cetan

If you've spent any time on YouTube watching knife content, you'll probably have come across the KnifeCenter.com channel and David C. Andersen. Not only is he the host of their YouTube videos he's also a knife designer.

And he's always been a proponent of user-friendly, practical, no-nonsense, and affordable pocket knives for everyday use.

His first design is certainly that. You might say, much like the Civivi Elementum, it's almost too "generic" but I disagree. This is a knife that is an easy entry into carrying a knife daily for those who've never done it before.

The Maximal has a 2.95 inch (74.9 mm) blade and an overall length of 6.89 inches (175 mm). A practical drop-point blade shape with, surprisingly a small amount of recurve towards the back. I couldn't get any good photos of the recurve on my typical stump-as-photo-table as it is too bumpy, but here's a close approximation.

It's so subtle that I thought it was a bad grind from the factory, but that doesn't seem to be the case. It will probably be removed naturally after the first two re-sharpenings.

Because CJRB is making it, they're using (with the base models) their proprietary AR-RPM9 steel. This is derived from another word salad steel: 9CR18MoV but with better properties. The knife pictured here, however, has a newer steel. Called AR-SFII, it's also proprietary to CJRB but an upgrade from their RPM9. Supposedly equivalent to 154CM (a rather famous knife steel, used extensively by Bob Loveless who popularized the drop-point blade shape back in the day), it's an improvement over their AR-RPM9 in edge retention while retaining toughness.

And while all of this may be true, I do not have the skill set to verify these claims. What I do know is that, based on my use, AR-SFII will hold an edge for a very long time.

Now I've not been abusing the knife, but I've not been babying it either. It was my main carry all summer and has cut food, paracord, zip ties, made wood shavings for fire building, and yes, broken down a box or two or a bunch, and it's still relatively sharp.

In-hand it's comfortable for me but not something I would use for hours on end. (What pocket knife /does/ meet that criteria?). The drop-point blade, 2.5mm thick, is a very capable slicer but I do wish it was hollow-ground instead for easier food prep. The crossbar lock is well tuned and the pivot houses ceramic ball bearing washers.

The clip is deep carry but not obnoxiously so like many knives today. This version has full carbon fiber scales (no overlays). This is my first carbon fiber handled knife and I have to say, it's quite nice. Smooth and lightweight like aluminum but not cold to the touch and won't show its wear as easily.

Here it is next to some similarly sized knives that I had close at hand. The Kizer Drop Bear and the Benchmade Mini Griptilian. The mini Grip is a bit smaller than the other two but I think it lives in the same basic space.

The Kizer has 154CM steel and micarta scales. Had I purchased the Griptilian just a few weeks before I did, it too would have a 154CM blade, but when I was finally ready to buy one they had switched over to S30V (where they've remained for almost 7 years).

Anyway, as you can see the Maximal lives in a happy middle ground of knife shapes and features. The blade is not as utilitarian as the Drop Bear and not as aggressive as the Griptilian. The taller scales fit my hand well and the overall length is not too long (bigger hands might have a different experience). And the crossbar lock gives it the fidget factor that's very satisfying.

This is definitely a knife that I would recommend to basically anyone. (Not a lawyer, check local knife laws, etc). It won't dull quickly and it should be easy to re-sharpen. It doesn't sit obtrusively in the pocket nor does it get lost, and it offers a great shape for a large variety of tasks.

I paid $70 for mine but the base model can be had for $50 and sometimes less. For some that may seem like a lot of money for a knife but with the fit and finish offered, you're certainly Maximalizing your money with this one. (I'll show myself out.)

There is something very compelling (to me) about the sodbuster pattern slipjoint. It is old (some say back to the Romans but that seems very suspect) and very utilitarian. A good working knife. It was compelling enough to Case Knives they got a trademark for "Sod Buster" and built a whole line of knives around it.

If you're interested in one telling of the history of the sodbuster pattern, this video is informative. (I have no way of verifying accuracy however.)

I'm pretty sure Case also popularized the yellow synthetic handle. At least enough that others copied from them. Imperial/Schrade* certainly did.

The Imperial Sodbuster, or as it's affectionately called "IMP22Y", is an inexpensive knife to be sure. I purchased it a year and a half ago during a brief "how close can I get to $10 and still get a good knife" phase. (See previously reviewed Watchman and Duratech.)

In terms of matching the sodbuster pattern and the classic yellow handle it gets high marks. It claims to be 7CR17MoV steel and it cost $7.99 at the time. After that everything goes down hill.

Out of the box a few things were noticeable:

1. the brass pivot and pins came pre-tarnished, with obvious green rings around each one, staining the handle.
2. the grind was pretty far off
3. very stiff opening with a pronounced gritty/grinding feel. There is no need for a half-stop with this knife because every part of the movement could be considered a stop. This is not a knife that will accidentally close on your fingers. This is a knife that will barely close at all.

It's this last part that gets us back to the title of this post. For you see, that gritty/grinding feel was not left-over debris from manufacturing, but indeed, is the rounded tang of the knife blade and the back spring slowly but surely grinding itself to death.

As best as I could do with the macro function on my phone (and some cropping) you can see the pivot end of the knife. You can clean the knife to perfection and within a few times of opening and closing it, you're left with a mass of metal shavings and a shiny knife tang. I have no idea if they are wearing equally or if one is going to "win" but in the end we all lose with this knife.

Ouroboros, the snake eating its own tail, is meant to represent infinity and the cycle of life.
This is not Ourorboros. This is more Pizza the Hut.

The knife sits on my desk as a reminder of the fact that no matter how bad something can be, there's always a way it can be worse.

• (The muddy history of Schrade and Imperial knives is probably best left to Wikipedia.)

As an aside, I've moved accounts from lemmy.world to piefed.world. I have no idea how this is going to post to the community. sorry in advance for any weirdness.