Spyderco Forums

My Z-Max Mule arrived last week. Wrapped some paracord around it to start testing.
Blade is slightly warped (I have zero complaints about that considering the price and what the Mule Team is about).
BTE was slightly thinner till mid blade than my S45VN Mule and had same BTE at the front third of the edge.
I did almost the same test procedure in my garden as with my S45VN Mule blade a couple of weeks ago:
- trimmed down young branches of the same apple tree (three full buckets)
- this involved a lot of twisting, torqueing and scraping
(I was sure I would generate some chipping as I was using the blade without any care)
- trimmed down larger branches of a walnut tree
- did some whittling on a dry wood stick


After two hours of cutting wood I inspected the edge:
- still push cutting thin paper
- felt sharper than S45VN after similar test (S45VN had tiny micro chipping & rolling at the tip)
- with a 10x magnifying loupe I could see no edge damage or wear
- the edge just got a bit less sharp, so the usual wear

I am really impressed by the edge stability of such a high HRC blade.
Seems to be on par with S45VN edge stability. Which makes sense:
Larrin's data shows the toughness is similar (approx. 6.0 for S45VN & 4.9 ft-lbs for Z-Max).
Z-Max being at a much higher hardness (68.3 vs 61.5) should give it a similar edge stability @ 68 as S45VN @ 61.5 HRC.

After 3 hours I cleaned the blade and it already showed some discoloring. So, it is a tool steel.
I think it would make a great small fixed blade for work knives.
Not sure if I would buy it in a folder, because I am always concerned about rust the pivot area.

When it gets dull I will put on some scales and then I am looking forward to sharpening it.
Bought the new Spyderco CBN stone lately.

Nice feedback!

So far, I have sharpened some "swords" for my son, cut some food (meat and fruit), and other EDC tasks. After that there was a very slight patina on the blade. I then soaked it in some vinegar ( I usually do this for my high carbon blades) and there was not much of an effect. I eventually will put some scales on it so I decided to blue the handle with Super Blue - see pic - should I do the blade?

I haven't had the opportunity to test the Z-Max yet since I'm still waiting for scales and it's the rainy season here; weather is so humid that I have to keep the Mule in wraps in storage with some EDCi solution to prevent humidity corrosion problems. But like the others said, initially it won't shave arm hair so I'll probably have to sharpen it once I get the scales in. The blade was also a bit warped in the tang area. I hope it won't affect fitment of scales.

The other evening, I used my Z-Max mule to cut some chicken that was on a ceramic plate. I was pushing pretty hard, and of course, bang! the knife suddenly cut through and slammed into the hard ceramic. I was expecting a flat edge after that, but to my surprise I could detect no damage whatsoever. Still razor sharp along the whole edge.

Not much to share, but I thought I'd drop it here.

That is actually quite impressive. Iirc BBB used maxamet to cut a glass bottle. You could probably do the same with this mule. Did you examine the plate for damage from the knife?

The Meat man wrote: ↑

Thu Dec 02, 2021 6:38 pm

The other evening, I used my Z-Max mule to cut some chicken that was on a ceramic plate. I was pushing pretty hard, and of course, bang! the knife suddenly cut through and slammed into the hard ceramic. I was expecting a flat edge after that, but to my surprise I could detect no damage whatsoever. Still razor sharp along the whole edge.

Not much to share, but I thought I'd drop it here.

Fireman wrote: ↑

Thu Dec 02, 2021 6:43 pm

That is actually quite impressive. Iirc BBB used maxamet to cut a glass bottle. You could probably do the same with this mule. Did you examine the plate for damage from the knife?

The Meat man wrote: ↑

Thu Dec 02, 2021 6:38 pm

The other evening, I used my Z-Max mule to cut some chicken that was on a ceramic plate. I was pushing pretty hard, and of course, bang! the knife suddenly cut through and slammed into the hard ceramic. I was expecting a flat edge after that, but to my surprise I could detect no damage whatsoever. Still razor sharp along the whole edge.

Not much to share, but I thought I'd drop it here.

