CPM Prototype Steel

[msum]

I’m so excited about the upcoming Mules!

Corrosion resistance and wear resistance look they will be high! And toughness shouldn’t be bad at all…

I just hope the Mules don’t sell out in a few seconds and/or crash the site! Make the release time friendly for those of us halfway around the world.

[Guts]

I'm looking forward to seeing this stuff in the wild. "Proto X" may be a fine name for it, in the end, though I suspect the good doctor has his own ideas.

It's just a placeholder name for the limited amount of material that was sent out for testing.

All of this is rather eccentric; knife steels are not usually launched this way. This material is a fully-featured and functioning version of the final steel without the official name disclosed. It was sent out to makers and manufacturers for extended testing and labelled as a "prototype"

Makers and manufacturers were also allowed to sell the knives they made in the steel they received.


This first melt was indeed a prototype and wasn't in large quantities.

I feel this place holder name has its place for the limited prototype steel knives sold before the full production launch of the steel and official name release.

I am currently not allowed to even put the official name on the custom blades I make yet so I have to use the prototype moniker.


Also, the future material will not be made by Crucible in the Geddes, New Work mill since Crucible Industries LLC is closed.

So, it won't have the "CPM" added to it.

However, this material I am holding in my hand was made by them. It was one of the last things they did before they closed so I feel a certain obligation to honor them and their legacy.



For those completely in the dark, this steel is a innovative design by Dr Larrin Thomas backed by Niagara Specialty Metals who contracted Crucible Industries LLC to make the initial melts before they closed. So, it wasn't a Crucible innovation, it came from the mind of Dr. Larrin.

I feel this quirky place holder name has its place in history and I feel it pays homage to the wonderful people at Crucible Industries LLC that were so responsive to the knife industry over the years.

That's not to discredit Erasteel and Carpenter who have been working tirelessly with Niagara Specialty Metals and Dr. Larrin to get their unique material into production for the knife industry and a larger audience to enjoy.

In the meantime, I'm going to get some of these knives in the hands of people before it's released as was allowed and when released and when I get the new material I will label it accordingly.


The official name could be released before the mule team knives hence we may not see the place holder name used on them?

That's far beyond my scope.

I just figured it was fun to share the "CPM Proto X" moniker that Spyderco came up with which appears to be an amalgamation of the original PDF for the material named "project X" and the bars of steel labelled "CPM Proto"

I thought it was a charming name that allows people to trace its development. Folks in the future can look back on a very interesting history in how a innovative knife steel was developed in a unique way and how it was launched and persevered despite the tragedy of losing Crucible Industries LLC along the way.



I'm sure Dr. Larrin will open a new thread in the future when the official name is officially released.

I am certainly looking forward to the massive knowledge transfer to the public by Knife Steel Nerds with all the information folks could ever desire when the time comes.

Thanks

shawn

Thanks for all the info about the new steel Shawn. Can't wait to try it out when the mule is released. I'm a little sad the rest of us won't get to buy the Crucible made version. Definitely going to end up a cool piece of history you got there, as are any CPM marked/made steels now I suppose. I'm hoping the rest of the yet to be released 15V models will be sporting CPM made steel as well to finish out the collection. End of an era for sure.

[WilliamMunny]

I'm looking forward to seeing this stuff in the wild. "Proto X" may be a fine name for it, in the end, though I suspect the good doctor has his own ideas.

It's just a placeholder name for the limited amount of material that was sent out for testing.

All of this is rather eccentric; knife steels are not usually launched this way. This material is a fully-featured and functioning version of the final steel without the official name disclosed. It was sent out to makers and manufacturers for extended testing and labelled as a "prototype"

Makers and manufacturers were also allowed to sell the knives they made in the steel they received.


This first melt was indeed a prototype and wasn't in large quantities.

I feel this place holder name has its place for the limited prototype steel knives sold before the full production launch of the steel and official name release.

I am currently not allowed to even put the official name on the custom blades I make yet so I have to use the prototype moniker.


Also, the future material will not be made by Crucible in the Geddes, New Work mill since Crucible Industries LLC is closed.

So, it won't have the "CPM" added to it.

However, this material I am holding in my hand was made by them. It was one of the last things they did before they closed so I feel a certain obligation to honor them and their legacy.



For those completely in the dark, this steel is a innovative design by Dr Larrin Thomas backed by Niagara Specialty Metals who contracted Crucible Industries LLC to make the initial melts before they closed. So, it wasn't a Crucible innovation, it came from the mind of Dr. Larrin.

I feel this quirky place holder name has its place in history and I feel it pays homage to the wonderful people at Crucible Industries LLC that were so responsive to the knife industry over the years.

That's not to discredit Erasteel and Carpenter who have been working tirelessly with Niagara Specialty Metals and Dr. Larrin to get their unique material into production for the knife industry and a larger audience to enjoy.

In the meantime, I'm going to get some of these knives in the hands of people before it's released as was allowed and when released and when I get the new material I will label it accordingly.


The official name could be released before the mule team knives hence we may not see the place holder name used on them?

That's far beyond my scope.

I just figured it was fun to share the "CPM Proto X" moniker that Spyderco came up with which appears to be an amalgamation of the original PDF for the material named "project X" and the bars of steel labelled "CPM Proto"

I thought it was a charming name that allows people to trace its development. Folks in the future can look back on a very interesting history in how a innovative knife steel was developed in a unique way and how it was launched and persevered despite the tragedy of losing Crucible Industries LLC along the way.



I'm sure Dr. Larrin will open a new thread in the future when the official name is officially released.

