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Ultem® Mule
Posted: Mon Jan 03, 2022 12:27 am
by standy99
Here is a teaser for a new build….
Ultem®
High strength plastic with outstanding electrical and high service temperature properties
Ultem® (polyetherimide) is a semi-transparent high strength plastic material that can operate in high service temperature environments. Ultem® is resistant to hot water and steam and can withstand repeated cycles in a steam autoclave. FDA compliant grades of Ultem® are available. For Ultem® chemical resistance view our chart.
Ultem® has outstanding electrical properties, with one of the highest dielectric strengths of any thermoplastic material.
Re: Ultem® Mule
Posted: Mon Jan 03, 2022 2:09 am
by ykspydiefan
Wow. Fascinating plastic. Can you use regular epoxy with it? I would guess that one would need an Ultem version of epoxy to really sick it on and maintain the food grade compliance. A plastic that can resist 200c or 392f was outstanding to me, until I googled it and found other plastics that withstand 700c. I'm in Canada eh.
What I would really really like is a plastic or other material that absorbed and retained heat. Currently, it is -37c or -34.6f where I live. It would be amazing to have a knife that stayed warm in a pocket, then transferred that heat to your hand when in use. But I side track.
This looks like a fantastic build, and I really like the translucent scales. I am also a super fan of knives that can be easily sterilized. So, I'll be following this thread.
Re: Ultem® Mule
Posted: Mon Jan 03, 2022 3:29 am
by standy99
ykspydiefan wrote: ↑Mon Jan 03, 2022 2:09 am
Wow. Fascinating plastic. Can you use regular epoxy with it? I would guess that one would need an Ultem version of epoxy to really sick it on and maintain the food grade compliance. A plastic that can resist 200c or 392f was outstanding to me, until I googled it and found other plastics that withstand 700c. I'm in Canada eh.
What I would really really like is a plastic or other material that absorbed and retained heat. Currently, it is -37c or -34.6f where I live. It would be amazing to have a knife that stayed warm in a pocket, then transferred that heat to your hand when in use. But I side track.
This looks like a fantastic build, and I really like the translucent scales. I am also a super fan of knives that can be easily sterilized. So, I'll be following this thread.
High heat epoxy is not that uncommon. Most long cure epoxy products have a relative good heat tolerance.
I use 12 hour epoxy mostly because it is better at waterproofing than most quick cure products
Lack of 100% waterproofness is common to all mercaptin based “quick cure” epoxy formulations.
For this build I will use a High Heat extreme epoxy that will go well with the Ultem. Only issue is it may cure a slight yellow
which won’t matter one bit.
Love trying new handle materials and I must say Ultem is one of those.
This was a labour to get and quite expensive but it will be worth it and I have enough for 10 or so handles. The rod was a 5ft length so expect to see it as pins on some wooden handles in the future
Re: Ultem® Mule
Posted: Mon Jan 03, 2022 3:59 am
by Toucan
I thought this was gonna be a request for a Mule made of Ultem. This makes way more sense.
Re: Ultem® Mule
Posted: Mon Jan 03, 2022 5:29 am
by Ramonade
Toucan wrote: ↑Mon Jan 03, 2022 3:59 am
I thought this was gonna be a request for a Mule made of Ultem. This makes way more sense.
Same, it seemed weird, ultem sounds more like a fruit than a steel!
Seems interesting though, I like the fact that's it's like 50% opacity ! Looks a bit like amber.
Re: Ultem® Mule
Posted: Mon Jan 03, 2022 9:16 am
by TomAiello
Where did you get the Ultem from?
Re: Ultem® Mule
Posted: Mon Jan 03, 2022 10:23 am
by RustyIron
Thanks gonna look sick.
I can't wait to see what you do with it.
Re: Ultem® Mule
Posted: Mon Jan 03, 2022 1:05 pm
by FullScaler
That's some cool material. That translucent orange is going to look great!
