Chipped Some Rex 45, here it is at 30x and 60x.

[kennethsime]

The other day I was opening some packages and ended cutting through metal wire that I thought was plastic wire (think: bread bag ties, only reinforced with metal). Ended up chipping my new Rex45 Para 3 LW in three places.

As it so happens, I was inspired by the Loupe thread and ended up purchasing a 30x/60x loupe with a little LED for about $10. Pretty cool to see the edge up close! For reference, it's the factory edge, and was used pretty lightly for about a week before this.

I thought I'd share some pics of the damage for those of you who haven't used a loupe before.

Here it is at 30x:


And again at 60x:


There's one smaller area of damage closer to the tip. None of it really doesn't get in the way too much, so I may hold off on fixing the damage until the rest of the edge dulls a bit. Has anyone taken off this much material from a Rex45 blade with only the brown stones?

[Wartstein]

The other day I was opening some packages and ended cutting through metal wire that I thought was plastic wire (think: bread bag ties, only reinforced with metal). Ended up chipping my new Rex45 Para 3 LW in three places.

As it so happens, I was inspired by the Loupe thread and ended up purchasing a 30x/60x loupe with a little LED for about $10. Pretty cool to see the edge up close! For reference, it's the factory edge, and was used pretty lightly for about a week before this.

I thought I'd share some pics of the damage for those of you who haven't used a loupe before.

....

Not bad for such a cheao loupe!

/ In your experience: Do you think that most steels would have chipped under that circumstances (don´t know which kind of metal wire you were cutting accidently)

[JuPaul]

It's hard to say from only pics, but those look like rolls to me. Maybe I'm wrong, but there seems to be a tiny shadow where the metal is rolled up rather than chipped off. Not sure it'll make much difference when it comes to repairing the damage, but it is interesting to note about rex45 still being tough rather than brittle at such high hardness.

[Evil D]

Little tip, if your phone camera can do macro shots, put your loupe up to the camera lense and you should be able to get some really high focus pics that way.

[Jazz]

Looks like a factory edge roll to me.

[wrdwrght]

Does seem like a roll to me, and so I would hope. I’m partial to toughness.

[DOUBLE D]

Speaking of loupe's, what would you guys recommend for a cheaper offering?. There are so many cheap ones on eBay it's hard to know where to start

[JMM]

I would classify that as a roll, as in rock-n-, or dinner-

Seriously though, I would concur with the ^ aforementioned observations.... In all honesty I have not ever seen Rex45 roll quite like that, and I have put a ton of miles on my Rex45 Para3 from the first sprint run...

[JMM]

Speaking of loupe's, what would you guys recommend for a cheaper offering?. There are so many cheap ones on eBay it's hard to know where to start

I don't buy much off of Amazon, but this loupe is 30x & 60x, and has an LED light, it's an amazing value for $8.99 w/free S&H...

https://www.amazon.com/gp/product/B078N ... UTF8&psc=1

[DOUBLE D]

Speaking of loupe's, what would you guys recommend for a cheaper offering?. There are so many cheap ones on eBay it's hard to know where to start

I don't buy much off of Amazon, but this loupe is 30x & 60x, and has an LED light, it's an amazing value for $8.99 w/free S&H...

https://www.amazon.com/gp/product/B078N ... UTF8&psc=1

You've purchased this one and liked it then?

[JuPaul]

Speaking of loupe's, what would you guys recommend for a cheaper offering?. There are so many cheap ones on eBay it's hard to know where to start

I don't buy much off of Amazon, but this loupe is 30x & 60x, and has an LED light, it's an amazing value for $8.99 w/free S&H...

https://www.amazon.com/gp/product/B078N ... UTF8&psc=1

You've purchased this one and liked it then?

That's the same one I have (mine is white, but same model). It's worked great for me, although I don't have any basis for comparison with more expensive ones. I actually bought a second one to check any new ball pythons we bring in for mites.

