Some have been tested for hardness and came in pretty consistent at 61RC. Spyderco doesn't have the greatest record with the first run on a brand new steel. Maxamet, when they first put it out, was a complete debacle. Burnt to a crisp hot ground edges that even very experienced sharpeners were chipping as they went through stone progression. TBH, only the hardcore Sprint Run chasers will end up keeping these. If wanting to use the steel every day, give it a few runs for Spyderco to finesse it and get the RC up to where it needs to be. Otherwise, what really is the advantage of a new steel if it's going to be run soft?
Al