Maxamet edge retention

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makawakaroni
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Maxamet edge retention

#1

Post by makawakaroni »

Hello guys!

I have a Para 3 with a Maxamet blade and after reading a bunch of tests and reviews I am not seeing the performance and edge retention that they described.
With a sharp edge (sticks to my fingernail at an angle) I get noticable loss of sharpness after 1-2 pizza boxes worth of cardboard. The edge no longer bites into my fingernail, but slides off. I know that cardboard is quite abrasive, but most of the tests I saw, or experiences I read were with cardboard.
Is this the level of edge retention that is to be expected from Maxamet or do I have a dud?

Thanks everyone!
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sal
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Re: Maxamet edge retention

#2

Post by sal »

Hi Makawakaroni,

How do you sharpen it and at what angle?

sal
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Evil D
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Re: Maxamet edge retention

#3

Post by Evil D »

^^^^^ Yeah what he said. If you're leaving even a trace of burr this will be guaranteed to happen.
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makawakaroni
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Re: Maxamet edge retention

#4

Post by makawakaroni »

Thank you Sal and EvilD for the replies!

I am sharpening with a DMT guided system, at the factory angles.
I sharpened it by going through the diamond plates up until 1200 grit. (325/600/1200) Then I stropped on leather loaded with Tormek paste.
I tried to deburr as best I could, with decreasing the pressure on the plates during sharpening. I could not see or feel any burr left even before stropping.

Do you have any tips on how to make sure there is no burr left with this steel?
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sal
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Re: Maxamet edge retention

#5

Post by sal »

Hi Makawakaroni,

First suggestion would be to get some optics, if you don't have any. A 10X 12X magnifying loupe can reveal quite a bit.

Second would be to reduce the angle. 30 degrees or even 25. I don't know how low the steel can go? Maybe someone here has some experience with the steel at low angles?

sal
makawakaroni
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Re: Maxamet edge retention

#6

Post by makawakaroni »

Thank you Sal, I will source a loupe to see if I have some burr remnants left over.
Currently the blade is around 20 degrees per side, I could go to around 15 degrees per side with this system, maybe I give that a go when I hsve the loupe to check my work.
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RustyIron
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Re: Maxamet edge retention

#7

Post by RustyIron »

makawakaroni wrote:
Fri May 27, 2022 1:02 pm
Currently the blade is around 20 degrees per side, I could go to around 15 degrees per side with this system, maybe I give that a go when I hsve the loupe to check my work.
Anywhere in that ballpark should be fine. I take almost all my knives to 13 degrees for no particular reason other than that's just what I do. The loupe will help you a LOT. Even on regular sharpening, I wear a 4x visor. It just makes things a little easier.
Soanso McMasters
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Re: Maxamet edge retention

#8

Post by Soanso McMasters »

Sharpening Maxamet has been a challenge for me. I can’t get the job done freehand at all.
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Re: Maxamet edge retention

#9

Post by Wandering_About »

Sounds very much to me like a burr, although Maxamet has a way of magnifying any kind of sharpening error with its very high hardness and carbide volume. Once you get it right though, Maxamet really does hold an edge for a very long time.

A 10x loupe is a highly recommended addition to any sharpening kit. It will teach you a lot. Some people get economically priced USB microscopes and enjoy them, but I haven't tried one myself.

In my personal experience, 20 degrees per side should work just fine with Maxamet. I reprofile the main bevel quite thin (maybe 10ish degrees per side) but put a pretty large microbevel on at somewhere in the 15-20 degrees per side range. I'm working freehand so my angles are not exact. Setting the full bevel at 20 degrees per side should not introduce any real issues, in my personal opinion.
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TkoK83Spy
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Re: Maxamet edge retention

#10

Post by TkoK83Spy »

If using 20bdps and it FEELING that sharp, but not great results, I'd also suspect a burr. Maybe increase your angle to 22dps and give it a few light passes? Might help knock off that burr, if that indeed is the problem here?
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bbturbodad
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Re: Maxamet edge retention

#11

Post by bbturbodad »

Another vote for likely having a burr. A few pizza boxes should be no problem for Maxamet. When I first got a Maxamet PM2 I cut up several hundred feet of cardboard, cut an aluminum can in half and then stabbed through it and the blade was still sharp!

