MT37P - AEB-L Mule Team Dropping Soon

[gunmike1]

Mine also is ground up the plunge some, but about 1/2 what I’m seeing in the photo bob-atlatl posted. Edge angle is 12-13 degrees, and it is about .018”-.020” at the top of the bevel. So pretty good geometry for a factory knife. Mine wasn’t super sharp but a few swipes on the fine and ultrafine sharpmaker stones in the 15 degree setting got it whilttling hair.

[CLOK]

One of mine had a deeper plunge than the others, but not quite as deep as the one Bob-atlatl posted.
Another one has more pronounced machine lines in it.
The other 2 seem to be normal.

I haven’t been able to do anything but check them out visually yet since they were waiting for me to get home from a trip today.

[Bolster]

For plunge comparison, here's mine. Measures around .021-.023" BTE near the plunge.

[Poncho151]

First off I hate that I’m even writing this because I’m normally very forgiving when it comes to Spyderco’s factory edges since I sharpen all my knives. That said, the over sharpening at the plunge and in general is pretty disappointing considering it would take years to do that by hand. Now the one I got is pretty deep into the plunge, along with a giant bevel on one side making it nearly a chisel grind from the plunge to about half way along the edge until it sort of evens out. As well as having a decent burr on most of the show side. My biggest concern though, is that it has some real dark discoloration all along the edge and actual black dots on the last inch or so to the tip. I’m wondering how hot this blade got while taking off that much steel? Now I have A LOT of mules but have never had to reach out to the SFO in regards to something like this, is this something they would address or even replace?

[HolySteel]

Here are mine. The blades are quite sharp, but my standards (and analysis abilities) aren't as great as those of others here :)

[Stewart]

Mine also are ground deep into the plunge also, rather aggravating.

[Ramonade]

I, once again, have a tracking that says delivered to an agent:

Delivered to Agent
Delivered to Agent for Final Delivery
LOS ANGELES, CA 90051
April 21, 2023, 2:45 pm

I don't remember if Spyderco will automatically send me a new tracking number or if I have to contact customer service ?

[TazKristi]

I, once again, have a tracking that says delivered to an agent:

Delivered to Agent
Delivered to Agent for Final Delivery
LOS ANGELES, CA 90051
April 21, 2023, 2:45 pm

I don't remember if Spyderco will automatically send me a new tracking number or if I have to contact customer service ?

Hi, Romanade:
That is now the standard through USPS. I know it's frustrating. If you email SFO at sfo@spyderco.com, they'll look up and send you the new tracking number.

Kristi

[Ramonade]

I, once again, have a tracking that says delivered to an agent:

Delivered to Agent
Delivered to Agent for Final Delivery
LOS ANGELES, CA 90051
April 21, 2023, 2:45 pm

I don't remember if Spyderco will automatically send me a new tracking number or if I have to contact customer service ?

Hi, Romanade:
That is now the standard through USPS. I know it's frustrating. If you email SFO at sfo@spyderco.com, they'll look up and send you the new tracking number.

Kristi

Thanks Kristi, I remember you mentionning it to me around christmas' Mule drop. I just had some luck and for the last order someone from the SFO, or maybe even you, sent me the new tracking number without me asking.
Just wanted to avoid adding some work to the SFO if it wasn't necessary.
Thanks !

[bob-atlatl]

SFO did me a solid, TKS, now have an AEB-L mule like most others, it came with a 13° edge,
which I just worked down to 12°. Not quite a polished edge, but close.
Reminded me of sharpening my 1970s EDC, Buck 501 Esquire (420H),
easier compared to modern super-steels.

My quick & simple cutting test is cross-cutting 550 paracord a few times.
Factory 13° edge left some frizzle, and felt a bit rough, as expected.
Sharpened 12° edge was smoother and no frizzle, pic below:

[Bolster]

SFO did me a solid, TKS, now have an AEB-L mule like most others...

Good! Glad you got a replacement.

[Ramonade]

I know I'll wait around a month to receive this Mule. In the meantime, I'd like to gain some time by prepping the scales.
Can someone confirm if the tang of the blade is exactly the same as on for example the REX76, S45VN, K390 or even ZDP Mule ?

I noticed differences many times between drops, so I'd like to be sure before maybe ruining a rare (and expensive) piece of burl.

Thanks guys and gals !

[bobartig]

I recently took several Mules and "pinned" them together using some 3/16" chicago pivot barrels. Basically I suspected that my ZDP-189 (seconds sale) was off in terms of it's handle dimensions from my other Mules. I pinned it together with a SPY *2, M398, and Rex76, then felt along all of the edges with my fingernail to see how closely they matched.

ZDP definitely has some deviations along the finger swoops and near the butt of the handle. M398 was slightly different along the spine. Basically my conclusion was that if I'm interested in making swappable scales, I can't expect them to be perfectly flush from mule to mule. These are very slight irregularities, probably less than 1/3 to 1/5 of a mm, but also, I don't know if this variation is due to the handle dimensions, or the centering of the drilled holes (since these are pinned together). Makes a lot more sense why the Halpern scales have like a 1mm margin all around.

[Ramonade]

I recently took several Mules and "pinned" them together using some 3/16" chicago pivot barrels. Basically I suspected that my ZDP-189 (seconds sale) was off in terms of it's handle dimensions from my other Mules. I pinned it together with a SPY *2, M398, and Rex76, then felt along all of the edges with my fingernail to see how closely they matched.

ZDP definitely has some deviations along the finger swoops and near the butt of the handle. M398 was slightly different along the spine. Basically my conclusion was that if I'm interested in making swappable scales, I can't expect them to be perfectly flush from mule to mule. These are very slight irregularities, probably less than 1/3 to 1/5 of a mm, but also, I don't know if this variation is due to the handle dimensions, or the centering of the drilled holes (since these are pinned together). Makes a lot more sense why the Halpern scales have like a 1mm margin all around.

Thanks, I've noticed a Huge difference between the SRS13 Mule and the MagnaCut Mule for example. I think that depending on the factory they're made in, the dimension might vary.

[Bolster]

What was the production quantity for the AEB-L? I could swear I saw it published somewhere, now can't find it...

[standy99]

Know there is still 713 left

Not bad if you missed out on a 15V there is a AEB-L sitting there….

Bit like M398 sitting around for so long, with a slight bit of use I am sure that once more return results for this steel there will be a lot of people kicking themselves for missing it…

[razorburn]

Got my shipping notice Thursday afternoon.Haven't bought a mule in some time.

[Deadboxhero]

it's a great opportunity to experience AEB-L at 62-63rc

There is nothing in AEB-L on the production fixed blade market available at that hardness.

The idea of running higher hardness AEB-L goes back to Verhoeven, Landes and Stamp but had always fallen on deaf ears for some reason.

There can be challenges to achieving high hardness in a production setting.

The intent was to give a very pure AEB-L experience to Hallmark it's edge stability attributes.

[bob-atlatl]

Find it interesting that BBB H/T AEB-L mule sharpens more like 420H vs less like my Manix 2 in S110V , a good thing !

[weeping minora]

Secure one whilst you can, if you are interested. This might go down as the "van Gogh", of the MULE TEAM releases.