MT27P - Mule Team Fixed Blade with Micro-Melt® PD#1

[TazKristi]

MT27P will be available for sale on Thursday, 19-Oct-2017 at 0900 (MDT)

All sales will be handled by the Spyderco Factory Outlet store online at http://spyderco.com. You will find it under model # MT27.

Cost: $69.95 each

Domestic Orders:
Domestic Shipping in the Continental United States: Standard Shipping rates apply.
Alaska, Hawaii, and Puerto Rico Shipping: USPS $15.00

International Orders:
International orders have a maximum allowed amount of $600 (including shipping fees) for all online orders. All orders over $600 must be placed via phone or e-mail and paid for via wire transfer. Shipment of orders paid for via wire transfer will not occur until monies have been received by the Spyderco Factory Outlet Store. You may contact our store to place a wire transfer order at sfo@spyderco.com or 303/279-8383 x 107.

International shipments will be sent out according to our International Shipping Schedule:
Shopping Cart Total: $0-$99 - Shipping/Handling Charge $25
Shopping Cart Total: $100-$399 - Shipping/Handling Charge $45
Shopping Cart Total: $400 and higher - Shipping/Handling Charge $60

International shipments will be via USPS International Priority Mail. Please be aware, we will have limited tracking capabilities. Tracking once it leaves the US is dependent upon the postal services outside the US and their ability to provide it. However, this will completely eliminate UPS Brokerage Fees.

About Micro-Melt PD#1:
Spyderco’s twenty-seventh Mule Team installment features Carpenter® steel's Micro-Melt® PD#1 alloy—an air-hardening cold-work die steel. PD#1's unique alloy composition gives it wear resistance significantly superior to conventional steels like D2, while still maintaining excellent toughness. Thanks to Carpenter's advanced Micro-Melt powder metallurgy process, PD#1 possesses an extremely fine microstructure and uniform carbide distribution, as well as the enhanced compressive strength necessary for the demands of tooling applications. Collectively, these qualities give it a unique combination of wear resistance and toughness that make it ideal for use as a blade steel.

PD#1's unique alloy composition includes: 1.1% Carbon, 7.75% Chromium, 1.2% Silicon, 1.6% Molybdenum, 1.1% Tungsten, 0.25% Manganese, and 2.35% Vanadium. Note that its moderate Chromium content provides only limited corrosion resistance, so please maintain your knife properly.

Mule Team handle scales (MTGBK) and sheaths (MTLSH and MTSH) will also be available through SFO (sold separately).

What is the Mule Team:
For those of you unfamiliar with our Mule Team Project, it is unique to Spyderco. In-house we call knife samples designed and built for testing and evaluation Mules. We know a healthy percentage of knife users are interested in different blade steels and their performance abilities. Running with that, we released an ongoing Mule Team Project. Several times per year we unveil the same single-piece fixed blade patterned knife in a different and exotic blade steel. This lets steel-obsessed knife knuts test, try and use something normally not offered to the industry. Product runs are limited to 600 – 1000 pieces of each steel type depending on foundry requirements.

Mule Blades are leaf-shaped with a sharpened and finished PlainEdge blade but with an unfinished handle providing a do-it-yourself opportunity. The unfinished handle has a series of holes for attaching custom handle scales or for wrapping with para-cord. Each piece is sold without handle scales or a carry sheath focusing the project on the blade steel. This opens endless creative possibilities for the owner to design their own handle scale and carry options.

[swigert]

Excited to hear more peoples opinions on this

[farnorthdan]

Me to, didn't grab the last MT but probably will this one.

[The Mastiff]

It's great stuff. I have a Strider SMF in PD#1. I did get rid of a couple Z wear SNG's and I regret not keeping one. If you like CPM Cruwear I'd imagine you will like this as well. Micromelt powder steels are always high quality, clean steels and the old vascowear composition is a winner for use in knives. This is a can't miss.

[bearfacedkiller]

This will be a winner for me for sure!!!!

[dogrunner]

I'm in! I don't need another MT, but I love Cruwear, Z-wear and still have no PD-1. This will fix that.

[El Gato]

The composition is very close to CPM Cruwear, so this should be an excellent choice. I am happy to see this offered.

Dave

[Capt'n Boatsalot]

I've got Mules in K390 and 4V, and previously had another in S110V.
K390 is my high wear resistance Mule.
This one seems like it would be more similar to 4V (and Cruwear) meaning easily sharpened, and good combination of wear resistance and corrosion resistance. Is that fairly accurate? How is this different from 4V, from a practical perspective (not from a composition perspective)?
Thanks!

[El Gato]

I attempted to place my order for the new MT27P along with the G-10 scales and Boltaron sheath and found the scales and sheath listed as Out Of Stock. Did not place the order. Disappointing.

Update Friday 10/20: Boltaron sheaths now In Stock. G-10 scales to be available in 1 - 2 weeks.

Dave

[The Mastiff]

How is this different from 4V, from a practical perspective (not from a composition perspective)?

