Spyderco byte December 2024 - Edge-U-Cation® CPM® 15V® Sprint Run™ Knives
Edge-U-Cation® - CPM® 15V® Sprint Run™ Knives
Crucible® Industries' CPM® 15V® powder metallurgy tool steel is a remarkable material that offers the highest wear resistance of any cold-work tool steel available today. Its unique alloy composition includes almost 15 percent vanadium, which creates an exceptionally high volume of vanadium carbides in its microstructure. This makes it a viable alternative to solid carbide in the production of intricate tool designs; however, that does not automatically make it a workable knife steel.CPM 15V was commercially released in 1994 and has been in constant use since then in a wide range of demanding industrial applications, including powder compaction tooling, plastic processing equipment, industrial knives, extrusion tooling, punches, and dies. For all these applications, Crucible’s recommended heat-treatment protocols are ideal, as the robust shapes of industrial parts provide adequate structural strength for them to perform. Knife blades, however, represent a very different animal.
The first theoretical discussions of employing CPM 15V in knife blades happened in the early 2000’s among steel enthusiasts like Cliff Stamp and performance-oriented custom knifemakers like revered Spyderco collaborator Phil Wilson. The challenge, they realized, was to get 15V to retain adequate strength when ground to the thin profiles and acute edge angles required of knife blades. To do that, it needed a much more nuanced approach to heat treatment.
Fast forward to 2018, when custom knifemaker Shawn Houston was making a name for himself by crafting knives with exotic steels and finely tuned heat-treating protocols. As part of that groundbreaking effort, Houston began sourcing small pieces of CPM 15V and attempting to make them into workable knives. He quickly realized that the standard tooling-focused heat-treatment protocol resulted in knife edges that literally crumbled during use.
Through painstaking trial and error, Houston experimented with different approaches to the hardening and tempering processes. He also meticulously logged and analyzed the various lot numbers of CPM 15V and the subtle differences between their exact alloy compositions. After months of diligent effort, he determined which “melts” of CPM 15V displayed properties that were most suitable for use in knife blades. He also fine-tuned the heat-treating protocols needed to wring maximum performance and reliability from this elite steel as a blade material.
Houston demonstrated the success of his use and heat treat of CPM 15V in a social media video in which he cleanly chopped a 16-penny nail in half with no damage to the edge. After internet naysayers challenged his feat, he drove several hours and paid an independent testing facility to confirm the Rockwell hardness of his blade. He then repeated his demonstration with the same impressive results.
In late 2018, Shawn contacted Spyderco’s Sal Glesser and began discussing the possibility of showcasing CPM 15V in an elite batch of production knives. Sal was extremely excited about the prospect, but realized the only way to capitalize on Houston’s hard-won wisdom was to purchase steel from carefully chosen “melts” of CPM 15V with alloy compositions best suited to use in knife blades. Achieving that extreme level of control and consistency is the only way to ensure all the steel purchased will respond to Houston’s highly refined heat-treatment protocol. That kind of investment also means the steel will need to be featured on a significant number of knives.
Spyderco's limited-edition Sprint Run productions featuring this exotic, high-performance blade steel will focus on select American-made models. All the knives in this elite family will have blades crafted from carefully chosen batches of CPM 15V and processed in strict accordance with Shawn Houston’s hardening and tempering protocols. His painstaking process takes full advantage of the extraordinary properties of this steel to yield blades capable of extreme sharpness and unparalleled edge retention. To further distinguish these remarkable knives, in honor of Houston’s “Big Brown Bear” moniker, they all will all feature brown handle scales and Shawn Houston's "Triple B" logo laser engraved on the reverse side of the blade.
The first members of this elite family—the Para Military® 2 and Shaman®—were released in early 2023. They were followed by the MT39 Mule Team™ in CPM 15V in mid-2023. The next 15V Sprint Run models to be released—the Para® 3 and Para® 3 Lightweight — will begin shipping to customers by January 1st.
Spyderco's CPM 15V family of Sprint Run knives is a truly unprecedented achievement in production knifemaking. These elite knives are also a tribute to Shawn Houston’s relentless spirit and impressive talents as a knifemaker and researcher. No matter which model you choose, we are confident that it will serve you well and remain a highly collectible piece of Spyderco history.