Spyderco
MT41P
Mule Team – VG XEOS

What is a Mule?

In the English language the term mule has multiple definitions: There’s the obvious equine reference being the offspring of a male donkey and a female horse. It can be a coin minted from two dies by mistake and the auto industry refers to their test vehicles as a mules. Spyderco also calls knife models designed and built for testing and evaluation Mules. When a group of these are brought together they make a team of mules, thus the name of this knife series: The Mule Team. 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.

What is the Spyderco Mule Team?

The Mule team project was created as a simple, inexpensive venue for “steel junkies” to have an opportunity to test different blade steels themselves. Each run will have a different interesting steel. Each run will have the same pattern, a fixed blade with a full tang. Each run will have the same thickness, grind, edge and will be heat treated to the optimal hardness for that steel. The blade is leaf-shaped with a sharpened and finished PlainEdge blade, but with an unfinished handles providing some a do-it-yourself opportunity. The unfinished handle has a series of holes for attaching a custom handle or for wrapping in cord. No handle, scales or sheath are provided. This not only saves you funds, but gives you the opportunity to make (or have made) custom handles and sheaths.

How many and how often will they be released?

Spyderco’s plan is to release several variations per year using the same fixed blade pattern produced with different exotic steels. Each steel offering is limited to approximately 600 pieces and engraved indicating the steel used. Variations are priced accordingly with the only cost variable being the steel itself. The newest member of Spyderco’s remarkable Mule Team family showcases a unique steel called VG XEOS. Created by Takefu Special Steel Company in Japan, it is basically a “rebalanced” version of VG-10 stainless steel optimized for corrosion resistance. Although its alloy composition is not officially published, based on Spyderco’s laboratory analysis, it features reduced carbon, increased chromium, vanadium, and molybdenum, and the addition of nickel and tungsten. The result is a matrix of low-volume, higher-wear-resistance carbides within a chromium enriched microstructure. In simpler terms, it offers edge retention comparable to VG-10, but with significantly enhanced corrosion resistance.