How to Sharpen Maxamet

[Deadboxhero]

This is how I like to Sharpen Maxamet for customers.


This particular knife was thought to have a heat treatment issues since another sharpener could not sharpen it.

[bearfacedkiller]

Good stuff brother!

[francoiski]

i know where to send mine now :)

[Deadboxhero]

Thanks boys, here's the set up







The "beige" coloered stone is a prototype CBN Vitrified bond waterstone made for me that I use to "hog off" metal, then refined on the "burnt orange" colored 800 grit Naniwa diamond waterstone and finished on a 1 micron diamond strop.




I have alot of experience Sharpening Maxamet, you can see my knife on the bottom has been sharpened away from all the hard testing and sharpening over the past 6 Months.

I prefer the 800 grit finish the most.
Great blend of push cutting precision and toothy bite.




This 800 finish can still treetop, and still has a mirror to the edge, of course not as bright of a mirror as a higher grit nor would I want to shave my neck with this finish since it would not be as comfortable as a higher polish.l, conversely, a higher polish looses the bite faster on actually being a useful utility tool; cutting boxs, cutting plastic, twin, rope etc




I feel this is the best edge, a blend of both.



I also have a Naniwa 3k diamond, this stone definitely increases the edge precision but reduces the endurance on cardboard. I don't mind it on my personal knife since I can bring the edge back fast when the crispness drops.

[Pelagic]

Excellent technique. You put the scratch pattern going from tip/spine to tang/edge, increasing slicing performance on pull slicing. This is often overlooked. Perfect!

[Bloke]

Great stuff Shaun! :)

Always enjoy watching freehanders sharpen. :cool:

[ABX2011]

Wow, sharpening away a Maxamet blade!!?? You must love sharpening.

[Deadboxhero]

Wow, sharpening away a Maxamet blade!!?? You must love sharpening.

Yes, but probably more just plain curious

We forget that Maxamet is a very rare steel and very unique.

Knives at 68hrc at this carbide volume are very uncommon and the misinformation being spread by people that don't know is rampant.

So it's nice to see what it can and can't do with empirical evidence, unfortunately that means my blade gets worn away quicker.

However, now I know the limits, pros and cons of Maxamet for Use and Sharpening.

[npad69]

excellent sharpening videos shawn!
i just cringe whenever some "professional" sharpeners blame the steel on YT just because they couldn't sharpen it properly.
good to have you and michael christy showing how its done.

[Pelagic]

excellent sharpening videos shawn!
i just cringe whenever some "professional" sharpeners blame the steel on YT just because they couldn't sharpen it properly.
good to have you and michael christy showing how its done.

Same here! I think they just don't have any patience. Patience can mean more than skill when dealing with these high carbide steels, and with diamond I dont even feel it takes very long. I also love his and Michael Christy's vids! Very concise, no nonsense!

[abbazaba]

Nice touch with the Spyderco shirt!

[Deadboxhero]

I've been told by some that Maxamet doesn't form a burr.

It does, here are pictures.

[jpm2]

It forms less of a burr and cleans up easier than most of my knife blades.

[The Meat man]

I've had burrs develop on my N5 Maxamet too.

[Pelagic]

What steel doesn't form a burr?

I know lower chromium tool steels are more prone to burr formation and m390/20cv/204p form much less of a burr, and in a perfect world you would form no burr at all, but I've never encountered a steel that doesn't form one once you've apex'd and give a few extra strokes.

[bearfacedkiller]

I find that the higher the hardness of a steel the more it resists bur formation and the easier it is to debur. This has been my experience with Maxamet.

[ZrowsN1s]

Almost got yourself a Wharncliffe Manix there DBH :D

[Deadboxhero]

Almost got yourself a Wharncliffe Manix there DBH :D

I'm working on it

[JD Spydo]

Folks we need to face the hard fact we have a huge number of newer/better blade steels that have hit the market and for the most part these newer/better blade steels are catapulting our hobby and our hard use hardware to a completely higher plateau. We are at the stage to where if you don't have a good selection of "DIAMOND" sharpening tools and also some CBN sharpening tools you are more than likely just going to be banging your head against the wall if you don't opt for newer/better sharpening tools. As much as I love all my Spyderco ceramic sharpening tools I must admit that they are going to play less of a role in obtaining desired edges as time goes on. But actually that's fantastic news in many respects because as important as my knives are in my everyday duties I actually feel priveledged that we are in that new era of blade steels.

Even with my M390 Military model ( which is old news at this stage of the game) that became my main EDC about 2 years ago also requires diamond tools to obtain the desired results. I think it's really high time that Spyderco themselves look into making more sharpening tools with CBN and diamond. OH I still believe that their great ceramic sharpening tools will still play a huge role in overall knife maintenance>> but we need to face the hard facts that we are indeed in a new era for blade steels and we are just going to have to adjust accordingly.

Actually other than having to buy new sharpening tools I truly feel priviledged to be alive at this time. We are truly seeing our hobbies and interests taken to a much higher level than we would have predicted just a few short years ago. But I still like blade steel better than I do ceramic blades and I plan on using steel blades for the immediate future anyway.

[Pelagic]

I think it's really high time that Spyderco themselves look into making more sharpening tools with CBN and diamond.

Agreed, although I realize they may not have the means currently to make this a worthy business venture for whatever reason. It certainly makes sense that an opportunity would exist. Spyderco offers a larger variety of exotic/carbide rich steels than any other company (by far). I know this has led to a bump in sales for companies like DMT.