MT12P featuring Cru-Wear Release Date

[dapagco]

MT12P – Mule Team Fixed Blade
Featuring: Cru-Wear Steel

Release Date: MT12P will be available for sale on Monday, September 12, 2011 at 10:00AM MDT

All sales will be handled by the Spyderco Factory Outlet store online at www.spyderco.com.

Maximum Purchase Allowed: 2. This will be lifted on Sept 19 at 10:00AM MDT.
EDIT: The Purchase Limit has been lifted.


Cost: $59.95

Domestic Shipping: Standard Shipping rates apply.

International Shipping:
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 $35
Shopping Cart Total: $400 and higher - Shipping/Handling Charge $50

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:
Spyderco’s twelfth Mule Team Project installment features American-made steel called Cru-Wear. Upstate New York’s Crucible Steel manufacturers Cru-Wear which is very similar to Vascowear, a steel used by Gerber Legendary Blades in many of their past production knives.

Cru-Wear is a high-performance “V” tool steel that is difficult to process making it challenging for knife manufacturer to work with. It follows the same high-alloy, metallurgical tool-steel recipe used to produce D2, but with greater levels of vanadium, tungsten and molybdenum. It is air-hardened and worked in a cold state. Cru-Wear exhibits exceptional toughness, impact resistance and hardness for exceptional edge retention and is the first tool steel offering in Spyderco’s Mule Team Series.

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.
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[grimace]

Can't wait!

[jtoler_9]

Since the steel is made in the USA am I correct in asuming that the new MT12 will wear the Golden Colorado Stamp on the blade?

[captnvegtble]

Does "tool steel" mean it is not stainless?

[Jordan]

A tough, impact resistant tool steel you say? Perhaps the apocryphal spyderco tomahawk has found it's material... :p

Looking forward to it!

[ChapmanPreferred]

Sweet!

[The Mastiff]

Does "tool steel" mean it is not stainless?

There are Stainless "tool" steels but yes, this one is not a stainless alloy.

Joe

[jossta]

This may be my first mule.

[STWesterner]

Sal if you get around to this could you give us a rockwell projection? thanks

[VashHash]

I just bought my M390 mule. Good thing I've been making over time. Just cashed in my paid vacation too. Who needs time off. I need more knives. I'm tempted to buy two of these and really "use" one

[Sequimite]

Merry Christmas, Joe.

CRU-WEAR is an air-hardening tool steel, heat treatable to HRC 60-65. Designed as an upgrade to D2, it offers better wear resistance, greater toughness and higher attainable hardness. Compared to the chemistry of D2, (D2 = 1.55% carbon, 11.5% chromium, 0.8% vanadium, and 0.9% molybdenum), CRU-WEAR has less carbon and less chromium, but more vanadium and tungsten. Both D2 and CRU-WEAR contain carbides for wear resistance, but CRU-WEAR has more vanadium carbides than D2. Vanadium carbides are harder than chromium carbides and are much more effective in providing wear resistance. Because CRU-WEAR contains less carbon than D2, its overall carbide volume is lower, making it tougher than D2. (Note: Although CRU-WEAR contains fewer total carbides, it has more of the type of carbides that are most effective for wear resistance.) CRU-WEAR’s higher attainable hardness results from the fact that it contains sufficient tungsten and molybdenum to cause a secondary hardening response, (up to HRC 65), which does not occur in D2. Finally, CRU-WEAR tempers at a higher range (900-1050°F) than D2 (400-600°F), so it is more compatible with a wide variety of surface treatments.
Information provided by Specialty Metals

[razorsharp]

Hmmm, this could well be my first mule

[razorsharp]

Hmmm, this could well be my first mule :rolleyes:

[DM11]

I`m sure I`ll be ordering one monday morning. :D

[The Mastiff]

Merry Christmas, Joe.

Thanks! :)

I never thought I'd see the day. I'm pretty broke but if I have to skip a payment on something I'm going to get at least one, more if possible.

I predict there will be some people who are surprised by it's performance for a tool steel. It's not S90V, but it's not designed for that. It's some mean stuff !

Here is what Niagara says about it. They were the ones I got Cruware from. http://www.nsm-ny.com/?page_id=47
It compares it to some steels that should be familiar here. Look around the website. There's a lot of great info. In addition, they are great people to do business with.

Crucible's data sheet:http://www.crucible.com/PDFs%5CDataShee ... v12010.pdf

3V's data sheet with a good comparison to other tool steels:http://www.crucible.com/PDFs%5CDataShee ... 202010.pdf

I put this in another thread but I'll set it here too. It talks about the steels in this class. It was mainly about PD1, which is essentially the same steel , but powdered.

