Sage 5 in REX 121 + burnt orange

[Guts]

Any observations of brittleness or chipping?

Broke down a bunch of boxes yesterday to recycle with the REX121 Sage. Was a mixture of different sizes and types of boxes (card stock, corrugated, double thickness corrugated, etc). Other "standard" super steels like your S30V, M4, S90V, Cru-Wear, etc, when breaking down that amount of cardboard I would notice a gradual reduction in sharpness since I'd be having to use more and more force to slice through the more cuts I did. The REX121 though? It felt the same from the first cut to the last cut. It was kind of surprising. Inspected the edge afterward and no chipping that I could see, but there was one small roll that stropped out easily with a couple passes on a diamond loaded strop. Very impressed so far with REX121. Don't think I'll need to sharpen this thing again for a loooong time.

[gooeytek]

I had ordered the Parsons Ti scales and got the Sage 5 G10 version instead of the FRN. Glad they fit

[Jshorter]

What has been y’alls experience sharpening Rex 121 in these knives? I was expecting a big challenge from reading what other people had to say about it.

I started at 80 grit to try and even out the factory bevel, raised a burr with 150 and then 240, then strop with 1 micron diamond.

Of course this is a rough edge and it feels grabby and toothy; more so than other steels that I’ve done this same progression on.

I am by no means an experienced sharpener but it was an overall pleasant experience and took me maybe 15 minutes. I didn’t find myself fighting the steel or struggling to get a burr like I expected I would. I wonder what the hardness reads on these knives.

[DrMEMS]

My new Sage 5 Lightweight in Rex 121 is very similar in size and weight to my Para 3 in S110V.

[sal]

Hi Jshorter, Dr. Mems,

Welcome to our forum.

sal

[u.w.]

What has been y’alls experience sharpening Rex 121 in these knives? I was expecting a big challenge from reading what other people had to say about it.

I started at 80 grit to try and even out the factory bevel, raised a burr with 150 and then 240, then strop with 1 micron diamond.

Of course this is a rough edge and it feels grabby and toothy; more so than other steels that I’ve done this same progression on.

I am by no means an experienced sharpener but it was an overall pleasant experience and took me maybe 15 minutes. I didn’t find myself fighting the steel or struggling to get a burr like I expected I would. I wonder what the hardness reads on these knives.

WOW!!! You FINISHED REX121 at/off the 240 grit stone! Oh WOW! Now my curiosity is piqued...

Thank you for sharing that.

u.w.

[Jshorter]

I usually stop on the 240 then strop for almost everything I sharpen. It seems simple and easy for me and I like the edge it produces. Maybe I should take Rex 121 further but I’ll try it at 240 first

[JBoone]

Just ordered the LW. Interested in sharpening but will use the factory edge until it no longer responds to strops (which may be some time)

[DrMEMS]

Hi Jshorter, Dr. Mems,
Welcome to our forum.
sal

Thanks, Sal. It's an honor to meet you. I want to say two things here:
(1) Kudos for having the guts to make production knives from REX 121. I know the low toughness is a risk and that you were considering it a few years ago but went with Maxamet instead.
(2) Your compression lock is a stroke of genius. It's very strong in all directions of course, but it is also reliable because it uses a simple bent steel sheet for the spring. I have a bunch of knives with axis locks, and three of the thin omega springs have broken. If you made a lighter lightweight version of the Sage 5 with titanium liners rather than steel I'd buy that too!

[Ex-Phys]

Hi Jshorter, Dr. Mems,
Welcome to our forum.
sal

Thanks, Sal. It's an honor to meet you. I want to say two things here:
(1) Kudos for having the guts to make production knives from REX 121. I know the low toughness is a risk and that you were considering it a few years ago but went with Maxamet instead.
(2) Your compression lock is a stroke of genius. It's very strong in all directions of course, but it is also reliable because it uses a simple bent steel sheet for the spring. I have a bunch of knives with axis locks, and three of the thin omega springs have broken. If you made a lighter lightweight version of the Sage 5 with titanium liners rather than steel I'd buy that too!

Eric had hinted previously that we are likely to see other models in Rex 121. My speculation is that perhaps one of those may be a lightweight model. It would be neat if we had a Chaparral, Manix 2 LW, Native 5 LW, or Para 3 LW.

[DrMEMS]

I put a mirror edge on mine. I thought I was matching the factory angle, but I ended up a little steeper at 16.0 dps. It easily slices open envelopes and corrugated cardboard.

[Naperville]

Very compelling based on Larrin's charts.

[abbazaba]

I torched the hardware bronze today

[TkoK83Spy]

That looks nice!!

[BH66]

Sage 5 Rex 121 or Para 3 Maxamet in your opinion which one is over all better knife?