Re: Ultem® Mule
Posted: Mon Jan 03, 2022 2:07 pm
by JRinFL
This is going to be cool build. I wonder how it would look with thin orange liners? Double orange.
Re: Ultem® Mule
Posted: Mon Jan 03, 2022 2:26 pm
by Josh Crutchley
Very cool!
Re: Ultem® Mule
Posted: Mon Jan 03, 2022 4:30 pm
by standy99
TomAiello wrote: ↑Mon Jan 03, 2022 9:16 am
Where did you get the Ultem from?
Found when I started looking there was Several sources and several levels of Quality. Some of the cheap stuff turned out to be cloudy and a off looking colour. The stuff I have used wasn't cheap and now I know why the beads made out of it are so expensive
You want the unfilled as there is a glass filled version as well
This was sourced from a specialist plastic manufacturer and supplier that took some emails to allow me to buy it.. (had to buy a whole sheet which was 12" X 12" and a 5ft rod
Oddly I got a end piece with the name of the manufacturer on the sheet
If your keen I will shoot you a PM with details
Re: Ultem® Mule
Posted: Mon Jan 03, 2022 4:44 pm
by standy99
JRinFL wrote: ↑Mon Jan 03, 2022 2:07 pm
This is going to be cool build. I wonder how it would look with thin orange liners? Double orange.
Have orange glow scales
Will have to take some pictures for you...
Re: Ultem® Mule
Posted: Fri Jan 07, 2022 8:23 am
by JRinFL
standy99 wrote: ↑Mon Jan 03, 2022 4:44 pm
JRinFL wrote: ↑Mon Jan 03, 2022 2:07 pm
This is going to be cool build. I wonder how it would look with thin orange liners? Double orange.
Have orange glow scales
Will have to take some pictures for you...
I'd love to see it.
Re: Ultem® Mule
Posted: Sat Jan 08, 2022 1:18 am
by standy99
JRinFL wrote: ↑Fri Jan 07, 2022 8:23 am
standy99 wrote: ↑Mon Jan 03, 2022 4:44 pm
JRinFL wrote: ↑Mon Jan 03, 2022 2:07 pm
This is going to be cool build. I wonder how it would look with thin orange liners? Double orange.
Have orange glow scales
Will have to take some pictures for you...
I'd love to see it.
Think it detracts from the coolness of see through..
Here with scale material glowing…
Re: Ultem® Mule
Posted: Sat Jan 08, 2022 9:22 am
by JRinFL
Thank you. I like it both ways, but fully translucent is best.
Re: Ultem® Mule
Posted: Sat Jan 08, 2022 11:23 am
by Bolster
JRinFL wrote: ↑Sat Jan 08, 2022 9:22 am
Thank you. I like it both ways, but fully translucent is best.
Agreed.
A pair Fullscaler sent me. "Wrong" color, but wow, fun to look at; color changes with different light reflecting off the tang:
Re: Ultem® Mule
Posted: Sat Jan 08, 2022 12:54 pm
by attila
Wrong thread...
Re: Ultem® Mule
Posted: Sat Jan 08, 2022 1:51 pm
by TomAiello
standy99 wrote: ↑Mon Jan 03, 2022 4:30 pm
If your keen I will shoot you a PM with details
That would be great. Thank you!
Re: Ultem® Mule
Posted: Sun Jan 09, 2022 11:46 am
by PBWilson
Cool use of a very cool plastic!
It's my favorite material for guitar picks. It doesn't wear like nearly all other materials I've tried (nylon, celluloid, delrin) and has a hardness that allows for thinner picks without the flex.
I'd bet it would take some checkering or texture really nicely, but I think I'm going to like the looks of it when smoothed and shaped. Nice!
Re: Ultem® Mule
Posted: Sun Jan 09, 2022 6:15 pm
by cholla_remover
Post some process photos if you have time, this looks like fantastic stuff!