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makawakaroni
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Re: Maxamet edge retention

#12

Post by makawakaroni »

Thank you everyone!

Then it seems it is more than likely that my sharpening is the culprit.
I will try to resharpen and properly remove the burr with the current angle when I get a loupe on monday.
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Wartstein
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Re: Maxamet edge retention

#13

Post by Wartstein »

makawakaroni wrote:
Sat May 28, 2022 1:42 am
Thank you everyone!

Then it seems it is more than likely that my sharpening is the culprit.
I will try to resharpen and properly remove the burr with the current angle when I get a loupe on monday.

Can´t help with Maxamet (never owned it and am not a good sharpener anyway), but this might help with choosing a loupe:
viewtopic.php?t=82628
Top three going by pocket-time (update March 24):
- EDC: Endura thin red line ffg combo edge (VG10); Wayne Goddard PE (4V), Endela SE (VG10)
-Mountains/outdoors: Pac.Salt 1 SE (H1), Salt 2 SE (LC200N), and also Wayne Goddard PE (4V)
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Ramonade
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Re: Maxamet edge retention

#14

Post by Ramonade »

Soanso McMasters wrote:
Fri May 27, 2022 1:29 pm
Sharpening Maxamet has been a challenge for me. I can’t get the job done freehand at all.
That's kind of the opposite for me ! I have way more control on the pressure I put on the bevels freehand than with my guided system ^^
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wrdwrght
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Re: Maxamet edge retention

#15

Post by wrdwrght »

I’m not exempt from raising a burr on a Spydie.

But I am surprised to hear about doing so on Maxamet. That’s quite a hard and wear-resistant steel. So, too, are ZDP189, M4, Rex45, S90V, S110V, 10V, and K390. I don’t think I’ve raised a burr on them, either.

52100 is another matter. Grrr.

Which leads me to ask, what kind of pressure are you applying to the apex as you sharpen your Maxamet? Perhaps too much?
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Re: Maxamet edge retention

#16

Post by Spook410 »

Just a few words of encouragement. I have a Maxamet mule, Para3, and Native 5. They all behave as you would expect from the various online tests and that was before I upgraded my sharpening set up. I once went through a mountain of cardboard from a move with the mule and it was the most impressive performance I've ever seen in a knife. So it's probably something simple and when you figure it out I think you're going to like it quite a bit.
Murat_Cyp
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Re: Maxamet edge retention

#17

Post by Murat_Cyp »

15 dps would work on Maxamet. I am suing Z-Max (maxamet like steel) mule sharpened at 15dsp in the kitchen and it did not chip yet whereas 52100 paring knife (seems to be thinner tough) gets some small chips with the same use. I never had a problem with sharpening any steel (apart from soft stainless) but if you are doing leather stropping (assuming they are loaded with diamond or CBN and you starting with a coarse grid) you should have a burr problem. But you can try to minimize the burr before changing the stone. Make alternating edge trail light passes.
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vanka
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Re: Maxamet edge retention

#18

Post by vanka »

Try to strop between the grits. 320 strop 400 strop 800 strop and so on. It works for me. And sometimes with some steels you need to go through a few sharpening sessions to remove the factory edge completely and let the steel show its potential.
DrHE
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Re: Maxamet edge retention

#19

Post by DrHE »

I find my PM2 in Maxamet works decently but even with very fine micron diamond paste stropping won’t get absolutely biting sharp as my S90VN, M4, CruWear or even ZDP189 edges do. The M4 and CruWear are honestly some of my absolute favorites for their first cut feel.

Maxamet holds its cutting edge a really long time but it seems to work better with a bit of tooth (like just off a 600 or 1200 diamond) then removing any micro burr.

I have a high magnification usb microscope with screen that does very well to visualize the edge and burr.

When I get a very high polish on it I find it won’t bite into slicker material as well as the other super steels do.
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makawakaroni
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Re: Maxamet edge retention

#20

Post by makawakaroni »

Hello Guys!
Thank you all for the words of encouragment!
I did order a loupe, so I am eagerly waiting it's arrival, to try and debug my sharpening.
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