An odd Spyderco Mule test...

theonew

theonew

Joined
May 16, 2006
Messages
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About two weeks ago my friend was handling my Mule in 52100. I joked with him, "Be careful, that's the sharpest knife on the planet." It would easily split a free hanging hair. He set it down and didn't use it to cut anything. Yesterday my wife asked me for a very sharp knife to cut some hairballs off of our cat. I gave her the Mule. She comes back in a minute and tells me the knife isn't very sharp. I feel the edge and while it's not dull by any means, it catches on a fingernail and shaves hair, it was definitely not the super keen hair splitter it was two weeks ago. While I was proud of my wife for being able to discern such a small difference in edge performance, I was surprised that the knife had dulled so much just by sitting around. Possibly somebody used it without me knowing it, but I really doubt it.

So I just started a two week test. I sharpened it to the point where it easily splits a free hanging hair and placed it unsheathed in the back of a closet. Two weeks from now I'll take it out and see how much it dulled. Yeah, I know, not a very exciting test :D
 
I'm guessing there's moisture in the sheath and the very edge of the blade got rusted, which can't be seen. I never had any dulling issues with my 52100 Mule, which is indeed the sharpest knife ever. Then again I live in dry California.
 
I never store it in the sheath, but to be fair, the last two weeks have been very hot and humid here in the city.
 
The edge of the knife is very thin and corrosion will hit that point first. I think you will be very surprised when you inspect you knife at the end of the test.
 
I always keep the edge wiped down with a silicone cloth. After every cleaning or use. Carbon steels like 52100 get the most care from me. I learned that on an A2 CR project 1 , which won't rust as quickly as 52100.

I'm talking just about losing sharpness, not even being able to see rust.
 
UPDATE: Just checked in on the knife and it was still hair whittling sharp :thumbup: This last week though has been very nice, 60 - 70 degrees with 40 - 60 % humidity :D
 
52100 and 1095 are the two most rust-prone steels in existance probably. They are otherwise very nice performers but after finding that CPM M4 has some corrosion resistance, I'm going to use my M4 Mule more from now on.
 
I know everyone's been on the edge of their seat waiting for the result of this test :D Well, I just checked the edge again and it is still easily whittling hair, no loss of sharpness that I can discern. For the duration of the test though the weather has been very cool and dry. Since I don't need to use this knife I'm just going to continue this till the edge finally shows some dulling. It looks like it may become rainy towards the end of the week, so I'm very curious to see how it does next Tuesday.
 
What was you finishing step in sharpening?


I ask because the more you polish the edge the more you make it resistant to corrosion. I have had my 52100 mule sitting unused for about 3 months and the edge is just now starting to dull, some small rust spots and what feels like a very small burr on the edge. Its still very sharp but only whittles hair in one spot, the edge was finished with a 8000 grit waterstone and 1 micron diamond paste.
 
It was finished using a Spyderco ultra-fine ceramic, which I believe is about a 3 micron abrasive. I'm pretty good with this abrasive and can get what under casual inspection might be called a mirror polish. Hmmm, sounds like my Mule may be out of a job for longer than I expected.
 
theonew said:
It was finished using a Spyderco ultra-fine ceramic, which I believe is about a 3 micron abrasive. I'm pretty good with this abrasive and can get what under casual inspection might be called a mirror polish. Hmmm, sounds like my Mule may be out of a job for longer than I expected.
Click to expand...

The UF ceramic does leave a nice polish so it may take a few more weeks before you see anything, though I think your weather is playing a little factor.
 
Still easily whittles hair, no noticeable loss of sharpness. Had a few rainy days this week but overall relative humidity was still rather low.
 
there's always micro-rusting at the edge, for all knives.

I've had crazy sharp knives go from hairpopping sharp to barely hair scrapping just sitting in storage over a period of several months.
 
Don't mind me, I'm just blabbing a little here. I recently employed my 52100 mule for kitchen duty. I know it's not a good choice but since there's really not a lot of Mule reviews here on the forums, I figured I'd put mine to the test. So far, rust is a real problem. I mean this thing rusts IN THE DISH DRAINER. Sheesh. It passes right over "patina" and goes for huge rust sploches. Maybe this will ease off as time goes by but for right now I can see why kitchen knives are so full of chromium. Takes a wicked edge however. It's a tomato killer fer shure... :)

Anyhoo, back to the subject. I can see how the edge might be harmed by corrosion. Don't know if that's what happened in your case but I can clearly see how it would be possible. You can almost hear this stuff rust.
 
Just checked it and it's still whittling hair :thumbup:
It's been about a month now.
 
Harry Callahan said:
Don't mind me, I'm just blabbing a little here. I recently employed my 52100 mule for kitchen duty. I know it's not a good choice but since there's really not a lot of Mule reviews here on the forums, I figured I'd put mine to the test. So far, rust is a real problem. I mean this thing rusts IN THE DISH DRAINER. Sheesh. It passes right over "patina" and goes for huge rust sploches. Maybe this will ease off as time goes by but for right now I can see why kitchen knives are so full of chromium. Takes a wicked edge however. It's a tomato killer fer shure... :)

Anyhoo, back to the subject. I can see how the edge might be harmed by corrosion. Don't know if that's what happened in your case but I can clearly see how it would be possible. You can almost hear this stuff rust.
Click to expand...

Agreed, 52100 is about as rust-prone as steels get, next to 1095. Mirror polishing does make a huge difference though. Remember that if you include all the people in China, 1060-1095 is still the most common kitchen knife steel.
 
Mine has been sitting for about 2 months longer than yours and is just starting to get dull. When I get some batteries for my camera I'll try and get some 400x pic's of the edge.
 
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