Maxamet steel worth the dollars
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Maxamet can be chippy, and blades have occasionally been known to snap. You will definitely want to avoid side loads in resistive media. Minor lateral warping is fairly common, particularly with the PM2. Maxamet is also non-stainless, which may factor into your decision. Many people feel that it is difficult to sharpen, and it's certainly more difficult to sharpen than many steels, including S30V.
Maxamet also has amazing edge retention, far above anything else in current production. It's ideal for endurance cutting of abrasive media.
Maxamet also has amazing edge retention, far above anything else in current production. It's ideal for endurance cutting of abrasive media.
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I think that was an early problem and fixed by 2018? I have three, including a PM2 and they are fine.
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Last year I used a Maxamet PM2 as my one and only knife for a month: https://www.bladeforums.com/threads/pm2-maxamet-appreciation-thread.1782046/#post-20411343
no probs.
no probs.
Apparently not. Sal commented in the Spyderco sub about it a couple months ago...
Maxamet: How much warp is too much?
Just got a Native 5 LW in Maxamet steel, and I'm a bit disappointed in how much the blade is warped. It's visible when you hold the knife up to the light that the blade clearly favors one side over another, and obviously the centering is poor. This is my second Spyderco in Maxamet; the first...
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As mentioned it is if you use it a lot. For light or occasional use a bit overkill imo and s30v will be more than sufficient.
I have a small, thin fixed blade in Rex 121 at 70 Rc that I use for opening and breaking down cardboard. I love the knife and use it often. The edge bevel is just 0.007 inches thick at the shoulders. It cuts through cardboard with ease. It's fun and functional. Never gets dull.
But I'd never use it for an EDC, because it's too brittle.
The Paramilitary is designed to be a general purpose, pocket knife. I would not want one in Maxamet, because that steel doesn't meet the general design objectives of the knife. If you use your PM2 for just light cutting, it would be no problem. But a better all-around steel with more toughness would make the knife more useful in a wide range of cutting chores.
But I'd never use it for an EDC, because it's too brittle.
The Paramilitary is designed to be a general purpose, pocket knife. I would not want one in Maxamet, because that steel doesn't meet the general design objectives of the knife. If you use your PM2 for just light cutting, it would be no problem. But a better all-around steel with more toughness would make the knife more useful in a wide range of cutting chores.
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None of the super steels are worth it, but we’re knife addicts and it’s cool. 
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Agreed. And for, me, at this point, I'm such a fanatic about not letting my knives get dull, having super steel is not that high a priority as the dullest I let them get (and this is rare) is to where I need the medium stones on my sharpmaker. I actually use the freehand method on the sharpmaker, and plan to get regular stones for the future.None of the super steels are worth it, but we’re knife addicts and it’s cool.
hold out for k390!
You might consider S110V. It's a production steel so easy to find, and is probably the best edgeholding of any steel that Spyderco uses other than Maxamet.
Yes, it is worth every cent. It holds an edge forever. However, I think S110V does about as well and is stainless and I prefer K390 over Maxament for my own uses. Still, it is an awesome steel, though it corrodes easily if Vaseline or something is not kept on it. You can look up Larrin's testing on this steel, here on the forum (he has a PhD in metallurgy).
I own quite a few super steels, including Maxamet. I doubt I'll ever put my knives through the torture chamber, but I do appreciate the edge retention of Maxamet and find it a pleasure to use. In all honesty, VG10 is probably all I'll ever need, unless you are in the small minority who actually use knives hard, all the special qualities of M4, Maxemet, etc., just aren't necessary. But they are cool and I succumbed to cool.