A New Member with a LOT of Questions!?

[-Kiku-]

Hi, everyone. I'm new to this forum - just registered today.

Prior to this, I have never owned a knife (hunting, pocket utility, fishing, etc.) in my entire life, kitchen cutlery set notwithstanding. But for reason(s) that still aren't entirely clear to me, I decided a few days ago that I am going to get myself a small knife of 3" blade length or shorter.

The knife I buy will probably never see much heavy use. I might use it occasionally to slice/cut some ropes, cardboard boxes, zip-ties, etc. or for any emergencies that may arise. I am certain I will never use it to carve/chop wood. Whichever knife I ultimately decide on, I would value its edge-retention first for a long period of time/use, toughness & corrosion resistance second. Good aesthetics would be a plus, although the appearance is very much subjective.

So I spent many hours this week browsing online forums, such as this one, to learn as much as I could about knives in general. And as expected of a n00b, I still have many questions to which I do not have good answers. I hope to have them answered here.

So here it goes:

1. Why are knives made out of exotic materials, such as Maxamet, CPM S110V, etc. offered by Spyderco, available only as folding knives? That is to say, why aren't these materials available as fixed-blades? I'm not too keen on having my fingers cut by a pocket knife that decided to fold its blade unintentionally/accidentally.

2. Like jewelry, I like things that are shiny. And a knife would be no exception, even if it'll spend most of its time concealed, either in my purse or elsewhere. So if and when I do get something like a ... Spyderco Para 3 Maxamet/S110V, the first thing I am going to try to do is to mirror-polish the ENTIRE blade, including the edge. And I want to do this entirely by hand even if it means the task will take me all day long. So that means no power tools. Since I've never polished knives before, much less own one, I am unsure how I should proceed at this point. What would be a reasonably cost-effective way to give a beautiful mirror-like surface on the entirety of the blade? Again, this includes the edge and the spine.

3. Do I need a separate kit for sharpening and another kit for polishing? Or is polishing simply the same general process as sharpening but with higher grit-size stones?

4. What is the factory default setting on the edge bevel of Spyderco Para 3 Maxamet? Is it the same as the rest of the Para 3 series? That is, 15 degrees on each side for 30 deg inclusive? I ask because I read somewhere that Maxamet has edge-stability issues at a particularly low angle. If so, I was thinking of possibly going with dual bevel (30/40), or even possibly tri-bevel (30/40/50), depending on the factory setting. Since I can't reliably 'eye-ball' these angles, I'll most likely need a sharpening kit that allows for precise edge bevels. Would something like KME Precision Knife Sharpener System suffice?

Sorry, but I think that was a lot more than just four questions.

I would appreciate some good advice from experienced hobbyists and experts.
Who knows... perhaps I might become a knife hobbyist in a near future! I'll admit that would be an unusual hobby...

[Robbob]

I don't have time to answer in depth right now, but welcome to the forum.

[wrdwrght]

If indeed you’re new (some of your questions/ideas suggest deeper awareness), I would advise baby-steps, grasshopper.

Get a knife before declaring what you‘ll do to it. I suggest starting with steel in the VG10->LC200N->S30V range.

[jdw]

Welcome. There are a lot of friendly and knowledgeable people on this board with a wide breadth of information that they are willing to share. I hope that you enjoy your time here but honestly your questions seem pretty loaded to me.

[Bloke]

Welcome to the Forum, Kiku! :)

Do you by any chance happen to know SpyderEdgeForever?

[-Kiku-]

More questions:

4. Suppose the blade Para 3 isn't exactly centered in the folder/jacket or whatever it's called. What are my options without voiding the warranty? Suppose I decide to center it myself by adjusting the pivoting tension (I saw several videos of this today.). Is that even advisable? I ask this because I read somewhere that any type of maintenance involving tightening/loosening of screws is a VERY BAD idea - something about loctite screws which I didn't quite understand.

5. To be honest, I am not too thrilled about the color selections of G-10 handle on Para 3 series. Is there a vendor that sells brand new handles of different colors and designs for Para 3 series? And does the act of replacing and/or swapping handles void warranty on the knife? (Just occurred to me perhaps I should ask Spyderco tomorrow and inquire about other handle color selections as well as handle swapping service.)

[ABX2011]

Welcome to the forum! Sometimes a bit of research leads to better questions and better responses.

[-Kiku-]

Welcome. There are a lot of friendly and knowledgeable people on this board with a wide breadth of information that they are willing to share. I hope that you enjoy your time here but honestly your questions seem pretty loaded to me.

Which of my questions are loaded? Perhaps I can clarify by breaking them down to simpler questions?

Welcome to the Forum, Kiku! :)

Do you by any chance happen to know SpyderEdgeForever?

Thank you! :). And no, I've never heard of it until you mentioned it just now. I googled "SpyderEdgeForever", thinking it to be some sort of manufacturer's guarantee. Turns out to be a Spyderco forum member's username. Would I be correct to presume SpyderEdgeForever is one of the knife experts here?

[Burton Knut]

Welcome! I’ll give it a go...

1- For your described uses, I’d try to find an early micarta version of the street beat (small fixed blade) or wait for the upcoming Swick. S110V and Maxamet are world class edge holding steals and therefore probably a lot more than any noob should bite off on the first knife.

2- Why?? And double why if you end up with the S110V or Maxamet. I can’t imagine how much effort it would take to get either of those steals to a mirror polish by hand (if you do this, I can safely assume most here would love to know how that goes.) The street beat I suggested has a fairly polished finish from the factory and though not mirrored it’s very shiny.

