sal wrote: ↑Mon Jan 04, 2021 2:48 am
What did you think of the 121 ?
I like it, but I like Maxamet a lot and they seem very similar to me.
Sharpening seems more difficult than Maxamet, and took me a while to get the hang of. If I owned a REX 121 Spydie I would probably just send it back to Golden for sharpening. But since it stays sharp more or less forever, that's no big deal. Edge holding seemed about the same as Maxamet (but I'm comparing apples to oranges--the platforms are very different).
I can't comment on toughness or edge stability. I try really hard not to 'baby' the blade, but it's expensive enough that I can't bring myself to get really abusive. I've never chipped my Maxamet Manix blade though (and I have chipped my s110v Manix), and I don't take any special care with my EDC knives. Does REX 121 have similar toughness to Maxamet?
I honestly think that for me a REX 121 Spyderco would be. a direct substitute for Maxamet, not an 'addition to'. If you discontinued Maxamet, for example, and switched the Maxamet stuff over to REX 121, I don't know that I'd really notice the difference.
Is REX 121 easier or harder to produce knives with? Is the material the same price? Does it take more or less labor? Is the waste/error rate about the same? Honestly, if I were you I'd be making the decision on that basis. And the inevitable 'new and shiny' marketing phenomenon for knife people.