What did you use your Mule Team for last?

[barnaclesonaboat]

I know much of the Mule Team program was designed towards knife steel discovery and testing. Along with the great discussions we have here about steel qualities, sharpening, and handle/sheath making, I thought a thread with a user-oriented tone could enrich the experience. I use Mule Team blades for a ton of stuff, and figured you all probably do, too. So, here's a chance to show/tell us what you did with one last, a la the similarly-named thread in the General Discussion forum.

For me? Last night I used my HIC Mule to disassemble a melon and some other fruits. The blade performed excellently and the edge did not show any signs of dulling despite a few hundred slams into this hard plastic cutting board.

How about you?

[standy99]

Have at least 5-6 Mules on a magnetic strip in the kitchen. They all get a use here and there. Try not to have favourites but the PD1 and S45Vn seem to get a bit more time in the sun than others.

[barnaclesonaboat]

Have at least 5-6 Mules on a magnetic strip in the kitchen. They all get a use here and there. Try not to have favourites but the PD1 and S45Vn seem to get a bit more time in the sun than others.

Handsome set - I dig this display, particularly since the handles are so beautifully handmade. Your ultem-scales-with-ultem-pins MC mule continues to be an inspiration! Maybe I'll get a belt grinder one of these days...

I've just been using the HIC in the kitchen lately, but seeing this makes me want to put some others with different edge geometry, etc. in the drawer for kitchen work, too.

[yablanowitz]

I retired last month, so my Mules no longer get used at work. I took one of my AEB-L Mules down to about 10°per side or a little less and have been whittling with it. Great for rough in, but not so much for detail work.

[Tucson Tom]

I use a mule every day. I have one in the kitchen I also have a couple handy here on my desk.

I've been using the one at my desk to trim flashing from small plastic boxes I use for my mineral collection.
Interestingly, I find that the PMA11 blade I have here works better than the VG XEOS alongside of it.

The reason why is that the PMA11 has a lot of miles on it, needs to be sharpened and doesn't have a crazy sharp edge.

The XEOS blade is very sharp (the factory edge) and is too eager to dig into the plastic. A curious case where the sharpest knife is not the best tool for the job. Now this clearly doesn't reflect on either steel, but in the condition of the edges and the way each is sharpened.

[legOFwhat?]

Last night I used my garage PD#1 mule to demonstrate how to use the Sharpmaker to my son's girlfriend (chef). She's just learning to sharpen and made out like a bandit with stuff I no longer use that will help her down the road like it did me.

@barnaclesonaboat great idea with the thread!

[barnaclesonaboat]

I retired last month, so my Mules no longer get used at work. I took one of my AEB-L Mules down to about 10°per side or a little less and have been whittling with it. Great for rough in, but not so much for detail work.

Man, a 10°per side AEB-L mule for whittling sounds like a blast. This is reminding me to dig out my AEB-L mule for some sharpening love and use.

Last night I used my garage PD#1 mule to demonstrate how to use the Sharpmaker to my son's girlfriend (chef). She's just learning to sharpen and made out like a bandit with stuff I no longer use that will help her down the road like it did me.

@barnaclesonaboat great idea with the thread!

Thanks, and good on ya teaching/demoing sharpening! I really feel like learning practical ways of sharpening can open up this hobby to a lot of people, but can also really just enrich the use-experience of folks working in kitchens - at work or at home.

[barnaclesonaboat]

Been on that fill-the-freezer tip lately, some pleasurable seasonal work with the AEB-L mule.



Hat-tip to @FullScaler for the still very awesome resin scales

[standy99]

Dinner

[bearfacedkiller]

Field dressed a couple bucks with my magnacut mule.

[SaltyCaribbeanDfly]

Field dressed a couple bucks with my magnacut mule.

[burlyspyder]

I last used my AEB-L mule to skin and process a 30lb beaver. Pics are too big to upload even after extreme cropping though...

I have processed 7 so far this year. The AEB-L needs a touchup or two on each animal to keep it clean-cutting and safe, but so far so good.

[standy99]

Sandwich anyone

[thinbehindtheedge]

As my first foray into the Mule Team - I picked up the CPM SPY27 and put it to work. I cut up two car-loads of mixed thickness cardboard and took them to the recycling center. The blade took just the slightest amount of dulling in the sweet spot. It's still plenty sharp though. Great blade, great slicer and love the profile.

[Michael Janich]

Dear thinbehindtheedge:

Welcome to the Spyderco Forum.

Stay safe,

Mike

[Actinolite]

I didn't use it for anything exciting. I have a MT36P (K294).

I just used it to cut up a bunch of cardboard boxes while cleaning up after Christmas. I love the blade geometry, which made cutting boxes much easier than with my Para 3 (Crucarta). Not only is the blade stock thinner, but the blade is taller and thinner behind the edge. The factory edge is very sharp. I can't really comment on the steel. I only cut up about a dozen boxes, including two double thickness boxes. This work had no noticeable effect on the blade sharpness. Of course, if this small amount of work had, I'd have been very disappointed.

When I resharpen, I'm going to start with a Shapton #320 grit whetstone. I'm curious if K294 can be sharpened with good quality, ceramic whetstones. If that fails, I'll switch to a #320 diamond stone.

[Mage7]

I didn't use it for anything exciting. I have a MT36P (K294).

I just used it to cut up a bunch of cardboard boxes while cleaning up after Christmas. I love the blade geometry, which made cutting boxes much easier than with my Para 3 (Crucarta). Not only is the blade stock thinner, but the blade is taller and thinner behind the edge. The factory edge is very sharp. I can't really comment on the steel. I only cut up about a dozen boxes, including two double thickness boxes. This work had no noticeable effect on the blade sharpness. Of course, if this small amount of work had, I'd have been very disappointed.

When I resharpen, I'm going to start with a Shapton #320 grit whetstone. I'm curious if K294 can be sharpened with good quality, ceramic whetstones. If that fails, I'll switch to a #320 diamond stone.

My Shapton Kuromaku's burnished my K294 Mule more than they sharpened it. For example, I took it to the 120 grit, and it came out looking like I had polished it on my 2K, but the 2K it just skates on like glass. It's a little too vanadium-rich for anything less than diamond or CBN to get a proper edge on.

I last used my 15V Mule for cardboard processing as well, though I did quite a lot. I like to really shred my boxes into cardboard confetti to make sure they don't poke holes in my garbage bags when I take it all down to my trash. It was still sharp enough to cut receipt paper just fine after totally shredding about twenty-some single-layer card-stock cardboard, a few boxes of corrugated and two or three REALLY dirty cat-litter boxes that are double-corrugated and full of clay.

[Actinolite]

That's good to know. I obtained a couple diamond stones, the finest being 1200 grit. When the day comes, they'll come in handy for the K294 and the Maxamet Sage 1 I picked up last month.

[Actinolite]

I was using my K294 Mule for processing boxes, and I nicked a heavy staple that I didn’t see until too late. Yes. It put a small chip in the edge.

I pulled out my Shapton ceramic water stones, used the 1000 grit to eliminate the chip. Then I smoothed it out with a 2000 grit, and stropped it with green compound on smooth leather.

I did exactly what I’ve done to sharpen other steels from 1095 to 10V. Worked just fine. Is it hair-popping sharp? No. I’m not that good at sharpening. But it again slices smoothly through paper with no effort and through cardboard with minimal effort.

[VandymanG]

Late night snack.