Status on MT-18?

Skidoosh · #41

I'm with bdblue.
I would be interested in a 204p, although it is available in production models, most of those are out of my reach. Based on passed experience with mules I am much more likely to use the steel. For instance reading about CTS-XHP I was not sure what to think about it but using it in mule team has shown it to be fantastic.

JNewell · #42

Glad to see the sentiment here - again, the comparability benefit is not to be understated! :spyder:

polyhexamethyl · #43

definitely i'm in for a 204p mule! and at least two friends of mine are keen to get a hand on at least one of them!
please make them!

Lobo.joe · #44

I would definitely be in for a 204P Mule. Aren't they all ready to go? Christmas is coming up...

DougC-3 · #45

I'm pretty keen on the CPM 4V mule but I would also buy the 204P. And personally I'd like go back even further and retrieve D2 for the mule list, but only because it's a metal I missed out on :p -- can't justify it otherwise.

toomzz · #46

204P....hmm...ok, I think I will get one, maybe two. CPM 4V, yes, WILL get two, looking forward to that one! What about S110V??

Philo Beddoe · #47

I have no interest in a 204P Mule as its a known steel and already being used in production knives..I will go buy a Southard if I want to try 204P

I thought Mules were supposed to be new previously unused steels..IMO making a Mule out of a readily available production knife steel, goes against what the Mule stands for..

CPM 4V would be interesting..

Tinkerer2 · #48

I am new to the Mle Team Knives, and have bought the K390 mule from Spyderco and several others from the auction sites. I really like the concept and am really looking forward to future releases. It doesn't matter that much to me if they use the 204P.

However, I went back to the Spyderco web site description of the Mule Team Concept to see what it said.

"Knife and steel-devotees love trying out new blade steels. Spyderco leads the industry in offering, testing and manufacturing knives using new and exotic blade steels. Taking that idea a step up, why not offer a series (team) of blades using different, exotic and freshly unveiled steels?"

After rereading it I can see how and why some people have the opinions that they do!

BB

yablanowitz · #49

Philo Beddoe wrote:I have no interest in a 204P Mule as its a known steel and already being used in production knives..I will go buy a Southard if I want to try 204P

I thought Mules were supposed to be new previously unused steels..IMO making a Mule out of a readily available production knife steel, goes against what the Mule stands for..

CPM 4V would be interesting..

The first Mule was 52100. Not commonly used in production, but hardly new. Then came CPM M4, which was already in use, and S90V which had been used in a Sprint or two, then ZDP-189 which was already in production pieces. Shoot, the Damascus Mule has a VG-10 core, and VG-10 had been Spyderco's standard steel for a decade before it came out. If you thought the project was only about "the latest and greatest" you thought wrong.

JNewell · #50

Philo Beddoe wrote:I have no interest in a 204P Mule as its a known steel and already being used in production knives..I will go buy a Southard if I want to try 204P

I thought Mules were supposed to be new previously unused steels..IMO making a Mule out of a readily available production knife steel, goes against what the Mule stands for..

CPM 4V would be interesting..

If you look at the Mule list, quite a few had been previously used in production knives, so there's no risk of going "against what the Mule stands for."

There are probably a lot of people who would love to try 204P and can't spring for a Southard or one of the Para2 sprints.

xceptnl · #51

I have both the Southard and Green Para 2, this still doesn't mean I am uninterested in a Mule. Like JNewell and others have said, the standard for comparison is crucial. In short, I'm in for 2 MT-14s whenever they hit the shelves in Golden.

#52

Hi Tinkerer,

Welcome to our forum.

The Mule Team steels are generally selected from what is suggested by forumites, foundries or stuff that Eric and I think would be interesting. 4V is planned as is 110V + a few others that we think might be of interest.

sal

WorkingEdge · #53

114 more V's in a single sentence! Figured my first Mule was not going to be my last and have a few extra handles all ready to go.

Thanks, Sal!

sal wrote:Hi Tinkerer,

Welcome to our forum.

