Very glad I have a "sharpened" blank in this material. Looking forward to playing with it. I don't know how many were left when I purchased mine, but I read that Spyderco was pretty close to being out of them.
Out of the box for me the edge is pretty rough. Very coarse grind on the primary edge bevel and I can feel the edge itself has a pretty serious burr on one side. Came with a thin film of oil on it, sensible, I only wiped the edge surface once. It should be fine.
But this is a Mule and I'm looking forward to reprofiling this blade as close to the primary edge grind at first, using, then maybe playing a little bit with. :) It'll be about a week and half before it has handles, Halpern type 4 black with stainless hardware, then to have the quiet time I'll want to play with the edge :o :D I have to concentrate on that part :o Until then it will stay in the box.
I do truly appreciate the opportunity to try this top of the line material without having to break my budget. Ever since I've figured out ZDP189 just a little bit :o these newer super edge holding materials have picqued my interest :) :D Still know I have a lot to learn though :)
Thanks again :spyder:
M390 Mule arrived today!!!
M390 Mule arrived today!!!
- Attachments
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- m390 edge.jpg (39.37 KiB) Viewed 2200 times
Charlie
" Everything should be made as simple as possible, but not one bit simpler."
[CENTER]"Integrity is being good even if no one is watching"[/CENTER]
" Everything should be made as simple as possible, but not one bit simpler."
[CENTER]"Integrity is being good even if no one is watching"[/CENTER]
I have a pair of them. It's great steel, just reported to have been tested at ~61 HRC which is great for this steel. I love the way it sharpens up fairly easily and holds an edge very well. Mine gets extremely sharp, almost like a good carbon steel blade.
I like the edge angle that yours looks to be at now which looks to be just right to me. Just needs to be refined to get the scratches out of the bevels and polished, imo, (if you care about that sort of thing). One of mine came like that and one came with a more obtuse angle. I re-beveled the obtuse one down to about 20-25 degrees inclusive and brought the bevels up to a very brilliant mirror polish. Can't wait to get the Para 2 that's going to be made in this steel.
I like the edge angle that yours looks to be at now which looks to be just right to me. Just needs to be refined to get the scratches out of the bevels and polished, imo, (if you care about that sort of thing). One of mine came like that and one came with a more obtuse angle. I re-beveled the obtuse one down to about 20-25 degrees inclusive and brought the bevels up to a very brilliant mirror polish. Can't wait to get the Para 2 that's going to be made in this steel.
Peter - My :spyder:'s:
Caly~3.5 (VG-10 & S. Blue); Para2~(20CP~M390~S30v); Military~(M390~S30v); Endura & Delica~4~FFG; Native~(S30v); Caly~Jr.~(ZDP); Manix~2~(M4); Ladybug~3~(VG-10. SE); Mules~(M390).
Caly~3.5 (VG-10 & S. Blue); Para2~(20CP~M390~S30v); Military~(M390~S30v); Endura & Delica~4~FFG; Native~(S30v); Caly~Jr.~(ZDP); Manix~2~(M4); Ladybug~3~(VG-10. SE); Mules~(M390).
I hear you Mongatu :) I should recieve the handles on Monday and I won't have a chance to play with refining the edge until the following weekend. Trying during the week just doesn't seem to work for me. I am going to try and match the primary edge angle as precisely as I can initially. I understand that :spyder: isn't able to cater to my preference of polished or semipolished edge with a material this nice and still keep it affordable :D
I'm actually very excited about playing with this stuff but have chosen to take my time rather than try too hard and screw up :o
Look forward to hearing more about these Mules in the future :D
I'm actually very excited about playing with this stuff but have chosen to take my time rather than try too hard and screw up :o
Look forward to hearing more about these Mules in the future :D
Charlie
" Everything should be made as simple as possible, but not one bit simpler."
[CENTER]"Integrity is being good even if no one is watching"[/CENTER]
" Everything should be made as simple as possible, but not one bit simpler."
[CENTER]"Integrity is being good even if no one is watching"[/CENTER]
It probably won't be very sharp until you get rid of those burrs you mentioned. Just stropping it a bit should take care of that. Another thing about M390 is that it responds really well (better than many other steels, imo) to stropping on a loaded leather strop. I'm surprised they don't make razor blades out of this stuff.
Peter - My :spyder:'s:
Caly~3.5 (VG-10 & S. Blue); Para2~(20CP~M390~S30v); Military~(M390~S30v); Endura & Delica~4~FFG; Native~(S30v); Caly~Jr.~(ZDP); Manix~2~(M4); Ladybug~3~(VG-10. SE); Mules~(M390).
