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In the knife industry a “mule” is a sample knife used for in-house performance testing. Spyderco’s Mule Team Series expands this concept by rendering the same all-purpose fixed-blade knife pattern in a variety of different steels and making those knives available to our end users. Through this unique project, we give our customers the rare opportunity to test and evaluate exotic, high-performance steels right along with us. Since Mule Team blades are furnished without handles or sheaths, they are also outstanding “kit” blades for aspiring knifemakers and hobbyists. 

Spyderco’s twenty-fourth Mule Team installment features Carpenter® steel's Micro-Melt® Maxamet® alloy—a super-hard high-speed powdered tool steel possessing properties that transcend conventional high-speed tool steels approach those of cemented carbides, the ultra-hard materials used to machine other steels. When Carpenter developed this amazing alloy, they sent samples to various companies in the knife industry to evaluate as a blade material. Although many tried, Spyderco was one of only a handful of companies to successfully develop the specialized methods necessary to machine, heat treat, and grind this demanding material to yield reliable, high-performance knife blades. We are now extremely proud to offer it to our Mule Team enthusiasts—so proud in fact that the MT24 Maxamet Mule "jumped the line" ahead of our scheduled MT23 release.

Maxamet's remarkable alloy composition includes: Carbon: 2.15%, Manganese: 0.30%, Sulfur: 0.070%, Silicon: 0.25%, Chromium: 4.75%, Cobalt: 10.00%, Vanadium: 6.00%, and Tungsten: 13.00%. This sophisticated mix of elements, combined with the advantages of powdered metal technology, give it an extraordinary balance of wear resistance and toughness at high hardness levels.