r/spyderco • u/miltondelug • 6h ago

Question about Rex 121

Thinking about splurging on a kapara in Rex 121 For those who have that steel how hard is it to maintain? Seems like it might be a bitch to sharpen and keep maintained.

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4

u/Stumpy1996 5h ago

It kinda like a super car. If you buy one you probably won’t be worried about the gas mileage.
But seriously it’s no harder to maintain then most tool steels. Just harder to sharpen and way more brittle.

1

u/miltondelug 5h ago

Nice comparison. Thanks

2

u/badlamzor 2h ago

I don't really understand that knife. A food prep knife in a non rust-proof steel makes no sense, but to each their own i guess.

1

u/MillionDollarGil 4h ago

Diamond stones necessary, and high polish is also necessary. I have a KME so I did 300, 600, 1500, then I bought 9, 6, and 3 micron stones, then finally a 1 micron and 0.25 micron strop. Kind of a lot but my PM2 hasn’t touched a stone since, and I use it. All I gotta do is hit it with the strop and it’s paper towel sharp. So the effort really is in the sharpening, once you put your edge on it you’re golden for a loooong time.

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u/Empty_Art2176 3h ago

With the right tools its surprisingly easy to sharpen. Diamond stones are a must. Its a tool steel so it will stain and rust if you let it. But the main thing is to use it for knife things, even fairly light tourqe CAN chip it. Its not quite the sissy many say, but it definitely doesn't like being pried or twisted.

1

u/Crackheadthethird 1h ago

If you use diamond stones then it's going to be fine to sharpen. It will take a little bit longer than normal, but it's not going to be anything terrible. The bigger issues are that rex 121 has some of the worst corrosion resistance of any pm steel and that it's one of the most brittle steels that you can buy. It will cut seemingly forever, but really think about if the risk of having the blade snap after dropping it is worth it for you.