Para3 cpm 15v BBB

[barnaclesonaboat]

Can anyone recommend oil to protect blade / cleaning oils/ lubes ?
Thanks

Just about any oil will do to protect the blade in some measure, but I use a food-grade knife/pivot lube made by Samorillo. Search "Samorillo knife oil" and you'll probably find it. $10-12 for an 8oz bottle... you'll probably lose or spill it before you use it all. I've had great luck with it so far.

[Clay H]

Boeshield T-9 is excellent, and is available on Amazon. I highly recommend it. Sentry Tuf Cloths and Marine Tuf Cloths are excellent as well. They're widely used by knife makers. Ernie Emerson recommended them to me.

[Nemo3000]

I oil the pivot.
And do not care about the blade.
I keep it clean.

IKEA mineral oil can prevent patina.

15V does not stain easily.
Not like Maxamet for example.

[Mendozamike89]

Use mineral oil from the store, food grade of course or I've had good results from kpl products but I don't believe it's food grades safe there is also flitz cleaner/wax/ polish cream sets you can buy that on Amazon they even come with tiny q tips there is also frog lube I've heard was food safe the bottle says all natural non toxic EARTH safe but it has a very strong methanol smell even after wiped away ,not sure if safe with food and that's why I use mineral oil 90% of the time or a lil bit of Vaseline every few days or after a week I wipe it on then off and I've never had issues with any of my carbon ,tool or hss knives . My Maxamet pm2 was starting to spot patina but I use it everyday at work and with food so m I used some fitz polish and looks almost new just be sure to wipe down after your done don't let it set wet or with juices on the knife blade if you use it with food

[Nemo3000]

My Maxamet pm2 was starting to spot patina but I use it everyday at work and with food

Maxamet is much more prompt to patina than CPM15V in my book, a beautiful dark one actually.
Just cutting into a steak and you got it. Nothing so far with 15V but I'm a new user.

[Mendozamike89]

I have 3 15v blades but I'm not gonna lie I'm being very careful with the steel not using it on food and no hard impact or lateral stresses and keeping it oiled let me know how tough you think it is or comparable to if your able to. After breaking the tip off my Maxamet pm2 within a few days of owning, I baby my higher hrc knives until I get a feel of the steels now.

[Paul Ardbeg]

Nice little cardboard destroyer.

[Red Leader]

I think we are starting to get to the last run of these. I was at the SFO the other day and they only had a handful left. That, and then dealers that still have any in stock, so if you are wanting to pick on up, now is probably the time to do so.

We stopped by the SFO about a month ago just to look and hold a bunch of stuff, and when I held the Para 3 15V G10 that they had in the display case it completely stopped me in my tracks. Best knife in the entire store and we held a LOT, all the fancy stuff like the Chef, Techno, Vallotton, Kapara, Nand, Drunken, Swayback, Canis, Smock, other PM2s and 3s. It was so impressive I bought it right on the spot I wasn't even looking for one. That knife then became a gift to my son for all his hard work with piano stuff.

It was so good, that I went back and grabbed another one that is close to this one's equal. It will be right there after I work through some very minor lock stick. We have a lot of Spydercos in the house and that first one is the best one we've got, and one of the best knives I've ever held in my life.

I don't even care about the Para 3 as a model! I'd rather have a Chef or Vallotton! But this is the best.

[Paul Ardbeg]

I have 3 15v blades but I'm not gonna lie I'm being very careful with the steel not using it on food and no hard impact or lateral stresses and keeping it oiled let me know how tough you think it is or comparable to if your able to. After breaking the tip off my Maxamet pm2 within a few days of owning, I baby my higher hrc knives until I get a feel of the steels now.

I've used the 15v to slice fruit and it keeps just fine, I would not worry too much about it. Just wipe it down after use. I don't oil it, but depending on the climate you live in it might be a good choice to do so. Maxamet I find more brittle and am more careful when using it.

[Jayrod1980]

I love this steel. Took my FRN model to a 3000 grit finish on diamonds though it was still cutting hair off the factory finish and a little stropping. A month back it got dropped by mistake and bounced all over the asphalt and was fine.

I previously talked about getting an FRN model to preserve G10 Para 3. After I dropped the FRN I got one to collect. So now I have 2 FRN, a G10, Military 2, and waiting on the Manix 2 LW, jimbos and the Natives. I’ve greatly cut back on knife buys, but still want a 15V rendition on the rest of the Spyderco line.

