Pm2 choices.

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Skar

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Mar 24, 2020
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The pm2 is a knife I'm chasing right now.
There are alot of exclusives, sprints and choices available or soon to be.

I was holding off for the micarta cruwear but... the bhq exclusive looks sweet , love the copper scales.
Other than the weight, not sure how I feel about rex45 seems chippy.
Then smkw m4 steel would be welcome.

What are your opinions about these options?
 
I have two PM2s - will sell one when the crucarta drops.
Edit: I will keep the Maxamet and sell the S30V. So I will have steels that complement each other nicely.
 
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Rex 45 has been fine in my use, Along with M4, K390, S30V, 20CV, Etc. Get the version you like and enjoy this great knife! The weight of the copper BHQ version is something to consider if your going to use it daily!
 
tomhosang said:
What makes you say the REX45 seems chippy?
Click to expand...
I have rex 45 on a native chief and the edge has quite a few chips through it.
Where the s90v doesn't have any chips.

The same with cv20 manix, the edge develops micro chips through use.

Odd enough hap40 endura which supposedly is the same as rex45. I use that pretty hard. Has no chips whatsoever. Maybe it's the grind and not the steel ?
 
Skar said:
I have rex 45 on a native chief and the edge has quite a few chips through it.
Where the s90v doesn't have any chips.

The same with cv20 manix, the edge develops micro chips through use.

Odd enough hap40 endura which supposedly is the same as rex45. I use that pretty hard. Has no chips whatsoever. Maybe it's the grind and not the steel ?
Click to expand...


I think it could be a burnt edge, the steel overheated during factory sharpening. If this is the case the fatigued material will be removed after two or three sharpenings. Normally, Rex45 shouldn't chip AFAIK.
 
kobold said:
I think it could be a burnt edge, the steel overheated during factory sharpening. If this is the case the fatigued material will be removed after two or three sharpenings. Normally, Rex45 shouldn't chip AFAIK.
Click to expand...

That would be a welcome diagnosis. I will have to use it more and sharpen it up.
I hope that is the case.
 
Skar said:
The pm2 is a knife I'm chasing right now.
There are alot of exclusives, sprints and choices available or soon to be.

I was holding off for the micarta cruwear but... the bhq exclusive looks sweet , love the copper scales.
Other than the weight, not sure how I feel about rex45 seems chippy.
Then smkw m4 steel would be welcome.

What are your opinions about these options?
Click to expand...
I picked this one up few months back. My 2nd favorite spydrco. Valloton just squeezes into 1st
Skar said:
The pm2 is a knife I'm chasing right now.
There are alot of exclusives, sprints and choices available or soon to be.

I was holding off for the micarta cruwear but... the bhq exclusive looks sweet , love the copper scales.
Other than the weight, not sure how I feel about rex45 seems chippy.
Then smkw m4 steel would be welcome.

What are your opinions about these options?
Click to expand...
Skar said:
The pm2 is a knife I'm chasing right now.
There are alot of exclusives, sprints and choices available or soon to be.

I was holding off for the micarta cruwear but... the bhq exclusive looks sweet , love the copper scales.
Other than the weight, not sure how I feel about rex45 seems chippy.
Then smkw m4 steel would be welcome.

What are your opinions about these options?
Click to expand...
 
kobold said:
I think it could be a burnt edge, the steel overheated during factory sharpening. If this is the case the fatigued material will be removed after two or three sharpenings. Normally, Rex45 shouldn't chip AFAIK
Click to expand...

Outpost 76 says that he has to sharpen a new knife between three and ten times to discover what the steel is really capable of. (At least, I think that's what he is saying.) I wonder if your statement is related.
 
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I think S35/S45VN suits the PM2 just about perfect.

That being said, I dont have one lol and currently only have the Jade G10 M4 Tanto (sitting in storage).

BUT, if Spyderco were to make a custom shop (wink wink), I'll make a CRUWEAR or 10V one with the 52100 sprint CF handle.
 
