Spyderco Forums

Sequimite wrote:Just got mine and wow, the spine is really rough and the curve a bit irregular. I've never seen a Mule that had unfinished grind marks on the handle spine until this one.

My blade edge curve looks irregular too, however that is due to the sharpening being a bit...sloppy?..

I've only opened one of my two.

Newell, I have the same thing. My blade still has some very visible scratches in it. I wondered whether that was normal or just on mine. Not that it matters, I'm still going to finish it and use the heck out of it!

You can sort of see the finish on the blade but it doesn't really show that there are some ver apparent scratches out towards the tip of the blade!
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Here is the whole thing it came in, I cut out the pictures of our fireplace decorated for Christmas in the background, no one wants to see that much Christmas cheer right? :p

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cckw wrote:My blade edge curve looks irregular too, however that is due to the sharpening being a bit...sloppy?..

I've only opened one of my two.

I just opened up my 2nd to check it. In both cases the blade has no real problems. In both cases, running a finger along the handle edge feels ridged from the grind marks. I held it up to another Mule and the shape is OK; where the fingers feel an abrupt angle change the eye only observes a grind mark.

Sal should raise Cain with this maker. This can't be in accordance with Spyderco's specifications and is a marked departure from every other Mule.

Sequimite wrote:I just opened up my 2nd to check it. In both cases the blade has no real problems. In both cases, running a finger along the handle edge feels ridged from the grind marks. I held it up to another Mule and the shape is OK; where the fingers feel an abrupt angle change the eye only observes a grind mark.

Sal should raise Cain with this maker. This can't be in accordance with Spyderco's specifications and is a marked departure from every other Mule.

AFAIK, the differences between my two are essentially cosmetic - as you say, no real problems with the blade.

Mine is all good!

SmoothOne25 wrote:best part is my first hard copy of the 2011 catlog :)

You are so TOTALLY right!!! :D :cool: :)

Just so folks realize we not being babies on these small details. They are only an issue if you are going to put a nice burl wood handle on the knife. Hector does that for himself and others, I do it for myself and there are other guys here who do. But for a regular user knife these details do not matter.

I'm not bummed. My Mules get used. It's funny about expectations, though. I opened the box expecting a mirror finish. Had I not, I probably wouldn't even have thought about it.

Gordon

Got mine today too, my first mule. Its going to be a user so I'm not up in arms or anything, the grind is a little inconsistant, won't effect the use. Its a little bit of a bummer that my 30 dollar tenacious has a better grind than my 80 dollar mule. Its real sharp though, if the steel is a good as we hope i'll be a happy camper

Is anyone else thinking of doing a forced patina? I did it on my carbon cooking knives by soaking in vinegar, gave me a real nice, consistant gray patina. Otherwise sometimes they end up a little blotchy from cutting acidic stuff.

My two are very nice and shiny, but have their imperfections too. The curve of the edge on one is a little off, more like faceted than curved. The other has a spot on the handle flat that is rounded off. That makes it impossible to fit scales exactly flat in that area. They're still wonderful and that spot on the handle might make me get creative on the handle shape; I might grind away that section and give a different handle profile on that one. The fit and finish on these is the worst I've seen of the series so far, but is still acceptable in my book.

I'm very excited to try this steel...and I love the shine on these things. It's almost like they're plated!

JLS wrote:The fit and finish on these is the worst I've seen of the series so far, but is still acceptable in my book.

Perhaps the ridges all over the handle are actually Manix 2 inspired jimping : )

Having slept on this, I want to say that in my opinion the "issues" are not issues at all. These are sold as Mules, or T&E goods, not as finished blanks for custom knifemaking. We're lucky to see Super Blue at all, and it's rare to see it offered without cladding.

So, thanks to Spyderco for this rare opportunity. Rock on Mules!

Thor1 wrote:Is anyone else thinking of doing a forced patina?

I'm going for it. I did it on both the 52100 and the M4 Mules. The M4 came out better. I'll be interested in how this one reacts.

Gordon

JNewell wrote:the "issues" are not issues at all.

Agreed. Maybe mountainmanjims Mule is the defective one. LOL

Gordon

And I like it :D Some extraneous scratches on the handle part of the tang look a little rough, edges on the handle portion of the blank are a little rough, and the edge needs to be fine tuned even though it's sharp (A little sawtoothed), but it's a working blank right now :D

Put the ranger green Halpern handles on, and it's ready for duty after I make the edge a little more friendly :) Looks like it'll catch the edge at 30 deg on the SM :D

Very excited to use this steel and see how it performs. It'll take the place of my modified damascened Mule for now. Have plans for it in the kitchen...lol, already cut up leftover steak for dinner with it today :D :D Looks like this steel will polish to a mirror finish with a little time.

Time to play :D

Got mine and looked it over pretty well. Not terribly smooth on the spine and a scratch or 2 on the handle part. Blade looks great. Mine is fixing to go back in the box and take a trip to Phillip for some body work and some pants. :D

What are you having done Trauma?

I don't know about your guys.

The finish on the blade of mine shows grinding marks from the initial grinding of the blade. It appears that the blade was then polished to a mirror finish. So, it's kind of like when you are sanding out a finish and you skip a few grit levels but, end with a very fine grit. The finish will be polished but, still shows the scratches from the heavier grits.

Personally, I like it. It’s not unlike the typically grind on many of our Spydercos but, with a mirror finish. I believe the Mule #5 (Chinese) was the worst in regards to fit and finish. But, I did notice the overall curvature of this Mule is more curved compared to the Golden Mules.


Jim