Why are there so many photos with broken Maxamet steel blades for knives made in the USA, but there are no such photos for knives from Taiwan?
Why do the blades of Paramilitary, Manix and other knives made in Colorado crack?
Why are there no broken Spyderco Sage?
upd. I have slightly corrected the topic title.
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Last edited by Librarian on Fri Oct 17, 2025 11:17 pm, edited 3 times in total.
I'd expect that there's a vast difference in production numbers.
I'd also be willing to bet that there are maybe 100 times more US made Maxamet Spydercos than Taiwan made Maxamet Spydercos.
The Maxamet PM2 came out 3 years before the Maxamet Sage 1 (2017 vs 2020).
I'd expect that they'd figured out most everything they needed to figure out in Golden before producing anything in Taichung.
Could the model also play a role? Does the Native 5 in Maxamet have the same issue? I've seen photos of Para 2s and 3s with cracked blades in S110V as well and not so much with the Native 5 in S110V.
Could the model also play a role? Does the Native 5 in Maxamet have the same issue? I've seen photos of Para 2s and 3s with cracked blades in S110V as well and not so much with the Native 5 in S110V.
It's amazing how the blades break in the same way.
Those pictures had me nervous about carrying my Maxamet Para3 for the longest time. Finally said to heck with it, if it can't handle use then why have it. I've been using it for a while now and it's been just great. I don't treat it like crap or anything, just like a knife and I like it a lot.
One explanation is that the Sage is a smaller knife (shorter blade and shorter handle) than the Manix and PM2's. As a result, you'll generate less leverage when you apply lateral force, and are less likely to break it.
A better comparison is perhaps Sage vs Para 3?
My view for using any tool is:
- Know its strengths and weaknesses (especially for these exotic materials)
- Use accordingly
- Pick the right tool for the job
Hans Favourite Spydies: Military S90V, PM2 Cruwear, Siren LC200N, UKPK S110V, Endela Wharncliffe K390 Others: Victorinox Pioneer, CRK: L Sebenza, L Inkosi, Umnumzaan
One explanation is that the Sage is a smaller knife (shorter blade and shorter handle) than the Manix and PM2's. As a result, you'll generate less leverage when you apply lateral force, and are less likely to break it.
A better comparison is perhaps Sage vs Para 3?
My view for using any tool is:
- Know its strengths and weaknesses (especially for these exotic materials)
- Use accordingly - Pick the right tool for the job
For real. What would those knives be prying to break at the heel but not damage the handle/scales?
One explanation is that the Sage is a smaller knife (shorter blade and shorter handle) than the Manix and PM2's. As a result, you'll generate less leverage when you apply lateral force, and are less likely to break it.
One explanation is that the Sage is a smaller knife (shorter blade and shorter handle) than the Manix and PM2's. As a result, you'll generate less leverage when you apply lateral force, and are less likely to break it.
A better comparison is perhaps Sage vs Para 3?
Could the model also play a role? Does the Native 5 in Maxamet have the same issue? I've seen photos of Para 2s and 3s with cracked blades in S110V as well and not so much with the Native 5 in S110V.
It's amazing how the blades break in the same way.
slYhc9l.jpg
The same way, meaning prying or misuse?
Mule Team Army 001 (patched)
MNOSD 008 Stable Mules; Z-Max, Z-Wear, Magna Cut, Magna Max, SRS13, Rex 76, Rex T15.
This reminds me of all the sports cars you see crashing because the drivers were being a dumb donkey. Was it Ferrari’s fault or the driver who did not respect what he was driving?
Mule Team Army 001 (patched)
MNOSD 008 Stable Mules; Z-Max, Z-Wear, Magna Cut, Magna Max, SRS13, Rex 76, Rex T15.
I meant about the mechanism of destruction of the blade.
Judging by the 2 photos, initially the blade breaks below the hole, but the upper part breaks off after. Perhaps the crack originates near the base and goes down. There is a non-sharpened section of the cutting edge at the base of the blade, and the crack does not pass through it, but extends to the sharpened area.
Most of these photos have a description of how they broke.
This reminds me of all the sports cars you see crashing because the drivers were being a dumb donkey. Was it Ferrari’s fault or the driver who did not respect what he was driving?
Perhaps you can rephrase your post in a way that doesn’t beg the question.
I don't understand what you're trying to say.
I like logical fallacies, so here goes:
"Begging the Question" is a logical fallacy where the premise assumes the conclusion is true. It’s a form of circular reasoning. In this case, the argument simply assumes the “truth” that Spyderco’s Colorado-made knives of Maxamet crack more frequently than their Taiwan-made knives of Maxamet. RustyIron is implying, you’ve not made a valid argument that Colorado-made Maxamet blades actually do crack more.
As CJK pointed out, there is a base-rate issue. There may just be a whole lot more Colorado knives out there. We'd need to nail down the base rates before concluding there's a Colorado vs. Taiwan difference.
I've no dog in this fight, don't own any Maxamet. Would like to, though.
Last edited by Bolster on Fri Oct 17, 2025 10:39 pm, edited 1 time in total.
Steel novice who self-identifies as a steel expert. Proud M.N.O.S.D. member 0003. Spydie Steels: 4V, 15V, 20CV, AEB-L, AUS6, Cru-Wear, HAP40, K294, K390, M4, Magnacut, S110V, S30V, S35VN, S45VN, SPY27, SRS13, T15, VG10, XHP, ZWear, ZDP189
This reminds me of all the sports cars you see crashing because the drivers were being a dumb donkey. Was it Ferrari’s fault or the driver who did not respect what he was driving?
As for the example of Ferrari, we can give the following analogy: You get into your Ferrari, close the door, and the car breaks down in the middle of the body. Was it Ferrari’s fault or the driver who did not respect what he was driving?
It's not likely to be a future problem. I believe that Eric has decided to disco the Maxamet. We've decided that the Yin was greater than the Yang and the material, for us, is not reliable enough, for the customer, on top of how difficult it is to work the steel. I don't know that there will much of the material in the future.
"Begging the Question" is a logical fallacy where the premise assumes the conclusion is true. It’s a form of circular reasoning. In this case, the argument simply assumes the “truth” that Spyderco’s Colorado-made knives of Maxamet crack more frequently than their Taiwan-made knives of Maxamet. RustyIron is implying, you’ve not made a valid argument that Colorado-made Maxamet blades actually do crack more.
As CJK pointed out, there is a base-rate issue. There may just be a whole lot more Colorado knives out there. We'd need to nail down the base rates before concluding there's a Colorado vs. Taiwan difference.
I've no dog in this fight, don't own any Maxamet. Would like to, though.
I know what you mean, but...
If I Google "Maxamet broken knife", then the pictures will show knives made in Colorado, a lot of broken knives. There are no photos with knives from Taiwan.
This can be explained by the fact that the scale of production is different. Perhaps that's the reason. But we don't know anything about the number of knives produced in different factories.
That's why I'm asking: Is Maxamet from Taiwan better than from USA? This is the first and simplest conclusion that can be drawn: according to the data that we have, we see that the vast majority (we can say all) of the broken knives from Maxamet are manufactured at a factory in Colorado.
Stable Mules; Z-Max, Z-Wear, Magna Cut, Magna Max, SRS13, Rex 76, Rex T15.
