CPM Rex 45

[mtice]

I have a Rex 45 Millie I am waiting to put to the test this coming camping season and I am wondering how everyone is liking their Rex 45 Spydercos? I have read and watched the tests by those that frequently do knife test video/reviews but just wondering how it is working out with others for their everyday hard use? I know this steel has been around for a bit but is it new to being used in knife making? Thanks for everyones input and opinion.

[hungryboy]

Pete on the Cedric and Ada YouTube channel uploaded a cut test on a Para 3 in REX 45 yesterday. It did great!

[abbazaba]

Good info here, including my impressions:

//forum.spyderco.com/viewto ... 23ca114754

[Mom3ntuM]

I have used my military Rex 45 quite a bit and sharpened it three times.
I was kind of scared to sharpen it, but it sharpened like a dream on the coarse side of my dc4 Stone and a strop.
In my opinion rex45 is Good to go for edc, i have brought it camping.
But if you care about how it looks you need to take care of it, mine looks like crap. :)

[Bloke]

I gave my Military a half decent workout on good old Aussie hard wood when I first got it and I’m duly impressed with edge stability and retention as well as how it touched up afterwards with a few light passes on medium SharpMaker stones.

I haven’t sharpened it per se yet, though I should but so far I’m enjoying Rex45 and I’ll know even better when I reset a shallower bevel on it with my own edge. :)

[The Meat man]

I've been carrying mine every day for a few weeks now. It's been performing well for me so far.

I am actually in the middle of doing a semi-formal cutting test with my REX 45 Military. Been at it for a couple days, with all kinds of different materials. When I'm finished I plan to post the results here on the forum with pictures.

[mtice]

Glad to hear more favorable impressions. I was looking at my Millie more closely and noticed a few things with the bevel and edge. The clip side of the blade has a wider bevel at the tip when compared to the presentation side. Kind of disappointing even though I am going to use and sharpen it. Will this be hard to even out when sharpened for the first time? Also there are three flat spots or tiny dings in the fine edge. I do not know how it would have flat spots brand new in the edge so I am wondering if they are micro chips from factory sharpening. Please see pics below and any thoughts from the group? Thank you

[Joey]

Unfortunately a lot of my spydercos have come without an even bevel throughout both sides as well. Yours looks relatively mild from comparing some that I have/have seen, so that’s nice. I don’t have any long term knife use outside of my cheap folders and fixed blades I used growing up, so I can’t speak for how it will turn out over time. I have sharpened some uneven factory bevels with diamonds of varying grits and sharpening systems as a whole, and they usually even out without much trouble.
The chips look normal, and from my experience, they seem to be factory issues (though not big ones). My M390 BBS Para 3 had a good sized chip that faded with some time on the sharpmaker brown rods.

[mtice]

Has anyone sharpened Rex 45 with the Sharpmaker yet? Will the medium stones work on this steel?

[Joey]

It will work on any steel. Steel is softer than the stones, and Rex 45 is no exception. Just use light pressure while alternating sides evenly, and the chips should slowly disappear with each stroke.

[ejames13]

The thread linked previously has a lot of useful info.

This steel is a pain to sharpen on basic AlOx stones, though I was still able to still get a decent edge. It touches up on the Sharpmaker very nicely though.

[TkoK83Spy]

Totally agree about the Sharpmarker with this steel. As a fairly novice sharpener, when using my Para 3 I make sure to touch it up after each use because I'm not sure I want to try and sharpen this steel when it's dull!

[mtice]

Hoping the Sharpmaker on the 30 degree setting will hit the factory angle but not sure since the angle bevel is wider on the clip side (more noticeabley so at the tip). Fearing if the angle is no 15 degree per side the reprofiling needed for this hard steel may be beyond my skill and equipment.

[TkoK83Spy]

Sharpie marker is you friend, that and the sound/feel on the stones, once you get the hang of it you'll know. I was struggling for a bit a couple months ago, but have since found my groove again.

[mtice]

Would you use the 30 degree sharpmaker setting or try to use 40 degree to put a microbevel on the Rex 45 edge?

[Deadboxhero]

Has anyone sharpened Rex 45 with the Sharpmaker yet? Will the medium stones work on this steel?

It will have an effect. I'd use a sharpie marker to darken the entire bevel. You can use rubbing alcohol to remove the sharpie when down.

The 20° degree per side (dps) 40° inclusive side will give it a faster touch up in it's current state however eventually you'll need to use the 15° dps 30° per side or it won't cut as good. It will be more durable but lower angles always cut better. Trade-offs.


