MT32/SRS13 Thoughts/Impressions

A place to share your experience with our Mule Team knives.
sbdude
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MT32/SRS13 Thoughts/Impressions

#1

Post by sbdude »

Got my MT32 yesterday. Initial thoughts/impressions are as follows:

1. The finish is very good, nicer than any of the other 3 mules I have. The handle has a little radius to it with softened edges which makes it very comfortable with the Halpern scales I have. The Halpern scales are just slightly smaller than the handle which makes a little edge of steel sticking out. With the radius and softened edges, it flows pretty well and comfortably into the handle.

2. This one came VERY sharp for a factory edge. And, for a factory edge, is pretty polished comparatively speaking. Nice work by the Seki guys.

As stated above, I put a set of Halpern scales on it and it will go to work in the kitchen. Will report back as it gets some use. Looking forward to see how easy it is to resharpen and how sharp it can get.


02/28/22
So, wife and I have been using this in the kitchen and it cuts really well. Still sharp, even after the wife using it on her bamboo cutting board that I can't convince here is bad for knife edges (not pushing it, happy wife, happy life). Has cut lots of acidic and other foods, washed and let dry naturally and no stains, discoloration, etc. Still looks new. Very happy with the steel so far. Wife doesn't like the design of the Mule as a kitchen knife as it's hard to cut on the cutting board since your hand gets in the way. But then again it's not designed as a kitchen knife so that's not really a negative, we're just using it for something it's not necessarily designed to do.


03/15/22
So wife has used it a bit in the kitchen and it is pretty dull right now. You can run your finger lightly along the edge and it won't cut you. She hasn't used it a lot so I'm a little disappointed how long the edge lasted. But again, my wife is hard on knives and she refuses to give up her bamboo cutting board and it's tough on edges. We'll see next how it sharpens

03/22/22
So it was pretty dull, could run your finger along the edge and not be afraid of cutting yourself unless you tried. Spent a couple minutes on the Sharpmaker fine and it's really sharp again. Surprised at how fast it got that sharp. I'm guessing it's not going to hold an edge very long but it's soo easy to sharpen, no big deal. I'll take a little more time to strop it but happy with the sharpening ease. Also, it has been used to cut many things, including acidic foods, let set, washed and air dried, etc. and not a spot of corrosion or discoloring on it. This seems to be a very nice kitchen steel.
Last edited by sbdude on Tue Mar 22, 2022 8:30 am, edited 3 times in total.
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Toker
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Re: MT32/SRS13 Thoughts/Impressions

#2

Post by Toker »

sbdude wrote:
Wed Feb 23, 2022 1:07 pm
Looking forward to see how easy it is to resharpen and how sharp it can get.
If it's anything like SG2/R2 (which is what it's compared to), it should be an easy knife to sharpen and keeps it's edge for a long time. I have a Saji Bunka in R2 and I just give it a few passes with my Wicked Edge using 200, 400 and 600 grit every week. But my wife uses it for everything in the kitchen.
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Fireman
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Re: MT32/SRS13 Thoughts/Impressions

#3

Post by Fireman »

I have a few observations to share.
1. Sharpest knife I ever got from any knife maker. I took video of cutting free standing hair and even a bit of hair whittling. My hair is fine, so that is a feat. It would shave hair on my arm free standing like mowing a lawn. Obviously it is hair popping sharp. I took a video of it for any doubters and haters.
2. I am probably an odd one out in that the knife is not sharp the last 3/4” by the handle. you can visibly see the apex was never reached. I will post a pic. This is fine by me since this is a mule and to be tested and I like sharpening, but I wonder if I am the only one so that quality control is aware in the future.
3. This was an unknown steel to me and I am happy to have the opportunity to get it especially so economically. I hope spyderco uses this steel especially in their high end kitchen knives. I like laminated steel.

I love this mule! Mine! Mine! All mine!
Thank you Spyderco for another great mule team.

