Mule Team™ ZDP-189

This model is no longer in production. 

Spyderco’s Mule Team™ Series is an ongoing project that enables steel-obsessed knife enthusiasts to test different blade materials using the same exact fixed-blade design platform. Sold without handles or sheaths, Mule Team blades are also ideal for aspiring knifemakers and hobbyists.

This expression of the Mule Team concept features ZDP-189 blade steel.  

In 2009 ZDP-189 blade steel was the hottest, hardest and highest performing Japanese knife steel in the knife industry. 3% of its component ingredient is pure carbon and 20% chrome (unheard of chemistries twenty years ago), making the steel harder and in turn extending its edge retention. This is done through a powdered metallurgical process. At the time of MT04P Mule's release, Spyderco was one of a handful of cutlers around the world working with ZDP-189 blades.

MT04P ZDP-189 Mule was originally released in a very limited quantity due to unforeseen issues. The Mule Team project was created to give more people access to various steels using a standard pattern for a fixed blade knife. The hope of the project was to find out what these steels can do by making them available at an affordable price for our Knife Knuts and Steel Junkies. We test our products constantly, but we’ve always maintained that no amount of “testing” can provide the information that real-world use can.

With the ZDP-189 Mule our goal was to reach the optimal hardness that we had in our folders (in 2009 as well as presently). Shortly after the release of MT04P, it was discovered that the optimal hardness is different for a fixed blade. Once this was discovered Spyderco placed a hold on shipping any additional MT04P Mules.

The Mule Team is a project based on the desire to learn more about different types of steel and the performance of each steel. The scenario with the MT04P Mule, although not planned, certainly provided some previously unknown and valuable information into one of our industry’s most exotic steels.

All Mule Team blades are sold consumer-direct and available only at the Spyderco Factory Outlet or through Spyderco.com. 

Released: July 2009