cpm3v VS cobalt special steel (lam. cos)

cpm3v VS cobalt special steel (lam. cos)

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Who is using cobalt special steel and on what model of knives? Never heard of that steel and I’m at a point where 3v is about as hard as I want to go in a knife. Works well on my hinderer sparrow.
 
Might as well say Fallkniven or Bark River.

CoS and 3V are apples and oranges,not a good comparison.

It's like comparing as fast car to a truck that can tow big stuff.

Either your a truck guy or a car guy.

Theres more to learn if you compare trucks to trucks
 
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Cobalt social steel is a modified 440C with cobalt, moly, and a small vanadium addition. It is cast conventionally. Therefore it has moderate wear resistance., relatively low toughness, and good corrosion resistance.

3V is a powder metallurgy tool steel (non-stainless) with a low amount of vanadium carbide for moderate wear resistance with high toughness.

Are these two steels being used on the same types of knives?
 
Larrin said:
Are these two steels being used on the same types of knives?
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Well, people are using 3V on virtually anything these days as it sells, but aside from that, yes.

The likely example is a Fallkniven F1/S1/A1 pro versus any Bark River Bravo1, CPK FK sort of field knife.

For me, it goes to show how little toughness I need in a field knife, that my stainless field knives do everything I ask.
 
lets assume there 2 identical knives which 1 would you prefer and why do you prefer it. I'm not asking which is better cause that wont go anywhere people loose there sh*t over that stuff.
I'm asking because i'm deciding to get a bark river or a fallkniven as my main edc fixed blade
 
Cold Steel has many knives in 3V. I do like Fallkniven...just have not pulled the trigger yet due to cash flows. Soon. Soon....

3V is at least 10% better on holding it's edge.
 
pandaatkins said:
lets assume there 2 identical knives which 1 would you prefer and why do you prefer it. I'm not asking which is better cause that wont go anywhere people loose there sh*t over that stuff. I'm asking because i'm deciding to get a bark river or a fallkniven as my main edc fixed blade
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Which knives are you looking at?
 
i apologize for the poorly wrote title it took me 40mins to think of how to word it so i gave up and made it as simple of a question i could, that being said does anyone know of the pros and cons to each steel also if you could give an example for what each knife would be best suited for that would be a big help
 
bro i know there both good knives im just confused on what there good for, like what would you say they are bad at and what are they good at discarding the size of them
 
pandaatkins said:
bro i know there both good knives im just confused on what there good for, like what would you say they are bad at and what are they good at discarding the size of them
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There is no easy answer. In order to know what specific knives are good for you're going to have to dig here at Blade Forums and YouTube and watch a lot of videos on the knives.

According to cut tests that I know of, as I said, 3V is around 10% better than Lam CoS.
 
ive been watching videos on youtube about these steels for about 6 months and i still cant find a detailed review at least not detailed enough for me, i like to know alot about a knife before i sink in over 500 to buy it
 
Wear resistance is ballpark similar between the two.

Lam CoS will be corrosion resistant but not very tough. 3V will be the opposite; not overly corrosion resistant but very tough. Basically 3V is more likely to rust on you if not regularly maintained (though it isn't terrible in this regard) and CoS is more likely to chip and blunt under hard use (though also not terrible in this regard).

If you're fishing, swimming or sweating a lot (or anything where corrosion is a regular threat) I'd use CoS; if you're abusing the knife (batoning, chopping, prying, cutting hard material) I'd go with 3V.
 
i intend to us it for heavy use / self defence, as it will be my edc/shtf fixed blade

mostly my shtf but i use my current shtf stuff as my edc so i am used to it for when i need it also i will be using it in the rain and mud often
 
I'd go with 3V for that use. Corrosion is much easier to fix or prevent than chipping / rolling / breakage. If you want a knife you can rely on in shtf then 3V is perfect.

Just take materials to manage surface rust like a pad or steel wool to rub off rust spots and a cloth to keep it dry, plus some kind of oil or grease to coat it to prevent rust in the rain.

To maintain the edge on 3V you won't need a rough grit stone because it shouldn't chip out to the point where you'll need to re-apex it, a ceramic stone should do (even something to strop with like a leather belt) just to touch up the edge. Also something to steel it with (a knife steel, a screwdriver, or any smooth metal) in case you really bang up the edge in which case it has probably rolled rather than chipped and will just need the edge straightened out.
 
Now I generally don't advise to defend yourself with a knife but I'd imagine that a cheaper knife would be fine for that because:
  • You're using it once, edge retention doesn't matter
  • You're probably not gonna see the knife again once used, so the cheaper the better
  • Pretty much any steel is tough enough to not break instantly in a fight (8Cr13MoV etc.)
In case you want to go with Bark River: Take a look at their business practices and decide wether that's something you want to support
 
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