Oh look a knifetuber who actually carries and uses knives on a daily basis. Versus recieving a knife from the manufacturer, saying its amazing and it never leaving their pocket or office. Your perspective is always appreciated!
Hi Erica, I absolutely acknowledge respectfully that you carry, use and sharpen the knives that you review. For me you are THE reference and THE expert concerning blade geometry and steels.
Just got back from visiting my brother and his family, and was glad to see this review pop up. I was looking forward to seeing this, and you did not disappoint! Cheers, E!🤟
Awesome review as always. You’re a professional, in that you actually put the knife through its paces and didn’t baby it, and at the same time demonstrated no favoritism towards anything or anybody! Just pure great positive and constru!ctive feedback. Thank you.
Thanks for sharing about your experiences with Maxament and explaining how replacing the factory edge makes a huge difference in the performance; I agree with that 100% 👍Take care and Cheers!
Great video - I’m as interested in sharpening as I am in new knives designs and performances. I must confess that I haven’t had much experience with the exotic steels, but even as a beginner, this is the best hobby I’ve ever had. Thanks, Erica for another entertaining and informative video..!! 👍
Erica really good video. I’ve experienced the same thing with maxamet in that if you sharpen it to a higher grit level,the front end sharpness doesn’t last as long. Thanks for sharing and I hope you and your pups have a great day!!
I commented on one of your first vids as you were beginning the test of this knife. I bought one at about the same time and was comparing it to my normal work edc, a Native 5 in Rex45. In the end, I have felt exactly the same. So it's back to my Rex. I have a Stretch 2 in K390, and will grab a Native 5 in that if they ever show up. :) The Stretch is a great knife for outside edc, but just too big for my work usage. I could go on and on. Your vids are great! Keep 'em coming!
A no bs common sense conclusion to your month of testing and use. Hope all the pups are fine too. Had a Kershaw Livewire (20cv) in the pocket yesterday.
Hey Erica, got this knife today along with some others. Just wanted to comment down here to help out the algorithm somehow! Love the videos always come to you and see how much of a beating it can take before I bring it to work
Good luck burning a Maxamet edge.👍🏻 not easy too grind. Great shit! Just one today off EBay, my first Maxamet Native. The only steels I don’t have on a Native is lc200n,4v and s35vn. Great model. When you finally use a serrated Spyderco knife,k390 or Magnacut a review would definitely be interesting 😊😉
@@ericasedcmake sure it’s really thin cowhide to make it as stiff as possible. I ended up having a friend thin out some pieces to make for more consistency.
@@just9911 I do the same. Nearly paper thin veg tanned steerhide or a hard rolled veg tanned horsehide bonded to a flat, hard wood or thick MDF makes a finished surface as hard as Masonite.
I agree on the 600 grit on many steels, so many times I have gone towards a polish and felt my edge was better just a bit toothy for the materials I use them for.
Love you Will eventually break down and buy a Spyderco but not in an exotic steel just a blade longer than 3” and better than S30VN since I already have a Mini Griptillian that I edc So love the review lots and you lots more
I like steels that are a little more balanced. Some toughness and edge stability is well worth giving up a little edge retention for. K390 in a Stretch 2 has been one of my favorites. Cruwear is another favorite, I'll be making a few fixed blades in it soon. For the past 2 weeks I have been testing a Vosteed Nightshade in Elmax and it is looking very good so far. I think they run it a point or two harder then typical. It's thin and very slicy with very good edge retention and toughness.
So much great info in this video Erica!! You really know what you’re talking about! I definitely like a knife with good toughness so maxamet probably wouldn’t be the steel for me 🤣 I would totally hit staples and all types of things I shouldn’t with the way I use my knives! Haha I love a good patina too!
9:16 I believe the reason that it went “dull” so fast is because the substrate is what was doing the actual cutting. Which is way softer than the large vanadium carbides.
Great review. Even though I have no personal experience with it I agree that Maxamet is probably not a good option for beginners. Same I’d say would be with S110V or M4. If I had a need for the Native 5 I’d get one, however I think I did talk my dad into getting one since he’s looking. Of course he wants the S90V/carbon fiber one😂.
You mentioned s90v and that is super sweet! I have been searching your channel for content on it and haven’t found much beyond an initial impressions video on it for a native and bugout. And also a cutting carrots video, nice one actually! How did you feel those performed and compared. I notice neither is mentioned in those steels in more recent videos and see mostly the ranger green s30v or the m4 bugout. For the native, there is a new flavor is test all the time, so I get that one! Was Benchmade’s s90v underwhelming?
I chipped my para3 Maxamet taking the staples out of pay stubs. Not horrible but had too sharpen it. Also cruwear on a pm2 I was yanking on a cable I didn’t know there was metal in it and it rolled just a tad. It almost Stropped out. Cruwear is tough. Great steel.
