First impression: Spyderco Mule 46 MagnaMax

[RCFL]

The Spyderco Mule 46 in MagnaMax came in late this afternoon.

First impression is that it is quite dull compared to other new Spydercos. It would not cut a piece of regular paper, didn't even try thin paper like newspaper. It would have been fine for cutting carrots and onions, but not as sharp as I thought it would be.

No big deal, as this brings me to my second impression. I pulled the edge back to about 17 1/2 to 18 degrees and it was surprisingly easy to reprofile. The edge came in nicely and with almost no burr. NICE! Maybe.

I was surprised at how quickly the very sharp edge showed up. I have other knives in M390, M4, K294, S90V and S110V, and 3V, besides Cruwear and AUS8, so I have some basis for comparison. Not an expert, but kinda sorta know what it should feel like when the edge comes in. Sometimes the edge is gummy or it's hard to get rid of the burr. Not so with this one. No idea what the hardness is, though. Maybe someone will test one of these and report.

Don't know yet whether the ease of sharpening is because of the inherent qualities of the alloy, or if it isn't as hard as it should be.

I put two coats of renaissance wax, then a coat of long term storage oil on the tang, screwed the grips on, and tried it out. I am very favorable on this as far as I have used it so far.

Too soon to tell how the edge holds up, but will know in a few days. Got a pile of cardboard to break down. Nothing scientific, no measurements, just seat of the pants feel as to how long the edge holds up compared to the seat of the pants at the time when I did it before with different knives.

The finish was as expected: Even grind, nice bevel, no rough edges on the holes. In short, nicely made other than it was adequately sharp, but not as sharp as some other Spyderco knives in the past.

FWIW, YMMV, etc.

On a personal preference note here, I intensely detest the hole in the blade. I can understand it in a folding knife, but it seems to be just a weak spot in a fixed blade, no matter how tough the steel is claimed to be. Even in a folder, it could be a bit smaller, like in the Gayle Bradley.

Maybe someone will see this and add to the little bit of knowledge posted here.

 

[Twindog]

If the initial edge was 15 dps, reprofling to 17.5 dps would be a snap -- essentially a microbevel.

 

[sgt1372]

 

[ShaiHulud]

So it would not even cut a piece of paper?

 

[abcdef]

What? Which is better, magnaultimate, magnasupreme, magnautmost, magnavorpal....................................................???????????????????????????

 

[donnord]

My impressions of the MT46 plain are similar with regards to sharpness on the plain edge version. The spyder edge version that I received is very sharp out of the box but did have a noticeable burr which removed on the strop.. I have not tried to sharpen the plain edge version except for a few passes on the strop to smooth out the factory edge. Im carrying if for the next couple of days and plan on cutting up an inflatable hottub with it so that should test out that "working edge" it came with. Blade HQ has tested the hardness it came it at 63.5 I think. Heres a link to their testing. https://www.bladehq.com/blog/magnam..._pARZxBNB-n7ETg02ffJRp_2u6epiaTwDYe_rjGNMQjiM

 

[RCFL]

I didn't measure the edge angle before I started, I just marked the bevel with a Sharpie and hit it a time or two with the stones to set the angle. I use a Wicked Edge, so the angle is consistent. Anyway, the only place of contact was a fine line on the shoulder where the flat grind changed to the bevel. It was a bit shiny right on the change of angle. I usually sharpen to 18 or sometimes 17 degrees, so I left it at 18 for lack of better knowledge. I was really surprised at how easy it was to gain that extra degree or two. Gotta work at it a bit with some of the other steels.

I do not think it was a burr, or at least I didn't feel it. It was more like they quit sharpening just before the burr would have made an appearance. Like I would have sharpened a knife for a child when I was teaching them how to use one. Just barely sharp enough to do the job, not quite enough to require a trip to the ER. I might call it a working edge.

I held some paper by one edge and tried to cut it about 2" away from where I was holding it. The factory edge would only cause the paper to bend under the blade. I drew the knife toward me, and it still did not cut. So, sharp enough to work in the kitchen other than cutting tomatoes, but not so good for much else.

After I sharpened it, I cut up an Amazon box and it sliced through it easily, so the geometry is spot on for that, as expected. No surprises there, either good or bad. Glad to hear the HRC is high as reported, even though it does not mean that my particular one is.

I would not call the factory edge dull, but it was nowhere close to other Spydercos out of the box. No big deal, though. Only reason I wish it would have been sharper is so I could compare how well the factory edge held up to how well my sharpening held up.

Maybe in the next week or two I will have a chance to see how the edge holds up.

 

[RCFL]

The gougers are out already. I saw a couple of these, probably serrated and plain edge, on Armslist for $400.

 

[sgt1372]

The gougers are out already. I saw a couple of these, probably serrated and plain edge, on Armslist for $400.

Armslist? Who buys knives on Armslist???

Well, the asking price on EB is currently $160-200 which is also too much but $400 is beyond the pale.

Good luck selling it for that!!!

 

[Mk-211]

Armslist? Who buys knives on Armslist???

Well, the asking price in EB is currently $160-200 which is also too much but $400 is beyond the pale.

