MagnaMax on Nemo Knives Review – Previous articles

• July 6, 2026 – MagnaMax – The Interceptor
• July 24, 2026 – MagnaMax part 2 The Road Test.
• July 30, 2026 – MagnaMax III – Beyond 15V

And now this one, four months later.

And yes, over the years, I’ve had the opportunity to experiment with some rather extraordinary blade steels.

From the impressive wear resistance and toughness of K390 to the reliable cutting performance of CPM M4, and more recently the almost outrageous capabilities of a gentle giant named REX 121, I’ve spent quite some time exploring what modern powder metallurgy can bring to the world of folding knives.

But always on my own terms, from my own perspective, and through my own experiments.

I’ve seen K390 Police stabbed into concrete, a CPM M4 fixed blade cutting ropes in competition, and REX 121 surviving the challenge of cutting through a hard pie directly on a ceramic plate.

These are not laboratory tests, nor are they meant to be. They are real-world experiences that have shaped my understanding of these steels, sometimes challenging what I thought I knew about them.

My customized Yojimbo 2 in CPM M4, “Jade”, remains one of my favorite knives for woodworking. The availability of CPM M4 with a partially serrated edge on the Tenacious is further proof of just how effective serrations can be when paired with a high-performance tool steel. My Lil’ Temperance in K390, LT, is another outstanding hardchores performer. And then came Tango, my Spyderco Sage 6 in REX 121, which accompanied me on a fourteen-day trip to Tuscany without requiring a single sharpening session.

Each of these steels has its own personality, strengths and… weaknesses.

REX 121 is an absolute monster when it comes to wear resistance, but sharpening it is a different story altogether, it requires patience and diamonds paste. K390 offers phenomenal cutting performance, although corrosion resistance requires a little more attention. CPM M4 has proven itself to be an exceptionally versatile tool steel, particularly when paired with the right blade geometry but again a drop of oil is mandatory.

But what about that MagnaMax blade mounted on my Manix Salt handle ?

For the recall, Larrin Thomas’s MagnaMax is an intriguing new addition to the world of high-performance blade steels. As I In many ways, it feels like the offspring of MagnaCut and K390, attempting to combine excellent corrosion resistance with the kind of wear resistance normally associated with much more demanding tool steels.

On paper, that’s a very attractive proposition, isn’ it.

It’s supposed to eliminate the need for oiling and Spyderco clearly has a lot of faith in this new steel as it should replace S30V and S45V in the Golden Plant sooner or later… The Manix 2 platform is the first to bring MagnaMax to the market, and Spyderco certainly hasn’t taken the lightweight approach here. Full stainless steel liners, reassuringly solid construction, and a weight of 136 grams on my kitchen scale. It is written “Please use me HARD” all over it. And now they’re even bringing out a partially serrated version! Serrations and tool steels make an amazing combination.

This is no lightweight pocket companion, huh ? And for less than 200 dollars you got a really the opportunity to test it and adopt it because **spoilers alert** MagnaMax is “that” good !

I’m no laboratory rat, much more of a Lobby Rat! No microscope, no CATRA machine, no Rockwell tester. What interests me is how a steel behaves when you actually live with it. The amount of pleasure it brings, and just how wide a smile it puts on my face when cutting acidic food, brown cardboard, hard plastic, pruning wood, carving, dealing with moisture and grease, and surviving the occasional brutal encounter with a ceramic plate, courtesy of someone who doesn’t know much about knives! 😉

In other words, everyday life.

I’ve already spent quite some time using MagnaMax, including some rather revealing experiments with edge geometry and sharpening. Reprofiling it proved considerably more demanding than working on MagnaCut, and it immediately reminded me of the stubborn nature of CPM S90V. On the other hand, its corrosion resistance has been nothing short of impressive so far.

I was able to punch the tip through the lids of bean cans to create an opening and make them easier to open. It’s an exercise that Maxamet was much less fond of, given its tendency to chip whenever it encountered something a little too hard, such as when opening an oyster.

