CPM 3V knife abuse test Media
Published: 10 years ago
This is a small 6" blade tactical knife I make. I machine it from .165" CPM 3V that gets hardened to HRC 60. The heat treat is somewhat unusual because it has been tweaked a little for cutlery. In testing this has been shown to improve edge retention slightly and improve edge stability significantly. A beneficial side effect is that less chromium is tied up in carbides so there is a noticeable improvement in corrosion resistance, though it is not stainless.
The purpose of this video is to illustrate that the modified heat treat is still fantastically durable.
CPM 3V is a modern high performance 1st generation PM technology "super" steel developed by Crucible. It forms a durable lath martensite micro structure and achieves abrasion resistance through the use of very fine vanadium carbides. It is known to be one of the toughest steels available at high hardness. And, as you can see, even with the modified heat treat, it can still cleave a thick concrete block without breaking. And with the updated heat treat the cutting edge is significantly more durable. So not only did it not break, it is not a dull as you would expect despite significant contact with real concrete containing rock aggregate.
The heat treat includes full cryo as a part of the primary quench with a conventional long duration cryo between tempers.
The purpose of this video is to illustrate that the modified heat treat is still fantastically durable.
CPM 3V is a modern high performance 1st generation PM technology "super" steel developed by Crucible. It forms a durable lath martensite micro structure and achieves abrasion resistance through the use of very fine vanadium carbides. It is known to be one of the toughest steels available at high hardness. And, as you can see, even with the modified heat treat, it can still cleave a thick concrete block without breaking. And with the updated heat treat the cutting edge is significantly more durable. So not only did it not break, it is not a dull as you would expect despite significant contact with real concrete containing rock aggregate.
The heat treat includes full cryo as a part of the primary quench with a conventional long duration cryo between tempers.