Mule Team XL?

[Fireman]

I would question keeping the same blade/ handle angle for longer blade, especially for kitchen work. Straight would make more sense to me.
It's my very humble opinion.

I am in agreement

[vivi]

I'd have to disagree.

negative angles are nice for utility work, and knives without knuckle clearance make poor kitchen knives.

$10 Kiwi #21 or a Spyderco zcut would work much better than a Mule for such work.

[Bill1170]

I tested a Mule Team in my kitchen for a year. It fell out of favor because it was too thick behind the edge for food cutting and also too thick at the spine for its length. The Mule Xl might fare better, but it seems better suited as a woods knife. The knuckle clearance issue mentioned by Vivi is also important for a kitchen knife.

[ChrisinHove]

That XL is mahooosive!!!

Like any jack-of-all-trades it will still be compromised in some uses. I sold my mules as after initial playing with the edge and sharpening I found I had little use for that shape/size/grind.

Personally, I would rather see a kitchen specific mule shape. Day-in, day-out use means I know far more about my kitchen knife steels and profiles than my pocket knives, and better placed to appreciate their qualities.

[JoviAl]

The MTXL has spent a busy few days in the kitchen with a new ~10dps secondary bevel, but I’m pulling the plug on its time there early and re-tasking it -

In use the MTXL is comparable with my shorter conventional 6 inch petty knives in length, but its stock and behind the edge thicknesses hamper its functionality rather badly. Rather than cleanly slicing firm items like apples, broccoli, etc, it tends to cut initially then crack them, and on soft foods like cheese it gets wedged easily. The lack of finger space between the handle and the board has led everyone who has tried it to put it down after a few cuts and pick up a different dedicated kitchen knife. I’m sure this comes as no surprise to any budding (or professional) chefs that might be reading this, but out of diligence I felt I should give it a chance.

Images for size comparison purposes against a few standard commercial kitchen knives and a couple of reference Spyderco knives. The kitchen knives are a 6 inch petty, a 10 inch Chef’s and a 9 inch boning out knife. The MTXL is most akin to the boning out knife in use, but the hump housing the Spydiehole gets in the way a bit when doing awkward cuts. It is not truly terrible, just not exceptional in this arena.

If I had to give the MTXL a rating out of ten, thus far it would have:

Outdoors work use (hacking) - 6/10
Outdoors work use (slicing) - 7/10
Bushcrafting - 5/10
Bushcrafting (convexed) - 7/10
Kitchen use - 5/10
Household utility tasks - ?
EDC - ?
Cookie cutting - ?

If anyone can think of any other use cases I can test it in please let me know. Thus far it has not been downright terrible at anything, but nor has it shone and been exceptional either. As a mule I was not expecting it to be a specialist at any one thing (sort of defies the objective of being a mule), but the blade design may be actively working against it at this larger scale When I compare it to a classic hunting knife design like the one pictured below, I can’t help but wonder if taller blade stock and a more acute grind would have yielded more impressive performance across the board.

I know that would have deviated from the existing smaller MT design, but does the XL design need to be rigidly a leaf shape? Could it go down the avenue of the other Mule variant with a straight spine, and in doing so mitigate some of that up-top blade thickness?

Once all this testing is concluded I wonder if @sal would be open to me re grinding this prototype into a straight spine design. This would allow the gathering of alternate data points without having to create a second prototype.

Next up - household utility tasks. Bring on the cardboard!

[sal]

Go for it Al. I was thinking to do that with mine as well. The project called for a 6" Mule, so that's what we made.

sal

[Jeb]

I naturally love the longer blade from the Mules I have. Looks like a winner to me Big Sal...

[JoviAl]

Go for it Al. I was thinking to do that with mine as well. The project called for a 6" Mule, so that's what we made.

sal

I’ll finish this round of tests, then do the same again for consistency with it in a straight spine permutation. Personally I think it will be a very visually striking knife as a straight spine, echoing the much loved design language to the M2’s blade but scaled up.

Out of interest how are you finding yours in use? I’m looking for scenarios to test it in, but the thing I’m most impressed with is actually the Magnacut steel’s heat treat on it - it’s so versatile! I’ve been out in monsoons most days since it arrived (unless there is lightning we just keep on trucking) and it is just so easy to look after and keep sharp. Outstanding levels of user friendliness.

On a side note with the machete in mind I’ve been asking colleagues of different body builds and hand sizes how they like the MT handle on the XL, and I’ve noticed that even though the current design appeals to the majority, the demographic who actually do physical work outdoors mostly have bigger hands and find it a bit small. Not an issue with the MTXL (as it’s a mule platform aimed at a broad demographic of users), but (and forgive me if I’m stating the obvious here) thinking about the possible Machete handle it might be worth factoring in that most folk who work in physically demanding outdoor jobs tend to fall into the larger, more muscular hands and forearms group. If the machete is to be aimed at them then even if the bolt spacing was kept the same as the MT scales (for interoperability if a consumer desires it) we would need a longer and potentially thicker tang to accommodate for the big boys and girls who swing these things in addition to the hook at the end. I’m a size large glove and I’m probably the smallest handed guy doing my job that I know - rock climbing, running and tree work has made me a lean 85-90kg, whereas most of the guys here are well over 100kg and have enormous bear paws of hands. Doing weights, CrossFit, HiRox, playing rugby and/or riding motocross are very popular amongst my peers, which I’m sure contributes to their larger-than-average hands on top of the work we do, but they’re definitely as a group more @vivi’s end of the spectrum.

