Spyderco Mule Team Details

tazkristi

tazkristi

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Spyderco Mule Team Details:

We would like to get a count on how many of our Steel Junkies would like to participate in the Mule Team. For those of you, who are not aware of this project, please see this thread… http://www.bladeforums.com/forums/showthread.php?t=445613

Quantity:
We will produce 3-4 variations per year, each of course being different steel.

Pricing:
Pricing will be a Net Price only; there will be no additional discounts for Dealers/Distributors. This program is to introduce different steels to our ELUs at an affordable price.

Each variation will be priced accordingly with the only variable effecting price being the steel. The price will be announced prior to the release of the upcoming model.

Commitment:
We would like to know the depth of your interest. Would you like to sign up for the whole series or sign up for each model as they are announced? Keep in mind that signing up for models individually would create the possibility that a steel could be dropped if there was not enough participation.

Purchasing:
All purchases will be handled through Spyderco Factory Outlet (SFO). This will insure that we are able to offer the lowest price possible for each model.

Shipping Fees:
  • Domestic orders will ship free of charge (as per our standard shipping from SFO)
  • International orders will be charged $25.00 for shipping.
Collectors:
Collectors will have an opportunity to enroll under the same provisions (e.g. Net Price, Purchased from SFO, Appropriate Shipping fees, etc.).

Sign-up:
We will announce the method for signing up soon. Our goal is to allow you to sign up and provide your payment information through our site in a secure format.

Now:
What we need now is to find out how many of you are actually interested in signing up. If you are interested, please email the following to MuleTeam@spyderco.com.
  • Name & Screen Name
  • Contact Information (Address/Phone/Email)
  • Commitment (Series sign-up or Individual)
Do not include any payment information; we will let you know when to submit that and how.
 
i love the idea but not as a fixed blade. If it were a folder, I would sign up for sure. I just know I wouldn't use a fixed blade enough to tell much about it.

If you ever do a folder mule test, I would love to take part. I like what someone said about swapping blade but keeping the handle the same.
 
Mega dittoes to what kgriggs8 said. I dare anyone to say they carry/use a fixed blade more often than a folder. Count me out unless this changes to an interchangeable blade folder.

I used a fixed blade maybe TWICE last year. I used a folder every single day.
 
E mail sent. I think this will be fun to try out some different steels and to compare them head to head, while also trying to find the optimal geometry for each steel.

Mike
 
I guess I'm in the minority here, I use my Swick more often than anything else I've got.

Sounds good to me, I'm in.
 
Are you able to give us any type of rough estimate on pricing? I understand different steel will have different price.

Are we looking sub $50, $50-$100, $100+?
 
kgriggs8 said:
i love the idea but not as a fixed blade. If it were a folder, I would sign up for sure. I just know I wouldn't use a fixed blade enough to tell much about it.

If you ever do a folder mule test, I would love to take part. I like what someone said about swapping blade but keeping the handle the same.
Click to expand...

I completely agree also. If it were possible for each person to buy a single small FRN handle with a removable pivot screw, and then purchase each individual new blade to install in it, I think there would be a tremendous interest in the program. For me, as long as there was an adjustable pivot, the knife wouldn't even need to lock, although a very simple lock would add to the usefulness.

I might be in for a few fixed blades depending upon the pricing, but if the goal is to get a number of different steels out into the hands of many users who can provide feedback on them, I think a bare-bones interchangeable folder would be a much more effective vehicle.
 
If the point is to test the blades I would think a fixed blade makes more sense. If these blades are going to see some hard use by some they would probably rather have a fixed blade, than worry about breaking a folder, or having a lock not engage properly due to swapping blades in and out that may not match up just right, which could fail and hurt someone.

While a folder would be cooler and more practical as an EDC I think the point of this program is to test the various steels, not carry them around as our EDC. If I end up getting involved in this I'm going to do some batoning and major cutting up of various materials. :)
 
WadeF said:
If the point is to test the blades I would think a fixed blade makes more sense.
Click to expand...

You make a good point, though I think it also depends upon what sort of testing is being sought. If the primary goal is to test things like edge retention, resistance to chipping, and other attributes in the course of typical daily knife usage (information that could directly apply to future Spyderco folders), a folding tester would make a bit more sense. Users would probably be much more apt to be carrying their test mule and using it during the course of the day than they would be with a fixed blade.

However, if the idea is to test the absolute properties of the steels under hard-core use (such as the batoning you mentioned), a fixed blade would indeed be more appropriate, though the small size of these planned testers might potentially limit the level of such usage that the knives could be subjected to.
 
I am looking forward to this. My work places great demands on knives. This program has "User" as a requirement...Email sent.
 
I am definitely for the fixed blade idea overall, but I think that the folder idea definitely has merit as well. Maybe do the native for domestic steels and the delica for Japanese steels.....of course that makes things that much more difficult and expensive. I would bet that the mule pricing is going to be pretty darn low.
 
Can we get an approximate price range at least so we have an idea what the cost will be? Also, i'd prefer to sign up on a per model basis.
 
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