Kitchen Mule Project

[Douglas]

I was going to do this with a Super Blue, but those sold out sometime just before the afternoon the M390 Mules came out so now I'm thinking the Cobalt Special will go under the knife. (Pair of M390's to be scaled more conventionally.) Because we've got a postal strike going up here I've no idea when I'll get to move forward, so for now the project is just lines on paper. Plan is for a clamshell/hidden tang type handle, material yet to be determined but most likely some species of wood.

Comments and suggestions welcome.

[Jesting Devil]

Looks like a great idea to me! Nice all round utility blade for the kitchen and very nice lines. I look forward to seeing how it turns out :)

Good luck!

[SolidState]

That is totally doable. I really like that idea.

[Donut]

That looks nice. I'm not sure how you are going to fill the empty area between the scales where there is no mule. Good luck with this project.

[Douglas]

That looks nice. I'm not sure how you are going to fill the empty area between the scales where there is no mule. Good luck with this project.

With scale. The scales will have a recess cut for the tang, but will otherwise meet in the middle.

[araneae]

Interesting idea. Let us know how it works out.

[MCM]

Looks great!
I have been putting away extra mules for similar projects down the road.
And have been thinking of different shapes for this knife as well.
Your drawing looks perfect for a kitchen knife!

The scale reminds me of the kitchen knife's I am most familiar with.
The Henckels Four Star's I have used for the past 25 yrs.

Good job!

Hope you don't mind if I make this my next project? :)

[cckw]

Very well thought out. I can't wait to see the result. I think you are better off with a stainless rather then the blue anyway.

[toomzz]

The concept looks great.

Will the part of the tang left being hidden totally or are you going to use some of the left holes with pins or corbies?
Is it an idea to built in a brass or stainless bolster in front of the wooden handle? You can shove it up the tang until the ricasso and close it up with the wooden handle.

T.

[justinl]

I'm a fan of wooden handles. I recently finished a straight razor with purpleheart for the outer scales and a deep red padauk for the middle spacer. Might I suggest doing something like this where the outer wood contrasts the inner? Tons of options available to play with.

edit:love the idea by the way. My only concern with the design is that the handle extends forwards, overshadowing the bit of edge under it. I think that bit of edge would be better used and more easily sharpened if there wasn't any handle material over it. Might I suggest backing off the handle to expose the spydie hump? You can always just extend the handle back to keep hand real estate. If you don't want the hump, you could grind down the spine.

[Douglas]

Well, I was looking for that nice long unbroken curve along the spine (and actually think I'm going to round off the butt so the curve is continued around to the bottom), is why I brought the handle forward to the point of the hump. I'm also toying with the idea of leaving a thumb-length "dent" at that point. Pretty much whatever I do at the top front won't look quite right just because the knife isn't shaped exactly right for what I'm doing.

The idea of using a centre spacer is interesting. That might be easier than milling out the scales for the tang, as the cavity in the centre spacer would be a pretty simple cut with a coping saw or the like. Conceivably I could get a spacer and dowels for pins in a matching wood and contrasting scales, might look good.

A bolster would be nice, but I haven't the first clue how to execute such a thing.

[dsmegst]

That's a great design. My kitchen mule has a moderately modified handle but nothing to the extent you're planning. My approach would be two G-10 slabs with a spacer at the top. The only thing I can't figure out is how to fill the voids in the bottom.

I avoided this by curving the handle down:



But I like the look of yours much better. Next time, I'm going to add a spacer at the top and flatten it out. Then it won't look so much like a marital aid... :D

[Douglas]

Heh. It was yours that gave me the idea. Saw it and thought, "That's neat, but just doesn't go far enough."

Filling the voids at the bottom won't be hard - just have to cut back the tang enough so there's a continuous gap, same as the top. The straight pencil lines on my picture are my planned cuts on the tang.

[Pinetreebbs]

Cleaver way to change the grip angle.

I have a Mule Team 5 (9Cr18Mo) with G-10 scales I use in the kitchen. I can make paper think slices of tomato, but cutting a crisp apple it will tend to split as the blade is on the thick side for kitchen use. The blade is easy to sharpen and holds a good edge. It has taken on a nice light patina, I suppose from the acid in the tomatoes.

[MCM]

Found a pic in Photobucket.
My kitchen handle happy place.
Looks a bit like yours? No? :)

[Douglas]

Cleaver way to change the grip angle.

I see what you did there!

[photonjunkie]

I like how you plan to modify the handle. I'm very interested in seeing how this all turns out.

[Douglas]

So, this project sat on the shelf for a long, long time. First I determined that I really didn't have the workshop or tools to modify the hardened steel in the required fashion. Then a few years back that changed when I acquired a house and put a little workshop into the basement. At that point I chopped up one of my M390 mules.

I also bought a small chunk of cocobolo, but it wasn't thick enough to do book-matched scales, and I just never got around to finding anything else. Finally last week I said screw it, this isn't supposed to be a presentation piece just a utility knife in my kitchen, so....

Now I've got the scales epoxied on and almost completely shaped. Just have to do the finish sanding.

[Tdog]

So, this project sat on the shelf for a long, long time. First I determined that I really didn't have the workshop or tools to modify the hardened steel in the required fashion. Then a few years back that changed when I acquired a house and put a little workshop into the basement. At that point I chopped up one of my M390 mules.

steel cut.png

I also bought a small chunk of cocobolo, but it wasn't thick enough to do book-matched scales, and I just never got around to finding anything else. Finally last week I said screw it, this isn't supposed to be a presentation piece just a utility knife in my kitchen, so....

innards.png

Now I've got the scales epoxied on and almost completely shaped. Just have to do the finish sanding.

shaped.png

Looks like you're gonna have a great kitchen knife. Really liking the whole concept. While there have been many beautiful scales made for the Mules by different forum members, your design and workmanship add a new dimension. Looking forward to seeing the finished product. Sal must get real pleasure out of seeing so many Spydie fans create such works of art.

[ABX2011]

I like this idea. Might try something similar.