Verified on a 59.8, 62.7, and 65.0 HRC Verification Block.

Demko AD20S CPM-M4 61.2 HRC

Demko AD20S CPM-Magnacut 62.5 HRC

Spyderco Leafjumper K390 64.9 HRC

Shirogorov Neon Elmax 62.2 HRC

Urban EDC Isarus CPM-Magnacut 63.0 HRC

Shirogorov Hati M390 62.4 HRC

Shirogorov F95 CPM-S30V 58.6 HRC

Demko AD-10 CPM-3V 59.3 HRC

Strider SNG PD#1 62.0 HRC

CRK Umnumzaan CPM-Magnacut 64.3 HRC

Shirogorov Stellar CPM-Magnacut 64.4 HRC

Spyderco Tenacious CPM-M4 64.3 HRC

CKF Evo 4.0 CPM-S90V 60.3 HRC

Spyderco Shaman CPM-10V 63.2 HRC

TOPS Camp Creek CPM-S35Vn 59.0 HRC

TOPS Tracker 3 154CM 57.9 HRC

TOPS Badger Creek N690 59.4 HRC

For those who saw the post Maxace made earlier, I am now working to help Maxace improve their testing procedures, and help them work towards improving their heat treatment. I do not hold negative feelings for Maxace, however I do wish for them to continue working towards doing proper heat treatment. I will be receiving some more samples from Maxace and performing testing on said samples soon. Quality issues are only issues if they are not dealt with properly. Companies are going to have problems, that is expected. What matters is how they deal with said problems. This project was not created to cause drama, it was created to give the knife community a source of unbiased factual data that the wonderful members of the community can reference when making purchases.

I am still looking for as many samples as I can get sent my way. The push to work with manufacturers has been fairly ineffective as most companies do not want a bad result due to the negative ramifications. Still charging a mere $10/blade plus shipping both ways.

A special shoutout to Leo of TOPS Knives for sending in the 3 blades for testing. Leo was a breeze to work with, and gave me a very open and honest vibe. He immediately sent me blades as soon as I reached out. This was extremely unexpected, in all honesty. At Blade Show I had actually skipped past his booth, as I had fully expected to be rejected. Most overbuilt fixed blade making knife companies tend to care more for toughness over hardness. So please take that into account when seeing the results, this is one of those times when the toughness of the blade actually matters a good bit. These are large fixed blades that are meant to take some abuse.

Note the K390 Leafjumper blade. We now believe all Spyderco K390 to have a target hardness range of 63-65. This has been consistent between Seki City and Golden Colorado models so far.

The Urban EDC Magnacut blade is consistent with other Reate-made CPM-Magnacut knives. That seems to be the one steel Reate can get properly so far…

The Demko AD20S CPM-M4 blade is about 3 points lower than the average Spyderco CPM-M4 blade. A stark contrast in price range makes this result confusing to me.

The Shirogorov CPM-S30V blade comes from a time when Shirogorov had a completely different heat treatment process. And is an interesting data point to note.

Grimsmo Norseman Blurple with hex milling- in magnacut

I’ve always noticed that Spydercos from Taichun have a little something extra when it comes to fit and finish. Today I was looking at the Spyder logo on this Sage 5 in the sun and it looked really cool. Upon closer inspection, I could see a little spyder web etched inside.

I looked at it again and some other knives with a magnifying glass, and only this one and the Sage Salt had it. None of my Golden ones did. Anyone else notice this or seen the web on other knives?

Li cedo in lotto, il Province è già stato venduto.

2350€ spedizione compresa in tutta Europa.

Valuto scambi con Randall

Carried my Military 2 and Sage both in SPY27 last night into today. They'll get a break tonight. I'll be back at it soon with a different pair.

I know they say on the website that the cerakote WILL scratch and wear, but I figured they meant it would take light scratching over a long time, not this... I am really regretting not getting the hard coating or anodized, but these were the only ones available for the Manix 2 LW in orange. I've even got it in a little pocket sheath, so this is literally only from rubbing against the cotton fabric inside the pocket... Wondering how much worse they're going to get.

Anyone else got cerakote ones they can show long-term pics of?

Easter find!

Felice di condividere con voi il mio ultimo acquisto, un meraviglioso Randall mod. 25 manicato in corno di cervo lucidato.

Una bella particolarità che mi mancava in collezione, purtroppo con qualche punto di ruggine in cima alla lama..

