Z-Max feedback. How is yours performing?

A place to share your experience with our Mule Team knives.
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bbturbodad
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Re: Z-Max feedback. How is yours performing?

#21

Post by bbturbodad »

Cut up a bunch of cardboard this afternoon until it wouldn't cleanly cut paper.
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Then gave it a full sharpening.

I started with a 150 grit diamond stone but the edge had what I think I've heard referred to as 'belt chatter' that I needed to drop down to 80 grit to remove. After the 80 I went back to the 150 and then finished it with what surprisingly turned out to be a semi polished 800 grit edge.
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Pretty happy with the way it sharpened and look forward to seeing how it holds up this week.
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-Turbo
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Mushroom
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Re: Z-Max feedback. How is yours performing?

#22

Post by Mushroom »

Unfortunately, mine arrived warped. It is heading back to Spyderco.

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-Nick :bug-red
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archangel
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Re: Z-Max feedback. How is yours performing?

#23

Post by archangel »

Sorry Nick, that is unfortunate... :(
Michael
48 Spydies, 44 different models, 43 different steels
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Grail knife, still to be acquired: original Tuff by Ed Schempp Feel free to help me find one at a reasonable price...
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VooDooChild
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Re: Z-Max feedback. How is yours performing?

#24

Post by VooDooChild »

Ahhh!
So I got sick a day after recieving mine and havent done anything with it at all. Still no handle so its just been sitting in my closet.

But this post,
Mushroom wrote: Unfortunately, mine arrived warped. It is heading back to Spyderco.
...
Made me pull it out just to check it.

Mine is warped in the handle as well. :mad:

I can live with it. Theres some flex in the handle so if your scales are attatched tightly the handle will "straighten out".

I wont send it back unless spyderco asks for it.

Still though I would obviously prefer it not be warped.
"Rome's greatest contribution to mathematics was the killing of Archimedes."
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bbturbodad
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Re: Z-Max feedback. How is yours performing?

#25

Post by bbturbodad »

VooDooChild wrote:
Thu Jun 17, 2021 4:05 pm
Ahhh!
So I got sick a day after recieving mine and havent done anything with it at all. Still no handle so its just been sitting in my closet.

But this post,
Mushroom wrote: Unfortunately, mine arrived warped. It is heading back to Spyderco.
...
Made me pull it out just to check it.

Mine is warped in the handle as well. :mad:

I can live with it. Theres some flex in the handle so if your scales are attatched tightly the handle will "straighten out".

I wont send it back unless spyderco asks for it.

Still though I would obviously prefer it not be warped.
I just checked mine, it's warped too...
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Also did a little corrosion testing...left the blade in steak juice for 30 mins last night.
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Just a light patina on the blade and little rust under the scales after 20 hours. Not bad for tool steel.
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-Turbo
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WilliamMunny
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Re: Z-Max feedback. How is yours performing?

#26

Post by WilliamMunny »

So far I am pretty happy with the steel. It came very sharp with what might be a 17 deg angle on it. No problem pushing though 1/4” plywood and could still cut Paracord with ease.

I did notice it really attracts fingerprints and smudges. Not sure if it’s normal or the steel have it low chromium.
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vanka
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Re: Z-Max feedback. How is yours performing?

#27

Post by vanka »

Just got mine from the post office. I missed it yesterday. Mine looks warped a little, but it's not a problem. Also it is marked with red on the spine and the tip is little burned. I'm really busy these days so I can't really say when will I be able to test and sharpen. Just managed to put the scales on and it cuts newspaper. 😁
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The Meat man
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Re: Z-Max feedback. How is yours performing?

#28

Post by The Meat man »

If mine is warped I haven't noticed. But it did come with a very slightly discolored tip, like yours, vanka.

Been carrying and using it at work the last few days. I have cut maybe 20 feet of single-ply cardboard, carved a bunch on some hard wood, and also cut maybe 15 feet worth of very dense thick paperboard used for packaging sheets of steel and aluminum.

I just checked and it still slices phonebook paper. This is the fresh untouched factory edge. No microchips.

I've done some food prep also, cutting up cooked chicken, kiwi, tomato...I washed the blade immediately afterward (as I would any steel) and so far I can't discern any patina or staining going on.
- Connor

"What is a man profited, if he shall gain the whole world, and lose his own soul?"
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Re: Z-Max feedback. How is yours performing?

#29

Post by The Meat man »

I spent some time tonight giving the Z-Max some work. This is a board of very dry seasoned oak.

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Carved on it for maybe 15+ minutes, very much white-knuckling it and putting through a lot of force. My hand was almost sore by the time I was done. The wood was dry almost to the point of being brittle.

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I carved the one end more or less into a point. That's a lot of wood removal. The edge looked fine; I couldn't see any damage at all. Felt about the same in sharpness.

I wondered how well it would hold up with chopping.

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Spent maybe 10 minutes at this.

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The edge still looked fine and felt pretty sharp. Afterward when I went back inside I tested it on some copy paper. Sliced through that fine, very aggressive, with a slight hiccup (and only one) about midway up the blade. I can see the microchip. Phonebook paper, not super great, I can get it to slice only about 1 out of five attempts. This is still on the factory edge.
- Connor

"What is a man profited, if he shall gain the whole world, and lose his own soul?"
The Meat man
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Re: Z-Max feedback. How is yours performing?

#30

Post by The Meat man »

Just finished a little stropping to see how the edge would come back. Maybe 10 minutes. I began with the 14 micron diamond-on-basswood strop and finished with some 4 micron CBN on leather. It is back to slicing phonebook paper.
- Connor

"What is a man profited, if he shall gain the whole world, and lose his own soul?"
SteveMidwest
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Re: Z-Max feedback. How is yours performing?