The Mule Team steels are generally selected from what is suggested by forumites, foundries or stuff that Eric and I think would be interesting. 4V is planned as is 110V + a few others that we think might be of interest.

sal

DougC-3 · #54

sal wrote:Hi Tinkerer,

Welcome to our forum.

The Mule Team steels are generally selected from what is suggested by forumites, foundries or stuff that Eric and I think would be interesting. 4V is planned as is 110V + a few others that we think might be of interest.

sal

I can't wait to try these two steels in the mule format. (I'll have to admit, contrary to what I said when I got it, I've been sort of sheltering my s110v Forum Native5 :o )This is exciting times for Mule Team fanciers, and I am leaning in that direction after finally putting Halpern scales on my K390 mule a couple of weeks ago and finding out what a great knife the mule is. I have a couple more pairs of scales and am going to order more for future mules :) For me, for now, it's a great way to experience new colors of G-10 while experiencing exciting new blade steel, not to mention making my own scales when I get around to it.
Edit: Also have been sheltering the Green Para2 a bit, which is one reason I'd also like a 204P mule.

ohcyclist · #55

Count me among those who would love to see a mule in 204p. I have not yet pulled the trigger on a Southard but am tempted. Would be nice to try the steel this way first.

Beyond that both the 4v and 110v sound awesome, and I think we can count on the fine folks at Spyderco to deliver even more interesting options over time.

dishcore · #56

Sal, at first while reading here i had bailed on the "Mt-14" in cts204p, but then thought again how it would be a great opportunity to get some new or untested tech into user hands for some daily use / real life testing.

Im thinking blade coatings / serration styles / other secret things I dont know about.

Just my 2 cents.
Chuck

Philo Beddoe · #57

yablanowitz wrote:The first Mule was 52100. Not commonly used in production, but hardly new. Then came CPM M4, which was already in use, and S90V which had been used in a Sprint or two, then ZDP-189 which was already in production pieces. Shoot, the Damascus Mule has a VG-10 core, and VG-10 had been Spyderco's standard steel for a decade before it came out. If you thought the project was only about "the latest and greatest" you thought wrong.

Taken directly from the Spyderco Mule Team Project EdgeUcation:

Knife and steel-devotees love trying out new blade steels. Spyderco leads the industry in offering, testing and manufacturing knives using new and exotic blade steels. Taking that idea a step up, why not offer a series (team) of blades using different, exotic and freshly unveiled steels? In doing this steel-obsessed knife knuts can try, test and use something normally not offered to the industry.

Care to explain how 204P is a "freshly unveiled steel"? Me thinks it fails that criteria.

MT17 with K390 blade steel was a true Mule IMO.

#58

Hi Dishcore,

Welcome to our forum.

Hi Philo,

I don't think there are any hard and fast rules to the Mule Team. It is an offering from me directly to those interested in Blade steels in a format more convenient for testing and comparison. I guess the term "exotic" is used here in a broad context.

sal

gaj999 · #59

Philo Beddoe wrote:... different, exotic and freshly unveiled steels ...

Care to explain how 204P is a "freshly unveiled steel"? Me thinks it fails that criteria.

It isn't different or exotic? How quickly we become jaded. :)

And how long has 204P been used for knives? How long was it out when that run started? It's been delayed for how long now? Ages.

Philo, you should go back and read the archives. There are a ton of posts back there when the Mule Team concept was being discussed and fleshed out. One of the primary purposes of the Mule Team was to be able to compare a bunch different steels in the exact same geometry. I expected to see VG-10 and S30V long ago, along with one of the razor blade steels. But things change, and that's OK.

Something to remember is that Sal and Co. are doing us steel geeks a huge favor. I'm thinking that gratitude is more appropriate than criticism.

Gordon

toomzz · #60

gaj999 wrote:
Something to remember is that Sal and Co. are doing us steel geeks a huge favor. I'm thinking that gratitude is more appropriate than criticism.

Gordon

Well put Gordon! :rolleyes: