Mule care for dummies

[aprivetera]

Looking for a little guidance on how to handle rust underneath scales.

Located in warm coastal area with higher humidity (five miles inland) and they are stored in climate controlled area. Mules are used in kitchen work, box cutting, woodwork, camping, hunting, etc but are usually home inside at the end of day.

Specifics: Rex 76, SRS-13/SUS 405, M398, AEB-L with Halpern G-10 scales

Rex 76 got scales first because paracord + wash and dry produced hot spots quickly. Now lives in a leather sheath in a pantry cabinet and needs an occasional wipe with mineral oil.

SRS-13/SUS405 and M398 have a thin coat of mineral oil between scales and handle after upgrading to scales two months ago. Pulled them apart today and have tiny rust spots and oil is rust colored in areas. Checked AEB-L and.good so far but use it less.

Blades are carefully washed and dried, placed on the windowsill in the sun to dry after. Try not to get the handle wet with work/during wash, but you know...

Not necessarily looking to epoxy them yet. So should I expect to have to do this every two months until I decide which scale should be with which mule forever?

Thanks in advance

[Traditional.Sharpening]

Mineral oil is, IMO, better than nothing but closer to being a wive's tale as an actual rust preventative. You need something which has wax in it to really cut down on rust or other chemical that functions similarly. If you don't mind chemical smell and caution applying, as it's basically toxic dry-cleaning chemicals, then Eezox works well assuming correct application.

I have seen folks that don't understand it's correct use apply it like other oils and that's just a terrible idea. It NEEDS to be applied VERY lightly and allowed to dry (takes a few hours, wipe excess if still not dry after a few hours). It leaves a dry film protectant/lubricant behind which is claimed 'food safe' when dry, I do not doubt this as there's truly virtually no product left after drying as the carrier solvent evaporates when dry.

If you want to go wax route, then you could use something like Renaissance Wax or Odie's Oil

https://odiesoil.com/finishes/
.

https://www.woodcraft.com/products/renaissance-wax

[standy99]

Find it sort of wicks the water in.

Thin liner of felt soaked in mineral oil or even better food grade Inox if you don’t mind the touch of inox smell between each side.

Live in humid central tropical Northern Australia and was the only thing that worked. Was over taking the scales off every month or two to clean the handle. Worked pretty good but still after a few months it was a slight clean up compared to what it was like without felt.

Have switched to epoxied scales due to this reason.

Usually a new mule I use removable scales for a bit until I have made a forever handle.

[Fireman]

I have become a fan of using a coating of chapstick because I use my knives for food prep at times. For storage, I do chapstick and zip lock bags rolled up to remove excess air. You can also use those packets that come with packing to reduce moisture in the container of choice.

[barnaclesonaboat]

For what it's worth, I'm on the same bi-monthly tear down and rust spot removal. I also do a coat of oil underneath the scales. Even the AEB-L gets spots for me, although I stop at wiping dry before sheathing and an oil wipe each week of regular use. For the tool steels, I've been considering cerakote to keep the service intervals longer. Even with good blade hygiene, if you can see the ocean it is probably already going to work on your steels, haha.

[RustyIron]

The problem is with the area between the handle and scales. Moisture eventually migrates in, causing rust. The problem is that if moisture can migrate in, all these "blade treatments" will eventually migrate out. The thinner the treatment, the more quickly it will migrate out. So if you want to go with some kind of blade treatment, go with axle grease. It will take longer to ooze out.

Why not go for something a little more permanent, but that can be removed once you decide on exactly what you want to do permanently with the knife. I'm thinking about Rustoleum. Spray the handle, let it dry, and assemble the knife. Overspray will be easy to clean up. If you decide to do something else with the knife, the old paint will be relatively easy to remove.

[legOFwhat?]

I've finally migrated to making permanent handles but still keep a few removable. This was after a couple of months neglect during summer walking. Last application was Ballistol but oil and sweat from my hands crept in.

[standy99]

I've finally migrated to making permanent handles but still keep a few removable. This was after a couple of months neglect during summer walking. Last application was Ballistol but oil and sweat from my hands crept in.

Yep….whole reason I went to permanent scales. Even the lesser prone to rust variations had similar rust.
Removable Scales seem to wick the water in. Got sick of removing scales.


Not hard to epoxy removable scales on and even place a coloured liner on before hand

[legOFwhat?]

I've finally migrated to making permanent handles but still keep a few removable. This was after a couple of months neglect during summer walking. Last application was Ballistol but oil and sweat from my hands crept in.

Yep….whole reason I went to permanent scales. Even the lesser prone to rust variations had similar rust.
Removable Scales seem to wick the water in. Got sick of removing scales.


Not hard to epoxy removable scales on and even place a coloured liner on before hand

Definitely, just make sure there is enough threads to connect to the barrels after the liners...

[standy99]

I've finally migrated to making permanent handles but still keep a few removable. This was after a couple of months neglect during summer walking. Last application was Ballistol but oil and sweat from my hands crept in.

Yep….whole reason I went to permanent scales. Even the lesser prone to rust variations had similar rust.
Removable Scales seem to wick the water in. Got sick of removing scales.


Not hard to epoxy removable scales on and even place a coloured liner on before hand

Definitely, just make sure there is enough threads to connect to the barrels after the liners...

Yes probably good to get the 0.02” G10 liners (or .5mm for the rest of the world that use the easier Metric system )

https://www.makermaterialsupply.com/col ... ant-colors

[blueblur]

I’ve had good success fighting rust by slathering on a coat of frog lube. It’s safe for food but if using a handle material that is absorbent, it will absorb it. That could be a positive tho.

[VandymanG]

For what it's worth, I'm on the same bi-monthly tear down and rust spot removal. I also do a coat of oil underneath the scales. Even the AEB-L gets spots for me, although I stop at wiping dry before sheathing and an oil wipe each week of regular use. For the tool steels, I've been considering cerakote to keep the service intervals longer. Even with good blade hygiene, if you can see the ocean it is probably already going to work on your steels, haha.

I just removed the paracord wrap on my AEB-L mule, it’s been wrapped since shortly after the AEB-L mules dropped. No rust at all! All I do is spray the paracord with Froglube oil every once in a while. The Froglube drys with no oily feel at all. I’ve also noticed that Froglube oil easily seeps into G10 scales. Oh and I live in the PNW so the knives get exposed to water and salt water often.

[standy99]

Don't recall Spyderco doing a rex 86/z-max blade. Probably for this exact reasoning plus it is an utter pain in the *** to work with.

Mule Number 29


MT29 - Steel: Z-Max PM | Released Jun 2021 | Quantity: Approximately 550
MT30 - Steel: Z-Wear PM | Released Aug 2021 | Quantity: Approximately 500