Not long after the turn of the millennium, Spyderco founder Sal Glesser began an effort that would see him experiment with a myriad of different blade steels using the same fixed blade knife design. Known as the Mule Team Project, this endeavor was eventually phased out before being revived in 2020. Now relying heavily on customer feedback, the current Mule Team project follows in the footsteps of the original, with the utilitarian gen-one and gen-two Mule Team models currently being offered in a wide range of constructions, from CPM SPY27 to Bohler M398 to AEB-L to MagnaCut. And while these models have utilized dozens of different blade steels over the years, the latest iteration of the workhorse fixed blade is almost certainly the most noteworthy to date, with the new Spyderco Mule Team HIC.
Short for High-Impact Ceramic, the Mule Team HIC is composed of a state-of-the-art zirconia-based Ceramic Injection Molding material. In addition to being markedly more resistant to breakage than conventional ceramics, this construction also boasts one of the highest densities of any blade material. This cutting-edge construction is also much much harder than traditional blade steels — even ultra-advanced powder metallurgy steels. This allows the Mule Team HIC to afford superb edge retention — though it also requires diamond or cubic boron nitride to sharpen. The use of this unique construction also gives this version of the knife a blacked-out finish.
Made in Switzerland, this envelop-pushing Mule Team model follows the regular fixed-blade’s normal design and dimensions — meaning an overall length of 7.63” and a blade length of 3.5”. Interestingly, despite being slightly thicker than normal Mule Team knives — at 0.123” versus 0.118” — the Mule Team HIC actually tips the scales at less than the alloy-steeled models, with the HIC-spec weighing just 2.5oz (versus the 2.7oz figure of versions like the Mule Team M398. Like the rest of the Mule Team lineup the HIC-spec can be optioned with available sheaths and handle scale sets from Spyderco.
The Spyderco Mule Team HIC MT40 is available now, with pricing set at $150.
