Just Ordered My First Spyderco!

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Jan 8, 2019
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Pretty excited. Just ordered my first Spyderco, and my first knife with exotic steel. Spyderco Military in CPM’s Rex45 steel.

What made my decision was the size of the knife, the alloy content of the blade, and some of the commentary I’ve read and listened to, about Rex45 steel, from a few more experienced sharpeners such as Michael Christy and Big Brown Bear. Another steel I was really thinking about was CPM-M4 or Hitachi’s HAP-40. Both of these are also high-speed tool steels with good amounts of tungsten, cobalt, molybdenum, and also some vanadium. All have good toughness and great wear resistance. It’s been said that CPM Rex45 could be the successor to CPM-M4. I don’t know about that, but, from what I’ve read and seen, it compares favorably, and that’s a good thing, considering how well M4 is liked by people who know.

I also really like the burnt orange scales.

I did order the knife from Bento Box Shop. From some reading I did on forums, I gathered that there are mixed reviews on BBS, with lots of people not liking their policy of not doing returns, and of being more expensive on certain knives. On the other hand, some people also pointed out that a no-returns policy works both ways, in that you don’t have to worry about receiving someone else’s rejected knife.

As far as price, BBS had the Rex45 “on sale” for $181.97, which was the price that most every retailer was selling them for, when they were in stock. Of course, shipping was $14.99. The total of $196.96 shipped was the cheapest I could find it, by about $15 (the only other retailer I found, who had the knife, was a place called Safe And Lock Store.com, and they were $209 shipped.

The other Military model I was considering was the Cru-Wear, for $260. But that’s $100 more than what that model was selling for when it came out. I thought the Rex was a better deal (and it’s a more interesting color).

Anyway, I look forward to putting this thing to some good use! I’ll play around with it in the kitchen, use it for general cutting, EDC it on the weekends, and also carry it while running.

I’ll update when I get it and use it a little bit.

I4fQXhS.jpg


Edge toughness comparison on brass drifts between CPM M4 and CPM Rex45 by Big Brown Bear:

 
Go big or go home! Congrats!

And really great info on why you chose the steel. I'm pretty much scaling all my knives back to what I regularly carry these days, and it always ends up being a Spyderco.

I'm slightly in the same boat as you as I want to get a second Yojimbo II to use as a backup, in case my main one gets lost or damaged. But I would like my second one to be slightly... different. I'm trying very hard not to pull the trigger on this until I sell off all my remaining unused blades. https://www.knivesplus.com/modified-spyderco-custom-yojimbo-2-knife-acid-stonewash.html

And both of my Yojimbo knives will be getting a set of these... https://www.bladehq.com/item--Spyderco-Yojimbo-2-Custom--29635

And maybe some anodized screws...

And maybe a titanium carry clip...

It never ends.
 
Last edited:
Pretty excited. Just ordered my first Spyderco, and my first knife with exotic steel. Spyderco Military in CPM’s Rex45 steel.

What made my decision was the size of the knife, the alloy content of the blade, and some of the commentary I’ve read and listened to, about Rex45 steel, from a few more experienced sharpeners such as Michael Christy and Big Brown Bear. Another steel I was really thinking about was CPM-M4 or Hitachi’s HAP-40. Both of these are also high-speed tool steels with good amounts of tungsten, cobalt, molybdenum, and also some vanadium. All have good toughness and great wear resistance. It’s been said that CPM Rex45 could be the successor to CPM-M4. I don’t know about that, but, from what I’ve read and seen, it compares favorably, and that’s a good thing, considering how well M4 is liked by people who know.

I also really like the burnt orange scales.

I did order the knife from Bento Box Shop. From some reading I did on forums, I gathered that there are mixed reviews on BBS, with lots of people not liking their policy of not doing returns, and of being more expensive on certain knives. On the other hand, some people also pointed out that a no-returns policy works both ways, in that you don’t have to worry about receiving someone else’s rejected knife.

As far as price, BBS had the Rex45 “on sale” for $181.97, which was the price that most every retailer was selling them for, when they were in stock. Of course, shipping was $14.99. The total of $196.96 shipped was the cheapest I could find it, by about $15 (the only other retailer I found, who had the knife, was a place called Safe And Lock Store.com, and they were $209 shipped.

The other Military model I was considering was the Cru-Wear, for $260. But that’s $100 more than what that model was selling for when it came out. I thought the Rex was a better deal (and it’s a more interesting color).

