Show your Mule

A place to share your experience with our Mule Team knives.
TTFulltimer
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Re: Show your Mule

#1681

Post by TTFulltimer »

Xplorer wrote:
Tue Mar 14, 2023 12:59 pm
I completely agree with the finishing wax suggestion. It's easy to apply, provides nice protection to the wood and buffs up nicely.

I use a different brand. I've used Howard's Citrus Shield Premium Paste Wax for many years and I love it. It's Brazilian carnuba, bees wax and orange oil. It protects, shines and smells fantastic! Even though I usually treat unfinished woods with multiple applications of boiled linseed oil first, I always finish with Howard's wax. If I'm going to skip the linseed oil for any reason, I still always apply the wax. No wood project of mine is complete until it smells like oranges. :smlling-eyes

The Citrus Shield can you showed is all Carnauba in orange oil, a good choice indeed. The other product they have that is food safe is a blend of Carnauba and Beeswax in mineral oil. I wonder if the orange oil base is considered food safe? For this old goat I don't give a rat's patooty.

Since I am finishing without any carrier just the pure wax, it is food safe.
Just a crotchety old curmudgeon who has seen a thing or two
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Josh Crutchley
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Re: Show your Mule

#1682

Post by Josh Crutchley »

standy99 wrote:
Mon Mar 13, 2023 11:33 pm
Special thanks to LegOFwhat? For the gift that arrived in the mail today.

Beautiful set of scales to put on my ZDP-189


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Looks amazing, what a guy!


Xplorer wrote:
Tue Mar 14, 2023 12:59 pm
I completely agree with the finishing wax suggestion. It's easy to apply, provides nice protection to the wood and buffs up nicely.

I use a different brand. I've used Howard's Citrus Shield Premium Paste Wax for many years and I love it. It's Brazilian carnuba, bees wax and orange oil. It protects, shines and smells fantastic! Even though I usually treat unfinished woods with multiple applications of boiled linseed oil first, I always finish with Howard's wax. If I'm going to skip the linseed oil for any reason, I still always apply the wax. No wood project of mine is complete until it smells like oranges. :smlling-eyes

Image
Is there any reason to use the method you mention here vs stabilizing? High humidity is occasionally an issue where I live so are both methods able to deal with that?
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Xplorer
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Re: Show your Mule

#1683

Post by Xplorer »

Some of the reasons I might prefer to use linseed oil (or mineral oil) and finishing wax would be for a project too large to stabilize or when the wood is already so dense and oily that stabilizing isn't very necessary. Sometimes cost or convenience plays a role. Usually if stabilizing is an option, stabilizing would be the best choice. But that's not to say that stabilizing solves all problems either. I wouldn't suggest that stabilized wood will not warp and move in humid or wet conditions. It depends on the stabilizing, the wood species and the severity of the conditions. In wet or humid conditions I would suggest using finishing wax to maintain any wood handle even if it's stabilized.
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standy99
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Re: Show your Mule

#1684

Post by standy99 »

Wet and humid conditions……. good luck trying to stabilise timber. I would have to stabilise inside with the air conditioning on for 24 hours for 2 days to not have the cactus juice turn to gluggy soup…. (Realises this when reading the instructions after already buying everything)
Im a vegetarian as technically cows are made of grass and water.
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Ramonade
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Re: Show your Mule

#1685

Post by Ramonade »

I've had some stabilized woods come bent. It occured during shipping because covid slowed things down (and because it came for very far away). It's not fun !
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bobartig
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Re: Show your Mule

#1686

Post by bobartig »

More wooden scales action!

Started with Birch, then made a set of White Oak from floorboards, and now I've just finished off a pair of Wenge. These things nearly killed me (never worked with such hardwood!), but I'm oiling/waxing them a bit before mounting them up.

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SpiderIsland
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Re: Show your Mule

#1687

Post by SpiderIsland »

Why do the factory scales not fit flush? The handle is a slight bit proud all around it?
Is this a feature or a flaw?
Dog spelled backwards is…
TTFulltimer
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Re: Show your Mule

#1688

Post by TTFulltimer »

SpiderIsland wrote:
Fri Mar 24, 2023 10:51 am
Why do the factory scales not fit flush? The handle is a slight bit proud all around it?
Is this a feature or a flaw?
They are "recessed" my guess is since these mules might vary slightly a bit of setback provides an always fits scale. You could grind the mule tang to fit I suppose.
Just a crotchety old curmudgeon who has seen a thing or two
SpiderIsland
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Re: Show your Mule

#1689

Post by SpiderIsland »

TTFulltimer wrote:
Fri Mar 24, 2023 11:02 am
SpiderIsland wrote:
Fri Mar 24, 2023 10:51 am
Why do the factory scales not fit flush? The handle is a slight bit proud all around it?
Is this a feature or a flaw?
They are "recessed" my guess is since these mules might vary slightly a bit of setback provides an always fits scale. You could grind the mule tang to fit I suppose.
Yea I guess but I'd rather grind the scales as it would be much easier for my talents :)
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Pacu0420
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Re: Show your Mule

#1690

Post by Pacu0420 »

My M398 Mule with purple heart. I had finished the scales a couple months ago but they were a bit blocky and only sanded to 500 grit. I decided recently to thin the scales and give them more contour. I sanded the wood to 3000 grit then did 8 layers of clear coat. After that I sanded the last coat to 12000 grit. What a difference!
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legOFwhat?
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Re: Show your Mule