You want a balance, for general use. Maxamet is not balanced. It has probably the highest edge retention of any knife steel, but it is not very tough. Not tough at all. Maxamet is for slicing tomatoes and opening packages, if you are careful to avoid staples! Magnacut or Rex 45 (and any of quite a few steels) have a bit less edge retention, but quite a bit more toughness. You can’t have high levels of both, but you can have a good compromise between those qualities, which could be considered extremes on the same continuum.
I’m always wondering how much it will take to damage my blades, but I want to find out without damaging them, if possible! Therefore, I like to hear about other people breaking THEIR blades! Seriously, I’d like to see a good study of what it takes to break various blade steels, including blades, heat-treated as blades. That would give me a better idea of how I can, or should not treat them.
I was a huge benchmade fanboy but I’ve discovered that Spyderco is better. I’ve just gotten into Spyderco so I was just wondering if you have any other recommendations?
K390 is the best steel imo. Do a forced patina right off the bat, though. Or a good rust inhibitor spray. I forced with boiling vinegar, and then cut a lemon after to smooth patina out, then Ballistal or food grade super lube. Delica 4 k390 is my favorite knife.
Good summary and conclusions. Like your channel format. You are unrelenting in your fault finding, excellent analysis, lots of knowledge. For me, a EDC knife is primarily for cutting, so selecting a cutter with a beneficial secondary quality is desired if needed. That's why Magnacut doesn't cut it for EDC, toughness and stainlessness is it's primary qualities, and edge retention is distant third. If you want a tough knife, then choose 3v, stainless LC200N, or Vanax. EDC cutter for me, not jack if all trades and master of none. BBB has a video on his channel called "Maxamet sharpening explained" that goes through sharpenibg a Maxamet knife that a costomer couldn't handle. Saw another video of yours where you pulled the burr off the blade like a string 《cringe》. Grind off the burr, flaking it off damages it.
@@ericasedc the reason I’m asking my oldest son that’s 28 years old was in the Marines and a friend of his gave him a strider SMF in CTS-XHP that he got from Malmstrom AFB that he then gifted to me
Can you believe I still have a factory edge on my PM2? I have only stropped it. It’s just now needing a touch up or sharpening. It’s still sharp but just not that crispy aggressive sharpness I like.
@@ericasedc it really is. I’ve cut zip ties, wires, cardboard, rubber hoses and God knows what else with it. I strop it and it comes right back screaming till just recently.
I'm an average user and this steel sounds like a pain in the butt. You'd have to spend a ton just to get the effer sharpened. S90v and S110v are chippy enough already. Frankly I prefer midrange steels or carbon steels that I can sharpen relatively easily.
Thank you for another great review. As a novice I will avoid this steel. You have saved me time, frustration, and money. Nice to see the Marathon on your wrist. I own one in coyote tan. Cool watch.
@@ericasedc it would be a honor, if every low Cr knife blade of yours has this unique finish on it (dissolve it 1:10 in water or so, slows the process for more control, polished blades are worth the afford, prepare for honing afterwards)
I think Gabe actually tried that! It didn't work out great; probably because the method actually depends on deforming the very edge from one side back to center, so it needs a tough/ductile steel.
@@knickly I keep hearing different ideas on what it actually does. The “micro serrations” things doesn’t make much sense based on the edge photos I’ve seen as well as what I can see through a magnifier on my own knives (not my equipment, but I have had a friend do random testing on some of my shit including photos of the edges). I kinda think it has to be some sort of deliberate burr formation where it’s stout enough not to break off. I’ve only messed around a little with it. For the most part I just go into the 600-800 grit range and be done with it, regardless of the steel.
@@just9911 agreed, I don't think the microserration concept is valid. Like you said, it seems there's a thick strong burr, then some abrasion is done behind the burr to form a small hollow, then the burr is pushed back. Presumably the apex width grows slower as fast as the wedge wears back; perhaps also the stress field inside the edge is different, leading to less failure at the edge.
Expert level comment. No. Super expert level. No. Insane insight due to expert level knowledge and super deep knowledge based on handling and hands on experience. This is a golden piece of a review. Cudos!
Honestly I wouldn't bother with the Precision Adjust. I have one and don't like how much it moves and flexes, and it doesn't do low angles. And it's way more tedious than freehand.
I just despise that type of scale though. It looks like something out of a cereal box. I do like Natives though. The fluted titanium version is a work of art.
So basically, you buy k390 or vanadis 8 …don’t buy maxamet because it’s really not a good tool steel… as a person who used knives for hundreds of different tasks… like my other tools… it has to be tough… if not save maxamet for paper / string cutting machines not knives, unless you want a show piece. My dad (God rest his soul) worked for a metal heat treatment company and always said ..metal that has to hard Rockwell rating is too brittle for tools. His favorite knife was the Victorinox small Swiss army knife… hell, he processed a 180 lbs Buck with it, just to prove how good it was. That’s a 4116 steel knife too… low Rockwell.
