I finished off the first of my two Cruwear Mules today. Decided to put some basic black linen Micarta scales on it - I want to take it out and put it through some real-world usage. These aren't the prettiest scales I've done, but they are pretty comfortable in the hand.
That stuff is gorgeous! Just curious - it looks like those pen blanks are 5"x0.75"x0.75". This doesn't seem quite big enough for a Mule Scale. How did you get build a full slab out of these pen blanks?
Zencowboy wrote:Nicely done Ted! I like the smooth holes for the screws and linen micarta. Mine are off getting a boltron sheath. What will be next:-0
Thanks for the complement, Zen! I picked my next project last night - I'm going to do my second Elmax Mule in dark ebony. Never worked with that wood, and it looks even denser and harder than cocobolo. Should be an interesting challenge. I'll see if I can do a WIP series of photos for this set...
I also picked up a Swick2 recently for a good price. I'm planning a set of scales for this thing - but it will take a little work because I want to fit the scales around the large finger hole and choil. It will take a lot of delicate work on the thin sections around the fingerhole. I'm planning to use micarta for this because it is very forgiving and won't chip out or crack. More to follow...
phillipsted wrote:That stuff is gorgeous! Just curious - it looks like those pen blanks are 5"x0.75"x0.75". This doesn't seem quite big enough for a Mule Scale. How did you get build a full slab out of these pen blanks?
Ditto. That was the only site thus far I found the scales GG used. Will have to see what he says. I would like to know where got them and the durability of them.
Peace
Welcome to the Forum, FeinthundredGS! Nice looking Mule you have there! I assume those are green G-10 slabs - what kind of liners did you use? They look really good!
Thanks for the warm welcome. Yep, toxic green with black liners. Looking forward to your Swick2 phillipsted and your Elmax! I'm thinking high-ish grade ironwood with brass for mine...
Did my second Elmax Mule this weekend. Tried some African Ebony off of eBay. I ended up not liking this wood very much and finishing it out in a hurry. The wood is very oily and dense, like Cocobolo, but very porous and easy to chip. The porosity combined with the "chippiness" made sanding a real PITA. I chipped the edges of the screw holes while hand sanding the scales. In addition, in my haste to get done, I forgot to seal the wood before polishing it with rouge. I ended up getting green rouge embedded in the pores of the scales. It looks good in hand, but the rouge shows up in close-up photos.
I'm thinking about sanding the handles back down to 150 grit and leaving them on as user-scales. The porosity of the wood sort of makes it feel like canvas micarta - gives you a really good grip.
"phillipsted: I also picked up a Swick2 recently for a good price. I'm planning a set of scales for this thing - but it will take a little work because I want to fit the scales around the large finger hole and choil. It will take a lot of delicate work on the thin sections around the fingerhole. I'm planning to use micarta for this because it is very forgiving and won't chip out or crack. More to follow..."