I still think this should be a regular steel in the lineup. It’s way more corrosion resistant than K390 and anything tool steel outside of Cruwear and far better edge retention. It doesn’t glass out like Maxamet and I’ve yet to have any of mine chip… even after bouncing around in a parking lot. Offering this in a lineup could greatly increase your profits! Can’t see this being less profitable than Maxamet and it’s much more versatile while having almost the same edge retention.

[Jayrod1980]

My first sharpening on it… diamond resin stones on work sharp up to 3k.

[VandymanG]

I’ve got to say sorry. I was way too harsh on the PM3 LW CPM15V. I think I was just use to the Delica and Manix FRN scales. With some tweaking and buffing the handles were perfect. The one thing that never came into question is the blade itself. It came razor sharp with perfect bevels.

I’m amazed at how long this steel stays sharp. I don’t have Maxamet, REX 121, or S90V to compare this steel to but it far outlasts any steel I do have. I was even cutting sandpaper strips with it on a regular basis and it was staying sharp. The sandpaper did finally dull it a little but not much. But being the sharp freak that this forum has helped convert me to I ended up having to sharpen it. I struggled initially but the 4th attempt was the charm. First two attempts I tried with the CBN Webfoot and the brown ceramic on the Sharpmaker but didn’t have a strop with Diamond emulsion. I was trying to get some Gunny Juice 1 micron but it was never in stock. So I ordered a strop that came with a 7 and 1.5 Diamond emulsion. The 3rd attempt I just stropped it with both Diamond emulsions but it didn’t work. I then started at the beginning with the Webfoot and the finished with the 1.5 Diamond emulsion and I now have a razor sharp knife again.

I think the thing that most impresses me is that the CPM 15V doesn’t rust or patina. I went back and looked at @Larrin ‘s charts and saw that 15V was rated around the same as M4 and Cruwear which really confuses me. Is it possible that the heat treat drastically improved the rust resistance of 15V? Just curious.

The knife is so good that soon after I got it I ordered the PM3 CPM 15V G10 . Oddly enough the LW is still my favorite and is in the top 3 of my EDC rotation.

[WilliamMunny]

I’ve got to say sorry. I was way too harsh on the PM3 LW CPM15V. I think I was just use to the Delica and Manix FRN scales. With some tweaking and buffing the handles were perfect. The one thing that never came into question is the blade itself. It came razor sharp with perfect bevels.

I’m amazed at how long this steel stays sharp. I don’t have Maxamet, REX 121, or S90V to compare this steel to but it far outlasts any steel I do have. I was even cutting sandpaper strips with it on a regular basis and it was staying sharp. The sandpaper did finally dull it a little but not much. But being the sharp freak that this forum has helped convert me to I ended up having to sharpen it. I struggled initially but the 4th attempt was the charm. First two attempts I tried with the CBN Webfoot and the brown ceramic on the Sharpmaker but didn’t have a strop with Diamond emulsion. I was trying to get some Gunny Juice 1 micron but it was never in stock. So I ordered a strop that came with a 7 and 1.5 Diamond emulsion. The 3rd attempt I just stropped it with both Diamond emulsions but it didn’t work. I then started at the beginning with the Webfoot and the finished with the 1.5 Diamond emulsion and I now have a razor sharp knife again.

I think the thing that most impresses me is that the CPM 15V doesn’t rust or patina. I went back and looked at @Larrin ‘s charts and saw that 15V was rated around the same as M4 and Cruwear which really confuses me. Is it possible that the heat treat drastically improved the rust resistance of 15V? Just curious.

The knife is so good that soon after I got it I ordered the PM3 CPM 15V G10 . Oddly enough the LW is still my favorite and is in the top 3 of my EDC rotation.

I was lucky and found a large bottle of 12 micron Gunny Juice. It’s equivalent to about 1200 grit and has worked well on my strop to bring the sticky edge back on my 15v.

As far as corrosion resistant I think I had to do with the stone wash finish. It has a slight gloss to it, less place for moisture to get into I think.

[Stirmos]

What I like a lot about 15V is the way it keeps sharpness.
Maxamet still cuts longer for me, but it barely keeps frontend sharpness. It just cuts roughly, nothing smooth about it, but doesn’t dull much.
REX45/REX76/CruWear keep frontend sharpness longer than 15V for me. However, they glass out soon after losing that. 15V keeps going, Maxamet style, for a long time after.
Very useful tool.

I did microchip it once, but nothing compared to Maxamet.

Unless you’re all for sharpening and smooth low angle cutting, 15V beats most steels for me. One and done, unless you need stainless.
15V doesn’t patina nicely for me, like Maxamet and (to less extend) REX76 do. Could be due to the glossy finish. And I managed to scratch my glossy finish while sharpening, it’s not permanent.