What scales for your CruWeare Mule?

phillipsted · #1

Now that we have a date for the CruWear Mule re-release, I've got a question for everyone:

What type of scales are you going to put on your CruWear Mules?

Personally, I think I'm going to try to purchase two of these.

1. The first is going to get some BlackSite Carbon Fiber scales. This will be the first time I've worked with CF, so it should be an adventure!

2. The second is going to be a user, so I'm going to put chocolate brown paper micarta on this one. It won't show dirt very much, and this particular batch seems to be made with a very tough phenolic.

TedP

rodloos · #2

Don't forget about the health hazards of CF dust and wear a breathing mask when you cut or sand it.

I'll be getting a couple of these Mules too, but already have another 8 or 10 Mules that I still need to make scales for. In fact I only have 1 Mule I have sort-of finished the scales for, I shaped the micarta so it is comfortable in my hand, just need to polish it -- I like the look of the micarta when it is wet, but when it dries it looks all dusty/powdery from where I sanded it, guess I'm not very good at it yet :) .

I found some zebra-wood at WoodCraft that is absolutely beautiful, but I would need to stabilize it first.

46Alpha · #3

I'm hoping to make this my first (of many) Mules. What are the options for scales? Aside from making my own, are there any commonly available?

jackthedog · #4

I'm thinking of ordering some Halpern Titanium scales. I would eventually like to get and make some snakewood scales but I really don't have the tools at the moment.

Any leads for a good source for wood handle blanks?

ValueKnifeLover · #5

rodloos wrote:Don't forget about the health hazards of CF dust and wear a breathing mask when you cut or sand it.

+1 It's some nasty stuff.... But it looks soooo good :D

pdptrow · #6

46Alpha,
Look at Halpern Titanium for some G-10 scales, pretty good price too since all you have to do is screw them onto the mule.

Mjolnir74 · #7

You don't want that in your eyes either.

jtoler_9 · #8

For me I have a small stockpile of wood blanks waiting. I got into the Mule project late. I only have the M390 mule. If only I could travel back in time and pick up some mules that I missed. Since the release of the M390 mule, I went a bit crazy and bought a bunch of wood blanks. So I am going to get 2 of these mules just so I get to use my wood blanks. It's either going to be Desert Ironwood or Cocobollo. Probably 1 of each. anyone know a good place to get some mosaic pins? I am almost out.

46Alpha · #9

pdptrow wrote:46Alpha,
Look at Halpern Titanium for some G-10 scales, pretty good price too since all you have to do is screw them onto the mule.

Great, thanks! I'm all about the easy :cool:

Rwb1500 · #10

46Alpha wrote:Great, thanks! I'm all about the easy :cool:

They're pretty nice too, and reasonably priced.

NYRich · #11

phillipsted wrote:Now that we have a date for the CruWear Mule re-release, I've got a question for everyone:

What type of scales are you going to put on your CruWear Mules?

Personally, I think I'm going to try to purchase two of these.

1. The first is going to get some BlackSite Carbon Fiber scales. This will be the first time I've worked with CF, so it should be an adventure!

2. The second is going to be a user, so I'm going to put chocolate brown paper micarta on this one. It won't show dirt very much, and this particular batch seems to be made with a very tough phenolic.

TedP

More than likely I'll pick up a set of premade Micarta scales. As much as I'd prefer to make up a set of scales myself using Micarta/CF/G10, I simply don't have an area where I can do that kind of work safely.

Then again, I could try using a wood that isn't toxic. I've worked with wood most of my life and a little sawdust isn't going to be an issue.

xceptnl · #12

I probably will just do a simple cord wrap like this because I am waiting for Halpern to get a few different colors in stock before I order some.

kens73 · #13

I have two sets of Halpern Titanium scales and they are great!

I only wish I can find a place that sells leather sheaths for mules

xceptnl · #14

kens73 wrote:I only wish I can find a place that sells leather sheaths for mules

+1 . . . I agree.

DougB2 · #15

I buy Mules or any other blade to make my own handles. Mostly micarta but some G-10. For something like Mules, I can't see just cord-wrapping it, partly because I'm not particularly creative at it.

phillipsted · #16

NYRich wrote:More than likely I'll pick up a set of premade Micarta scales. As much as I'd prefer to make up a set of scales myself using Micarta/CF/G10, I simply don't have an area where I can do that kind of work safely.

Then again, I could try using a wood that isn't toxic. I've worked with wood most of my life and a little sawdust isn't going to be an issue.

The micarta/phenolic dust isn't nearly as hazardous as G10 or CF. You don't want to breathe in too much of it, but you don't have to take extraordinary precautions like you do with the glass or carbon-based scales. Personally, i think micarta is even safer than stablized woods because I've gotten skin irritation a few times working with the stablized tropical woods.

The important part is to have fun! :)

TedP

md8232 · #17

I'm another late-comer to the Mules. So far I have two with more as they get released.
I've got a set of the Black Halpern and they fit my hand quite well. I've found some Desert Ironwood and think I'll get scales made for each with the Ironwood.
Amboyna would be another good looking wood.

jtoler_9 · #18

Hey MD..

Just my suggestion, but if you already have the Ironwood scales you could always do it yourself. I did my first set with all hand tools in the garage. It takes a bit more effort but I found it very rewarding. I appreciated the end product that much more because I put sweat into it. All I did was trace the outline of the mule blank on my wood scales then cut out a rough pattern with a hand saw. Then I used a hand drill and pins to hold the scales and knife together. After that, it's all sanding and your done.

JLS · #19

I'm thinking stabilized wood for this one. I put natural wood on my Cobalt Special Mule and it has shrunk just a bit over the past few months, leaving the brass pins just slightly proud. I'm going to give it another little while to stabilize before reworking to make everything flush again. I love the way it turned out, but would rather not deal with the shrinkage issues (any Seinfeld jokes?).

I've been looking at some stabilized black limba wood on Ebay. I guess there's only one way to find out!

toomzz · #20

:) :) :)

....asked that question myself a couple of times since the release-date was pronounced couple of days of ago.

I was planning to purchase two of the suckers, just to feed my addict of making mules. Boy, I missed that since the M390.

There are a few options; I have green-black G10, green canvas-micarta and cocobolo. I think I will make a cocobolo for the first, since all the cocobolo knives I have made sofar seem to dissappear :rolleyes:
The second will be green-black G10, suited for wet kitchen-use. My wife loves mules in the kitchen. I think I will keep the micarta for the Elmax-mule.

I can repeat myself much; bring 'em on those mules!!! Keep 'em coming Sal!

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What scales for your CruWeare Mule?

What scales for your CruWeare Mule?

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