Spyderco Maxamet

I had the impression that Maxamet was not intended to be a tough or hard use steel but rather a steel that would cut normal materials a lot without dulling. I thought there was some explanation by Spyderco that they weren't sure if it would actually work as a knife without breaking apart or something like that.
 
StuntDouble said:
I'm still having chipping issues with mine, unfortunately. I didn't do much today other than cut some clear pvc hose, and break down a couple of cardboard boxes. Noticed it was dragging toward the end, and when I examined the edge, it was reflecting light. Trying to resharpen the blade, I keep getting microchipping. This is on the Sharpmaker too. I even tried cleaning the stones, in case there was some contamination. No luck thus far.

I'm not sure if it's my sharpening, or if I got a defect. I'm going to send it home and find out. At the least they can put the edge back to factory specs.
Click to expand...

Explain your experience verbatim, in a letter, when you send the knife back to Spyderco for evaluation.
 
I was reading a Cliff Stamp thread on the spyderco forums. he seemed to run into sharpening issues on higher HRC examples he had. he said something along the lines (dont quote me as exactly) that the higher 69HRC example did not like the lower grit stones. it would micro fracture. however using finer stones it took far to long to sharpen but didnt get the chipping.

anyone that has chipping issues, can you start off with a higher grit and try? i remember him mentioning a 2k grit waterstone and a 400grit waterstone, but forget the details exactly. ill see if i can find the thread and edit it into this post later.
EDIT: here is the thread https://www.spyderco.com/forumII/viewtopic.php?t=62976
in any case, the thread does talk about how it should be a course edge and not a mirror edge due to the high carbide content.

i know that 2 of the people who had the chipping after sharpening did use very course stones. not sure how to explain the chipping pre-sharpening tho.
 
Last edited:
I've tried a few different things now, and I feel like I'm just making it worse. It seems like no matter what I do, the edge crumbles away as I sharpen. I'll leave this one to the professionals. If it isn't a defective heat treat, then at least they can put that factory edge back on there.

I might just have to admit to myself that Maxamet is out of my league!
 
Last edited:
  • Like
Reactions: Mo2
StuntDouble said:
I've tried a few different things now, and I feel like I'm just making it worse. It seems like no matter what I do, the edge crumbles away as I sharpen. I'll leave this one to the professionals. If it isn't a defective heat treat, then at least they can put that factory edge back on there.

I might just have to admit to myself that Maxamet is out of my league!
Click to expand...



Is this a native or a manix? It might be worth noting that the only instances of chipping I've personally seen so far have been people with natives.
 
high carbide steels at high hardness needs a fairly light touch. Pressing too hard especially on lower grit stones can make edges do exactly what is being described. Of course it's possible it's something wrong with the steel on that knife . All I have to go by is my experience with my knives so I can't say. I will say I had that happen with S125V though. I started using less pressure and finishing with with Sic at 2000 grit instead of Diamonds at 1200 and used a much lighter touch. It makes a difference in my experience. I learned the light touch thing on hard ZDP.
 
The Mastiff said:
high carbide steels at high hardness needs a fairly light touch. Pressing too hard especially on lower grit stones can make edges do exactly what is being described. Of course it's possible it's something wrong with the steel on that knife . All I have to go by is my experience with my knives so I can't say. I will say I had that happen with S125V though. I started using less pressure and finishing with with Sic at 2000 grit instead of Diamonds at 1200 and used a much lighter touch. It makes a difference in my experience. I learned the light touch thing on hard ZDP.
Click to expand...

I was also thinking of my first experience with ZDP on the Sharpmaker rods. It was microchipping because I used too much pressure against a stone (triangle) with very little surface area. A lighter touch stopped that chipping.
 
My Manix has been fine, albeit with light use so far, I have a second one I'm keeping in the box in case this ends up like ZT's failed foray into Maxamet did.

As far as sharpening, not really worried about that anytime soon as the factory edge shows absolutely no wear. I'm very impressed by this and by anyone who can listen to Shabazz for 2 hours straight and not stab themselves through the ear drums...

Has anyone else noticed that the Steel has an odd color to it? It seems to have a bluish grey hue that I've never see from another Steel. I wonder if this is from the W or Co especially?
 
I have finally "dulled" my maxamet manix a bit. Just a bit. I went out sunday morning and cut up all the cardboard I had, which was a LOT thanks to a newborn. We've been getting so many packages, and they all seem to be in very thick and sturdy cardboard.

