MT46P Testing Thread

[TazKristi]

I think something that goes with the territory is that the Mule Team knives are meant to be used and abused. A burr from the factory might be a bummer, but the reality is, any real tester will be putting their own edge on it sooner than later and most likely have the necessary sharpening equipment and strops to crank out a wicked sharp edge.

I'm on the third edge of my MT46P right now. The factory edge cut through a hair under a kilometer of cardboard. The second was put through its paved carving on very hard vine maple sourced from southern Washington until it was so chipped up that I couldn't hone & strop it back. This third edge is being used for EDC purposes while I scout-carry it in the Spyderco boltaron sheath. Who knows what the 4th edge will be for!

Hi, Sterling454:
We would love to see pictures of your Mule!

Kristi

[Sterling454]

I think something that goes with the territory is that the Mule Team knives are meant to be used and abused. A burr from the factory might be a bummer, but the reality is, any real tester will be putting their own edge on it sooner than later and most likely have the necessary sharpening equipment and strops to crank out a wicked sharp edge.

I'm on the third edge of my MT46P right now. The factory edge cut through a hair under a kilometer of cardboard. The second was put through its paved carving on very hard vine maple sourced from southern Washington until it was so chipped up that I couldn't hone & strop it back. This third edge is being used for EDC purposes while I scout-carry it in the Spyderco boltaron sheath. Who knows what the 4th edge will be for!

Hi, Sterling454:
We would love to see pictures of your Mule!

Kristi

We're rocking the Mule Team G10 scales right now. I haven't haven't figured out if a good paracord wrap will keep it secure in the boltaron sheath so cute now, we're sticking with these.

[Sterling454]

So, I'm sure there were people just DYING to find out how MagnaMax holds up when thrust into asphalt but nobody had the stones to try it. Well, my pain is your gain and you can wonder no more! While I was climbing into my truck this morning after having breakfast with a friend, my Mule decided it wanted to try skydiving and slipped from it's sheath (scout carry on the small of my back).

Based on the damage and minor scuffing to the G10, I believe it hit the asphalt tip-first, flipped over so the butt struck next, then settled with a third strike in the middle of the belly before settling on its side. The very tip is gone and it took a pretty good chip to the belly but otherwise, it's in good shape.

It feels like some of the belly damage is missing material but some of it also feels like the apex was rolled to the left side. I'm gonna try honing it a bit to see how much I can bring it back before I overhaul it back to a perfect apex. As for the tip, there's definitely missing material so I'll have to reprofile to bring it back.

All in all, the blade survived the accidental fall much better than I feared. When I heard it hit the ground, I grimaced so hard But, honestly, I expected to find a big chuck of the tip laying on the ground next to the rest of it so I'm glad it stayed in one piece!

Behold! The aftermath.....

P.S. In the close-ups, the damaged areas picked up some fibers from my microfiber cloth - those aren't burrs/wires from sharpening.

[TazKristi]

Thanks, Sterling454! I'm sorry the fall happened; you captured some great shots! I'm glad it wasn't worse.

Looking forward to seeing pictures after you fix it up.

Kristi

[Jeb]

Man, looking at those magnified pix, it looks bad lol. Not that it's not. As it's bad enough. To me that's just like taking a fall while out hunting, I don't care what or how bad I hit whatever, just as long as I hang on to my firearm and it never touches anything!

So I feel your pain, really do. Getting the tip re-profiled is the worse part, least if you go after getting the tip truly back and not just round it over a little. I use to just round mine over and go on, but now days I hone the tip back in and it will take some doing on some steels Spyderco has allowed us...

[Sterling454]

Here are pictures of the damaged areas after being honed & stropped. They're far from perfect and the damaged belly area still hangs on paper but I'm really surprised with how well it came back. I thought more of the blade material in the belly was gone via chipping but it was mostly mashed. Very impressed/pleased.

[BDZ]

Good day everyone.

I'm very grateful for the opportunity to purchase a Spyderco Mule in MagnaMax steel, even here in Prague.

The knife didn't stay with me for long after it was delivered, as I immediately sent it to the Slovakian knife and steel tester Pavol Šandor, who was once the main reason my interest in knives and various steels emerged.

Today, videos with cutting and durability tests of this steel were published, which might be of interest to some of you.

[googlevideo][/googlevideo]

[googlevideo][/googlevideo]

I myself have access to a professional microscope at work on which I photographed the knife with its factory edge, and I expect to share photos of several different grinds once the knife returns to me.

Thank you very much to Sal and this forum for this opportunity.

[TazKristi]

Hi, BDZ:
Welcome to our forum. We hope you enjoy your time with us!

Kristi

[Glock34]

Hi BDZ,
Thank you for sharing these great videos with semi-scientific output. Could you please give a bit more explanations about testing methods and criteria, and comparisons between different steels.
Thank you in advance.

[BDZ]

Here is a description and the reasoning for the testing, written by Pavol Šandor:


Test Description:

I am testing the abrasive wear of a blade's edge. The inspiration for this test was the ISO 8442-5 standard. The abrasive material I am using is a 20 mm rope from the company LANEX. I check the quality of the rope with a control test on a test knife under constant parameters.

The tested knife (the blade's axis) is clamped in a holder with an accuracy of +/- 0.2° relative to the vertical axis of the knife's movement, and +/- 1 mm relative to the horizontal movement of the rope. The cutting stroke is 100 mm (a 50 mm forward stroke and a 50 mm backward stroke).

