself is very well designed (Ray Laconico) and looks to be very well executed. I'm thinking of picking on up myself.
 
Shorttime said:
In before the two pages of guys recommending Nathan Carothers.

He's an amazing maker, his 3V will do everything you want, and you should never have to worry about returning the knife, once you've bought it.

The problem is, his knives are so sought-after that getting one is a matter of pure luck, even if you have the resources to pay re-seller prices.
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For certain models yes, however if you want a field knife 2 or a DEK1 they are fairly easy to get in one of the Friday sales.
 
johnnytoxin said:
For certain models yes, however if you want a field knife 2 or a DEK1 they are fairly easy to get in one of the Friday sales.
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True. If you pay attention to their forum, you may find a preorder that you can get in on. Maybe. You'll likely have to wait a while, but you will get your knife.

I took delivery of a fk2 and Ive got 2 dek1s stuck in ups hell due to the snowpocalypse. They should have been delivered 4 days apart. CPK is obviously not at fault for this shipping issue, just an aside.

It's totally possible to get one/more if one really wants. I highly recommend them if you want 3v.
 
Shorttime said:
The problem is, his knives are so sought-after that getting one is a matter of pure luck, even if you have the resources to pay re-seller prices.
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It surely seems so. I got really confused reading through the forum posts on how to order a new one.

It looks like most of the activities there are just people buying and re-selling them. Are you implying that the resale price is more than the price Nathan sold them at? What if I want a new one from Nathan? Do I need to fight over it with the others too, or just place my order and wait?

jumpstat said:
I've a Bravo 3 in 3V
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That knife is so wieldy, I love it. A Great long blade, but it's huge for what I need it for. Peole's reaction to a blade that big, even on hiking or trekking, might be on the negative side in the country I'm in.

halden.doerge said:
You might consider the Monterey Bay Knives Field Trekker
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I like the look of the blade and the finger guard. I will definitely factor this one in for my final decision. Do you own a similar blade from LT Wright and Bark River? Would you recommend one maker/model over the other?
 
onionsninja said:
It surely seems so. I got really confused reading through the forum posts on how to order a new one.

It looks like most of the activities there are just people buying and re-selling them. Are you implying that the resale price is more than the price Nathan sold them at? What if I want a new one from Nathan? Do I need to fight over it with the others too, or just place my order and wait?
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Honestly, I have no idea. The more I want something, the more guaranteed that I will never get near it, so I don't even try to get a CPK. Any time you see a thread using the words "fixed blade" and "3V", everybody piles on with pictures of his knives, to the point where you might think that they are easy to get ahold of, and that there is no other option. I was hoping to short-circuit that, mostly because I'm petty, and get annoyed when a thread where somebody asks for options turns into a one brand show & tell of the Bladeforums Consensus Best Knife.

Now if you'll excuse me, I think I need a cookie. :oops:
 
onionsninja said:
It surely seems so. I got really confused reading through the forum posts on how to order a new one.

It looks like most of the activities there are just people buying and re-selling them. Are you implying that the resale price is more than the price Nathan sold them at? What if I want a new one from Nathan? Do I need to fight over it with the others too, or just place my order and wait?



That knife is so wieldy, I love it. A Great long blade, but it's huge for what I need it for. Peole's reaction to a blade that big, even on hiking or trekking, might be on the negative side in the country I'm in.



I like the look of the blade and the finger guard. I will definitely factor this one in for my final decision. Do you own a similar blade from LT Wright and Bark River? Would you recommend one maker/model over the other?
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I don't have any 3V knives yet. But I do have (4) different knives form L.T. Wright. All with different steels (A2, O1, AEB-L, 1075) just none with 3V yet....I also have a couple Bark River knives. My two BR knives are good, but they are A2 steel. I wouldn't trust BR knives for the same reasons You mentioned above, and I probably wont buy any more from them.

I LOVE All my L.T. knives, and plan to buy Many more..... You can't go wrong with them, I highly recommend them to everyone. :D
 
onionsninja said:
I like the look of the blade and the finger guard. I will definitely factor this one in for my final decision. Do you own a similar blade from LT Wright and Bark River? Would you recommend one maker/model over the other?
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I do not, so I couldn't say for sure on that. Everything I've heard and seen about both of those brands has been super positive as well. I used to own one smaller fixed blade by Bark River and it was very well made and finished.
 
With respect to BR knives, I've seen a guy get one of the mismarked blades. It was supposed to be 3v but was marked something else. Guy was trying to sell it, was a trustworthy guy, known on the forum. Put the story of how it happened in the post,etc. Knife never sold, watched it for a year in case he dropped the $ a lot to get rid of it. Was a decent price, like new in box.

I won't buy one because it seems hard to resell them. Knife nuts are wary of them, knife non-nuts dont want to spend that kind of $.

They are good knives. If you intend to use it, they are good. I'd just accept that they may be more challenging to resell if you don't want/like/etc
 
CPKs are great knives and an incredible value for what you get. Nathan's Delta 3V is not your ordinary 3V. You can check out his Friday sales or post a WTB in the buy/sell/trade thread in the CPK sub-forum. They are a small shop and the knives are sought after and rightly so, but it can take a bit longer to get what you want if it isn't currently in production.

LT Wright makes really good functional knives. I have several models with a few in 3V and it has performed very well. You should be able to find a model to fit your needs out of their lineup. I can definitely recommend LT Wright.
 
I'd highly recommend getting a Mora along with whatever survival knife you get. That way you'll get to test the scandi style grind relatively economically. (Plus they're pretty diminutive for a "survival" knife so you should have no problems carrying one while hiking).

I think you'll find that a scandi grind works much better at working with wood (easier to make longer curls). At least, I much prefer a true scandi when doing them "bushcraft" skills.

As a for a 3V knife... man, if you could find a Skookum Bush Tool... I kid, those knives are difficult to obtain.

My vote would also be for a CPK FK2 but it seems that it would be to large of a knife for what you're looking for.

BRKs are still pretty good and they have a wide variety of designs so they've got another vote from me. I'd go for the 3V Fox River. I haven't tried their convex scandi but the regular convex knives work very well.
 
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