Anyway, I spent about 30 minutes cutting. I was literally tired by the end of it. Keep in mind, this is in addition to other long cutting sessions and about 2 months of general use. No sharpening, just stropping on .5 micron diamond.

The knife no longer shaves arm hair. That part of the edge is gone. However, there is absolutely zero edge blunting and I can't see any shiny spots on the edge (from micro blunting, denting, etc). It no longer shaves, but it will absolutely still zip through printer paper with ease. And I mean with ease, every cut. It still slices amazingly well and has TONS of aggression left.

So, all in all this is the longest edge holding steel I've ever used, by far. It still isn't dull, I think it's just now settling into a working edge. I really have no clue how long it would take to get it completely dull, as in blunt with the edge reflecting light. Months. Maybe 6? Who knows. I intend to sharpen it this weekend and start fresh, with zero edge maintenance - just plenty of use. I want to see how far it will go with no maintenance, not even stropping. I'll chime in again whenever it reaches a dulling benchmark.
 
AwayFromMySpydieHole said:
I have finally "dulled" my maxamet manix a bit. Just a bit. I went out sunday morning and cut up all the cardboard I had, which was a LOT thanks to a newborn. We've been getting so many packages, and they all seem to be in very thick and sturdy cardboard.

Anyway, I spent about 30 minutes cutting. I was literally tired by the end of it. Keep in mind, this is in addition to other long cutting sessions and about 2 months of general use. No sharpening, just stropping on .5 micron diamond.

The knife no longer shaves arm hair. That part of the edge is gone. However, there is absolutely zero edge blunting and I can't see any shiny spots on the edge (from micro blunting, denting, etc). It no longer shaves, but it will absolutely still zip through printer paper with ease. And I mean with ease, every cut. It still slices amazingly well and has TONS of aggression left.

So, all in all this is the longest edge holding steel I've ever used, by far. It still isn't dull, I think it's just now settling into a working edge. I really have no clue how long it would take to get it completely dull, as in blunt with the edge reflecting light. Months. Maybe 6? Who knows. I intend to sharpen it this weekend and start fresh, with zero edge maintenance - just plenty of use. I want to see how far it will go with no maintenance, not even stropping. I'll chime in again whenever it reaches a dulling benchmark.
Click to expand...



Well, sharpened it just now. Used the wicked edge because I wanted to true up the bevels a little. They weren't bad, but they came from the factory a bit off. I could have free handed it, but for the first sharpening I wanted to make sure the bevel was set perfectly straight and true.

This stuff is just strange. Judging by how long it holds an edge you'd think it would be difficult to sharpen, but it isn't. You can tell it's hard when it hits the stones, but as far as removing material it's really not bad at all. I had no issues with chipping at all. The edge is just as clean as any other steel would be.

Also, oddly it takes a polish extremely well. I even skipped the high grit ceramics on the wicked edge and went straight to strops. It polished up very, very well. I actually wasn't even going for a polish. I wanted to keep it a little more aggressive......

Which leads me to the next point. Even when stropped down to .5 micron diamond paste the edge is VERY aggressive. It bites into your skin like crazy but is still very refined. I was able to whittle up the length of a hair 5 times before it got too thin to whittle. That's just as fine of an edge as I get on M4.



So, now the real testing starts. After that last bit of stropping I did nothing else is touching this edge. I'm just going to cut without touching it up to see how long it lasts. I'll report back ever so often.


ETA: forgot to add, I sharpened at exactly 16dps. Was hoping that it would be a good compromise between slicing ability and edge cross section. Wanted to avoid thinning out the apex so much that it would no longer support the carbides.


Here's a pic of the edge. On my phone so can't embed yet, sorry.

https://imgur.com/a/dIG5d


dIG5d
 
Last edited:
This stuff is just strange. Judging by how long it holds an edge you'd think it would be difficult to sharpen, but it isn't. You can tell it's hard when it hits the stones, but as far as removing material it's really not bad at all. I had no issues with chipping at all. The edge is just as clean as any other steel would be.

Also, oddly it takes a polish extremely well. I even skipped the high grit ceramics on the wicked edge and went straight to strops. It polished up very, very well. I actually wasn't even going for a polish. I wanted to keep it a little more aggressive......