PD1 is essentially powder steel Vascowear/cruware/PGk. It should be slightly less tough than 3V, and slightly more wear resistant. I'd doubt if it would be noticible outside a lab to be honest. The PD1 does have the advantage over PGk and cruware of being a powder steel so it has those advantages.

It's essentially an upgrade to D2 in everything except corrosion resistance. I have a couple of old custom fixed blades in Vascowear and it is really tough. Tough enough to put my initials in an I beam without damage to the blade. It takes higher RC's than 3V probably due to the tungsten.

Here is a reference graph using PGK from Latrobe. They will all be similar.
http://www.latrobesteel.com/assets/d...ife_Steels.pdf
* note: in this graph 14/4 = 154cm, and 20Cv is essentially M390PM, A11=10V

here is PD1: http://www.cartech.com/toolsteelspow...d.aspx?id=2622

It is about like 3V in corrosion resistance. That's not all that bad. Better than the common carbon steels like 1085/1095 etc. If left outside for a very long time I know it pits deeply as I recall trying to find some Vascowear stock before the others became easily available.

Vascowear itself was known for being the blade steel in the old style american school paper cutters with the long handle and the large green base. Did you ever see a dull one?

It's great stuff for old timers like me but I doubt you will find one out of twenty five knifemakers who LIKE working on this stuff.

3V has the essentially same performance but is easier to work, and tougher which goes along with fixed blades. Not many make non stainless folding knives which these steels would do well at if you don't mind the non stainless part. In addition up to now 3v has been a lot easier to get in stock appropriate for knives. This also gave it a headstart over steels like PD1

3V and this class has pretty good wear resistance By the way. As good as fully hard M2, not up to fully hard M4. Above D2 in wear and toughness, and not as chippy at numbers like RC 62.

This class would make excellent Very hard use folders.

Note that I have two Vascowear knives currently and have about 15 to 17 years of experience with this steel. I've scrounged many old knifemakers unused stocks of old steel for suitable pieces for a knife afterTeledyne stopped making Vascowear , before Cruware started being rolled in knife sizes.

Finding the original Gerber "V" steel folder took me about 12 or more years at least. That's still in the safe and I use a fixed blade knife when I need something that tough and stubborn.

Joe

[Ankerson]

There are Stainless "tool" steels but yes, this one is not a stainless alloy.

Joe

Joe,

Guess you will buy 4 or 5 of these. :D

[The Mastiff]

Joe,

Guess you will buy 4 or 5 of these.

I sure wish I had the money Jim. Finn is still sick and half deaf and half blind now.He's just getting over a stomache flu or something too. He didn't eat for 3 days and I thought his time was up. He's doing better in comparison but still needs meds and things like Yogurt for his stomache. Imagine having to feed a mighty mastiff yogurt. :o In addition my son last night was diagnosed with a staff infection (MRSA) so my time and what little money I have will have to be prioritized. :) I was up all night washing bed linen and clothing with clorox.

That's the way it goes though. I'm going to do my darndest though Jim. You can count on that. I had also planned on getting a chaparral too. Best laid plans and all. :)

joe

[Ankerson]

I sure wish I had the money Jim. Finn is still sick and half deaf and half blind now.He's just getting over a stomache flu or something too. He didn't eat for 3 days and I thought his time was up. He's doing better in comparison but still needs meds and things like Yogurt for his stomache. Imagine having to feed a mighty mastiff yogurt. :o In addition my son last night was diagnosed with a staff infection (MRSA) so my time and what little money I have will have to be prioritized. :) I was up all night washing bed linen and clothing with clorox.

That's the way it goes though. I'm going to do my darndest though Jim. You can count on that. I had also planned on getting a chaparral too. Best laid plans and all. :)

joe

Joe,

I hear you, glad Finn is doing better. :)

[cckw]

I sure wish I had the money Jim. Finn is still sick and half deaf and half blind now.He's just getting over a stomache flu or something too. He didn't eat for 3 days and I thought his time was up. He's doing better in comparison but still needs meds and things like Yogurt for his stomache. Imagine having to feed a mighty mastiff yogurt. :o In addition my son last night was diagnosed with a staff infection (MRSA) so my time and what little money I have will have to be prioritized. :) I was up all night washing bed linen and clothing with clorox.

That's the way it goes though. I'm going to do my darndest though Jim. You can count on that. I had also planned on getting a chaparral too. Best laid plans and all. :)

joe

Po' ol' guy! how old is he? Funny thing about an old blind deaf dog, they can adapt pretty well especially with owner support.

[cckw]

what is the free postage dollar amount for US buyers?