Spyderco knives with Maxamet

R

Roger Lyons

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Jul 9, 2019
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Hello out there. Never been on a forum before, so bear with me. I contacted Spyderco by email and by phone. The company statement is that they don't give out information on the blade hardness of their knives. This is a surprise to me. Maxamet steel specs give a hardness range from 64rc to 71rc. I have a Dragonfly in ZDP-189. It checks out at 64rc, and is does very well. If anyone has any information on the Maxamet rockwell on Spyderco knives it would be appreciated. Thanks
 
Heard of an older maxamet pm 2 tested at 69, newer pm2 at 68+ ish. And a manix a 69 and 68 ish. Anything newer is likely around 68. But hey I’m just a dude that read some things, haven’t tested mine. Anyway hope this helps.
 
Maxamet is intriguing stuff, would like to hear more from actual users. There have been some comparisons with other steels regarding edge retention, corrosion resistance, but nothing definitive so far. Spyderco is the only company I am aware of that is using Maxamet.
 
Alberta Ed said:
Maxamet is intriguing stuff, would like to hear more from actual users. There have been some comparisons with other steels regarding edge retention, corrosion resistance, but nothing definitive so far. Spyderco is the only company I am aware of that is using Maxamet.
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Thanks, much appreciated
 
Alberta Ed said:
Maxamet is intriguing stuff, would like to hear more from actual users. There have been some comparisons with other steels regarding edge retention, corrosion resistance, but nothing definitive so far. Spyderco is the only company I am aware of that is using Maxamet.
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I have a Native 5 in Maxamet, and I really like it. I have only used it so far breaking down cardboard, and it has kept up with and surpassed most of my CPM knives - 3V, S30V, and S35V, but not CPM 10V, that steel still has no peer in my collection. I will hopefully get around to testing it with some rope, the cardboard cutting depends a lot on the geometry of the blade, and the Native is a little thicker than some of my other knives.

I cut about 50 ft. or so in one session, and it still tree topped my arm hair, and a quick strop brought it back to full sharpness. Not very scientific, but so far, I'm pretty impressed with this steel.
 
sodak said:
I have a Native 5 in Maxamet, and I really like it. I have only used it so far breaking down cardboard, and it has kept up with and surpassed most of my CPM knives - 3V, S30V, and S35V, but not CPM 10V, that steel still has no peer in my collection. I will hopefully get around to testing it with some rope, the cardboard cutting depends a lot on the geometry of the blade, and the Native is a little thicker than some of my other knives.

I cut about 50 ft. or so in one session, and it still tree topped my arm hair, and a quick strop brought it back to full sharpness. Not very scientific, but so far, I'm pretty impressed with this steel.
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Good to hear of some practical field use of Maxamet. Have you done any sharpening besides stropping?
 
ZDP is nice. Maxamet has better edge retention. Also appears to be more brittle and is harder to sharpen.

I've sharpened Maxamet quite a bit and reprofiled 3 edges. I used diamond matrix stones. No issues at all. I'm sure some others (silicon carbide, cbn, etc.) are fine as well. I think it would be tedious with softer stones and I'm not sure what kind of edge you'd get.

Some experts have posted on how to best sharpen it. Search should find them.
 
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I reprofiled my Dragonfly 2 in ZDP with standard stones (Shrade sharpening kit) and it's a royal pain. Actually took hours. I'll be buying a KME sharpening set before I have to sharpen it again.
 
Keep in mind that sharpening a steel like ZDP is more about the stones than the sharpener. You might want to check what stones you're getting with the KME vs. what the Shrade has. It may not be significantly different. I re-profiled a ZDP stretch with aluminum oxide stones. I took quite a while. I would not choose to do that again.
 
David Richardson said:
Keep in mind that sharpening a steel like ZDP is more about the stones than the sharpener. You might want to check what stones you're getting with the KME vs. what the Shrade has. It may not be significantly different. I re-profiled a ZDP stretch with aluminum oxide stones. I took quite a while. I would not choose to do that again.
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I agree. My Shrade set is standard Aluminium oxide. The basic KME unit comes with four grits of diamond stones. I can make my own glass laps to hold PSA corundum film, so it's the best quality deal for the money. Nick Shabaz ? Did a YouTube review. Seems good. Blade HQ stocks the KME, best deal I've seen yet.
 
Shabazz. Have seen his review. Everybody I know who has the KME likes it. Diamonds should made a huge difference on your ZDP. That stuff gets sticky sharp on my diamond stones.
 
Thanks, sounds good to me. The thing that suprised me was the fact that Spyderco told me that they do not give out information on the hardness of their knives. I inquired by email and by phone. Maybe it's just me but it seemed odd that such a critical factor is either not known to them, or is kept secret. Why not release it?. This can be very important in making a decision. For example plain O1 tool steel at 57 will wear quickly, but is a bit more tough. At 59 has a good balance of hardness and wear resistance. At 63, with proper heat treatment, will hold a surprisingly good edge on a chef's knife for cutting vegetables etc. Although it is brittle and needs too be used accordingly. I'm ranting, sorry about that. It just buggs me that Spyderco won't release their hardness info.
 
My guess is that publishing a number would cause them nothing but grief. If they published 63 for their ZDP and somebody got an HRC test at 60-62 they'd possibly be asking for a new knife. Spyderco could explain all they want that a given knife vary as can a given test but people some people would freak out if they didn't have what they thought was the hardest one.

FYI, my Spyderco ZDP Dragonfly tested at 63.1. I thought I had my Mule tested as well, but apparently not yet.
 
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Check the Cedric and Ada channel on YouTube for some Maxamet cut testing results. Tl;dr: it’s the second best steel he’s tested, as far as edge retention.
 
I have sharpened my Maxamet mule on my WE, using diamond stones and just a touch of micro bevel on ceramic stones. It's was a full reprofile to 18 dps, and was no more effort than any other steel, so my conclusion is that diamonds are the way to go. It's a laser beam now. I have not had any occasion to sharpen my PM2 yet as it remains factory sharp after a couple months of semi-daily use (I'd say I am a light user of any knife so my experience is not terribly helpful).
 
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