The last quoted post in this original post will get you up to being current with this OP. The next post in this thread will outline the testing I did today.
Needless to say, maxamet is absolutely blowing my mind in regards to edge retention. It just keeps cutting, and cutting, and cutting and after a certain point it just doesn't seem to dull any further. I have done almost 4000 inches of cardboard and it still slices phone book paper.
To put it in perspective, steels like M4 last about 1000 inches and no longer slice phone book paper. S110v goes about 1300.... Maxamet has gone 3,808 inches and still slices PB paper. It's insane.
AwayFromMySpydieHole, post: 17161370, member: 470025 wrote:I have finally "dulled" my maxamet manix a bit. Just a bit. I went out sunday morning and cut up all the cardboard I had, which was a LOT thanks to a newborn. We've been getting so many packages, and they all seem to be in very thick and sturdy cardboard.
Anyway, I spent about 30 minutes cutting. I was literally tired by the end of it. Keep in mind, this is in addition to other long cutting sessions and about 2 months of general use. No sharpening, just stropping on .5 micron diamond.
The knife no longer shaves arm hair. That part of the edge is gone. However, there is absolutely zero edge blunting and I can't see any shiny spots on the edge (from micro blunting, denting, etc). It no longer shaves, but it will absolutely still zip through printer paper with ease. And I mean with ease, every cut. It still slices amazingly well and has TONS of aggression left.
So, all in all this is the longest edge holding steel I've ever used, by far. It still isn't dull, I think it's just now settling into a working edge. I really have no clue how long it would take to get it completely dull, as in blunt with the edge reflecting light. Months. Maybe 6? Who knows. I intend to sharpen it this weekend and start fresh, with zero edge maintenance - just plenty of use. I want to see how far it will go with no maintenance, not even stropping. I'll chime in again whenever it reaches a dulling benchmark.
AwayFromMySpydieHole, post: 17169046, member: 470025 wrote:Well, sharpened it just now. Used the wicked edge because I wanted to true up the bevels a little. They weren't bad, but they came from the factory a bit off. I could have free handed it, but for the first sharpening I wanted to make sure the bevel was set perfectly straight and true.
This stuff is just strange. Judging by how long it holds an edge you'd think it would be difficult to sharpen, but it isn't. You can tell it's hard when it hits the stones, but as far as removing material it's really not bad at all. I had no issues with chipping at all. The edge is just as clean as any other steel would be.
Also, oddly it takes a polish extremely well. I even skipped the high grit ceramics on the wicked edge and went straight to strops. It polished up very, very well. I actually wasn't even going for a polish. I wanted to keep it a little more aggressive......
Which leads me to the next point. Even when stropped down to .5 micron diamond paste the edge is VERY aggressive. It bites into your skin like crazy but is still very refined. I was able to whittle up the length of a hair 5 times before it got too thin to whittle. That's just as fine of an edge as I get on M4.
So, now the real testing starts. After that last bit of stropping I did nothing else is touching this edge. I'm just going to cut without touching it up to see how long it lasts. I'll report back ever so often.
ETA: forgot to add, I sharpened at exactly 16dps. Was hoping that it would be a good compromise between slicing ability and edge cross section. Wanted to avoid thinning out the apex so much that it would no longer support the carbides.
Here's a pic of the edge. On my phone so can't embed yet, sorry.
https://imgur.com/a/dIG5d
AwayFromMySpydieHole, post: 17173941, member: 470025 wrote:Cutting so far:
-Broke down small USPS box after a package came in.
- Shredded" a stack of printer paper 4 sheets deep. About 20 cuts into that stack. Didn't need to be shredded, just a habit.
-Cut off excess to a "sit means sit" electric dog collar. The collar material was VERY tough. Some sort of fiber loaded rubber.
After all this, it no longer whittles hair, but that's to be expected. Other than that change, I can't tell a difference. Still extremely aggressive and still slicing phone book paper like it's not even there.
Will report back in a week or so with the rest of the cutting I've done and the edge condition. There will be no touch ups at all.