Mule team 21 in 4V?

Yeah! I'm in.
Just picked up a 4V knife from Big Chris too, so I went from none to maybe 2 (different styles of course) next week.
 
dogrunner said:
Yeah! I'm in.
Just picked up a 4V knife from Big Chris too, so I went from none to maybe 2 (different styles of course) next week.
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Hey man, it'd be awesome to see a head to head comparison between the two...
 
Is there a preview of what it looks like? It's essentially a sharpened blank, right?
My apologies. First time I've heard of it.
 
HappilyGrim said:
Is there a preview of what it looks like? It's essentially a sharpened blank, right?
My apologies. First time I've heard of it.
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Correct. But they're not low quality at all. You can buy or make handles for them pretty easily. A lot of guys wrap them in paracord or just use them as is. They're very efficient blades great for all around use. About 3.5 inch blade length. It's hard to find quality blade blanks of high quality steel, especially when they're steels like 4V, or in the past M390, K390, S90V, cruwear, blue super, etc. In the future will be steels like 20CV, maxamet, and rex 121, at least that've been announced in some form.
 
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HappilyGrim said:
Is there a preview of what it looks like? It's essentially a sharpened blank, right?
My apologies. First time I've heard of it.
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They all look the same, pretty much :) Go to spyderco website (not the BF forum), go to catalog drop-down, look for Mule.
Sal started this to cater to all us steel junkies who like to have less complicated comparisons among steels, taking the non-steel specific (steel-specific things include HT, hardness) factors out of the equation (grind, profile, etc).
Great service to the knifeknut community.
And as bodog says, they make perfectly serviceable knives.
And usually very affordable way to check out a steel and get a nice fixed blade.
 
HappilyGrim said:
Is there a preview of what it looks like? It's essentially a sharpened blank, right?
My apologies. First time I've heard of it.
Click to expand...

What's funny about these knives is that you can try the latest and greatest of steels for under $100. True, they need handle slabs, but the price/performance ratio is staggering. I have several (not all), and my CPM M4 and S90V Mules outcut all but a handful of my very best knives. They are very nicely ground with a full flat grind, and are a nice size for general work.

So this particular one will probably outcut most production knives for about $70 (plus slabs). There aren't very many better deals in the knife world. My problem is, I don't really need 4V. I've read Bodog's descriptions of how it holds an edge (excellent), so it sounds like 4V will probably be a tougher version of my M390. But still, at this price.... I'll probably get 2. :D
 
sodak said:
What's funny about these knives is that you can try the latest and greatest of steels for under $100. True, they need handle slabs, but the price/performance ratio is staggering. I have several (not all), and my CPM M4 and S90V Mules outcut all but a handful of my very best knives. They are very nicely ground with a full flat grind, and are a nice size for general work.

So this particular one will probably outcut most production knives for about $70 (plus slabs). There aren't very many better deals in the knife world. My problem is, I don't really need 4V. I've read Bodog's descriptions of how it holds an edge (excellent), so it sounds like 4V will probably be a tougher version of my M390. But still, at this price.... I'll probably get 2. :D
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Its in the top tier of Ankerson's testing, too. Only a couple of steels beat it in rope and cardboard cutting and I truly don't believe those are as tough in any sense of the word except for the Cruwear one. I've seen nothing that would lead me to believe it, anyway. Of course that 4V knife listed below was a really thin knife with a small batch heat treat.

"CPM 10V - 2400 - Phil Wilson Coyote Meadow - 64.5 RC - .004" behind the edge
CPM S125V - 2340 - Phil Wilson Bow River - 62.5 RC - .006" behind the edge - BESS - 621
CPM 10V - 1180 - Darrin Sanders Custom - 63 RC - .012" behind the edge
S110V - 1120 - Manix 2 - 62 RC - Regrind to .005" behind the edge.
CPM 10V - 1100 - Spyderco/Farid K2 - 63 HRC - .020" behind the edge.
CPM 20CV - 960 - Michael Raymond Starlit - 62 RC - .007" - .008" behind the edge
Z-A11 - 880 - Darrion Sanders Custom - 62.5 RC - .020" behind the edge/.070" spine thickness.
K390 - 820 - Mule - 62-64 RC
CPM S35VN - 760 - Darrin Sanders Custom - 62 - 62.5 RC - .006" behind the edge
CPM 4V - 740 - Big Chris Custom - 63 RC - .008" - .010" Behind the edge.
CPM M4 - 740 - Phil Wilson Custom - 65 RC - .015" Behind the edge.
S110V - 720 - Manix 2 - 62 RC
Cru-Wear - 700 - Phil Wilson Custom Bow River - 63 RC - .005" behind the edge.
S30V - 620 - Michael Raymond Estrella Custom - 60.5 - 61 RC - .006" behind the edge
S110V - 600 - Mule - 60 RC - .015" -.018" behind the edge."
 
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Would 4v have similar corrosion resistance properties As 3v? I want to get one for a friend for pheasant hunting, but he can be careless at times.
 
Depends on the heat treatment but based on the raw metal itself it'll be a little less corrosion resistant than 3V.
 
Just got my Mule 21 from the factory few minutes ago. I already chopped up a log and some twigs and did point strength test. I am really liking this steel. Next step is to reprofile the edge to 28deg inclusive and chop up some more stuff.
 
Got mine wednesday. From the factory, toughness and edge stability seem to be pretty good.
 
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