Good luck selling it for that!!!

There are people that don't realize, that spyderco sells them on their site for $75.

Same thing happens each year after spyderco's 2nd sale. They show up on the bay for almost full price.

 

[AntDog]

There are people that don't realize, that spyderco sells them on their site for $75.

Same thing happens each year after spyderco's 2nd sale. They show up on the bay for almost full price.

Yeah, but they’re gone in seconds. Sal has to realize this. They are always high demand - why don’t they simply… gee, I dunno… make more?

 

[DeadboxHero]

Yeah, but they’re gone in seconds. Sal has to realize this. They are always high demand - why don’t they simply… gee, I dunno… make more?

Be Grateful.

Spyderco got a limited amount which was one of the last melts from Crucible before shut down in February 2025.

The billet was literally retrieved from the closed down mill.

Spyderco used it to give the community a chance to use/test the limited amount of new steel for $75.

That is what the spirit of mule team program is about. Getting people a chance to try out new materials for the lowest cost possible.

As for when more is coming everyone is waiting for the main source to arrive from Erasteel.

There won't be any shortage of this material in the future.

Sal Glesser

Looks like there's some good testing going on in this thread.

 

[AntDog]

Be Grateful.

Spyderco got a limited amount which was one of the last melts from Crucible before shut down in February 2025.

The billet was literally retrieved from the closed down mill.

Spyderco used it to give the community a chance to use/test the limited amount of new steel for $75.

That is what the spirit of mule team program is about. Getting people a chance to try out new materials for the lowest cost possible.

As for when more is coming everyone is waiting for the main source to arrive from Erasteel.

There won't be any shortage of this material in the future.

Sal Glesser

Looks like there's some good testing going on in this thread.

In my case there’s nothing to be grateful for. The second I added one to the cart they were all gone to scalpers.

That’s what the spirit of mule team is supposed to be about, but it’s not what it’s actually about anymore. It’s turned into scalpers scooping up inventory at $75 and flipping it for $400.

I didn’t know the full story behind this particular run, so I’ll eat a little crow, but they seem to underproduce MT every time with a few exceptions.

 

[patrickguignot]

Be Grateful.

Spyderco got a limited amount which was one of the last melts from Crucible before shut down in February 2025.

Apparently there was a mistake made by Crucible in the steel composition for these MT46 mules. The carbon content is out of spec and the Chromium content is not what Larrin asked for this second melt. As a consequence the corrosion resistance is reduced.

imgur.com/a/magnamax-composition-discrepancies-4iogIlS

www.reddit.com/r/knives/comments/1n7kicn/comment/ncb27oz/

forum.spyderco.com/viewtopic.php?t=98642&start=20#p1848994

 

[donnord]

I am wondering if there will be anymore batches of Magnamax coming to down the line?? And will they call it MegaMagnaMax or M-cubed.

 

[Synov]

I am wondering if there will be anymore batches of Magnamax coming to down the line?? And will they call it MegaMagnaMax or M-cubed.

There definitely will be, Erasteel and Carpenter are producing more and Spyderco will be using it. It will still be called MagnaMax.

 

[DeadboxHero]

I am wondering if there will be anymore batches of Magnamax coming to down the line?? And will they call it MegaMagnaMax or M-cubed.

Yes, folks are waiting for the main supply from Erasteel.

 

[DeadboxHero]

In my case there’s nothing to be grateful for. The second I added one to the cart they were all gone to scalpers.

That’s what the spirit of mule team is supposed to be about, but it’s not what it’s actually about anymore. It’s turned into scalpers scooping up inventory at $75 and flipping it for $400.

I didn’t know the full story behind this particular run, so I’ll eat a little crow, but they seem to underproduce MT every time with a few exceptions.

Well, that's unfortunate. I'm sorry to hear. I can understand the frustration.

It's not like it's a "one and done" for MagnaMax. Like I said, in the future it will be plentiful in folders and other fixed blades.

Looking on the bright side when things sell out like that, it certainly lets Spyderco know what the demand is and what the focus should be.

 

[RousingRabbles]

In my case there’s nothing to be grateful for. The second I added one to the cart they were all gone to scalpers.

That’s what the spirit of mule team is supposed to be about, but it’s not what it’s actually about anymore. It’s turned into scalpers scooping up inventory at $75 and flipping it for $400.

I didn’t know the full story behind this particular run, so I’ll eat a little crow, but they seem to underproduce MT every time with a few exceptions.

Spyderco is very transparent about the high demand and gives ample warning to those interested in grabbing any particular release. That being said, I haven’t had any trouble picking up a particular Mule Team upon release after following their instructions. That includes this one. I grabbed one a few seconds after the drop and they were still available after I checked out.

Also keep in mind this was a limited run of an incredibly hyped steel produced by a factory that shutdown shortly after. It’s a prototype that had no ability to have expanded production. I sympathize with your frustration of not getting one this time, but if you’re interested in mule teams in general, there are plenty other non hyped steels readily available right now ready for testing.

 

[DMG]

Thanks for the review, I really wanted to try this one but the email from Spyderco went to my junk mail so it was sold out by the time I found it.