A photo of your workshop?

A place to share your experience with our Mule Team knives.
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Bolster
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Re: A photo of your workshop?

#41

Post by Bolster »

X-man: That's stunning work. I useta be a locksmith and I can just imagine all the trial-and-error fitting that wave entailed.

Full-Scale: I very much admire people who have the ability to make beautiful knife handles with hand tools. That takes a level of skill above and beyond the bench-tool folks like myself.
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FullScaler
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Re: A photo of your workshop?

#42

Post by FullScaler »

Bolster wrote:
Fri Jun 11, 2021 9:06 pm

Full-Scale: I very much admire people who have the ability to make beautiful knife handles with hand tools. That takes a level of skill above and beyond the bench-tool folks like myself.
Yea, it is slow going but I enjoy the process and it keeps my hands busy while I sit and enjoy the fire. I've got one side close to roughed out and am really looking forward to seeing this one complete.
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Xplorer
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Re: A photo of your workshop?

#43

Post by Xplorer »

FullScaler wrote:
Fri Jun 11, 2021 8:26 pm
It may not be fancy, but it sure is peaceful. This is my workshop for this evening. Birdseye maple on MT 31. About to be hand shaped and sanded.
I'm jealous. That's an amazing and inspiring place to be.
:spyder: Spyderco fan and collector since 1991. :spyder:
Father of 2, nature explorer, custom knife maker.
@ckc_knifemaker on Instagram.
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WilliamMunny
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Re: A photo of your workshop?

#44

Post by WilliamMunny »

FullScaler wrote:
Fri Jun 11, 2021 8:26 pm
It may not be fancy, but it sure is peaceful. This is my workshop for this evening. Birdseye maple on MT 31. About to be hand shaped and sanded.
Supper cool place, my dream when I retire. Until then I am stuck in a hot, flat muggy swamp in the mid Atlantic for work. But the pay is decent so I can’t complain too much, or at least no one will listen.
Endura AUS-8, Manix 2 S30V, Alcyone BD1N, PM2 Micarta Cruwear, Native 5 Maxamet (2nd), Para 3 Maxamet (2nd), Magnacut Mule, Z-Wear Mule, BBB 15V Manix 2, REC PM3 10V Satin, Dragonfly Salt 2, GB2 M4.
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BearShark44
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Re: A photo of your workshop?

#45

Post by BearShark44 »

Just found this post when searching for "required power tools for making handles / scales."
I finally have open shop space at our new house. Looking to get the right tools for the job.
Any recommendations? Seems like...
  • Band saw (needed? I already have a sliding miter saw and jig saw that I think can cut the blanks)
  • Drill press (rather than a hand drill?)
  • Stationary sander - oscillating spindle, belt, or disc?
  • Grinder or router - needed in addition to sander?
  • Dremell to cut pins to size
  • Respirator & safety precautions
Thanks for any advice. Looking forward to sharing back my experience in case it's helpful for others too.
Last edited by BearShark44 on Thu Sep 15, 2022 8:02 am, edited 1 time in total.
:bug-white-red :camping MT39P-15V, MT33P-Rex76; Sage1-Maxamet, Endela-K390, Delica4-M390, PM2-K390, PM2-S30v, Dragonfly2-SB, AmbitiousSE-8Cr13MoV; others TBD
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standy99
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Re: A photo of your workshop?

#46

Post by standy99 »

BearShark44 wrote:
Mon Sep 12, 2022 1:43 pm
Just found this post when searching for "required power tools for making handles / scales."
I finally have open shop space at our new house. Looking to get the right tools for the job.
Any recommendations? Seems like...
  • Band saw (needed? I already have a sliding miter saw and jig saw that I think can cut the blanks)
    Drill press (rather than a hand drill?)
    Stationary sander - oscillating spindle, belt, or disc?
    Grinder or router - needed in addition to sander?
    Dremell to cut pins to size
    Respirator & safety precautions
Thanks for any advice. Looking forward to sharing back my experience in case it's helpful for others too.
So many little tools make up the work shop also.


Image

This one piece has upped my knowledge and game of handle making. Previously what I thought was flat was far from it.

Granite surface plates provide an accurate reference plane for work inspection and for work layout.

These are incredibly popular with those looking for an accurate reference surface

Granite will not rust, soften or warp in different humidities and temperatures. This means that you can always be sure that your surface will be perfectly flat under all conditions.


A must for handle scales making
Im a vegetarian as technically cows are made of grass and water.
tcarltonw
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Re: A photo of your workshop?

#47

Post by tcarltonw »

Bolster wrote:
Mon Apr 26, 2021 10:40 am
Image

I need a lathe...! But where to put it? The other half of the garage belongs to SWMBO. She wastes it on a...get this...a car. A car, in a garage? Pfff. That's not what garages are for!
Bolster, do you have problems with your chainsaw leaking bar oil on you?
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Ramonade
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Re: A photo of your workshop?

#48

Post by Ramonade »

I'll try to snap one, but it's not much of a workshop since I move everything from my place to a shak now and then (and since I'm buying more and more machines, it's starting to get heavy).
:respect In the collection :respect : Lots of different steels, in lots of different (and same) Spydercos.

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tcarltonw
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Re: A photo of your workshop?

#49

Post by tcarltonw »

Xplorer wrote:
Tue Apr 27, 2021 4:58 pm
Here's some pics of my little shop.
Greatest display of manufacturing Tetris I've ever seen! Haha

Random question, I'm assuming you milled your own file guide?? What's a reasonable price to pay for one/what does is the production cost of one? Also, going to give you a follow on instagram.
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FullScaler
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Re: A photo of your workshop?

