MT36P – K294 MICROCLEAN Mule Team Dropping Soon!

[Steeltoez83]

I don't use strops for testing or my own personal carry. I have even been gifted free leather strops and compounds from Max aka stroppystuff. I have always endorsed that these would be the edge I would use and carry. With or without a blindfold I can get clean cuts across the grain on newspaper with a 1k edge. Larrin uses fixed angled systems for when he does his own catra machine testing. No idea what spyderco uses for their in house cut testing.

I did have a small cheap microscope thing for my laptop but I have no idea what black hole that fell into.

[Steeltoez83]

Shawn I believed did the catra coupons. I'm not sure he did everything for Larrin. My backyard bro science is more flexible. I let larrin do his thing, and I do mine. There's many in this hobby who use fixed systems like hapstone, kme, wicked edge etc who get great results. To me that's better suited for published literature than mine.

[Steeltoez83]

If your paying for someone's "expert" knowledge or skill set it's human nature to be suspicious. In my walk with faith I understand everyone has their own cross to carry. I am who I am from carrying my own. I sometimes need to sit back and recognize others travel different terrains when they carry their own crosses. I always tell my daughter who's in med school currently that the ability to translate the information is a skill she can always improve. Whether she encounters the patients with blind faith or the ones who question everything they think of.

[Steeltoez83]

As a kid my daughter always digested knowledge faster than others. She received awards and accolades bcuz she was the smartest in her grade. She would tutor others bcuz she has a way of helping others understand what they couldn't. She has the intelligence to persue many different career paths. She wants to help people thru a career in the medical field. She's wanted this since she was around 8 or 9 years old. I'm extremely proud of my daughter and the path she is on. I know there are going to be bumps in the road, I have my own friends within hospitals and other pharmaceutical companies. She's doing this without any help, and I'm proud of her.

The next testing edge on my mule achieved a score of 290.

[tcarltonw]

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I cut off the factory edge, and put 1 of my own. The burr cut off very easily from what I saw. The result was only 190 however I usually see a performance increase in more testing. I believe my 10V pm2 and Para 3 both hit 375 when it hit their peak. The magnacut I tested hits 350/360 so I'd like to see this k294 hit higher.

Yo Toez, from what I remember k294 was a bit of a pain to deburr after each progression(compared to the T15 & 15V mules I did around the same time). Could have a cpl multiple factors that went in to it but figured I'd just toss it out there. Also, hope the lady is recovering well.

[Steeltoez83]

Screenshot_20240522_083100_Gallery.jpg

I cut off the factory edge, and put 1 of my own. The burr cut off very easily from what I saw. The result was only 190 however I usually see a performance increase in more testing. I believe my 10V pm2 and Para 3 both hit 375 when it hit their peak. The magnacut I tested hits 350/360 so I'd like to see this k294 hit higher.

Yo Toez, from what I remember k294 was a bit of a pain to deburr after each progression(compared to the T15 & 15V mules I did around the same time). Could have a cpl multiple factors that went in to it but figured I'd just toss it out there. Also, hope the lady is recovering well.

My lady is with God now. She was too eager to start being much more independent than she was capable of. She slipped in the bathroom and hit her head. She fought back for almost 2 weeks but it was too much. I dont dwell on the tragedy, I focus on the extra time I got to have her.

I only used the shaman and the manix in 15V for my testing. I never experienced any issue with burr removal with k390, k294, or 15V. I haven't gotten to the T15 mule yet. Been shopping for cars with my daughter. After 1k I don't form any burrs. I would refine further on a loaded leather strop alternating passes at that point. Plus I only remove the burr on my final stone. Removing it at every stone is not a routine I personally do.

[RustyIron]

[quote=Steeltoez83 post_id=1784765 time=1716994495 user_id=1004915
My lady is with God now.
[/quote]


I'm sorry for your loss.
Be well.

[Steeltoez83]

Thankyou for the kind words. My Alice was a very special person. She brought out the best in me. Id go on a religious rant here, but that's frowned upon. Sometimes life throws you lemons sometimes it throws the whole tree at you. My strong foundation in faith is helping me to cope. The song "born bold" by valley of wolves has been my jam of late. Right now I'm carrying my cross the best I can. I won't accept any donations or gofundme or anything like that. I'd forward it to cancer research anyways, melanoma to be specific. I am taking some time away from cut testing tho. I have been thinking about getting into running again this summer to distract myself. Dwelling in negativity is like swimming in quicksand.

[weeping minora]

Anyone interested in the Mule should act now; there're only 6 left!

I was able to pick up a few examples. Whilst I haven't had much time with it, so far I really like it. Very aggressive cutter, very good strength and toughness. Seems well dialed in and a superb example to get to try the Bohler 10V equivalent that has been overshadowed by its own brother, K390. I think I like the slightly less refined charachter of K294 a bit more than K390. It would be nice to see K294 get used within perhaps another Spyderco collab knife with Phil Wilson.