The tip gets used a lot for mundane tasks. It’s a part of the blade that is particularly exposed to all kinds of hard materials in my kitchen. With MagnaMax, I’ve experienced no tip bending/deformation or even the slightest chipping, despite all the everyday abuse I’ve put it through. I’m seeing the same kind of behavior as with K390 and CPM-M4. It is a hard steel (around 64HRC I believe) but strong.

There are plenty of ways to scratch a blade in the kitchen. Take scraping butter off a frying pan designed to withstand scratches from forks and other metal utensils, for example — the kind with an ultra-hard coating. Well, no issues here either. There isn’t a single mark on my Manix blade. Even the green abrasive side of a kitchen sponge (the Scotch-Brite side, which can scratch glass) hasn’t left the slightest trace.

Cardboard doesn’t seem to dull the blade’s stonewashed finish either. Brown cardboard contains silica, which tends to leave its mark on softer blades. Here, nothing. Not a scratch or a hint of wear. So yes, this is definitely a very hard steel!

Now, what about edge maintenance? Well, I didn’t even need diamond abrasives. A plain white ceramic rod was more than enough.

I found myself enjoying the same sharpening experience I get with the K390 blade on my Lil’ Temperance or the CPM-M4 on my Tenacious. There’s no need to bring out the heavy artillery to bring MagnaMax back to a razor-sharp edge. It’s genuinely enjoyable.

You can feel that it takes a little longer than with MagnaCut (which, by contrast, often comes back to life with nothing more than a quick strop on leather), but maintaining MagnaMax at razor-sharp levels is still a very pleasant experience and certainly doesn’t require hours of work.

Actually, I suspect that most of the time I was simply giving the edge a light touch-up out of sheer habit and peace of mind. It probably didn’t really need it in the first place!

I deliberately went for a highly polished, slightly convexed edge, unlike REX 121, for example, where I find that a micro-serrated edge can help bring out its best performance.

The idea is to simply enjoy cutting without having to overthink things. Edge reliability is paramount. I want a blade I can trust, whatever the task, and an edge that delivers consistently without making me second-guess my choice.

When it comes to patina, K390 is ahead of CPM-M4, while REX 121 is almost on a par with CPM Cru-Wear in its resistance to developing a tarnished appearance. But MagnaMax seems to belong to an entirely different category altogether: zero-maintenance steel.

The kind of steel that lets you forget your dirty knife at the bottom of your gear bag after cleaning a fish. The kind you can use like an absolute slob without worrying about it. We’ll see how it holds up once I’m back home. This is something entirely new for the Tool Steel gang!

So, did my Manix ever meet a sponge loaded with dish soap? Not even once! Its main cleaning routine consisted of little more than a rinse under hot running water to flush out any grease that might have accumulated in the nooks and crannies of the mechanism and handle.

The blade is still immaculate. There’s just one tiny scratch from my diamond stone when I was initially shaping the convexed edge — entirely my own fault for being a bit clumsy with freehand sharpening! Other than that, not a mark, not a pit, not a scratch, and absolutely no blemishes.

MagnaMax seems to bring together two worlds that traditionally required compromises: the wear resistance and edge retention associated with high-performance tool steels, and the corrosion resistance expected from a modern stainless steel.

Is it perfect? Probably not. No steel is.

But after all these weeks, I find myself thinking less and less about its specifications. I simply reach for V8, use it, clean it when necessary, give the edge an occasional touch-up and get on with my day.

It’s become my go-to knife whenever I don’t know what the day has in store. A trip to the seaside? Some work in the woods? Cutting a birthday cake on a ceramic plate? Removing a stubborn staple from a cardboard box?

Whatever comes my way, V8 is ready for it. And I don’t have to think twice. And perhaps that’s the greatest compliment I can pay to a tool steel: it simply lets me get on with using my knife, hard and without a second thought.

The best steel isn’t necessarily the one that wins every laboratory test. It’s the one that lets you forget about the steel and simply enjoy using your knife hard, without a second thought.

MagnaMax rules! It lives up to every promise! Strong, stubborn, stainless and succulent to use. 😉 Hard to dull and hard at work.

“Mira Sempre Piu in Alto” as they say in Italian: always aim higher !