any new Mule Team models for 2017?

Mo2 · Mar 1, 2017

Was just wondering, i noticed spyderco releases 1 to 3 mule teams a year and its been a while since the maxamet version was released.

whats on the forecast for 2017 and the mule team steel options? when might they be available (an estimation would be great, but i understand as everyone else should, that an estimation may be greatly delayed).

looking forward to the future of what steel will be provided for testing.

harpy333 · Mar 1, 2017

I hear the next one will be LC200N. Sometime in the next month hopefully.

Mo2 · Mar 1, 2017

interesting. im not too into LC200N (more into super steel). hopfully it sells out fast so we can get the next one rolling. Thank you for the tip.

RC15 · Mar 1, 2017

Count me in for the LC200N, love the SpydieChef with this steel. I know there are quite a few new 2017 Spyderco models coming out with LC200N too.

harpy333 · Mar 1, 2017

I'm actually looking forward to the Lc200n myself. Hope they don't sell out too fast. Haven't heard any other news as to what is next in line after that...

yablanowitz · Mar 1, 2017

Mo2 said:
Was just wondering, i noticed spyderco releases 1 to 3 mule teams a year and its been a while since the maxamet version was released.

whats on the forecast for 2017 and the mule team steel options? when might they be available (an estimation would be great, but i understand as everyone else should, that an estimation may be greatly delayed).

looking forward to the future of what steel will be provided for testing.

Did you miss the 20CV Mule that was released after the Maxamet?

Mo2 · Mar 1, 2017

yablanowitz said:
Did you miss the 20CV Mule that was released after the Maxamet?

yea, i didnt hear anything about it. maxamet was the only one that i know of that was the last mule team 24.

just saw it was posted here in December, damn it http://www.bladeforums.com/forums/showthread.php/1453469-MT23P-Mule-Team-Fixed-Blade-with-CPM-20CV

looks like they are still available
https://www.spyderco.com/catalog/details/MT23/Mule-Team-23-CPM-20CV/1007

Thank you for letting me know this! i dropped the ball

does anyone know what HRC the 20CV mule team 23P is hardened too?

RC15 · Mar 1, 2017

Mo2 said:
yea, i didnt hear anything about it. maxamet was the only one that i know of that was the last mule team 24.

just saw it was posted here in December, damn it http://www.bladeforums.com/forums/showthread.php/1453469-MT23P-Mule-Team-Fixed-Blade-with-CPM-20CV

looks like they are still available
https://www.spyderco.com/catalog/details/MT23/Mule-Team-23-CPM-20CV/1007

Thank you for letting me know this! i dropped the ball

does anyone know what HRC the 20CV mule team 23P is hardened too?

They released the #24 Maxamet first and then backfilled the next Mule with the #23 20CV. Out of order so easy to have missed it.

Mo2 · Mar 1, 2017

425KRS said:
They released the #24 Maxamet first and then backfilled the next Mule with the #23 20CV. Out of order so easy to have missed it.

Thank you. while i think its a great release i think im also going to pass on this one. i already have knives in m390 and 204p, this is basically the same composition as them. me getting one of these isnt going to help any tests going on, at least not to me. its a really great steel.

looks like im going to be waiting a while before a worth while mule releases then. Thanks everyone for the information!

ToxicBot11 · Mar 1, 2017

Not sure if it will be out this year or not..but I remember Sal mentioning that a CPM REX121 Mule will be done sooner or later..he said REX121 is expensive to buy and hard to work with..both of those will drive up the price so it want be a cheap Mule.

Still, how often do you get to use a blade made out of CPM REX121? In for at least one whenever they are released.

Mo2 · Mar 1, 2017

REX121 will be an interesting steel, i will most certainly get one even if it the price is very high.

it should keep an edge for as long as maxamet if not longer. pretty different stuff tho.

http://www.zknives.com/knives/steels/steelgraph.php?nm=Rex 121, maxamet&ni=6083,&hrn=1&gm=0

Rex 121(Crucible) - Developed in 1998. CPM REX 121 is a high vanadium cobalt high speed tool steel designed to offer a combination of the highest wear resistance, attainable hardness, and red hardness available in a high speed steel. As far as hardness is concerned, it is truly a champion, capable of reaching 70-72HRC. For the record, officially, Rockwell C scale maxes out at 70. Extremely high wear resistance as well. Difficult to grind and consequently, difficult to sharpen too. Frankly, sharpening this alloy is borderline nightmare even at 68HRC, and it will be exponentially harder at higher hardness. I've killed ceramic belts on the grinder trying to thin down the edge on Rex 121 knife, and even 120 grit DMT wasn't much of a success. With that much alloying elements in it, carbides are abundant, and some of them are not very small either. In the end, it works better with coarse edge, and I am not sure how many people would have a patience to sharpen 100K edge on that thing anyway.
Manufacturing Technology - CPM

Country - United States(US)

Known Aliases:
Crucible - CPM Rex 121

id love to try and sharpen it with some diamond stones or norton crystolon and see how long it takes.

inkynate · Mar 1, 2017

Fwiw, MT20 (CTS B70P) and MT22 (RWL34) are also both still available.

