MKM Maximo Review

By Phil Spano

Maniago Knife Makers, or MKM as you may have seen floating around, comes straight out of Italy. Consorozio Coltellinai Maniago is a group of 46 small knife companies all located in the knife capital of Italy, The Maniago Knife District. The eclectic range of knives you can find are anything from EDC, to kitchen cutlery, and even farming tools!

The MKM Maximo is a beast in itself. I saw this pop up and thought, wow! That looks like an Italian Zaan! I did some more searching and found this Smoky Mountain Knife Works exclusive Maximo with a show side consisting of a red and black mess of beautiful fat carbon, a clip side of titanium with a fragged pattern on both sides.

The 3.23” Bolher M390 blade comes razor sharp out of box with drop point, flat ground, and stonewashed finish. The Maximo is lefty friendly, although the frame lock is only on one side, you can 2 ways of opening it, flipper tab or double thumb studs. It sports a deep cherry titanium pocket clip so after you’re done ripping down some Amazon boxes, you can slip it right into your pocket without worry.

The MKM Maximo also packs a glass breaker on the end of it, making it perfect for a bugout bag or pack. This knife is a great companion at work, in the woods, or around the house. The M390 steels keeps a sharp edge while being very resistant to rusting, so you won’t have to worry about it going dull quickly or the blade wearing on you.

A few things I’ve noticed about the Maximo that may be a red flag for some users is the tolerances are very tight. There is zero lock rock, zero blade play and when you flip her open she opens quickly and smooth, but I had to loosen up the pivot a bit and drop some KPL on the pivot screw to get the action a little smoother and less tight. With the thumb studs, I feel the flipper tab is kind of redundant. I know some like to have more than one way to open a knife and that’s fine, but it tends to get in the way of you want that drop shutty kind of knife.

With those being the only real cons I personally have with the MKM Maximo, I feel that this is a great knife, and a lot of knife for the price.  You can find it in a few other variations, with a full titanium version and also I believe there is a micarta outfitted version as well.

All in all, the MKM Maximo is a fantastic knife. It will get you out of most situations, keep you safe in an auto accident or SHTF situation. The spine is rounded so it may be difficult to make a fire with, but if this knife is your only source of making fire, you need to rethink your bug out pack.

Check out some of Black Flag Survivals other articles to find out about what is best to keep in your pack for SHTF situations, and to keep you and yours safe when out on the trails or anywhere for that matter.