A professional tip is to start with clean rods. The main disadvantage to the brown rods is that they load up or clog fast with metal fillings from cutting. So use "Bar Keepers For" powder and water to scrub them clean before use when loaded with what looks like "pencil lead" This will alloy the abrasive to "poke out" more and give a better cut. Otherwise a loaded stone will only burnish.
Windex can help and is superior to oil and simply green since it works like a surfactant and is more convenient and less mess then soapy water. only a drop or two of windex is needed (Don't make a mess) and apply as needed.

I'd also say that "best practices" are to use and invest in the CBN/diamond rods. You'll get more performance out of the Rex 45 with the harder abrasives. The Rex 45 will have a crisper apex with the better abrasive. The diamond/CBN is harder and coarser and should be used with light touch to prolong there longevity since they are a single coating of abrasive on a metal embryo attached to the rod. The CBN/diamond is expensive and will last a very long time with proper use and care.
There are differences between the CBN and diamond that would be noticed in an exotic bonded stone but in the Spyderco rods you will not notice major differences.
The intricacies are irrelevant to go into further details for the context of this post so just buy whichever.

If the sharpmaker was my primary means to sharpen I'd set the bevel to a burr with the CBN at 30° inclusive. I'd then give it a few light passes to reduce the burr then skip the brown rods and move to the white rods to fully deburr for a very aggressive clean edge. There are a million ways to do it so don't get lost or fixated on someone's way to do something.

We are all painting the same picture but the brush strokes and colors are different.

Sal likes to do several passes and use a magnifying loupe to see his scratches reach the apex and avoid the burr.

I'm more partial in my personal experience to always making a small burr so I know when the bevel crosses over for speed and efficiency, but I Also have to be skilled at removing the burr to get my edge underneath which is very easy with the Rex 45. In general, burr removal is just about using a light touch at the exact same 15°-30 inclusive angle to remove the burr. You can also cheat and use the 20°-40° side to cut off the burr but that slightly changes the performance. Why light touch? It prevents the abrasive grains from digging in the bevel and making new burr. So the light touch, alternating passes at the same angle only effects the very apex and helps stress, work harden and break off the frayed, wirey metal we call the burr. It's like bending a paper clip until it breaks, and is then followed by a few more subsequent passes to clean the apex.

Nothing you read really helps if you're wanting to be an expert sharper. Just use information as guidelines or things to try. You'll just have to DO.

A million answers to my questions never helped me. Just like everything in life, we are what we do. So don't worry about the intricacies. Just give it a go, it's all trial and error.

[mtice]

Excellent information and very much appreciated advise.

[cwoods]

Love my para3. I wish I would have picked up a PM2 and military. I wonder if a manix in Rex 45 is in the works?

[Pelagic]

Has anyone sharpened Rex 45 with the Sharpmaker yet? Will the medium stones work on this steel?

It will have an effect. I'd use a sharpie marker to darken the entire bevel. You can use rubbing alcohol to remove the sharpie when down.

The 20° degree per side (dps) 40° inclusive side will give it a faster touch up in it's current state however eventually you'll need to use the 15° dps 30° per side or it won't cut as good. It will be more durable but lower angles always cut better. Trade-offs.


A professional tip is to start with clean rods. The main disadvantage to the brown rods is that they load up or clog fast with metal fillings from cutting. So use "Bar Keepers For" powder and water to scrub them clean before use when loaded with what looks like "pencil lead" This will alloy the abrasive to "poke out" more and give a better cut. Otherwise a loaded stone will only burnish.
Windex can help and is superior to oil and simply green since it works like a surfactant and is more convenient and less mess then soapy water. only a drop or two of windex is needed (Don't make a mess) and apply as needed.

I'd also say that "best practices" are to use and invest in the CBN/diamond rods. You'll get more performance out of the Rex 45 with the harder abrasives. The Rex 45 will have a crisper apex with the better abrasive. The diamond/CBN is harder and coarser and should be used with light touch to prolong there longevity since they are a single coating of abrasive on a metal embryo attached to the rod. The CBN/diamond is expensive and will last a very long time with proper use and care.
There are differences between the CBN and diamond that would be noticed in an exotic bonded stone but in the Spyderco rods you will not notice major differences.
The intricacies are irrelevant to go into further details for the context of this post so just buy whichever.

If the sharpmaker was my primary means to sharpen I'd set the bevel to a burr with the CBN at 30° inclusive. I'd then give it a few light passes to reduce the burr then skip the brown rods and move to the white rods to fully deburr for a very aggressive clean edge. There are a million ways to do it so don't get lost or fixated on someone's way to do something.