Uncle passed away over a year ago and left this large collection. I just found the time to lay them out and take photos. It’s an eclectic mix of items and I know the major brands, I was hoping for some help identifying any particular gems in the mix from some of the brand names or rarer ones and ideas on price would be appreciated. I’m also looking to offload the whole collection and would appreciate any ideas on best places to do that. I don’t have time to piece it out on eBay or anything. Would you recommend a local knife show or any places that would buy the whole lot around the NYC area? Any help would be appreciated.

My current fav edc

what does this mean? is it some kind of limited edition?

Arno Bernard Rhinkals

Spyderco Para 3 Salt in Magnacut

To our friends who follow MAXACE: we would like to take this opportunity to clarify some recent inquiries regarding the hardness of our steel.

MAXACE KNIVES is a brand founded by a group of knife enthusiasts. We have always firmly believed that “performance is the soul of a knife”. MAXACE has never made a statement like "customers won't actually use it, so we don't need to care about it." On the contrary, we have always valued every customer's voice and feedback.

In terms of heat treatment processes, MAXACE consistently upholds high standards and rigorous requirements among Chinese knife brands:

- When using materials from Bohler , we entrust the heat treatment to the original factory.

- When using ASSAB materials, the processing is carried out by their officially partnered heat treatment facility.

- For steel brands that do not yet have local offices in China, we select top-tier local heat treatment providers and, based on the product data sheet from the material supplier, apply a cryogenic treatment with liquid nitrogen to ensure stable performance and full traceability — delivering the most reliable product to every user.

-----

Regarding the measured hardness of [58.5 HRC] on a CPM‑Magnacut knife by some friends, we would like to provide the following official explanation:

CPM Magnacut is a new type of steel. MAXACE should be among the first or second batch of knife brands to attempt using this material after its release.

When our first batch of products came out, some users questioned why the hardness did not reach 64 HRC. Our explanation at the time was: **60–62 HRC is already an acceptable range**. As this is a brand‑new material, we followed the product data sheet provided by Crucible Industries LLC and adopted a more conservative heat treatment protocol combined with liquid‑nitrogen cryogenic treatment.

Our core priority was to ensure stability and reliability.

We also cited relevant information provided by the material's developer, Larrin Thomas, indicating that even just 60-61 HRC achieves the performance of MagnaCut steel. [see attached picture 8-9]

Regarding factory testing, every product we deliver is subjected to hardness testing in strict accordance with the **ASTM‑E18 standard**, ensuring that the best possible quality reaches our users. [See attached picture 1-7]

We ourselves are knife enthusiasts, not purely businessmen, and we have genuine passion for this industry. From design, production, to inspection, we follow professional standards at every step. Especially considering that overseas customers are far away, and after‑sales service is inconvenient, we hold ourselves to even stricter standards to ensure product stability and reliability.

Finally, we would like to sincerely thank every friend who supports MAXACE, as well as the Knife Hardness Laboratory for their valuable feedback.

As a young brand, we are always learning and growing. We are willing to listen carefully to voices from all sides and continuously improve ourselves, bringing you even better knife works.

it has a kershaw clip on the back

i had a gift card to the local hardware store. i had been eyeing the full size finn and the finn mini, they just switched there knife display to Case. I buy the case finn mini as a lightweight trout and fishing bc knife. I thought I was used to Case quality but its clear they are no longer the same company.My father has a larger vintage version of the case finn that has lasted him decades with no defects.

immmediately after inspecting once home, i find that..

The stainless steel polish is very poorly done and looks like a guady chrome with imperfections.

The attachment of the blade to handle is so flimsy I could bend it with one finger. Are older case knives full tang ?

The stacked leather on the handle would move and make audible noises while gripping knife.

i thought this was just a defect. went back to store to return for another. the stainless steel finish was an imperfection on only mine but every knife in that store had improperly fitted handles and flimsy blades

gave up and bought a crkt biwa- cheaper and fully confident its not gonna snap in half

Can you guest the two that I carry every day now?

My smallest fixed blades; From top to bottom

Benchmade Dacian Magnacut

Bradford Guardian 3.2 SanMai SG2

Bradford Guardian 3.0 Magnacut

White River M1 Magnacut

WaxedWing Chitin Nitro-V

CRKT SPEW 5Cr15

CRKT Folts Minimalist 5Cr15