Which leads me to the next point. Even when stropped down to .5 micron diamond paste the edge is VERY aggressive. It bites into your skin like crazy but is still very refined. I was able to whittle up the length of a hair 5 times before it got too thin to whittle. That's just as fine of an edge as I get on M4.
Click to expand...

Thank you very much for taking the time to post your efforts into learning maxamet! Your posts are the primary reason that I'm looking to get a maxamet something. I'm not terribly into the current knives with it despite them being quality blades. I will hope for a milli/para with it. Damn though, a maxamet Bradley... dreaming for sure...
 
N5 sharpened 30-35 degrees inclusive.
Got tiny gaps in the edge opening bottle caps. Not sure how deep, but nowhere near the primary grind.

Whittle seasoned bois d'arc across the grain in J shape. Makes horrible noises like something is cracking. Edge shows no sign of change. No edge reflection with bright light. Cuts paper the same as before.
Slowly doing more destructive things. Looking good so far.

Oh yeah, sharpening it is a great experience. It forms little to no burr, unlike most of my other steels. Comes off very clean with a variety of stones. Not chasing endless burrs greatly reduces my sharpening time.
 
jpm2 said:
N5 sharpened 30-35 degrees inclusive.
Got tiny gaps in the edge opening bottle caps. Not sure how deep, but nowhere near the primary grind.

Whittle seasoned bois d'arc across the grain in J shape. Makes horrible noises like something is cracking. Edge shows no sign of change. No edge reflection with bright light. Cuts paper the same as before.
Slowly doing more destructive things. Looking good so far.

Oh yeah, sharpening it is a great experience. It forms little to no burr, unlike most of my other steels. Comes off very clean with a variety of stones. Not chasing endless burrs greatly reduces my sharpening time.
Click to expand...


I forgot to add that to my post above. I noticed the same thing about the burr. It just doesn't like to raise a burr at all. Even at 200 grit no burr appeared when I apexed the edge.

And I agree, not having to worry about chasing the burr down does make the sharpening a nice experience. Although, the flip side of that is you have to be careful and visually check when you've apexed. Otherwise if you are expecting a burr you might just grind away a lot of material before you realize what's going on.

Overall, a pleasure to sharpen though.
 
Honed_Edge said:
Thank you very much for taking the time to post your efforts into learning maxamet! Your posts are the primary reason that I'm looking to get a maxamet something. I'm not terribly into the current knives with it despite them being quality blades. I will hope for a milli/para with it. Damn though, a maxamet Bradley... dreaming for sure...
Click to expand...


A maxamet para 2 or Bradley 2 would be grail status for me!!

And you're very welcome. I think whatever you choose to get, you'll be impressed with this steel. It really is something else!
 
AwayFromMySpydieHole said:
Well, sharpened it just now. Used the wicked edge because I wanted to true up the bevels a little. They weren't bad, but they came from the factory a bit off. I could have free handed it, but for the first sharpening I wanted to make sure the bevel was set perfectly straight and true.

This stuff is just strange. Judging by how long it holds an edge you'd think it would be difficult to sharpen, but it isn't. You can tell it's hard when it hits the stones, but as far as removing material it's really not bad at all. I had no issues with chipping at all. The edge is just as clean as any other steel would be.

Also, oddly it takes a polish extremely well. I even skipped the high grit ceramics on the wicked edge and went straight to strops. It polished up very, very well. I actually wasn't even going for a polish. I wanted to keep it a little more aggressive......

Which leads me to the next point. Even when stropped down to .5 micron diamond paste the edge is VERY aggressive. It bites into your skin like crazy but is still very refined. I was able to whittle up the length of a hair 5 times before it got too thin to whittle. That's just as fine of an edge as I get on M4.



So, now the real testing starts. After that last bit of stropping I did nothing else is touching this edge. I'm just going to cut without touching it up to see how long it lasts. I'll report back ever so often.


ETA: forgot to add, I sharpened at exactly 16dps. Was hoping that it would be a good compromise between slicing ability and edge cross section. Wanted to avoid thinning out the apex so much that it would no longer support the carbides.


Here's a pic of the edge. On my phone so can't embed yet, sorry.

https://imgur.com/a/dIG5d


dIG5d
Click to expand...
I didn't notice any mention of a micro bevel. If you're not using one, is that your usual technique or is it just what you're trying with Maxamet? By the way, thanks for all the information.
 
You must log in or register to reply here.
Back
Top