I am certainly looking forward to the massive knowledge transfer to the public by Knife Steel Nerds with all the information folks could ever desire when the time comes.

Thanks

shawn

Thank you as always Shawn for all the information, it’s greatly appreciated. This is probably one of the bigger moments in modern knife history and the CPM Protocol X knives/steel represents it. The closing of Crucible, Dr Larian’s leap forward in steel tech and Spyderco’s dedication to getting cutting edge steel in users hands is al represented here.

Like everyone else in the world, well maybe just this forum, I am hoping the Mule steel was sourced from Crcible so they will be labeled CPM. Huge part of history.

I also second the sentiment that I hope Spyderco has enough 15V to keep it labeled CPM for awhile.

[WilliamMunny]

Okay, hear me out on this one. If it’s silly, cost is too high or just not feasible for whatever reason no big deal.

@sal is it possible to make a CPM Proto X challenge coin from left over scraps of the CPM Proto X steel? It can be simple, smaller (nickel/quarter sized), no color needed but something to commemorate crucible, Spyderco and the new steel. Could sell them for $20-$30 to cover cost and I am think you could sell a couple hundred.

It would be a neat way for Spyderco and knife fans to have a piece of history.

[bob-atlatl]

a CPM-X challenge coin is intriguing idea.
If not familiar with its history or current tradition - its worth a www search.
Coin needs the spydie logo, maybe flip side.

don't think it rates among the military coins, but it should do well at a knife convention, like
"My CPM-X beats your Buck 420,, so you buy !!"

[WilliamMunny]

a CPM-X challenge coin is intriguing idea.
If not familiar with its history or current tradition - its worth a www search.
Coin needs the spydie logo, maybe flip side.

don't think it rates among the military coins, but it should do well at a knife convention, like
"My CPM-X beats your Buck 420,, so you buy !!"

Absolutely, image was just to start the conversation. Spyderco logo, maybe a quote on the back thanking Crucible.

I collect them from places I go or people I work with, have about 150 now. Spyderco makes their annual coin, but if possible, thought this would be great.

[Mk-211]

Or... Spyderco could make "X" number of knives with the steel. Then raffle them off, for $100-150 or so per ticket.

Would be kinda neat, to have a Mule Team knife, with that logo, before it hits the market, no?

They could then donate the money to charity.

[msum]

@sal is it possible to make a CPM Proto X challenge coin from left over scraps of the CPM Proto X steel? It can be simple, smaller (nickel/quarter sized), no color needed but something to commemorate crucible, Spyderco and the new steel. Could sell them for $20-$30 to cover cost and I am think you could sell a couple hundred.

Interesting idea.

Makes me wonder what other things could be made from scrap/offcuts…

I’m not sure if offcuts would be of a large enough size for a nickel/quarter sized coin?

[WilliamMunny]

@sal is it possible to make a CPM Proto X challenge coin from left over scraps of the CPM Proto X steel? It can be simple, smaller (nickel/quarter sized), no color needed but something to commemorate crucible, Spyderco and the new steel. Could sell them for $20-$30 to cover cost and I am think you could sell a couple hundred.

Interesting idea.

Makes me wonder what other things could be made from scrap/offcuts…

I’m not sure if offcuts would be of a large enough size for a nickel/quarter sized coin?

Maybe, not sure how close they space the knives. Awhile back I remember they did have leftover sheets of material with the blades cut out of it. Either way a 12”x12” sheet is 144sq inches. That should yield 144 coins just under 1” in size, about the size of a quarter.

[Jeb]

I like the coin idea also. That would be really cool to have one of those for sure.

[RustyIron]

Stamping coins out of zinc and brass is easy.
Stamping coins out of Proto-X might not be.

[WilliamMunny]

Stamping coins out of zinc and brass is easy.
Stamping coins out of Proto-X might not be.

No need to stamp, just etch the words like they do on the knives. Obviously a bit more artistic than I did for an example.

Should be easy to cut as they do it for the blades.

IMG_6814.jpeg (42.54 KiB) Viewed 3079 times

[WilliamMunny]

I have a feeling when these Mules drop they will be harder to get than the Magnacut was, especially if there are limited numbers.

[msum]

I have a feeling when these Mules drop they will be harder to get than the Magnacut was, especially if there are limited numbers.

I missed MagnaCut. How quickly did those sell? Were there website crashes etc?

[WilliamMunny]

I have a feeling when these Mules drop they will be harder to get than the Magnacut was, especially if there are limited numbers.

I missed MagnaCut. How quickly did those sell? Were there website crashes etc?

It took me about 30 minutes to check out due to crashes. They were sold out shortly after.

[msum]

It took me about 30 minutes to check out due to crashes. They were sold out shortly after.

Sounds unpleasant…

I feel like in the interim CQI work has been done on the website, though?

[WilliamMunny]

It took me about 30 minutes to check out due to crashes. They were sold out shortly after.

Sounds unpleasant…

I feel like in the interim CQI work has been done on the website, though?

For second sale yes. I don’t think they have for Mule drops, they are one their main server. 99% of the time it’s fine but for this drop their could be issues.

[Dee]

A challenge coin needs a Spydie-hole.

[Dee]

Naming this steel= since Larrin already has produced “Magnacut” Why not “Sumacut” for this one.

[Infinite Zero]

Naming this steel= since Larrin already has produced “Magnacut” Why not “Sumacut” for this one.

I’ve always been partial to “Magnacutter” or “Magnacut 2: Electric Sliceroo.”