so where's rex45 going anyways?

[Abyss_Fish]

I remember when the rex45 sprints were first announced Eric said something along the lines of "the purpose of the sprints is to get rex45 out into people's hands and see how they like it."

Well I missed every sprint so I lost that first bit. However I'm wondering what Spyderco plans to do with this steel in the future, since it's such a spectacular steel. Is it for a particular model? will it come back as an across the board option like s110v in golden or k390 in seki?

This is mostly a question aimed at Sal and Eric, so I suppose this post can be a suggestion box of sorts for the rest of the forrum.
What would you like done with rex45? What new designs do you think would be suited to it? would you like if it stuck around like s110v or k390?

[TkoK83Spy]

I believe all the Golden models are getting the Rex treatment. There's still plenty of opportunities left for you to snag one. Many still haven't dropped yet.

I have 3 models in Rex45 (Shaman, Manix, PM2) so I think I personally, have my fill of it. But, it really is a great steel to work with. I don't use my folders on food, and wipe down each blade after use and apply a thin coat of mineral oil...no patina or corrosion issues so far. I think it would be great if it stuck around, I can't think of anybody that has used it that says they don't like it.

[Dazen]

As long as it is not Burnt Orange I’d be down with it as a regular production steel.

[steelcity16]

I'd be down for some Seki knives in Rex45. I know Hap40 is supposed to be similar, but I prefer unclad. Burnt Orange Enduras and Delicas sounds pretty cool too.

Given the popularity of the Golden sprints, they could also rerun the sprints in DLC without breaking their "one and done" rule regarding sprint runs. DLC with the Burnt Orange would be awesome. Military for me in that combo.

[wrdwrght]

Well I missed every sprint so I lost that first bit.

If you’re not restricted in blade-length, know the Golden-made Native Chief (decades in the making) is soon to be sprinted in REX45.

[abbazaba]

Manix2 LW is dropping right now, and the Chief is yet to come so there is still time.

The REX45 PM2 might be one of my most carried knives over the last two years. The Burnt Orange really grew on my and the steel continues to impress people like me that love M4. I'd happily buy a DLC REX45 PM2 and Lil Native Lockback :)

[Albatross]

I think it will stick around for a while, even if only through dealer exclusives. Rex 45 has proven itself to be a great steel, in high demand.

[kennethsime]

Personally, I'd rather see K390 as a production steel for the Golden models. Oddly enough, I've been carrying Rex45 more than K390 this summer mostly because I have Rex45 in lightweight models. Both are excellent steels, and I love the burnt orange color. I was hesitant at first, but it grew on me, like abbazbaba said. I'd love to see it stick around.

I was watching a video from Knife Center I think, the "virtual blade show 2020" video, and Eric mentioned that his favorite thing to do, the quintessential Spyderco thing to do, was to put really high-end steels into lightweight models and bring the price down as much as possible so that everyone can experience the awesome benefits of the steel. I loved that. That's what drew me to Spyderco in the first place, and what's kept me around all these years.

Here's my dream for the Golden line:

• Maxamet Lightweights in Grey
• Rex 45 Lightweights in Burnt Orange
• K390 Lightweights in OD Green
• S30V Lightweights in Black
• Spy27 Lightweights in Cobalt Blue
• S110V Lightweights in Blurple

Maybe if we can't get K390, we can have an American analog - I've read that 10V is pretty close?

[bdblue]

I would like to see it as an option in the most popular Golden models, along with S110V and maybe LC200 (did I get that designation right?). I'm surprised that Spyderco doesn't make that many models standard with M4. Rex45 is even better, or 4V for that matter.

[vivi]

Haven't tried it yet but I'd like to. I was looking at the Manix LW alert thread thinking how awesome a burnt orange LW XL in Rex45 would be. A man can dream.

[JohnDoe99]

Love the burnt orange. High visibility without being a neon eyesore.

REX 45 sharpens quickly but is very hard. Those typically don't go together. I think stainless steels on average are just more brittle.

[SubMicron]

At the absolute top of my wishlist for REX-45 would be a back lock Lil Native, with thinner stock like a Delica, but thin behind the edge like a HAP-40 Dragonfly.

[Thunderpants]

I like the burnt orange FRN.
What I really don't like with the Rex series is the blade finish. I really wish they'd gone with the stunning stone-washy finish they used on the pink Native (as well as many others, I'm sure.)

[archangel]

I'd say it's going from the plant to Spyderco, then to dealers, and then to us guys. Some skip the dealers and buy it off Spyderco directly.

[Albatross]

Haven't tried it yet but I'd like to. I was looking at the Manix LW alert thread thinking how awesome a burnt orange LW XL in Rex45 would be. A man can dream.

Maybe the stars will align and they'll make a run of Manix XL with Rex 45 and burnt orange, giving you less reason to resist. :D

Rex 45 is a dream for anyone who likes to play with edge angles and grit finishes. I think you would be happy with it.

[Karl_H]

I hope REX45 stays in production. For the blades that Spyderco currently offers Maxamet in, I think REX45 would be a better option for most people.

But I would be happy to see any hard & tough PM tool steel stay in regular production or perhaps continuous cycling sprint runs of different tool steels. For example: Rex 45 -> Cru-wear -> K390 -> 4V -> Maxamet -> Repeat.

I would be even happier to see Spyderco optimize grinds and edges for different steels. For example, making REX45 blades with 13-15 dps edges (~0.1 BTE) and Maxamet blades in more robust saber grinds with 15-20 dps edges (~0.2 BTE).

By keeping the steel in production, even intermittently, the return on investment for research and development is higher and it becomes easier to justify optimizing the grind for each steel.

[Wartstein]

Haven't tried it yet but I'd like to. I was looking at the Manix LW alert thread thinking how awesome a burnt orange LW XL in Rex45 would be. A man can dream.

That would be just perfect! For me perhaps even more so than for you, since I don´t seem to rust knives as easy as you can by far...

Said in another thread: Maybe "your" option to try kind-of-a-tad-softer-Rex 45 would be the HAP 40 Endura: You say that you now like the E4 handle, and the cladding of the HAP 40 should work at least as well as a DLC coating... so corrosion could only appear on the small part of HAP 40 that is exposed below the SUS410 cladding (and in my case it is not rust at all there, but just a nice patina...