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First attempt at Mule handles. First, I traced out the Halpern contoured scale, and cross-ripped the board by hand. I don't have a real saw that will do this.



I traced the handles again onto the blanks, then tried about a dozen things to figure out how to get them down to the right size. I used the trim saw, a japanese hobby saw, and eventually a coping saw. Again, I don't have the right tools at all. Along the way, I used a rotary tool to sand off the edges.



Don't have a planer or router, so I did a lot of the shaping and contouring by hand using the M398 Mule. Appropriately enough, this Mule needs handles! Also, my hands are *SORE* and also, I cut my thumb once. Need to stop bleeding all over the handles.



First dry fit. It is very, very tight, but I can address that by slightly modifying one of the holes. Need to add some countersinking for the screw heads, also figure out how to seal them.



Compared to the handle. I did something weird overall. I started by tracing the handle, but then I traced over that with the actual Mule because I was actually going for a handle that matches the Mule profile, whereas the Halpern scales leave about a 1mm of the Mule exposed all around. Don't really know why. Doesn't affect the functionality, but I was going for full coverage.


Mule handle doesn't quite cover the heel.



Also, slightly exceeds the spine.



Here it is next to the original. Pretty good as a first try! I left out hours of experimentation and wasted attempts at things that didn't work out. I expect the next pair to go a lot smoother. Learning as I go!

Strong work! Those are _great_ for a first attempt, especially with all the hand shaping. That's very impressive!

Soak the handles, or coat several times every 24 hours with mineral oil will seal them

That's very nice work, B.
The grain on the wood is pretty.

So mineral oil seal? I'm thinking of trying beeswax, or tung oil, not really sure the best way. I don't want them to darken too much because I like the pale features of Birch, but there are some other woods where I would want the deeper colors to come out.

Thanks for the positive notes! I'm really excited to iterate with another wood, now that I have some stuff figured out to avoid wasted effort. Also, I have some ShadeTree burlap micarta scraps I bought recently, can't wait to start working on them.

I use tung oil cut by mineral spirits (1:1) as finishing layers, and buff a lot between layers.
Also may darken light woods (figured maple, etc) with a stain, also cut with mineral spirits, trial and error on that mix.

bobartig wrote: ↑

Thu Mar 02, 2023 1:17 pm

So mineral oil seal? I'm thinking of trying beeswax, or tung oil, not really sure the best way. I don't want them to darken too much because I like the pale features of Birch, but there are some other woods where I would want the deeper colors to come out.

I soak in mineral oil, or coat for several days as the scales are usually on the knife (epoxy) and then cover with beeswax as a last coat. Mineral oil will soak in and protect. Beeswax will just coat the outside. If you’re doing removable scales soaking would benefit better.

I always coat the knives i sell with beeswax when shipping.

Hi Bob,

Very nice work. Thanx much for sharing.

sal

Updates!



Hey y'all, nobody said how hard it was to drill counterbore holes for the screws! At first I was like, "well, these are trash," but then I realized I can really mess up one hole per side and still have them work, so long as they're different holes, and the screws will hide that I screwed it up. Also, had to enlarge each hole a bit with an x-acto knife. Alright, 5/16" forstner bit is going on the shopping list...



Second dry fit! Everything fits pretty well. Not the prettiest drilling here either. Also had to clean up and fix this with the x-acto.



reprofiled the spine to remove the excess, took off a little too much, but I'm fine with this.



Following standy99's advice because mineral oil and beewax are things I have! Gonna soak 'em in a bag with oil for a couple days then figure out how to finish with beeswax. Already have a zillion ideas for how to improve on the next pair!