Maxamet: How much warp is too much?

How much warp would be acceptable to you in a Maxamet blade?

  • None at all

    Votes: 40 67.8%

  • A little if it's not very noticeable

    Votes: 16 27.1%

  • I don't care about warped blades as long as they cut things

    Votes: 3 5.1%
  • Total voters
    59
marrenmiller

marrenmiller

Joined
Apr 6, 2017
Messages
1,743
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 was a mule team which arrived so warped that one side of it would lay flat down against a table. Maybe I have had poor luck, but some people have definitely reported issues with their knives coming warped out of the box.

Is this a big deal to you? Have you experienced this before? I'd like to get a feel for how large of a problem this really is before attempting to return it for another one.
 
I heard about that issue on long blades like a military. But the native is not long so my answer is zero (actually arp on any blade is no bueno). I mean a warp on a military is also a no go but more common due to the length. Now let’s see the pic to see if it’s obvious or not so. I am going to guess is probably is very obvious.
 
If you’re happy with the price paid, the edge doesn’t come close to contacting the scale, and it cuts the objects you intend to use it for—I say keep it! On the other hand, if the seller didn’t show pics of the warp—probably not an honest seller who should offer to do a partial refund making the price even cheaper!
 
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marrenmiller said:
I didn't want to return it because I got a great deal on it (eBay sitewide coupon). I'm waiting on returning it until I know if it's actually not common.
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i heard about both the site wide coupons but didnt use it at the times. how do those work? does the % come out of ebays fee's? or the vendors asking price?

was it a vendor or a person selling it? did they have accurate descriptions?

i would return it if it were me. but i can understand otherwise. there are more reasons to replace it than to keep it.

they have had some with the PM2's but they didnt make much before they stopped making them in maxamet.
i havent heard anyone with a native 5 have warpage, but it could be a recent batch or just a random defect. would also like to hear if more folks ran into this problem on the native5.

my maxamet mule is straight. also no problems with my maxamet para3 blade.

the native 5 you have, was it a factory 2nds? iirc i think there is a little round notch in the corner of the steel somewhwere by the spidie hole.
 
Mo2 said:
i heard about both the site wide coupons but didnt use it at the times. how do those work? does the % come out of ebays fee's? or the vendors asking price?

was it a vendor or a person selling it? did they have accurate descriptions?

i would return it if it were me. but i can understand otherwise. there are more reasons to replace it than to keep it.

they have had some with the PM2's but they didnt make much before they stopped making them in maxamet.
i havent heard anyone with a native 5 have warpage, but it could be a recent batch or just a random defect. would also like to hear if more folks ran into this problem on the native5.

my maxamet mule is straight. also no problems with my maxamet para3 blade.

the native 5 you have, was it a factory 2nds? iirc i think there is a little round notch in the corner of the steel somewhwere by the spidie hole.
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eBay sitewide coupon discounts are eaten by eBay. Pretty crazy considering how often there's a 15%+ coupon available.

It was sold by a large knife retailer with a storefront on eBay, with about 44k (99.9%) positive feedback. It wasn't a factory second or anything, just a normal knife you could have gotten from anybody's stock. Just normal storefront pictures, like you'd see on BladeHQ.

This is my second warped maxamet blade of two, so I'm considering just keeping it because I'm not sure how many out there are messed up. It doesn't affect performance but it's a bit surprising and a little annoying.
 
If I remember correctly, warped blades are why supply of Maxamet knives are so limited. They were intended to be a standard production variant from what I read. Some blades with varying levels of warping were sent out. My Native LW has a slight curve to it. My warp is less significant than yours, though, so it's easily more liveable. I'd suggest contacting the seller first, since you got a good deal on it. A return might just leave you out on the sale.
 
Based on what I can tell from the pics, I'd just keep it. Nothing wrong with returning it though if you're not happy.

I am starting to wonder if we'll have seen the last of Maxamet once the current supply dries up. Seems like it's been a while with no news on that front, unless I missed something.
 
dkb45 said:
If I remember correctly, warped blades are why supply of Maxamet knives are so limited. They were intended to be a standard production variant from what I read. Some blades with varying levels of warping were sent out. My Native LW has a slight curve to it. My warp is less significant than yours, though, so it's easily more liveable. I'd suggest contacting the seller first, since you got a good deal on it. A return might just leave you out on the sale.
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Good plan, I'll try that.
 
Any warp or other defect on any knife would be totally unacceptable to me. I'd return it immediately for an exchange or refund.

Heck, I just returned a $19 Bryd Meadowlark to Amazon because it was a prior return that was delivered to me in a taped up box w/o even a plastic sleeve on it. I got a replacement in a properly shrink wrapped box back in just 1 day. You're entitled to get what you pay for regardless of the price.
 
i always go with my gut , and you posting a topic about answers that , if you post about it , then its bothering you quite a bit , return it ,
i got a manix in maxamet coming this week , i will post back when it comes .
 
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Hi Marrenmiller,

Sorry for your disappointment. The major problem with processing Maxamet is blade warp. It is a real PITA to process. We have a lot of fallout due to that. We have two options.

1) Accept a small amount of warping.
2) Discontinue making knives out of the steel.

sal
 
My Manix 2 has a straight blade and I’m glad Spyderco went to such lengths to make it in Maxamet.
Thanks Sal
 
Native 5 lwt is a user. If you can live with it and sharpen it. Keep it. For me when a knife has a few little flaws it helps me use it...hard. Not abuse, but let it rip.

I have a small sebenza 21 with an off center blade. I decided to keep it and put it to work.
 
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