[JMM]

Speaking of loupe's, what would you guys recommend for a cheaper offering?. There are so many cheap ones on eBay it's hard to know where to start

I don't buy much off of Amazon, but this loupe is 30x & 60x, and has an LED light, it's an amazing value for $8.99 w/free S&H...

https://www.amazon.com/gp/product/B078N ... UTF8&psc=1

You've purchased this one and liked it then?

Yep, I own it and love it, for the money I can't imagine finding anything better.

[DOUBLE D]

Speaking of loupe's, what would you guys recommend for a cheaper offering?. There are so many cheap ones on eBay it's hard to know where to start

I don't buy much off of Amazon, but this loupe is 30x & 60x, and has an LED light, it's an amazing value for $8.99 w/free S&H...

https://www.amazon.com/gp/product/B078N ... UTF8&psc=1

You've purchased this one and liked it then?

Yep, I own it and love it, for the money I can't imagine finding anything better.

Awesome. Thank you very much for the recommendation

[bearfacedkiller]

Looks mild. That will sharpen out pretty quick.

[Woodpuppy]

I did something similar to my para 3 in M4; I was cutting up one of those plastic zippered bags that a quilt came packaged in. I noticed the wire bead was surprisingly thick. After I cut through it. Big notch in the blade. It took more than one session to sharpen it out! Iirc, I did that job with cbn rods, not the medium ceramic rods.

[jpm2]

I sharpen nicks like that out of my blades all the time, including rex45. Rex is among the most damage resistant I've used. Damage to me can be chip/roll/dulling... whatever requires sharpening.

[SpyderGrill]

Speaking of loupe's, what would you guys recommend for a cheaper offering?. There are so many cheap ones on eBay it's hard to know where to start

I don't buy much off of Amazon, but this loupe is 30x & 60x, and has an LED light, it's an amazing value for $8.99 w/free S&H...

https://www.amazon.com/gp/product/B078N ... UTF8&psc=1

Thanks for the recommendation, I just ordered one myself. These eyes are getting worse and the app on my phone doesnt work the best.

[curlyhairedboy]

Any type of wire can wind up pretty edge damaging depending on how it is cut. Place it on a mat and hammer the blade through it? Likely no damage. Slice it? Probably some damage.

[JMM]

Speaking of loupe's, what would you guys recommend for a cheaper offering?. There are so many cheap ones on eBay it's hard to know where to start

I don't buy much off of Amazon, but this loupe is 30x & 60x, and has an LED light, it's an amazing value for $8.99 w/free S&H...

https://www.amazon.com/gp/product/B078N ... UTF8&psc=1

Thanks for the recommendation, I just ordered one myself. These eyes are getting worse and the app on my phone doesnt work the best.

Yeah man you're welcome -- I really wish I had bought one years ago, I think anyone that's a knife and/or steel person, especially if you like to do your own sharpening than you need to drop a few bucks to see what you've been missing... It makes the basic magnifying glass I've been using forever seem downright silly... LMK your thoughts when you get it.

Cheers,

John

[RustyIron]

As it so happens, I was inspired by the Loupe thread and ended up purchasing a 30x/60x loupe with a little LED for about $10. Pretty cool to see the edge up close! For reference, it's the factory edge, and was used pretty lightly for about a week before this.

Nice pic, Ken.
Your observations are not substantially different than my own. I've got two REX 45 blades, and they are my current favorites. On the most recent blade, I had the presence of mind to examine it under magnification the minute I took it out of the box. It was really sharp, usably sharp, and I'm the guy who generally sharpens a knife within minutes of when the UPS guy delivers it. The knife had microscopic chips from the factory. To be honest, I don't think I've really examined a factory edge this closely, so I've got nothing to compare it to.

I sharpen the REX 45 pretty sharp. After a bit of use, the edge feels different, but is still very sharp. Examination shows microscopic chipping. I never use it so long as to let it go dull, so touching up the edge is really quick. I try not to be OCD about an EDC knife. When I'm done with this one, it's crazy sharp, but a nick or two might survive. It might "catch" while slicing paper, but it's not so bad that I'd waste the steel to polish out every last nick.