I did sort of look, but didn't really see much. There was a mark that may have been made by the edge but it was pretty hard to tell.

millsarrr wrote: ↑

Fri Jul 09, 2021 9:56 pm

So far, I have sharpened some "swords" for my son, cut some food (meat and fruit), and other EDC tasks. After that there was a very slight patina on the blade. I then soaked it in some vinegar ( I usually do this for my high carbon blades) and there was not much of an effect. I eventually will put some scales on it so I decided to blue the handle with Super Blue - see pic - should I do the blade?

That's cool! Did you end up doing the blade then?

(posted in error, sorry)

. . .

Awesome mime work there

As always, very impressive Connor!! Something I've never even considered trying haha! Took some damage, but great work fixing that up. How did the reprofile go?

It is tradition that you are supposed to give a penny when you gift a knife as not to sever the relationship. I don’t know what this means now lol.

https://www.reference.com/world-view/gi ... 10ae97e520

https://parkerriverknife.com/pages/a-penny

Woodpuppy wrote: ↑

Sat Dec 04, 2021 4:45 pm

Awesome mime work there

Haha! Thanks!

TkoK83Spy wrote: ↑

Sat Dec 04, 2021 6:01 pm

As always, very impressive Connor!! Something I've never even considered trying haha! Took some damage, but great work fixing that up. How did the reprofile go?

Actually BBB did a video cutting a penny in half with an S110V Para 3. It took less damage than my Z-Max; but I think that the Z-Max could have done a lot better if I had been able to hit it more squarely with the hammer. In an extreme situation like this the tiniest bit of lateral force can be devastating!

The re-profile took awhile. I clamped it up in my WE and went at it with the 100 grit diamond stone. Took a break for lunch and then finished all the way up to 1000 grit, then a few touchs on a 1 micron strop. There is still one very tiny chip left but it's barely noticeable when slicing phonebook paper. All in all, it probably took an hour or two of solid work.

The edge angle was 16 dps BTW.

Fireman wrote: ↑

Sat Dec 04, 2021 6:18 pm

It is tradition that you are supposed to give a penny when you gift a knife as not to sever the relationship. I don’t know what this means now lol.

https://www.reference.com/world-view/gi ... 10ae97e520

https://parkerriverknife.com/pages/a-penny

Haha! That is funny. I'd heard of that tradition before but it didn't occur to me. I don't know, hope I still have some friends left.

I took mine out mushroom hunting a couple times this year. I know, I know, mushrooms aren't hard to cut. But, it was wet all day wiped on my pants after each cut and stuffed into the Boltaron sheath still slightly slimy. And I am surprised and happy to say that it did not gain one visible speck of rust. A very nice surprise.

FullScaler wrote: ↑

Sat Dec 04, 2021 11:36 pm

I took mine out mushroom hunting a couple times this year. I know, I know, mushrooms aren't hard to cut. But, it was wet all day wiped on my pants after each cut and stuffed into the Boltaron sheath still slightly slimy. And I am surprised and happy to say that it did not gain one visible speck of rust. A very nice surprise.


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Enchanting, beautiful pictures, FS!

FullScaler wrote: ↑

Sat Dec 04, 2021 11:36 pm

I took mine out mushroom hunting a couple times this year. I know, I know, mushrooms aren't hard to cut. But, it was wet all day wiped on my pants after each cut and stuffed into the Boltaron sheath still slightly slimy. And I am surprised and happy to say that it did not gain one visible speck of rust. A very nice surprise.


20211002_120033.jpg


20211002_163736.jpg


20211002_164138.jpg

Are those printed resin scales? The translucent green looks really cool.

Gtscotty wrote: ↑

Sun Dec 05, 2021 10:19 am

Are those printed resin scales? The translucent green looks really cool.

Yupp, resin scales with JoshCrutchly's design from thingiverse.

I recently ordered a pack of 24 colors of resin dyes so I can tint up clear resin to make any color I want.

Finally managed to made some scales for my Z-Max Mule.
My third attempt on scale-making overall: tried to add some red liners this time.

That one was challenging as the whole blade was warped,
so I tried to find some matching warped handle blocks.
I used green-stabilized karelian curly birch wood.

Edge retention seems (for my EDC use) like almost factor 3x compared to S45VN and Z-Wear.
I am impressed by how easily it sharpens considering the ~ 68 HRC (I do have diamond stones).
The handle is currently 18 mm thick (Spyderco leather sheaths seems to accomodate only up to 16 mm).
So I use a "Brisa Hiker 100" leather sheath.