Anyway, I look forward to putting this thing to some good use! I’ll play around with it in the kitchen, use it for general cutting, EDC it on the weekends, and also carry it while running.

I’ll update when I get it and use it a little bit.

I4fQXhS.jpg


Edge toughness comparison on brass drifts between CPM M4 and CPM Rex45 by Big Brown Bear:

That kind of looks contoured - is it? Maybe eyes playing tricks on me.
 
Good choice. I really like my Rex 45 Para 3, it wasn't nearly as hard to sharpen as I thought it would be either.
 
Go big or go home! Congrats!

And really great info on why you chose the steel. I'm pretty much scaling all my knives back to what I regularly carry these days, and it always ends up being a Spyderco.

I'm slightly in the same boat as you as I want to get a second Yojimbo II to use as a backup, in case my main one gets lost or damaged. But I would like my second one to be slightly... different. I'm trying very hard not to pull the trigger on this until I sell off all my remaining unused blades. https://www.knivesplus.com/modified-spyderco-custom-yojimbo-2-knife-acid-stonewash.html

And both of my Yojimbo knives will be getting a set of these... https://www.bladehq.com/item--Spyderco-Yojimbo-2-Custom--29635

And maybe some anodized screws...

And maybe a titanium carry clip...

It never ends.

Bet that thing really cuts with that blade shape and hollow grind!
 
no-returns policy works both ways, in that you don’t have to worry about receiving someone else’s rejected knife.
YUP !
I hate it when I order a brand new knife and in theory I'm the first person the particular knife was ever sold to (not off the exchange in other words) and the knife I get smells like some guy's cologne.
That chaps me. I've had that happen a couple of times.

All that aside I hope you enjoy the Military as much as I like mine !
I have the M4 with the natural G10.
I too have sat up and taken notice of the CPM Rex45 after reading about it recently. I'm not making any significant knife purchases right now (bucks are tight) but I'm glad to see the high end tool steel is popular, I'm not a fan of stainless.
 
YUP !
I hate it when I order a brand new knife and in theory I'm the first person the particular knife was ever sold to (not off the exchange in other words) and the knife I get smells like some guy's cologne.
That chaps me. I've had that happen a couple of times.

All that aside I hope you enjoy the Military as much as I like mine !
I have the M4 with the natural G10.
I too have sat up and taken notice of the CPM Rex45 after reading about it recently. I'm not making any significant knife purchases right now (bucks are tight) but I'm glad to see the high end tool steel is popular, I'm not a fan of stainless.

Your NIB knives might have been handled by multiple persons - the assembly worker(s), the QC person in the factory, the package person, and maybe someone at the dealer who inspects it.

And this whole "the dealer might be sending a knife returned by someone else" thing is largely just speculation.

People can pay all the ridiculous prices plus shipping fees to BBS as they want. But no need to make efforts on justifying them for others.

EDIT: again, the price the OP paid on this millie is great.
 
Your NIB knives might have been handled by multiple persons - the assembly worker(s), the QC person in the factory, the package person, and maybe someone at the dealer who inspects it.

And this whole "the dealer might be sending a knife returned by someone else" thing is largely just speculation.

People can pay all the ridiculous prices plus shipping fees to BBS as they want. But no need to make efforts on justifying them for others.

EDIT: again, the price the OP paid on this millie is great.

Yeah, I noticed they had PM2s and PM3s in Rex45 and CruWear...for like 300 bucks. No thanks.

They wanted $260 for a Millie in CruWear. Still like $100 premium over what they cost when they came out.

As far as the shipping cost, yeah, the $14 I paid is more than the average. But BBS was one of only 2 online retailers I found who had the blade in stock...and BBS was cheaper by $15 or so, including shipping.

You have to look at the bottom line. BBS is far from the only retailer who’s marking these Spyderco Sprint Run knives up. Simple supply & demand. There are a lot of people out there who are legit addicted to buying every Spyderco Sprint Run Knife.
 
It's a slippery slope -- enjoy the ride! I started with a Mule in CPM 20CV and a kitchen paring knife, then a PM2, a Military in S110V, a Native in S35Vn, followed by couple of pink Natives for gifts... Look forward to your review.
 
It's a slippery slope -- enjoy the ride! I started with a Mule in CPM 20CV and a kitchen paring knife, then a PM2, a Military in S110V, a Native in S35Vn, followed by couple of pink Natives for gifts... Look forward to your review.

I’ve read about “mules” or “mule team” knives. What are they, exactly?
 
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