I don't have the RWL34, but I like the B70P so much as a user steel that I sold my k390 mule (although I did jump on the k390 Urban to replace it

). Been debating on whether to pick up the 20CV or to just get another B70P while they're still available, since additional blades in it look like a longshot at this point.

Would like to try the LC200N as well when it drops.

Sal Glesser · Mar 2, 2017

I think we have 3 new steels sitting on the shelves. Blade steels are a fascinating study. As Cliff says, the search for the ".01 micron" at the edge has a long, historical evolution.

sal

Cursum Perficio · Mar 3, 2017

I'd buy a REX 121 Mule just for the challenge/experience of trying to sharpen it.

MAD777 · Mar 3, 2017

Cursum Perficio said:
I'd buy a REX 121 Mule just for the challenge/experience of trying to sharpen it.

I'm buying this also. But being in my mid 60's, it sounds like I'll never have to sharpen it! The edge will out live me! LOL

Sent from my SM-G900V using Tapatalk

on_the_edge · Mar 3, 2017

I am pretty sure I'd go for a REX 121 Mule as well.

Hopefully this isn't too much of a thread hijack, but does anyone know if Spyderco has ever thought about releasing a fully serrated Mule? The reason I ask is because sometimes we see a significant difference in edge holding between plain edge and serrated edge. H1 is a well known example.

Mo2 · Mar 3, 2017

Sal Glesser said:
I think we have 3 new steels sitting on the shelves. Blade steels are a fascinating study. As Cliff says, the search for the ".01 micron" at the edge has a long, historical evolution.

sal

Awesome News Sal! and a great quote too.

MAD777 said:
I'm buying this also. But being in my mid 60's, it sounds like I'll never have to sharpen it! The edge will out live me! LOL

Sent from my SM-G900V using Tapatalk

hahaha, quite possibly. YOLO

Mikke · May 28, 2017

inkynate said:
Fwiw, MT20 (CTS B70P) and MT22 (RWL34) are also both still available.

I don't have the RWL34, but I like the B70P so much as a user steel that I sold my k390 mule (although I did jump on the k390 Urban to replace it ). Been debating on whether to pick up the 20CV or to just get another B70P while they're still available, since additional blades in it look like a longshot at this point.

Please tell me more about the B70P steel, what advantages have you found with it?

I'm thinking about getting a Mule and am a bit torn. I have knives in 20CV (really like the steel, gets really sharp and stays sharp) and RWL34 (also really sharp, but can't say much about how it holds up, haven't used it enough), but I have never tried B70P and have a hard time finding info about it.

inkynate · May 28, 2017

Mikke said:
Please tell me more about the B70P steel, what advantages have you found with it?
...

Hey Mikke,

I can't say much from a scientific or rigorous testing perspective, but it just seems to hit a sweet spot for me in terms of balancing corrosion resistance, wear resistance, toughness, and ease of sharpening for a user fixed blade. My B70P mule also came very thin behind the edge, 0.01" or so, it cuts really well.

I like to think of it as an XHP+, because a lot of people seem to like XHP for similar reasons. B70P has around twice the Vanadium and Moly, as well as some Niobium, but is still relatively modest in overall carbide volume. It's definitely not a "super" steel like s110v, k390, or Maxamet, but sometimes that's what I'm looking for. I have blades in a lot of the super high wear alloys, but also still appreciate the ones I can take from very dull back to shaving in a couple minutes with almost no effort. I don't really worry about chipping or getting it too dull, it's easy to reprofile, etc...

It's also sort of interesting to me to have a knife in a pm steel that virtually no one else is using. Unfortunately I haven't had mine for a while as I loaned it out to my cousin and haven't been able to get it back from him yet lol. I might have to buy a second after all, but my knife budget is sort of blown at the moment.

Mikke · May 28, 2017

Yeah, I know all about limited budgets, else I would probably buy all Mules, and more...

Thanks for your answer, still a hard choise as the 20CV is $10 cheaper, and I really like that steel. If my budget permits, I will buy both and try to compare.