I am holding for the cruwear/micarta version too
But the basic s30 or now s45vn version is very good too, so I don’t really mind the exclusive
 
I know this is related. I’ve been researching edge retention/strength VS toughness. I have a pm3 in maxamet and a PM2 in cruwear. I understand that the maxamet has much better edge retention and the cruwear is more tough or pliable and less likely to chip.
Can someone give me some real world scenarios where you would USE one over the other? I’m what cases would maxamet “toughness” be adequate? When would you use the cruwear instead? What if one were crazy enough to carry BOTH lol?
 
In my experience Maxamet can't be compared to CruWear when it comes to toughness, but it is tough enough and not prone to chip (I have never experienced chipping). It will stay (scrape) shaving sharp for weeks without any touchups and maintain working edge well beyond that. There are people who doesn't like to sharpen frequently. This steel is for them.

The only thing that is in danger is the very tip of a super pointy Maxamet blade (like 1/4 mm) such as what's on a PM2. The tip on a Para 3 is safer. Either way it won't affect the functionality or the looks of the knife.

But the edge and the bevel is resilient enough for yard work, food prep, harvesting, weed control, whittling and anything EDC usually means.

CruWear is a very balanced steel. I would use CruWear if ease of sharpening is important and there are no CBN or diamond plates available. When I think there could be edge damage from lateral forces.
I think its toughness will allow thin edge geometry, and that, combined with hard enough heat treat, will result in good edge retention. So we have good edge retention, toughness and ease of sharpening.
 
golddots said:
I know this is related. I’ve been researching edge retention/strength VS toughness. I have a pm3 in maxamet and a PM2 in cruwear. I understand that the maxamet has much better edge retention and the cruwear is more tough or pliable and less likely to chip.
Can someone give me some real world scenarios where you would USE one over the other? I’m what cases would maxamet “toughness” be adequate? When would you use the cruwear instead? What if one were crazy enough to carry BOTH lol?
Click to expand...
Let's say you are cutting vigorously when you dont notice a nail or metal staples (happened to me before) embedded in the material. Steels like 20CV will chip/microchip on you very fast, while CRUWEAR, 1095 etc will stay intact maybe bruise slightly but not chip/roll.

Let's say you're fooling around doing ninja poses with your knife open (ahem, happened to me as well) and happen to drop the knife on hard concrete floor. A high toughness steel will not chip or roll on you, while something like S110V will most likely break a tip or get a big chip.

What about hardness in steel? Using examples above, steels like 8CR or 440A will most likely roll on you, rendering the edge inoperable. At least with chips you can still sort of knife your way around; we call that edge stability. Harder steels have a higher chance of chipping than rolling. A rolled knife (like a steakhouse restaurant knife lol) is worthless and need honing rod (if light) or sharpen to get the edge back.

Maxamet is actually not bad, toughness is definitely not low like S110V. For a knife like the PM2 or PM3 that is mainly for EDC slicing puncturing tasks, it's perfect; in fact high toughness steels are not really necessary and mainly for gimmicky sprint runs (sorry).

CRUWEAR and ELMAX just happen to be tough AND keep a great edge, closer to S35VN. If you're prone to knifeccidents like dropping, hitting rocks, etc then bring some toughness into the game so you dont cry later. Or just buy 3V and pretend the metal stables aren't there, 3V is beastly.

I think S30V for a standard steel is perfect for these. S45VN in newer releases are good to go as well.

If you read this whole geek-out, congratulations and thanks.

Edit: agree with kobold kobold , CRUWEAR is amongst the most balanced steel. I live near the shore, and would throw in LC200N in there as well. Always my default choices, but if CRUWEAR is too expensive (it usually is), I always default to 3V.
 
golddots said:
I know this is related. I’ve been researching edge retention/strength VS toughness. I have a pm3 in maxamet and a PM2 in cruwear. I understand that the maxamet has much better edge retention and the cruwear is more tough or pliable and less likely to chip.
Can someone give me some real world scenarios where you would USE one over the other? I’m what cases would maxamet “toughness” be adequate? When would you use the cruwear instead? What if one were crazy enough to carry BOTH lol?
Click to expand...

I carried a CPM-Cruwear Military for multiple years. I reground it (thinned the whole blade) and I sharpened it to about 13 degrees per side. Maxamet would likely break in normal use with the geometry pushed that far. I could baton kindling with my reground Cruwear Military.
 
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