Caly~3.5 (VG-10 & S. Blue); Para2~(20CP~M390~S30v); Military~(M390~S30v); Endura & Delica~4~FFG; Native~(S30v); Caly~Jr.~(ZDP); Manix~2~(M4); Ladybug~3~(VG-10. SE); Mules~(M390).
Aaaaaahhhh! Much better now!
Tried working the the original edge a little yesterday with the strop and it just wasn't working. Had trouble sleeping last night (not because of the Mule), got up early and reprofiled at about the original edge angle over coffee.
It feels and cuts much more easily now and is ready for whatever comes at it. :) Over time and touch ups with the strop the edge will only become more polished.
Right now I can say this thing took the new edge quite easily :D Will run without a microbevel and see how it behaves :) Really enjoy this whole Mule team concept :D
Just to think a year and a half ago I couldn't get anything sharp :D
It feels and cuts much more easily now and is ready for whatever comes at it. :) Over time and touch ups with the strop the edge will only become more polished.
Right now I can say this thing took the new edge quite easily :D Will run without a microbevel and see how it behaves :) Really enjoy this whole Mule team concept :D
Just to think a year and a half ago I couldn't get anything sharp :D
- Attachments
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- M390 reprofiled.jpg (59.48 KiB) Viewed 2023 times
Charlie
" Everything should be made as simple as possible, but not one bit simpler."
[CENTER]"Integrity is being good even if no one is watching"[/CENTER]
" Everything should be made as simple as possible, but not one bit simpler."
[CENTER]"Integrity is being good even if no one is watching"[/CENTER]
Felt a like ZDP189
After this post I'll stop annoying y'all about the M390 Mule :o
Sharpening with the DMT aligner system doesn't give you a good feel for the blade. It does it's job at making the edges meet at the middle with some precision. The stones themselves are fantastic. Once the edges are met it's a simple matter of working through the grits and monitoring your progress.
I got to feel it a little when I was stropping. It felt like ZDP189. Those little residual burrs didn't leave until I polished them off and the material was stubborn about letting them go. This is not a bad thing :) ......Just a newbie trying to gain some experience :)
Thinking this M390 Mule will hold this really sharp edge it has now very well. :D
Sharpening with the DMT aligner system doesn't give you a good feel for the blade. It does it's job at making the edges meet at the middle with some precision. The stones themselves are fantastic. Once the edges are met it's a simple matter of working through the grits and monitoring your progress.
I got to feel it a little when I was stropping. It felt like ZDP189. Those little residual burrs didn't leave until I polished them off and the material was stubborn about letting them go. This is not a bad thing :) ......Just a newbie trying to gain some experience :)
Thinking this M390 Mule will hold this really sharp edge it has now very well. :D
Charlie
" Everything should be made as simple as possible, but not one bit simpler."
[CENTER]"Integrity is being good even if no one is watching"[/CENTER]
" Everything should be made as simple as possible, but not one bit simpler."
[CENTER]"Integrity is being good even if no one is watching"[/CENTER]
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Guy Vanderveken
- Member
- Posts: 104
- Joined: Tue May 31, 2011 12:40 pm
- Location: Cape Town South Africa
I have found that M390 does seem to have a tendency to form stubborn burrs . . . if you let them get big. You may already know all this. If so please disregard, but I think it is very helpful to frequently stop grinding as you are sharpening and check your progress with your fingers as well as eyes and try to catch the burr just as it is beginning to form and try not to let it get too large at any point along the edge. The difference is only a matter of a few strokes, and once the burr starts to form it gets big very quickly especially while using diamond stones or the coarser grits of other stones (1k and below).
You can feel the burr with your fingers or finger nail stroking along the opposite side of the edge. It's a rough feeling. As long as the opposite edge still feels smooth, no burr has started to form. As soon as you feel some roughness on the opposite side of the blade, you've got burr wherever you feel the roughness. At that point while the burr is hopefully still small, stop grinding on the parts of the blade that already have some burr so the burr doesn't get any bigger. Ideally, you want to form a small burr along the entire edge though. The smaller the better, imo.
Then a few very light strokes (I use heel to tip) on the opposite side (i.e., the side with the burr) should grind it off and you can start working that side as usual, but again pausing frequently to check the opposite side for burr.
If you let the the burr get too large, it starts flopping back and forth and takes more work to get it off, as well as using up more steel than necessary.
You can feel the burr with your fingers or finger nail stroking along the opposite side of the edge. It's a rough feeling. As long as the opposite edge still feels smooth, no burr has started to form. As soon as you feel some roughness on the opposite side of the blade, you've got burr wherever you feel the roughness. At that point while the burr is hopefully still small, stop grinding on the parts of the blade that already have some burr so the burr doesn't get any bigger. Ideally, you want to form a small burr along the entire edge though. The smaller the better, imo.