#50

Post by FullScaler »

My shop is toooooo messy for a full pic but here is a Mule hanging with a couple kitchen knives I just put new scales on. I figured my S45VN Mule could use a fresh coat of BLO while I was doing these ones after using and abusing it in the bush for the last year or so.

And a big block of Cassiar jade about to get stabbed up for scales on another Mule in the collection. (Haven't decided which one yet)
20220917_153932.jpg
20220917_154556.jpg
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TomAiello
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Re: A photo of your workshop?

#51

Post by TomAiello »

Are you going to make the scales entirely out of the jade? Or use it as an accent?
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FullScaler
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Re: A photo of your workshop?

#52

Post by FullScaler »

TomAiello wrote:
Sun Sep 18, 2022 12:05 pm
Are you going to make the scales entirely out of the jade? Or use it as an accent?
Entirely out of Jade. I may modify the profile of the tang slightly to make it work with my tools more easily but other than that they will very closely match my 3d printed scales.

20220917_214105.jpg
Every day in my pockets, Wallet, Keys, Phone, Light, and Knife.

Https://BladeProtection.com
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Josh Crutchley
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Re: A photo of your workshop?

#53

Post by Josh Crutchley »

Xplorer wrote:
Tue May 11, 2021 12:23 pm

...there's a lot more, but this is a good example of what comes out of my big 'ol mess of tools :p :) .
CK
Beautiful work! So how is it working with Vanax?
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Xplorer
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Re: A photo of your workshop?

#54

Post by Xplorer »

Hi Josh, sorry for the delayed response. I've been preoccupied with some very necessary home improvements and haven't logged in here in a while.

Thank you for the kind words. Working with Vanax is pretty easy. There are specifics to know about when it comes to heat treating Vanax but cutting, drilling, milling, grinding and sanding Vanax is on the "easy" side of knife steels. It's a bit like S35VN or MagnaCut in that regard. Much easier to work with than the higher hardness, high vanadium content steels.

I gotta' say though, I have a bunch of Vanax in my shop but now that I've dialed in my MagnaCut H/T protocol I'm not going to using Vanax as often. While Vanax is still great in it's own right, the edge characteristics and sharpening response I'm getting out of MagnaCut are just better than what Vanax can provide. If you want to get into the specifics, send me a P.M. and I'll explain in more detail without boring everyone here.

Best regards,
CK
:spyder: Spyderco fan and collector since 1991. :spyder:
Father of 2, nature explorer, custom knife maker.
@ckc_knifemaker on Instagram.
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Xplorer
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Re: A photo of your workshop?

#55

Post by Xplorer »

tcarltonw wrote:
Fri Sep 16, 2022 12:23 pm
Xplorer wrote:
Tue Apr 27, 2021 4:58 pm
Here's some pics of my little shop.
Greatest display of manufacturing Tetris I've ever seen! Haha

Random question, I'm assuming you milled your own file guide?? What's a reasonable price to pay for one/what does is the production cost of one? Also, going to give you a follow on instagram.
I just saw this message tcarltonw. Sorry, I didn't mean to leave you hangin'.

Hahaha unfortunately Tetris is a good way to describe it!

I did make my own file guide. Prices and costs always depend on the details.

For example, I simply made mine out of M4 (because that's what I had sitting around that day) and heat treated it to HRC65 so that it will be pretty wear resistant. When it gets scratched I clean it up on the grinder and the surfacing stone.
If I had made it with carbide inserts for better wear resistance it would have taken more time, added more wear on my milling bits and added more expense in materials.
Either way making 2 perfectly parallel bars, pressing pins in one side, boring precision fitted holes on the other side and fitting it with hardware is going to take a couple hours minimum.

When I see good quality file guides with carbide inserts being sold for around $150 I think "there's no way I could make those by hand and sell them THAT cheap".
:spyder: Spyderco fan and collector since 1991. :spyder:
Father of 2, nature explorer, custom knife maker.
@ckc_knifemaker on Instagram.
tcarltonw
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Re: A photo of your workshop?

#56

Post by tcarltonw »

Xplorer wrote:
Thu Nov 24, 2022 2:41 pm
tcarltonw wrote:
Fri Sep 16, 2022 12:23 pm
Xplorer wrote:
Tue Apr 27, 2021 4:58 pm
Here's some pics of my little shop.
Greatest display of manufacturing Tetris I've ever seen! Haha

Random question, I'm assuming you milled your own file guide?? What's a reasonable price to pay for one/what does is the production cost of one? Also, going to give you a follow on instagram.
I just saw this message tcarltonw. Sorry, I didn't mean to leave you hangin'.

Hahaha unfortunately Tetris is a good way to describe it!

I did make my own file guide. Prices and costs always depend on the details.

For example, I simply made mine out of M4 (because that's what I had sitting around that day) and heat treated it to HRC65 so that it will be pretty wear resistant. When it gets scratched I clean it up on the grinder and the surfacing stone.
If I had made it with carbide inserts for better wear resistance it would have taken more time, added more wear on my milling bits and added more expense in materials.
Either way making 2 perfectly parallel bars, pressing pins in one side, boring precision fitted holes on the other side and fitting it with hardware is going to take a couple hours minimum.

When I see good quality file guides with carbide inserts being sold for around $150 I think "there's no way I could make those by hand and sell them THAT cheap".
No worries, I actually forgot I had posted the question. Thanks for the insight and feedback. Happy Turkey day.
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