#1691

Post by legOFwhat? »

Pacu0420 wrote:
Mon Mar 27, 2023 12:01 pm
My M398 Mule with purple heart. I had finished the scales a couple months ago but they were a bit blocky and only sanded to 500 grit. I decided recently to thin the scales and give them more contour. I sanded the wood to 3000 grit then did 8 layers of clear coat. After that I sanded the last coat to 12000 grit. What a difference!
That looks great!
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Pacu0420
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Re: Show your Mule

#1692

Post by Pacu0420 »

A couple more pics from a different angle.
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Top 5 EDC Spydies: S45VN Para3, S90V DLT PM2, MagnaCut Native5, Crucarta PM2, Maxamet Manix2
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captnvegtble
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Re: Show your Mule

#1693

Post by captnvegtble »

Picture of my Mule Family

From left to right: 2 MagnaCut mules with burl ironwood scales; 2 Rex 76 mules - one with stabilized redwood and the second with burl Maple; the last is the newest Spy27 mule with African Rosewood.
Mule Family.jpg
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captnvegtble
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Re: Show your Mule

#1694

Post by captnvegtble »

A couple of close-ups of my latest Spy27 mule with African Rosewood handles.
Mule_Spy27_2.jpg
Mule_Spy27_1.jpg
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attila
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Re: Show your Mule

#1695

Post by attila »

Ooo! That’s much more pleasant looking than the product page shows. I think that the straight spine doesn’t work as well on the mules as on others. However, with that nub removed and its final form, I think it works well!
Have: old S30V Native, HAP40 Endura, ZDP DF2, S110V Manix LW, Cru-wear Para 3, SE H1 DF2, S90V Native 5, K390 Urban, SE Pac Salt, P.I.T.S., XHP Manix LW, SB Caly 3, B70P, PMA11, K03, Kapara, REX 45 Military, 154CM Manix LW, Swick, AEB-L Urban, KC Cruwear Manix, M390 PM2, Mantra 2, CruCarta Shaman, M390 Manix, K390 Police 4, S90V Manix LW, Rex 45 Manix LW, 20CV Manix, Rex 45 Lil’Native, Shaman, C208GP, Cruwear Manix, Cruwear Manix, M4 Chief, Z-max!!!

Want: SPY27, K490, Swick 5
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standy99
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Re: Show your Mule

#1696

Post by standy99 »

Nearly finished, a few more grits to go.

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Im a vegetarian as technically cows are made of grass and water.
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captnvegtble
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Re: Show your Mule

#1697

Post by captnvegtble »

attila wrote:
Tue Mar 28, 2023 8:10 pm
Ooo! That’s much more pleasant looking than the product page shows. I think that the straight spine doesn’t work as well on the mules as on others. However, with that nub removed and its final form, I think it works well!
Yes, I agree. When I first saw the picture online, I wasn't crazy about the straight spine mule. But once you sand down the nub and smooth out the lines of the knife it really looks nice!

And it's easy to do... I have a small 1x30 bench-top belt sander that I use to sand down and back the nub (sand it back from the edge), and then I take a small wooden dowel with some sand paper and hand-sand a curve going up to 1500 grit. It takes some time, but I think the end result is worth it. I should also note that I used a mini drum-sander attachment for my drill press to smooth out and slightly increase the radius/curvature of the thumb ramp... although I did this after the wooden scales were attached during the process of sanding everything flush.
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captnvegtble
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Re: Show your Mule

#1698

Post by captnvegtble »

Here's a picture of a new Spy27 Mule that I'm just starting to shape (prior to attaching handle scales)... I've grinded down and smoothing out the nub, and I've also sloped and smoothed out the thumb-ramp area.
Spy27 Mule3.jpg
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attila
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Re: Show your Mule

#1699

Post by attila »

Cool! Thanks for the explanation!

I shortened the nub on one of my Magnacut Mules too, but not that far down. Using a 2x72 grinder, I also lowered the obnoxiously abrupt thumb ramp. I have since reduced the blade height to make the spydiehole sit more symmetrically between spine and thumb ramp.
972C4FF2-18EA-4574-816A-A2EADCC4DC29.jpeg
Have: old S30V Native, HAP40 Endura, ZDP DF2, S110V Manix LW, Cru-wear Para 3, SE H1 DF2, S90V Native 5, K390 Urban, SE Pac Salt, P.I.T.S., XHP Manix LW, SB Caly 3, B70P, PMA11, K03, Kapara, REX 45 Military, 154CM Manix LW, Swick, AEB-L Urban, KC Cruwear Manix, M390 PM2, Mantra 2, CruCarta Shaman, M390 Manix, K390 Police 4, S90V Manix LW, Rex 45 Manix LW, 20CV Manix, Rex 45 Lil’Native, Shaman, C208GP, Cruwear Manix, Cruwear Manix, M4 Chief, Z-max!!!

Want: SPY27, K490, Swick 5
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Bolster
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Re: Show your Mule

#1700

Post by Bolster »

Some of you folks run the handle material so close to the blade, it reminds me of a ruffle collar.

Not that there's anything wrong with a ruffle collar.
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