Then a few very light strokes (I use heel to tip) on the opposite side (i.e., the side with the burr) should grind it off and you can start working that side as usual, but again pausing frequently to check the opposite side for burr.
If you let the the burr get too large, it starts flopping back and forth and takes more work to get it off, as well as using up more steel than necessary.
Peter - My :spyder:'s:
Caly~3.5 (VG-10 & S. Blue); Para2~(20CP~M390~S30v); Military~(M390~S30v); Endura & Delica~4~FFG; Native~(S30v); Caly~Jr.~(ZDP); Manix~2~(M4); Ladybug~3~(VG-10. SE); Mules~(M390).
Caly~3.5 (VG-10 & S. Blue); Para2~(20CP~M390~S30v); Military~(M390~S30v); Endura & Delica~4~FFG; Native~(S30v); Caly~Jr.~(ZDP); Manix~2~(M4); Ladybug~3~(VG-10. SE); Mules~(M390).
Hey Guy :) I temporarily swapped scales with the Superblue mule so for today and tomorrow it's gray type 4 Halpern handles.Tomorrow it will get black handles with stainless hardware. I just didn't want to wait untiil next weekend before playing with it :)
Mongatu, it was no problem sharpening, the DMT stones work quite well :) When polishing freehand it just kind of felt something like ZDP did. Right now this Mule is very nice and silly sharp :D Happiness is easier with a very, very sharp edge :D
Very much looking forward to how this material behaves over time :D
Mongatu, it was no problem sharpening, the DMT stones work quite well :) When polishing freehand it just kind of felt something like ZDP did. Right now this Mule is very nice and silly sharp :D Happiness is easier with a very, very sharp edge :D
Very much looking forward to how this material behaves over time :D
Charlie
" Everything should be made as simple as possible, but not one bit simpler."
[CENTER]"Integrity is being good even if no one is watching"[/CENTER]
" Everything should be made as simple as possible, but not one bit simpler."
[CENTER]"Integrity is being good even if no one is watching"[/CENTER]
Mule collector needs number 3 and 5 to complete the set
My favorites are the 7, great damascus, shaving sharp; and 4, ZDP-189, a great steel, holds an edge forever.
I have all the other Mules up to and including # 11 (M390) except for 3 (CPM S90V) and 5 (9Cr18Mo), which I could not buy fast enough before the runs were sold out.
If anyone has extras for sale, contact me at bdaraio@yahoo.com or call me at914-774-2646. Bob Daraio
I have all the other Mules up to and including # 11 (M390) except for 3 (CPM S90V) and 5 (9Cr18Mo), which I could not buy fast enough before the runs were sold out.
If anyone has extras for sale, contact me at bdaraio@yahoo.com or call me at914-774-2646. Bob Daraio
When my M390 mule arrived, I went through the normal routine with a factory knife on the DMT stones. Followed this with some diamond paste and finally a strop with CrO2. This thing really took an edge. Spent some time cutting some thin cardboard strips (used in starting the charcoal grill) and didn't note any degradation at all. Should have bought two of these monsters.
I agree! i would have loved to get an other!Spook410 wrote:When my M390 mule arrived, I went through the normal routine with a factory knife on the DMT stones. Followed this with some diamond paste and finally a strop with CrO2. This thing really took an edge. Spent some time cutting some thin cardboard strips (used in starting the charcoal grill) and didn't note any degradation at all. Should have bought two of these monsters.
Here is mine. Stabilized buckeye burl (green obviously), reground in a few places to better fit my ergos.
[img]<a%20href="http://s1220.photobucket.com/albums/dd4 ... ucket"></a>[/img]
Pretty quick after my first M390 Mule arrived, I was so impressed with the steel I ordered another and am looking forward to the forthcoming M390 Milie and Para 2 which I have pre-ordered. I'm also surprised the M390 Mule didn't sell out faster.
Peter - My :spyder:'s:
Caly~3.5 (VG-10 & S. Blue); Para2~(20CP~M390~S30v); Military~(M390~S30v); Endura & Delica~4~FFG; Native~(S30v); Caly~Jr.~(ZDP); Manix~2~(M4); Ladybug~3~(VG-10. SE); Mules~(M390).
Caly~3.5 (VG-10 & S. Blue); Para2~(20CP~M390~S30v); Military~(M390~S30v); Endura & Delica~4~FFG; Native~(S30v); Caly~Jr.~(ZDP); Manix~2~(M4); Ladybug~3~(VG-10. SE); Mules~(M390).
Yep.. after the Mule had to order the M390 millie.mongatu wrote:Pretty quick after my first M390 Mule arrived, I was so impressed with the steel I ordered another and am looking forward to the forthcoming M390 Milie and Para 2 which I have pre-ordered. I'm also surprised the M390 Mule didn't sell out faster.