3- I’ve never heard of a knife polishing “kit” though I’d imagine some really high quality wet/dry abrasives and patience would do, but that is a guess and someone else can probably better answer that line of questions. Again if you go with the S110V or Maxamet I’d bet your looking at several days, if not many many days, of polishing by hand and the grit progression will probably be ridiculous.

4- Not sure about that specific model’s bevels and again for your use I’d think any spyderco will be just fine at 30 degrees without a micro bevel. I have a KME and I love it. I don’t necessarily sweat the angle so much as I try to match the factory angle or adjust in small increments if I want to try tweaking the performance. So far Spyderco’s bevels have been more than satisfactory so I mostly just sharpen rather than reprofiling.

Whatever you decide enjoy the trip down the rabbit hole. I have a feeling with your pre-purchase questions you’ll be tumbling into the abyss just like the majority of folks here.

[JuPaul]

Woa baby, big questions!

Quick answers:

- I don't think Maxamet and s110v are good steels for beginning sharpeners. I think if I'd learned to sharpen on those steels, I probably would've just given up! They're very hard to sharpen, and challenging even on a guided system with diamond stones like a KME. If you won't be using your knife often, then a steel like s30v should hold an edge for you plenty long, and be much easier to sharpen.

- I own a KME and love it. Easy to learn, and plenty of tutorials on youtube.

- If you want to change the finish on your blade, I'd suggest talking to a knife mod professional like WayofKnife or Blades We Love. They can really bling out a knife for you if you want pretty and shiny! Check em out on instagram to see their work. There are also tons of places that offer custom scales and other mods/accessories so you can really personalize your knife.

- Would you prefer a fixed blade, or are you just nervous about the lock on a folding knife failing? Spyderco makes excellent locks, and you'd have to really beat on them to make them fail.

Welcome to the forum! Let us know what you end up getting!

[Doc Dan]

The Para 3 is a great knife but I prefer the svelte Delica. You can get this in all sorts of steels and handle material and colours.

Maxamet and S110v would be hard even for a factory to polish.

You might like the One Eyed Jack as it is gorgeous. Some of the Chaparrals a lovely too.

[Doc Dan]

One option might be to order a Mule in your choice of steel and order the grips and sheath at the same time. You get these from Spyderco.

https://www.spyderco.com/?s=Mule

[JuPaul]

The Para 3 is a great knife but I prefer the svelte Delica. You can get this in all sorts of steels and handle material and colours.

Maxamet and S110v would be hard even for a factory to polish.

You might like the One Eyed Jack as it is gorgeous. Some of the Chaparrals a lovely too.

A stainless steel-handled delica would be very shiny!

[Doc Dan]

The Para 3 is a great knife but I prefer the svelte Delica. You can get this in all sorts of steels and handle material and colours.

Maxamet and S110v would be hard even for a factory to polish.

You might like the One Eyed Jack as it is gorgeous. Some of the Chaparrals a lovely too.

A stainless steel-handled delica would be very shiny!

I thought of that but I realised she can get a Sante Fe Stoneworks version with those beautiful gemstone scales. Knifecenter and others carry them or she can order direct from Sante Fe.

[VooDooChild]

Ok.
1. Spyderco has made mules in about every exotic steel within reason. They also have fixed blades in s90v and 4v among other things.

2. I will admit at a certain point there is certainly a pocket jewelry aspect to higher end knives. But polishing a working knife is like detailing a work truck. Why? I would not recommend trying to mirror polish a stonewashed maxamet blade, especially by hand. It just sounds like a waste of time.

3. Since I dont polish I cant help here.

4. Factory edge angles should be 40 degrees inclusive or 20 degrees per side.

In that size range, I would take a look at the native 5. It is a great knife.

[RustyIron]

Hi, everyone. I'm new to this forum - just registered today.

Welcome, from Sunny Socal.

1. Why are knives made out of exotic materials, such as Maxamet, CPM S110V, etc. offered by Spyderco, available only as folding knives?

Exotic materials are used because many of us are compulsive fanatics. Many modern folding knives have a locking mechanism that prevents it from folding up while in use. There are as many opinions on locks as there are on types of steel.

[The Meat man]

Welcome to the Forum!

If you want a mirror polished blade, I would stay well away from "exotic" steels like CPM S110V and Maxamet. They're practically designed to be near-impossible to polish.

The Grasshopper would probably fulfill your needs while at the same time being a nice stainless handled piece with a blade more easily polished. The stainless handle could be your canvas if you'd want to do your own engraving too or something. In addition, there are some pretty nice "jewelry-esque" versions of the "Bug" family with handle inlays:

Actually, AG Russell might have a lot of options you'd be interested in. (Although they might not be Spyderco.)

[prndltech]

It may not be a Spyderco but a rockstead sounds right up this alley... or insert any other knife that comes with a mirror polished blade :confused: :o

I say this because trying to do what I believe you picture in your your mind would take FOREVER to do by hand. Not to discourage you, just fair warning. Especially if it’s something like maxamet or s110v.

It’s only money, they print more every day. Have fun, and welcome to a good place on the interwebs :D

[Red]

Welcome to the forum. I am new here myself and don't feel qualified to answer your questions, But I see some great options already above and these folks here are extremely knowledgeable. One thing, since joining the forum 3 months ago after lurking for a year or so I have learned so much that I really went all-in with my Spyderco obsession and am living on Ramen noodles and PBR’s at this point! So start saving $ now!!

[TkoK83Spy]

Heretic makes some knives with blades that are entirely mirror finished. The knives themselves are pretty large and gaudy though, also very expensive. Take a look though, maybe they'll tickle your fancy.