[Michael Janich]

Dear BH66:

Welcome to the Spyderco Forum.

Stay safe,

Mike

[WilliamMunny]

Sage 5 Rex 121 or Para 3 Maxamet in your opinion which one is over all better knife?

Better for what?

In general:

REX-121 is very similar to Maxamet, both are tool steels that hold and amazing edge. REX-121 might hold an edge slightly longer, but it might also chip a little easier. The edge geometry will have much more impact on performance than the actual difference in these steels as they are very close in performance.

Sage 5 has a thinner blade and less thumb ramp than the Para 3. So, the Sage 5 will slice better as its less of a wedge shape and fit slightly better in pocket due to less of the thumb ramp. The Para 3 is a thinker tougher blade, and the thumb ramp will give a little stronger grip for more demanding tasks or with gloves on. I would say the Sage 5 is a more of an office weekend knife where the Para 3 might be more of a camping knife. But they have the same lock, same size blade, same size handle so they are more similar than different.

Honestly it might just come down to color, do you like the orange or dark grey? The dark grey G-10 IMO is pretty good looking.

Good luck, both are awesome and neither will disappoint you.

[BH66]

Sage 5 Rex 121 or Para 3 Maxamet in your opinion which one is over all better knife?

Better for what?

In general:

REX-121 is very similar to Maxamet, both are tool steels that hold and amazing edge. REX-121 might hold an edge slightly longer, but it might also chip a little easier. The edge geometry will have much more impact on performance than the actual difference in these steels as they are very close in performance.

Sage 5 has a thinner blade and less thumb ramp than the Para 3. So, the Sage 5 will slice better as its less of a wedge shape and fit slightly better in pocket due to less of the thumb ramp. The Para 3 is a thinker tougher blade, and the thumb ramp will give a little stronger grip for more demanding tasks or with gloves on. I would say the Sage 5 is a more of an office weekend knife where the Para 3 might be more of a camping knife. But they have the same lock, same size blade, same size handle so they are more similar than different.

Honestly it might just come down to color, do you like the orange or dark grey? The dark grey G-10 IMO is pretty good looking.

Good luck, both are awesome and neither will disappoint you.

As i see your personal favorite is para3. You make my choice easily between this two. All in all I think maxamet is better steel than Rex. Para 3 is more hard user than sage wish is another great thing.
Is it safe for food prep maxamet,because it’s going to patina?
What you think about Manbug k390? It’s funny to see tool steel on such a small knife.

[WilliamMunny]

Sage 5 Rex 121 or Para 3 Maxamet in your opinion which one is over all better knife?

Better for what?

In general:

REX-121 is very similar to Maxamet, both are tool steels that hold and amazing edge. REX-121 might hold an edge slightly longer, but it might also chip a little easier. The edge geometry will have much more impact on performance than the actual difference in these steels as they are very close in performance.

Sage 5 has a thinner blade and less thumb ramp than the Para 3. So, the Sage 5 will slice better as its less of a wedge shape and fit slightly better in pocket due to less of the thumb ramp. The Para 3 is a thinker tougher blade, and the thumb ramp will give a little stronger grip for more demanding tasks or with gloves on. I would say the Sage 5 is a more of an office weekend knife where the Para 3 might be more of a camping knife. But they have the same lock, same size blade, same size handle so they are more similar than different.

Honestly it might just come down to color, do you like the orange or dark grey? The dark grey G-10 IMO is pretty good looking.

Good luck, both are awesome and neither will disappoint you.

As i see your personal favorite is para3. You make my choice easily between this two. All in all I think maxamet is better steel than Rex. Para 3 is more hard user than sage wish is another great thing.
Is it safe for food prep maxamet,because it’s going to patina?
What you think about Manbug k390? It’s funny to see tool steel on such a small knife.

For food prep and wet activities tool steel is fine as long as you care for it. It basically means if you get it wet, use it for food prep, etc you need to clean and dry it off shortly after use. You may develop some patina but it does not impact performance. I have two Maxamet knives, that get exposed to high humidity and hard work with no issues so far. I do use a KPL Shield product on them that is food safe and claims to help with rust. Those knives are about 2 years old, taken care of but not babied. If it will see salt water or prolonged wet exposure then you may want to look at something else than a tool steel.

Now you may ask why I included my Manix LW MagnaCut in the photo. Just to make your life harder the Manix LW Maxamet was just discontinued and on sale for $180 at Knife center. If you want Maxamet and don’t mind a 3.5” blade it would make an awesome camp knife for a very good price.

https://www.knifecenter.com/item/SP101P ... cp-handles

Good luck.

[Evil D]

How about sharpening response between Maxamet and Rex 121?

And the nagging question that has kept me from getting one of these is, does it do anything more for me than K390 or 15V would? When those steels are a joy to sharpen?