[Jeb]

I am a huge fan of the Ed Schempp- Rock knife since getting mine and the single biggest thing is the size and shape/design of the grip on this knife.

It would absolutely be an awesome design ijmo for the machete Big Sal is trolling around bringing to the market too. It would absolutely be perfect for this knife as well...

You can swing this knife very easy and the knob on the end of this grip is perfect to help a hot, sweaty and/or bloody paw hanging on to the knife.

The beanie here in my mind, is Spyderco may have the molds for these scales still around, so that cost could be absorbed from that. A 2'fer lol.

I spend lots of money guys and on lots of things too, so saving any like this, long as it's got other benefits; I am all over that so I can use that money else where... here is my Ed Schempp- Rock for a look/see...

[JoviAl]

I am a huge fan of the Ed Schempp- Rock knife since getting mine and the single biggest thing is the size and shape/design of the grip on this knife.

It would absolutely be an awesome design ijmo for the machete Big Sal is trolling around bringing to the market too. It would absolutely be perfect for this knife as well...

You can swing this knife very easy and the knob on the end of this grip is perfect to help a hot, sweaty and/or bloody paw hanging on to the knife.

The beanie here in my mind, is Spyderco may have the molds for these scales still around, so that cost could be absorbed from that. A 2'fer lol.

I spend lots of money guys and on lots of things too, so saving any like this, long as it's got other benefits; I am all over that so I can use that money else where... here is my Ed Schempp- Rock for a look/see...

That is one handsome knife! I would love one of those in SE H2 or Magnacut

[Jeb]

Yes, this knife in the new steel would be killer for sure. There is an Ed Schempp-Rock Salt that has the orange scales and the H1 steel.

I have gotten where am about to pull the trigger on trying to score one of these also, since I just love the one I have in VG10 steel.

I basically just about talked myself into the idea of owning both models lol. I know for a fact that there is something way bad wrong with me lol.

Then you take that thought and add a company like Spyderco that makes such a great product line, and I am basically addicted lol...

[JoviAl]

Yes, this knife in the new steel would be killer for sure. There is an Ed Schempp-Rock Salt that has the orange scales and the H1 steel.

I have gotten where am about to pull the trigger on trying to score one of these also, since I just love the one I have in VG10 steel.

I basically just about talked myself into the idea of owning both models lol. I know for a fact that there is something way bad wrong with me lol.

Then you take that thought and add a company like Spyderco that makes such a great product line, and I am basically addicted lol...

I’d love a hollow ground SE salt version in any old steel, but I’d be amenable to one in any edge type in Cruwear, 3V, 4V or something interesting that Spyderco might have kicking about like T15. To be honest, I just want one for work I envision it to be basically like my beloved JM2 on steroids.

[sal]

Hey Al,

If you cut don the spine of that 6" Mule, you might consider chamfering the spine. I believe the sharp spine edges create friction in an "all the way through" cut". I believe that's why Katana's and Wakizahi's have chamfered spines.

sal
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"Continual improvement is our evolutionary obligation to humankind.".

[Jeb]

You might even round over the spine if time is not a problem. Rounded over nicely looks really good and I bet it would give the same relief affect Big Sal is.mentioning in the chamfer.

I know the Spyderco knives I have from Italy have all their squared off edges rounded over and soda blasted finish, or least it looks like soda blast finish. It's really a nice soft finish that feels good in the paw.

The edge rounded over would really be strong too... I like to round all the sharp and squared edges on things to un-couple the stress or shear point. Just say'n...

[JoviAl]

Hey Al,

If you cut don the spine of that 6" Mule, you might consider chamfering the spine. I believe the sharp spine edges create friction in an "all the way through" cut". I believe that's why Katana's and Wakizahi's have chamfered spines.

sal
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"Continual improvement is our evolutionary obligation to humankind.".

Oh, great idea! I’ll give it a try

[attila]

But remember to not round it all if you intend to use a ferro rod.

[JoviAl]

But remember to not round it all if you intend to use a ferro rod.

Good point well made! I’ll likely give it an obtuse false edge and see how it fares. I’m mindful that it’s going to be very thin at the tip if I get too excited with the belt grinder, so I’ll have to be mega careful laying out my markers before I start grinding.

[N. Brian Huegel]

As I recall a wide chamfer on the spine was also Ed Schempp's theory on his Blade Sports Cutting Competition knife. It would be interesting to create an experiment to tests the merits.

nb

[Bill1170]

I’ve rounded the spine on some kitchen knives. They feel good in hand and are easy to clean.

[Manixguy@1994]

This Mule XL is simply amazing. I would love to see a run , very impressive. MG2