Survive! Knives new finish and heat-treatment, CPM-3V, field test

Guy Seiferd of Survive! Knives sent me a test-blade for the new finish and heat-treatment of CPM-3V in his product-line. The knife is an older-spec GSO-4.1 but the steel has a peened finish and the HT-protocol aims to increase rockwell hardness will also improving corrosion resistance. These improvements must come at the cost of impact toughness, but so far, as you can see in the video, I have not experienced any major issues with the result of this HT-protocol.
I look forward to Guy's new designs coming out in the months ahead.

[@mohdzaudikhasni8829]

Very-very nice testing.. This is what people go outdoor do. About the edge holding is normal for cpm 3v, if we do lot of cutting and chopping. Edge rolling and chip is normal. Keep it up. thanks for your sharing experience.

[@JediG16]

Great video. I am looking to get the GSO 5.1 or the Tops B.O.B. but haven't made a decision yet. Your field test really put this knife through a lot of tests that normally you don't see. Thank you so much for making it.

[@Chamdar17]

Thank you for watching! I own a Tops BOB as well - it's pretty close in size to the GSO-4.7 and quite a bit smaller than the 5.1. If you keep it sharp and protect it from rust, the BOB will serve well as a hard-use outdoor knife. However, the BOB's blade-grind is exceedingly thick. The GSO-5.1 and 4.7 will both cut circles around it easily, they have a MUCH better cutting geometry, not to mention handle design as well as higher quality steel for improved edge strength... but they cost quite a bit more. *shrug*

[@JediG16]

Thanks for the reply...so let me ask you. If you had 1 knife that you needed to take in the woods with you, would you pick the Tops BOB or the GSO 5.1?

[@BabakPA]

Beautiful video as always! I just preordered a GSO-10 but on the Survive knives website under the description I noticed that new GSO-10s are a bit narrower in blade width! I wish they had kept it like the first and second production run! Still waiting for their reply but no luck! Thank you for the amazing videos!

[@Surviveknives]

+Babak P We've actually made the new spec GSO-10 a few thousandths thicker, not thinner.

[@BabakPA]

+SURVIVE! Yes I know it is now a bit thicker but I was referring to the width of the blade; Everyone who has reviewed it says theirs are 2.125" wide but on the survive site it is listed at 2" thank you for the reply! I can't wait to get the GSO-10 :)

[@zacatecano1986]

Great review thanks, i am currently experimenting with 3v steel and am waiting for some 5 inch blades heatreated to about 61 rc so hopefully they perform great . Once again thanks for the video

[@scottrowan776]

I would love to get the survive gso 8, it's just perfect in ever way to me. Definitely would settle for any survive knife though, top of the line blades, made in the U.S.

[@bryanbisbey6386]

You compare it to the Gerber Strongarm which uses budget 420HC Steel. The GSO is available in 3v and I would wager that even with half the thickness in its blade it would still outperform the Gerber in any toughness test you could throw at it.

[@Chamdar17]

Hi Bryan, thanks for watching! I bring out the Strongarm only for the comparison of Geometry, not to compare steel performance. The Strongarm is a stout knife and it is ground to a very thick edge, perhaps to withstand a lot of prying but this compromises its cutting efficiency dramatically. The GSO would be able to out-slice it no matter what steel either is made from, assuming both are properly hardened. Geometry cuts, the Survive! does an excellent job trying for a thin geometry at the edge (usually 0.020") without weakening the rest of the design.

[@gretchenmanzo798]

Hey dude,love your review of the knife and your firewood pile...

[@zacatecano1986]

What a great knife and great finish on blade . Its an amazing steel great steel without a dought thanks for the info

[@littlejimbridger7770]

I love hearing Alvin and the Chipmunks when you fast forward.

[@alexmalloy3273]

For all the crazy shit you do to your awesome knives you need to be more recognized!

[@johndoe-ev8ot]

This makes waiting for my 7/7 even harder.

[@michaelstjohn6086]

Still waiting?

[@midwestoutdoorsman]

how do you like this compared to the older spec knives and tumbled finish?

[@chiralgrolim908]

+midwestoutdoorsman The new finish doesn't have the "smooth as glass" feel as the older stonewash/tumbled finish, but it seems to resist corrosion better for the 3V (or maybe that is just a result of the new HT), and it cleans up surprisingly easy, resists scratches very well, and gives off less glare. Here's a link to some photos: www.bladeforums.com/forums/showthread.php/1314914-Field-testing-the-new-finish/page5

[@zacatecano1986]

What camera did you use for filming and what hardness is the knife What rockwell hardness

[@chiralgrolim908]

+zacatecano1986 Rockwell C should be 59-61: instagram.com/p/8Mh-92Jbtd/ The camera was my little Olympus, my apologies for the all the shaking as I had it in one hand while doing the work with the other in a lot of the scenes, also I fast-forward to cut down on the video-time. I just want y'all to have an idea of how the knife was being used.

[@bob22610]

did you say your strong arm came with a 15° per side edge? mine came with an edge closer to 40° per side. ridiculously thick.

[@Chamdar17]

+bob3326 Yeah, the bevel on mine is relatively wide, measured at 0.070" wide x 0.035" thick on average = 15-dps. I was impressed, though it's still MUCH thicker than I usually want for such a small knife, that geometry is similar to my choppers. My LMFII's edge-bevel is 0.065" wide x 0.040" thick = ~18-dps on average, but in the tip it's closer to 40-dps :p I am glad that the guy sharpening my Strongarm seemed to have a better idea of what angle to put on a knife, I guess i got lucky!

[@bob22610]

yea I attempted reprofiling and at 25° per side the bevel was a ¼" wide and hadn't fully appexed it yet.

[@wadejensen3301]

Yeah but it seems like the only people that get their hands on these knives is people doing reviews...I mean how the hell do you get one of these....the survive knives website is total shit in my opinion....and the time to wait is ridiculous...

[@Chamdar17]

Survive! is the only reason I started doing video reviews, I bought into an early model some years back and couldn't find any reviews, so i made one myself.Pretty much all the one's I've had were "pre-order" purchases. Most took less than 6-months from payment to delivery, which is not bad for a tiny company putting out THOUSANDS of knives in various models, especially knives at this quality level. They do occasionally have stock on their website, I've purchased a few that way: surviveknives.com/knives/ Because they are still working on their latest run of pre-orders, most of what pops up on their site is under "factory seconds" or "limited edition" - the 2nds are like a joke, can't find even a tiny blemish on most of them. They don't sell on Amazon or any on-line dealers, really, they just can't make that many knives to serve such a wide customer-base. It's the attempt to expand that is actually what is causing the long wait times. So if you want one, and don't want to wait, keep an eye on that site, or check their subforum at bladeforums, there's a "heads-up" thread where members post about Survive! knvies for sale wherever they find them: www.bladeforums.com/forums/showthread.php/1359094-Survive!-Knives-Heads-Up/page44

[@GuyInAHotdogSuit69]

I have no idea how people actually manage to get their knives to rust. I own several carbon steel knives (1095, 5160, you name it) with a much lower chromium percentage than 3V and no matter how much I use them in the woods, get them wet or take them out on fishing trips they just don't rust. All I do is wipe them off afterwards and make sure there's no goo left on them, then they're good to go. Do you just leave your knives outside in the rain or something?

[@sarachen1457]

I used to use vegetable oil for my esee izula in the past. I didn't know any better and I think it got rancid and made laser engraving area rusty. Now I use mineral oil and no problem

[@danielravenstar4442]

Just plain not using them to wear the rust off,, especially along the coast and great lakes areas