#31

Post by SteveMidwest »

bbturbodad wrote:
Sat Jun 12, 2021 9:53 pm
I just gave mine a light touch up when it arrived but I need to give it a full sharpening to compare it to my other Mules. The edge is holding up nicely after breaking down several large boxes and some light food prep on a wood cutting board but my PMA11 Mule that hasn't been sharpened in well over 6 months is easily out performing it (cutting with less resistance) when performing the same tasks back to back.

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I am with you. The PMA11 Mule is a edge retention Beast! :spyder:

I did not get the Maxamet Mule, but I do have all of the other high edge retention steel Mules in hand, and have given all but the Z-Max (not enough time yet) a good workout. The PMA11 Mule has easily given me the best edge retention. More so than even the K390 Mule. Plus, it's not as rust-prone as the K390 has been for me.

I do expect though, that the Z-Max will outpace it. Once the factory edge has been refined.

Someday, I will own a Maxamet Mule as well. I'm waiting to finish up on my house payments though first :D
steelbuckeye
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Re: Z-Max feedback. How is yours performing?

#32

Post by steelbuckeye »

Interesting to see a couple people with a bowed knife. I struggled mightily to get my scales on and just figured it was halperns scales being not quite perfect, but now I’m thinking it may have been the knife?

Either way, I don’t really want to fight that battle again so I’ll be leaving the scales on for a while and keeping this thing!

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The Meat man
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Re: Z-Max feedback. How is yours performing?

#33

Post by The Meat man »

This afternoon I took the Mule down for a first sharpening. Using my WE sharpener, I went from 200 grit to 1000 grit diamond stones, then finished with some very light passes on a 0.5 micron CBN leather strop.

The factory edge grind was a little uneven but I established the new bevel at 16 dps. The edge came up quite nicely and is tree-topping, hair-whittling sharp.

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Later on I used it to chop up a bunch of strawberries on a plastic cutting board. No edge damage or edge wear (obviously), but I noticed it's got a start on a patina now. Hard to capture in a photo:

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- Connor

"What is a man profited, if he shall gain the whole world, and lose his own soul?"
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FullScaler
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Re: Z-Max feedback. How is yours performing?

#34

Post by FullScaler »

Mine is still sitting in its box on a shelf and I am really itching to get it out to test a bit. I am thinking this one will get some stone work added to the scales but for now it is just in the planning and dreaming stage.
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Re: Z-Max feedback. How is yours performing?

#35

Post by The Meat man »

This evening, the Z-Max Mule was pressed into steak-knife duty. Spent maybe 15 to 20 minutes covered in steak juice, salt, and pepper. Feels similar to Maxamet, maybe a tad bit more resistant to staining.
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- Connor

"What is a man profited, if he shall gain the whole world, and lose his own soul?"
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Re: Z-Max feedback. How is yours performing?

#36

Post by TkoK83Spy »

Well done Connor! I didn't know you grabbed one of these, but can always count on a thorough review from you :cool:
15 :bug-red 's in 10 different steels
1 - Bradford Guardian 3 / Vanadis 4E Wharnie
1 - Monterey Bay Knives Slayback Flipper / ZDP 189
1 - CRK Small Sebenza 31/Macassar Ebony Inlays
1 - CRK Large Inkosi Insingo/ Black Micarta Inlays
1 - CRK Small Sebenza 31 Insingo/Magnacut

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Re: Z-Max feedback. How is yours performing?

#37

Post by The Meat man »

70 cuts through this thick plastic banding, still shaving sharp with no readily apparent edge wear or damage.

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- Connor

"What is a man profited, if he shall gain the whole world, and lose his own soul?"
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bbturbodad
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Re: Z-Max feedback. How is yours performing?

#38

Post by bbturbodad »

I used mine for various tasks over the weekend including food prep, carving into random wood on a hike, and cutting up cardboard. Everything seemed to take more effort when compared back to back with my PD1 and PMA11 Mules. All the knives were sharp but the Z-MAX Mule wasn't slicing as easily through any of the stuff I was cutting so I measured the BTE thickness on the 3 knives.

PD1 and PMA11 Mules averaged ~.020"
Z-MAX Mule ranged from .024" to .027"

I thought I might have put a more acute edge on the Z-MAX than the others, and yes there is a portion near the heel on the show side I messed up (I didn't include that area in my measurements), all three were pretty much a perfect hit when checked on the Sharpmaker in the 30 degree slots.

If anyone else has compared their Z-MAX Mule to other Mules head to head I'm curious to hear how yours feels cutting the same materials back to back with other Mules.
-Turbo
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bbturbodad
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Re: Z-Max feedback. How is yours performing?

#39

Post by bbturbodad »

Not something I'd normally do but I was curious...
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Forgot to post the comparison.
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Last edited by bbturbodad on Mon Jun 21, 2021 8:20 pm, edited 1 time in total.
-Turbo
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Re: Z-Max feedback. How is yours performing?

#40

Post by TkoK83Spy »

I like seeing you guys giving these some real use, trying some wild things as well. Pains me when I see people saying that want one just for food prep. I feel that's not the purpose of a Mule!
15 :bug-red 's in 10 different steels
1 - Bradford Guardian 3 / Vanadis 4E Wharnie
1 - Monterey Bay Knives Slayback Flipper / ZDP 189
1 - CRK Small Sebenza 31/Macassar Ebony Inlays
1 - CRK Large Inkosi Insingo/ Black Micarta Inlays
1 - CRK Small Sebenza 31 Insingo/Magnacut

-Rick
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