Recieved this knife on Wed of this week from Spectre(Ryan). Couldn't find a nicer person to deal with. That being said this isn't a review just my first impressions.
As you all know this thing is BIG! I have a CS XLG Voyager that has a 5" blade but the Maxx lends itself to my eyes anyways of being just that much bigger than the Voy. XLG. I think that may have to do with the handle more so than the blade. First thing is that it needed a very good sharpening. And over the coarse of 2 days hand sharpening it and following the edge very carefully it is now a proverbial razor in the hand. Just a helluva lot bigger.
The fit and finish of the lock up and the blade mated to the titanium frame is very very good. As good as the fit and finish as the Al Mar SERE2K. It is not highly polished like the Al Mars but the titanium frame and the frame lock makes it equal out in my opinion. I notice some machining marks on the flippers but that is of no consequance to me in a knife like this.
The heart and soul if you will of any knife is the blade and this is D2 steel that although seemed to take a while to get it where I wanted it for sharpness, well now it is there and how. The blade is a clip point bowie style that tapers from full thickness from just back of the clip to a tapered point that still is pretty stout it seems although haven't confirmed that as of yet. It is needle sharp and I don't know if that came from the careful sharpening or if it was like that to beging with. I mean it was pointy but now it is pointy and sharp. Slides really easily into paper bags along with newspapers stacked up. I noticed when the blade is locked into the open position that the frame lock doesn't egage all of the tang of the knife. Just a little portion that has a sort of square piece of titanium built up on the locking portion engages the tang. Talk about precise machining of a part. It appears to be a very small perfect recatangular milled part on the lock.
The blade shows no ability to move any which way when it is locked open and the frame lock engages a full 50% so there is plenty of room for wear on the frame lock device. I have heard metion of the fact that there are bronze washers available for this knife. What is the advantage to them versus what appear to be teflon washers outside of the wear issue. All the hardware and mounting hardware on the knife is very secure with no rattling etc.
Now here is the deal. I didn't pay much for this knife in my opinion and I notice from internet dealers that this knife can be had for about 140 bucks new or a bit less. How can Camillus do that with heavy titanium handles that are anodized, excellant ss mounting screws and standoffs along with all the machining of the handles and the blades etc etc. What a value. I don't know if I will be edcing this thing as it just may be to big for me. I am so used now to pretty much sub 4" folders that the Maxx well just seems to be so much overkill. Ain't bitching mind you but you are used to what you are used to. The biggest draw back for me is the flippers or guards on the blade that are used to open the blade. When sitting in the pocket it is difficult to get comfortable with the hand resting in said pocket due to the fact that my hand gets poked from the sharpness of the protrusion(flipper). Bottom line is that I have been admiring one for sometime and finally have the chance to own the knife which although I may not be carrying any time soon on a regular basis it is still nice to have it. Keep'em sharp
PS here: it is winter here along Lake Ontario as every other friggin place in the great white north. So my hands are dry and I find the handles a bit slippery with dry hands. What has anyone done to improve the traction on the handle slabs of this bad boy? Pics would be cool to see. Keep'em sharp
As you all know this thing is BIG! I have a CS XLG Voyager that has a 5" blade but the Maxx lends itself to my eyes anyways of being just that much bigger than the Voy. XLG. I think that may have to do with the handle more so than the blade. First thing is that it needed a very good sharpening. And over the coarse of 2 days hand sharpening it and following the edge very carefully it is now a proverbial razor in the hand. Just a helluva lot bigger.
The fit and finish of the lock up and the blade mated to the titanium frame is very very good. As good as the fit and finish as the Al Mar SERE2K. It is not highly polished like the Al Mars but the titanium frame and the frame lock makes it equal out in my opinion. I notice some machining marks on the flippers but that is of no consequance to me in a knife like this.
The heart and soul if you will of any knife is the blade and this is D2 steel that although seemed to take a while to get it where I wanted it for sharpness, well now it is there and how. The blade is a clip point bowie style that tapers from full thickness from just back of the clip to a tapered point that still is pretty stout it seems although haven't confirmed that as of yet. It is needle sharp and I don't know if that came from the careful sharpening or if it was like that to beging with. I mean it was pointy but now it is pointy and sharp. Slides really easily into paper bags along with newspapers stacked up. I noticed when the blade is locked into the open position that the frame lock doesn't egage all of the tang of the knife. Just a little portion that has a sort of square piece of titanium built up on the locking portion engages the tang. Talk about precise machining of a part. It appears to be a very small perfect recatangular milled part on the lock.
The blade shows no ability to move any which way when it is locked open and the frame lock engages a full 50% so there is plenty of room for wear on the frame lock device. I have heard metion of the fact that there are bronze washers available for this knife. What is the advantage to them versus what appear to be teflon washers outside of the wear issue. All the hardware and mounting hardware on the knife is very secure with no rattling etc.
Now here is the deal. I didn't pay much for this knife in my opinion and I notice from internet dealers that this knife can be had for about 140 bucks new or a bit less. How can Camillus do that with heavy titanium handles that are anodized, excellant ss mounting screws and standoffs along with all the machining of the handles and the blades etc etc. What a value. I don't know if I will be edcing this thing as it just may be to big for me. I am so used now to pretty much sub 4" folders that the Maxx well just seems to be so much overkill. Ain't bitching mind you but you are used to what you are used to. The biggest draw back for me is the flippers or guards on the blade that are used to open the blade. When sitting in the pocket it is difficult to get comfortable with the hand resting in said pocket due to the fact that my hand gets poked from the sharpness of the protrusion(flipper). Bottom line is that I have been admiring one for sometime and finally have the chance to own the knife which although I may not be carrying any time soon on a regular basis it is still nice to have it. Keep'em sharp
PS here: it is winter here along Lake Ontario as every other friggin place in the great white north. So my hands are dry and I find the handles a bit slippery with dry hands. What has anyone done to improve the traction on the handle slabs of this bad boy? Pics would be cool to see. Keep'em sharp
How camillus brings an American made knife to the market at such a great price, especially when you consider the premium materials is beyond me, just glad they did. As far as the bronze washers are concerned......I outfitted my Maxx with them and found that it sorta "slowed" down the flipper action UNTIL they got broken in and then it is just as slick as the teflon. Teflon has a tendency to "squish" and deform if you have a tight pivot, like I do. The phospher/bronze washers don't do that and will tend to keep the blade tighter, doing away with centering problems of the blade when closed. 
