Pro's Pick: Outdoor Edge RazorMax

By Dan Kidder Managing Editor

For most tasks, a folding knife will get the job done, from opening boxes to skinning out a deer. But for larger jobs, nothing beats the comfort and rock-solid stability of a fixed blade. For several years, knife users have been able to get the easy use of the Outdoor Edge Razor Safe replaceable blade system in a variety of folding models. Now, they can get that same ease of use in a fixed blade model and have the ability to quickly swap between 3.5-inch drop point blades and 5-inch fillet/ boning blades.

The handle is made of a textured thermoplastic rubber, giving you a great gripping surface, even when the handle is slick with blood. A slight thumbrise with jimping provides excellent control for fine work and stability for serious work where significant pressure is required. A bottom quillion molded into the handle helps further guard against forward slippage and keeps your fingers away from the exceptionally sharp blade. This molding provides excellent ergonomics and comfort. Additionally, the TPR is durable and cleans off easily. The handle is available in both blaze orange and in black.

The blades attach to a stiffener channel, which the blades slide into, so they have support on either side of the blade. This allows you to still flex the blade significantly without snapping it. Every blade has its snapping point, but I was able to get a good degree of flex without snapping this blade. A big factor in this is the stiffener, which is unique to Outdoor Edge replaceable knives and one of the reasons they are my choice for a replaceable blade.

Changing the blades is just as easy as it is on their other Razor Safe Blade systems. Just press a button on the grip and pull the blade forward. To put the new blade in, just slide it between the stiffener in the channel and click it into the handle. The RazorMax gives you the versatility of the standard 3.5-inch drop point or the longer and springier 5-inch boning/fillet blade.

The RazorMax comes with three of each blade, and replacement packs of blades are easily available and inexpensive. It also comes with a plastic clamshell BladeBox designed to hold a single blade, so when you take a blade out of the plastic vacuum packaging and remove the plastic blade guard, you have a safe way to store it, should you swap between the 3.5-inch and the 5-inch.

The black handled knife comes with a black sheath, and the blaze orange handled knife comes with a Mossy Oak camo sheath. The sheath is a hybrid between a polymer sleeve that completely protects the blade and an out Nylon covering. There is also a removable blade pocket with a Velcro closure that can be strapped to the sheath for carrying spare blades and the BladeBox. The sheath is long enough to carry the RazorMax with either blade installed.

The overall length of the RazorMax with the 3.5-inch blade installed is 8 inches and it is 9.5 inches with the 5-inch blade. The weight of just the knife is 2.6 ounces, and only 4.7 ounces with the sheath.

There are some features of these knives that really make them ideal for game processing, but they also get used on the regular to open boxes. I will warn you that these blades are scalpel-sharp. They have also been used around the Sportsman’s News office to open some thumbs when we get a little careless and when they cut you, they cut you clear to the bone. Fortunately, they are very clean cuts and heal quickly and completely. Be cautious with them, and they will never be a problem. Toss a band-aid in the spare blade pouch in case you get a little careless.

They are super easy to clean, and I frequently give them a rinse to remove loose blood, pop out the blade, and toss them in the dishwasher. If you don’t clean them right after use, you may need a pair of pliers to tug out the blade if it gets stuck from dried blood. But even then, a quick scrub of the spine channel with a toothbrush and some warm soapy water does the trick. When dressing an animal, sometimes it is inevitable that you will need to cut some hair and that really does a number on a knife blade. Instead of carrying a knife sharpener to touch up the blade, you just push a button and swap it out for a razor sharp new one. If you are a very frugal person, you can touch up these blades on a sharpener at a 22-degree angle. The best part though is that occasionally a hard-used knife will get nicks or chips in the blade, and with a traditional blade, you have to remove a lot of material and spend a lot of time to get rid of those nicks and chips. With the RazorMax, you push a button and swap out a new blade for about $2.50.

With the ability to use both 3.5-inch and 5-inch blades, you are really getting two super sharp knives for the price of one, so from a value proposition, as well as a weight factor, you are getting a lot of versatility at a great price and with minimal weight. All of these factors together make the Outdoor Edge RazorMax a great addition to your hunting pack or to your belt for the upcoming hunts.

And every Outdoor Edge knife comes with a lifetime warranty, and the RazorMax handle and the sheath are no exception. If they break during normal use, they will stand behind their product 100 percent. I have used this warranty and trust them to stand behind it.

Scan the QR code in this article with your smartphone and see how we put this new knife to the test and then head on over to Sportsman’s Warehouse to add the Outdoor Edge RazorMax to your kit.