In general you can say it has a bit lower wear resistance and is somewhat less tough. As always though things can vary and change with the way these are heat treated and prepared. PD#1 is essentially the same as Cruwear though the composition may vary a little. The difference in chemistry would be less than if you heat treated them differently. These micromelt steels are about as clean and consistent as cutlery steels get and should be great mules.

[nicked.onaut]

Speedy same day processing by Spyderco:
10/19/2017 4:43 P.M. (ET) Order Processed: Ready for UPS

Now if only I could go *outbound* for the seconds sale....

[eddiebob]

Ordered one Sunday, on the way today!

[nicked.onaut]

Quick delivery from the mother ship. Excellent execution as usual; symmetric grinds, good finish. Now for some T & e, one for me, one for my ranch-retired friend. (He gets to do more fun stuff, testing and so on....)

cheers,
a n.on

[Tucson Tom]

I need to stay on my toes; missed this announcement, but they are still available so I guess the world is still OK. This looks to be Carpenter Steel's take on Cru-wear, with just a bit more Cr thrown in. So I have been out reading endless discussions on Cru-wear. People seem to like its balance of properties and in particular I see a lot of people say it is easy to sharpen to a great edge. So I think I will enjoy this. And given that I am a great fan of M4 and thought that the PMA11 mule was the greatest thing ever, I think this should be right up my alley. Never had anything to do with Cru-wear, so it will be interesting to sample Carpenter's foray in this direction.

[steelcity16]

Any updates on how these performed? I am a big fan of the super tough steels like 3V, 4V, and Cruwear, so I'm thinking about picking one of these up to try out PD-1. I really hope to see some more folders in these tough steels. Cruwear was very popular in the Golden-made folders, so why not push a run of 4V (or preferably 3V) and/or PD-1 out soon? I'd snatch up pretty much any of the Golden-made folders in any of these tough steels. Pair them with Peel Ply Carbon Fiber or a good color G10 and youve got another winner!

[kennethsime]

Any updates on how these performed?

Reviving this thread to ask if anyone has some notes they'd like to share on the PD#1 Mule. Also, I think we were pouting the MT28 thread a bit too much.

If you have one, what have you used it for, and how has it worked out for you?

[TomAiello]

I honestly can't tell a difference between my PD#1 mule and my Cruwear Mule. I haven't done any side by side cutting comparisons, but I have used the PD#1 for yard work, cutting open bags of mortar and concrete (carelessly, so I definitely hit some bits of rock in the process), general EDC (cardboard, boxes, etc) and some light woodcarving (nothing serious).

I think it goes dull a bit faster than my K390 mule (of my Mules, that's the edge holding champ), 4v mule or s110v mule, but it really holds an edge pretty well. I can't really comment on toughness, aside from saying that I have neither chipped nor rolled the edge (I have chipped both the K390 and s110v mules, but not the Cruwear or the 4v).

I don't really have any stain resistance opinions to report. The only mule I've used enough without real cleaning to see rust on was the K390, and that was because it's one of my favorites and I kept the scales on it for months, and some rust developed under them. I tend to rotate scales onto the current mule, and then take them off to move to the next one, so I get to see if anything happened under them. But it's usually less than a month of use, and really nothing else has rusted at all (but I do live in the desert, and I don't carry knives close to my skin). So on PD#1, my rust report is 'all good, no problems' but my usage is pretty undemanding, as far as corrosion resistance goes.

[JuPaul]

I was so excited to see these back in stock earlier this year. Now I'm just waiting on scales for mine. It'll be my first mule, and my first fixed blade in this steel family. I am psyched!

[kennethsime]

I was so excited to see these back in stock earlier this year. Now I'm just waiting on scales for mine. It'll be my first mule, and my first fixed blade in this steel family. I am psyched!

Also my first Mule, and my first knife of any kind in Cruwear (or basically Cruwear). Excited!

[kennethsime]

I honestly can't tell a difference between my PD#1 mule and my Cruwear Mule. I haven't done any side by side cutting comparisons, but I have used the PD#1 for yard work, cutting open bags of mortar and concrete (carelessly, so I definitely hit some bits of rock in the process), general EDC (cardboard, boxes, etc) and some light woodcarving (nothing serious).

I think it goes dull a bit faster than my K390 mule (of my Mules, that's the edge holding champ), 4v mule or s110v mule, but it really holds an edge pretty well. I can't really comment on toughness, aside from saying that I have neither chipped nor rolled the edge (I have chipped both the K390 and s110v mules, but not the Cruwear or the 4v).

I don't really have any stain resistance opinions to report. The only mule I've used enough without real cleaning to see rust on was the K390, and that was because it's one of my favorites and I kept the scales on it for months, and some rust developed under them. I tend to rotate scales onto the current mule, and then take them off to move to the next one, so I get to see if anything happened under them. But it's usually less than a month of use, and really nothing else has rusted at all (but I do live in the desert, and I don't carry knives close to my skin). So on PD#1, my rust report is 'all good, no problems' but my usage is pretty undemanding, as far as corrosion resistance goes.

Thanks Tom! I guess that's basically what I was hoping to hear. I'm thinking this will be my new Camp knife, to replace my Mora Kansbol. Maybe a bit small but I think it'll do.