- Joined
- Feb 16, 2007
- Messages
- 662
Im a big fan of the whole Mule team project. I think it is an ingenious and generous way of allowing us KnifeKnuts to experiment with new steels while acting as guinea pigs for R&D at the same time.
The only weakness in the project, at least for me, is the test vehicle for these awesome new steels. I like look and size of the fixed blades, and I think its awesome how everyone is making custom handles for them, but Im just not a fixed blade kind of guy. Much as Id like to, for legal and practical reasons, I simply cannot carry a fixed blade around for testing, and I suspect that Im not the only one similarly constrained in that department. Therefore, in order for me to participate in the mule team (which I think is my duty as a Spyderco diehard) I would have to designate specific test time with the fixed blade against some pre-designated materials, which is hardly a real world test in my book. However, if the Mule were a folder, I could just toss it into my back pocket, and start using it hard in my daily life, allowing me to compare it head on with my current EDC steels.
What I propose is that, in addition to the current fixed blades, there should also be a run of a few hundred Mule Natives in the test steel as well. I believe the Native is a natural choice for this project, for a variety of reasons.
To begin with, while I know that the Fixed blade was chosen in an effort to keep costs down, the Native is a very affordable knife, routinely selling for $39.99 with an S30v blade. Now, some steels, like S90v, are obviously more expensive than S30V. This would make the cost of the Native Mule higher, but not that much higher; I would be surprised if the price of the S90V Native exceeded $70-$80, which I would happily pay for a high performance knife I could actually use. Further sweetening the deal, a good # of the proposed steels, such as CPM D2 and the Chinese steel, are of equal or lesser cost than S3Ov, making the Native Mule really appealing; I would certainly be doing back flips for a CPM D2 Native for $40, and the Chinese steel Native could be down into the $30 dollar range. When looking at the price spectrum, it seems unlikely that the cost of the Native Mule would be prohibitive to its success, especially when one considers that the M4 Mule was $69.99 before handle and sheath.
So, assuming that Native Mules were to be released, what would be the benefits? Well, there would be quite a few. I suspect that Im not the only one who is averse to fixed blades, so I believe that a significantly higher number of forumites would get involved with the Mule team project, as they could give the Native Mule a EDC workout that simply isnt practical with a fixed blade. This would drastically increase the number of reviews and tests that the new steels, which is the whole point of the Mule Team Project.
Another advantage of the Native Mule is that there is a S30v Native to compare it to. Currently, there is no S30v or VG10 Mule FB to serve as a control in the experiments. Without a control, whether or not a particular steel exhibits better or worse edge retention is a matter of memory and speculation, based on past experiences with various steels, rather than a matter of science. With an S30v Native as a control, it would be much easier to gauge the superiority or inferiority of the new steels in a direct comparison.
Finally, the Native Mules would likely live on as EDCs! I for one would definitely carry a CPM D2 or S90V Native for a long, long time; well beyond the amount of time I would possibly carry and use a Mule FB. The Native is just a classic EDC, so I think that before the molds get sent to the glue farm to make way for the Native 4, it would be cool to give them a last hurrah in some pimpin blade steels.
I am in no way advocating the halting of the fixed blade mules, as I know that many here are big fans of the Fixed blade mule. Im just saying that the project, and the World, would greatly benefit from a few hundred Native Mules thrown into the mix.
Thanks for listening,
Mark
The only weakness in the project, at least for me, is the test vehicle for these awesome new steels. I like look and size of the fixed blades, and I think its awesome how everyone is making custom handles for them, but Im just not a fixed blade kind of guy. Much as Id like to, for legal and practical reasons, I simply cannot carry a fixed blade around for testing, and I suspect that Im not the only one similarly constrained in that department. Therefore, in order for me to participate in the mule team (which I think is my duty as a Spyderco diehard) I would have to designate specific test time with the fixed blade against some pre-designated materials, which is hardly a real world test in my book. However, if the Mule were a folder, I could just toss it into my back pocket, and start using it hard in my daily life, allowing me to compare it head on with my current EDC steels.
What I propose is that, in addition to the current fixed blades, there should also be a run of a few hundred Mule Natives in the test steel as well. I believe the Native is a natural choice for this project, for a variety of reasons.
To begin with, while I know that the Fixed blade was chosen in an effort to keep costs down, the Native is a very affordable knife, routinely selling for $39.99 with an S30v blade. Now, some steels, like S90v, are obviously more expensive than S30V. This would make the cost of the Native Mule higher, but not that much higher; I would be surprised if the price of the S90V Native exceeded $70-$80, which I would happily pay for a high performance knife I could actually use. Further sweetening the deal, a good # of the proposed steels, such as CPM D2 and the Chinese steel, are of equal or lesser cost than S3Ov, making the Native Mule really appealing; I would certainly be doing back flips for a CPM D2 Native for $40, and the Chinese steel Native could be down into the $30 dollar range. When looking at the price spectrum, it seems unlikely that the cost of the Native Mule would be prohibitive to its success, especially when one considers that the M4 Mule was $69.99 before handle and sheath.
So, assuming that Native Mules were to be released, what would be the benefits? Well, there would be quite a few. I suspect that Im not the only one who is averse to fixed blades, so I believe that a significantly higher number of forumites would get involved with the Mule team project, as they could give the Native Mule a EDC workout that simply isnt practical with a fixed blade. This would drastically increase the number of reviews and tests that the new steels, which is the whole point of the Mule Team Project.
Another advantage of the Native Mule is that there is a S30v Native to compare it to. Currently, there is no S30v or VG10 Mule FB to serve as a control in the experiments. Without a control, whether or not a particular steel exhibits better or worse edge retention is a matter of memory and speculation, based on past experiences with various steels, rather than a matter of science. With an S30v Native as a control, it would be much easier to gauge the superiority or inferiority of the new steels in a direct comparison.
Finally, the Native Mules would likely live on as EDCs! I for one would definitely carry a CPM D2 or S90V Native for a long, long time; well beyond the amount of time I would possibly carry and use a Mule FB. The Native is just a classic EDC, so I think that before the molds get sent to the glue farm to make way for the Native 4, it would be cool to give them a last hurrah in some pimpin blade steels.
I am in no way advocating the halting of the fixed blade mules, as I know that many here are big fans of the Fixed blade mule. Im just saying that the project, and the World, would greatly benefit from a few hundred Native Mules thrown into the mix.
Thanks for listening,
Mark
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