We are all painting the same picture but the brush strokes and colors are different.

Sal likes to do several passes and use a magnifying loupe to see his scratches reach the apex and avoid the burr.

I'm more partial in my personal experience to always making a small burr so I know when the bevel crosses over for speed and efficiency, but I Also have to be skilled at removing the burr to get my edge underneath which is very easy with the Rex 45. In general, burr removal is just about using a light touch at the exact same 15°-30 inclusive angle to remove the burr. You can also cheat and use the 20°-40° side to cut off the burr but that slightly changes the performance. Why light touch? It prevents the abrasive grains from digging in the bevel and making new burr. So the light touch, alternating passes at the same angle only effects the very apex and helps stress, work harden and break off the frayed, wirey metal we call the burr. It's like bending a paper clip until it breaks, and is then followed by a few more subsequent passes to clean the apex.

Nothing you read really helps if you're wanting to be an expert sharper. Just use information as guidelines or things to try. You'll just have to DO.

A million answers to my questions never helped me. Just like everything in life, we are what we do. So don't worry about the intricacies. Just give it a go, it's all trial and error.

Very good advice. I do something very similar when using sharpmaker rods freehand (never owned a sharpmaker, only the rods).

[Deadboxhero]

Has anyone sharpened Rex 45 with the Sharpmaker yet? Will the medium stones work on this steel?

It will have an effect. I'd use a sharpie marker to darken the entire bevel. You can use rubbing alcohol to remove the sharpie when down.

The 20° degree per side (dps) 40° inclusive side will give it a faster touch up in it's current state however eventually you'll need to use the 15° dps 30° per side or it won't cut as good. It will be more durable but lower angles always cut better. Trade-offs.


A professional tip is to start with clean rods. The main disadvantage to the brown rods is that they load up or clog fast with metal fillings from cutting. So use "Bar Keepers For" powder and water to scrub them clean before use when loaded with what looks like "pencil lead" This will alloy the abrasive to "poke out" more and give a better cut. Otherwise a loaded stone will only burnish.
Windex can help and is superior to oil and simply green since it works like a surfactant and is more convenient and less mess then soapy water. only a drop or two of windex is needed (Don't make a mess) and apply as needed.

I'd also say that "best practices" are to use and invest in the CBN/diamond rods. You'll get more performance out of the Rex 45 with the harder abrasives. The Rex 45 will have a crisper apex with the better abrasive. The diamond/CBN is harder and coarser and should be used with light touch to prolong there longevity since they are a single coating of abrasive on a metal embryo attached to the rod. The CBN/diamond is expensive and will last a very long time with proper use and care.
There are differences between the CBN and diamond that would be noticed in an exotic bonded stone but in the Spyderco rods you will not notice major differences.
The intricacies are irrelevant to go into further details for the context of this post so just buy whichever.

If the sharpmaker was my primary means to sharpen I'd set the bevel to a burr with the CBN at 30° inclusive. I'd then give it a few light passes to reduce the burr then skip the brown rods and move to the white rods to fully deburr for a very aggressive clean edge. There are a million ways to do it so don't get lost or fixated on someone's way to do something.

We are all painting the same picture but the brush strokes and colors are different.

Sal likes to do several passes and use a magnifying loupe to see his scratches reach the apex and avoid the burr.

I'm more partial in my personal experience to always making a small burr so I know when the bevel crosses over for speed and efficiency, but I Also have to be skilled at removing the burr to get my edge underneath which is very easy with the Rex 45. In general, burr removal is just about using a light touch at the exact same 15°-30 inclusive angle to remove the burr. You can also cheat and use the 20°-40° side to cut off the burr but that slightly changes the performance. Why light touch? It prevents the abrasive grains from digging in the bevel and making new burr. So the light touch, alternating passes at the same angle only effects the very apex and helps stress, work harden and break off the frayed, wirey metal we call the burr. It's like bending a paper clip until it breaks, and is then followed by a few more subsequent passes to clean the apex.

Nothing you read really helps if you're wanting to be an expert sharper. Just use information as guidelines or things to try. You'll just have to DO.

A million answers to my questions never helped me. Just like everything in life, we are what we do. So don't worry about the intricacies. Just give it a go, it's all trial and error.

Very good advice. I do something very similar when using sharpmaker rods freehand (never owned a sharpmaker, only the rods).

Thanks, I no longer have my sharpmaker. I think it's loaned out to a buddy right now.

It's a convenient little set up. I got one just out of curiosity. Unfortunately I fell so far down the rabbit hole that the sharpmaker is not able to saitate my desires by itself, neither the system nor the stones.
Like most things It works though.