[VandymanG]

Only 3 K294 mules left. Glad I got my 2 mules in this steel cause it performance is amazingly aggressive.

Edit: they restocked more so no worries. I’m wondering - when they restock a mule does that mean they may have tweaked the heat treat? If so that would be cool to know.

[Steeltoez83]

Recently bought a budget hardness tester to compliment my standard testing. The k294 showcased more toughness than seki k390, but less edge retention. I figured it would be a lower hrc than k390. K294 I know was able to hit 63 and some change. Being a budget tester at 750 bucks but who's counting, I look at baseline. K390 hit above 64, but I know 64 is low Ballin. And k294 is above 63 but not at 64 from just 1 test. Better testers will provide a bit more accuracy, but I know this k294 is atleast 63.

[Mage7]

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Recently bought a budget hardness tester to compliment my standard testing. The k294 showcased more toughness than seki k390, but less edge retention. I figured it would be a lower hrc than k390. K294 I know was able to hit 63 and some change. Being a budget tester at 750 bucks but who's counting, I look at baseline. K390 hit above 64, but I know 64 is low Ballin. And k294 is above 63 but not at 64 from just 1 test. Better testers will provide a bit more accuracy, but I know this k294 is atleast 63.

Cool, thanks for letting us know. I think 63-64 tracks since that's what I have seen mentioned for the PMA11 and 10V figures as well.

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[doopy]

got my k294 yesterday 2/11/25
was busy doing some work in garage
but I had time to take it out of box to look at
it. little disappointed blade bevel is off enough that you can see it easily. checked to see if it would shave the hairs off arm. wouldn't do it. pretty dull actually for wat was expected. orderd it from the spyderco web store on line as not to get a counterfeit
so I oiled it up after touching it put it back in box will deal with it today some time. I did put it into my work sharp and run across it with the fine porcelain stone that helped on the sharp part but bevel looks not so good

[Michael Janich]

Dear doopy:

Welcome to the Spyderco Forum.

Stay safe,

Mike

[greyfin10]

This is purely my feel on this (and therefore, by definition unreliable), but the thing that impressed me with it was specifically how it dealt with heavier materials (very heavy cardboard for instance). The way it cut through cardboard was so smooth it was sort of weird... I "think" I watched videos about it AFTER I got it, but I won't swear to it... so it could be I primed myself :)

[Mage7]

got my k294 yesterday 2/11/25
was busy doing some work in garage
but I had time to take it out of box to look at
it. little disappointed blade bevel is off enough that you can see it easily. checked to see if it would shave the hairs off arm. wouldn't do it. pretty dull actually for wat was expected. orderd it from the spyderco web store on line as not to get a counterfeit
so I oiled it up after touching it put it back in box will deal with it today some time. I did put it into my work sharp and run across it with the fine porcelain stone that helped on the sharp part but bevel looks not so good

That's kind of a bummer, but I think they have quite a bit of stock left on this one if I remember right. Could probably get a warranty replacement.

What kind of stones do you have? I found it to grind pretty easily, so don't be too put off by talk about needing special abrasives.

[barnaclesonaboat]

got my k294 yesterday 2/11/25
was busy doing some work in garage
but I had time to take it out of box to look at
it. little disappointed blade bevel is off enough that you can see it easily. checked to see if it would shave the hairs off arm. wouldn't do it. pretty dull actually for wat was expected. orderd it from the spyderco web store on line as not to get a counterfeit
so I oiled it up after touching it put it back in box will deal with it today some time. I did put it into my work sharp and run across it with the fine porcelain stone that helped on the sharp part but bevel looks not so good

Sorry to hear about the disappointment, but I'll put in a vote of encouragement for sharpening and running with it. My K294 Mule also arrived with a weird bevel, particularly towards the tip where it wasn't even quite sharpened all the way to the apex. I figured the nature of this program was more about getting the steel in the hands of users/sharpeners instead of meticulous factory edges and I should just jump in. I put it in the Worksharp like you and put in a bit of time reprofiling to ~12 degrees per side and bringing up a keen edge and have been so glad I did. That sharpening of the K294 mule was the first time I made a truly hair-popping edge, and it has since stayed among the most stable and hardest working edges I've got in my fixed-blade stable. So aggressive, even after losing the hair-popping sharpness. What an incredible steel!

[AtomicWoodworks]

I just purchased my first Mule Team (in K294) today! I've collected many Spyderco knives over the years, but this is the first mule. I'm looking forward to putting this through its paces.

[ykspydiefan]

Welcome to the Team. You will find many real leaders here when it comes to what to do with your first Mule.

May I suggest, get more while you can. History has shown the ebb and flow of the Mule Team and stock available. Also, don't look back. What was is gone. Lastly, post up. I sure like seeing the creativity here.

[sal]

Hi AtomicWoodworks,

Welcome to our forum and thanx much for the support. Let us know what you do with it and how the Mule works out.

sal