Below you can see the area where the apex was not reached when grinding. 80% of the knife is the sharpest thing I ever got.

Image
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Image Stable Mules; Z-Max, Z-Wear, Magna Cut, SRS13, Rex 76, Rex T15.
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Ramonade
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Re: MT32/SRS13 Thoughts/Impressions

#4

Post by Ramonade »

That's interesting !
The part that isn't sharpened means more steel for you to play with !
:respect In the collection :respect : Lots of different steels, in lots of different (and same) Spydercos.

Robin. Finally made an IG : ramo_knives

MNOSD member 004* aka Mr. N5s :face-clouds
Coastal
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Re: MT32/SRS13 Thoughts/Impressions

#5

Post by Coastal »

My MT32 is easily the sharpest Spyderco I've ever owned, and only a Shun sandwich knife may have arrived sharper. Mine doesn't have the defect that Fireman's has. Since its arrival, it's my most-used kitchen knife, but still not a lot of use.
cholla_remover
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Re: MT32/SRS13 Thoughts/Impressions

#6

Post by cholla_remover »

The edge bevel on my MT32 looks more acute that my Magnacut mule - if the Magnacut edge was 17 dps, the SRS-13 might average more like 15 dps? The edge is visually ground less evenly than the MT35, but barely - it's only fractions of a millimeter along the grind line here. The knife is just about hair-whittling sharp. Craftsmanship seems equal to me between the Magnacut and the SRS-13, but the Seki knife came a bit sharper - likely sharpest factory edge I've ever owned. Will be watching edge toughness and stainlessness.
sbdude
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Re: MT32/SRS13 Thoughts/Impressions

#7

Post by sbdude »

So, wife and I have been using this in the kitchen and it cuts really well. Still sharp, even after the wife using it on her bamboo cutting board that I can't convince here is bad for knife edges (not pushing it, happy wife, happy life). Has cut lots of acidic and other foods, washed and let dry naturally and no stains, discoloration, etc. Still looks new. Very happy with the steel so far. Wife doesn't like the design of the Mule as a kitchen knife as it's hard to cut on the cutting board since your hand gets in the way. But then again it's not designed as a kitchen knife so that's not really a negative, we're just using it for something it's not necessarily designed to do.
cjk
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Re: MT32/SRS13 Thoughts/Impressions

#8

Post by cjk »

My impressions sound like echos from above:
* Truly impressively sharp out of the box.
* I had never heard of the steel before, had read that it was used in kitchen knives, so I figured that's what I'll most likely do with it.
* Now having it in hand, I'm really glad I didn't pass on it.
* It told me that I need to sharpen my Magnacut mules.
99Dirk
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Re: MT32/SRS13 Thoughts/Impressions

#9

Post by 99Dirk »

Mine wasn't the sharpest I'v recieved from Spyderco, but still very sharp. Was curious how it would sharpen with my Belgium Blue and Coticule stones. With very little effort, 20-30 minutes of sharpening and honing at same factory angle (15-18 degrees) it's razor sharp. The kind of sharp when you lightly touch the pads if your fingers it almost scares ya. Haven't used it enough (kitchen prep) to see how long before it needs to be honed or the edge touched up.
sbdude
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Location: SW Missouri

Re: MT32/SRS13 Thoughts/Impressions

#10

Post by sbdude »

Updated original post with latest thoughts
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Ramonade
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Re: MT32/SRS13 Thoughts/Impressions

#11

Post by Ramonade »

For me, the initial sharpness wasn't like most people observed. However, it just needed two passes on each side on a DMT Diasharp 600 to get scary sharp !

I've just retrieved my belt grinder so I'll finally be able to put some wood on these blades. I'm really impatient to see how it behaves ! (mostly how it behaves during sharpening, but I'll try my best to relate my use of it !)
:respect In the collection :respect : Lots of different steels, in lots of different (and same) Spydercos.

Robin. Finally made an IG : ramo_knives

MNOSD member 004* aka Mr. N5s :face-clouds
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