The force applied to the knife during the test is 50 N (which corresponds to the "comfortable" working limit of a knife in real-world conditions).

A secondary table records the sequential number of each rope cut and the number of cycles required for each cut, with an accuracy of 0.25 cycles. After the test is complete, the final table records the total number of 20 mm rope cuts (the higher the number, the more resistant the knife is to abrasive wear) and the total number of cycles.

When comparing two tests with the same total number of cuts, the one with fewer cycles is better, as it indicates better cutting dynamics.

Next, a calculation is made for the cross-sectional area of rope cut per cycle. The area of a 20 mm rope is a constant of 314 mm².

From the number of rope cuts and the cut area per cycle, a graph is created showing the relationship between the cut rope area during one cycle (mm²) and the number of rope cuts—the cutting dynamics of the knife. The larger the area under the curve, the easier the knife is to work with, as it cuts better.

During the test, there are several "control points." These points help define individual stages of the test and transform the results into real-world conditions:

* Initial Cutting Performance (Cutting Ability) (mm²): This is the cut area of the 20 mm rope in the first cycle of the test (1 cycle = 100 mm) for a knife delivered as "new" from the factory or supplier. It is calculated from the cut section of the rope, which is a circular segment. The force applied to the knife is 50 N. If, after the first 50 mm, the knife cuts more than half the rope's diameter, the backward stroke is performed without cutting. A subsequent 50 mm cut is then made on the rope. In this case, the sum of the two measurements is recorded as the initial performance.

* Test on 10 mm PA Rope (N): This is the initial state (0). After five cuts, the minimum force required to cut a 10 mm PA rope is determined. The stroke for this test is 50 mm.

* 12 g/m² Paper Cut: This is used to find the point—the number of rope cuts after which the knife can no longer cut 12 g/m² paper.

* 80 g/m² Paper Cut: This is used to find the point—the number of rope cuts after which the knife can no longer cut 80 g/m² paper (this is usually also the conclusion of the test).

* Test on 10 mm PA Rope (50 N): This is used to find the point—the number of 20 mm rope cuts after which the knife can no longer cut a 10 mm PA rope. The force for this test is 50 N, and the stroke is 50 mm (1/2 cycle).

* Test on 10 mm PA Rope (70 N): This is used to find the point—the number of 20 mm rope cuts after which the knife can no longer cut a 10 mm PA rope. The force for this test is 70 N, and the stroke is 50 mm (1/2 cycle).

Link to the table of all tests:

[Bolster]

Good day everyone.

I'm very grateful for the opportunity to purchase a Spyderco Mule in MagnaMax steel, even here in Prague.

The knife didn't stay with me for long after it was delivered, as I immediately sent it to the Slovakian knife and steel tester Pavol Šandor, who was once the main reason my interest in knives and various steels emerged....

Thank you, BDZ, for the graphics, they are very interesting. Welcome to the forum.

[sal]

Hi BDZ,

Welcome to our forum.

Thanx much for the test and the chart. Since I couldn't get the chart large enough to read on my laptop, I am going to ask you for more descriptions on the totals? Good or bad?

sal

[BDZ]

Overall, the MagnaMax steel Mule performed well.

It cut the rope 650 times, compared to 300 times for Magnacut.

If we were to compare this to K390 steel, various knives made from this steel had a range of cuts from 750 to 1020 times.

Among stainless steels, this is the second-best result after the Spyderco South Fork Hunting with CPM S90V steel (820 times), which, however, was modified so that the thickness above the bevel was 0.1mm (0.004in).

Regarding the stress tests for lateral strain and cutting (chopping) into antler, the knife had comparable toughness to other knives made from K390.



It is necessary to bear in mind that the results do not have absolute predictive value. Many factors influence the test, such as sharpening, thickness above the bevel, and heat treatment.

[sal]

Hi BDZ,

Thanx much.

sal

[Osok-308]

Everyone is so much more scientific in their testing than I am. I just field dressed two mule deer and it's still sharp enough to cut paper. I'm still a knife noob though.

[Bolster]

Overall, the MagnaMax steel Mule performed well. It cut the rope 650 times, compared to 300 times for Magnacut.If we were to compare this to K390 steel, various knives made from this steel had a range of cuts from 750 to 1020 times. Among stainless steels, this is the second-best result after the Spyderco South Fork Hunting with CPM S90V steel (820 times), which, however, was modified so that the thickness above the bevel was 0.1mm (0.004in)...

BDZ, posting this information deep in an existing thread may "hide" it from interested readers. With careful, controlled testing such as this, I'd recommend starting a new thread for this research...and probably in the main forum, since it pertains to metals, not just mules. I think you'll get more views and discussion there.

[BDZ]

I didn't perform these tests myself. It is not my intention to boast on this forum using someone else's work.

I shared this information with the kind permission of Pavol Šandor.

This is a completely new steel for which the basic information hasn't been published yet, and I was lucky enough to acquire a piece of Mule MagnaMax. It occurred to me that some people would appreciate information on how the steel performed against other steels.
I was actually surprised that almost no one on the American knife forums had heard of Pavol Šandor's tests, especially since Larrin Thomas even mentioned him in his book, Knife Engineering.