MT17P - Mule Team Fixed Blade featuring K390

Wow now that you point it out,yes about 1/8"to the left looking down on the spine.
 
Wow now that you point it out,yes about 1/8"to the left looking down on the spine.
Yep. I'm thinking some of it will come out with a well thought-out set of Micarta scales. Maybe half of it.

I'm not disappointed though. A.) I'm used to hand made knives that are not perfect and B.) Initial (humble) thoughts are this steel is unreal.
 
I can live with it,I have a piece of gidgee that will be the handle so it will be a great looker no matter what.
this is a challenge because the wood is 5 1/4 L x 1 15/32 wide no room for error.
 
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Finally got my hands on mine today. Brought her home and instantly proceeded to put a Wicked Edge on her.

Couple initial thoughts. The knife I got has about a bend in it--at least 1/8". This is my first Mule Project. Has anyone else seen this? The other observation is that K390 is harder to reprofile than CPM M4! This steel is hard.

I remember a few posts about that, but I don't think is usual or intended. You could try calling Spyderco to ask about warranty coverage but I would guess they have no stock to cover warranty issues.
 
Ahhh... can't believe I missed this one... looking forward to hearing everyone's experiences with this steel.. even better if there are pics as well :)
 
Here are my handles in progress,I am going to think about what is next.
 

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Here are my handles in progress,I am going to think about what is next.

That's really cool. I think I might try my hand at a set. What can go wrong except start over right?

I have a block of light green micarta that's 1.5" x 1.5" x 5". I am going to cut it to width on a diamond masonry saw as that's what I've heard works. Ideas?

I feel like a bit of a thread hijacker. Need to study to find an old Mule rehandle thread.
 
I made my handles out of a pair of worn-out Diesel Jeans. Technically, my handles cost $250, and I got a naughty pair of jorts out of the deal.

The handle is bolted on, and the bolt holes are filled with an epoxy/denim slurry.

One note: The steel REALLY wants to stain. Each side of my blade has fingerprints from sharpening and stropping. Lube will not remove these fingerprints, and in fact, the lube (Progold) beads on the blade.

 
Those scales look great cypress^^

A couple of patina pictures done with mustard now just have to decide what scales to put on it,

23CB13EC-A2AA-4AD6-AA1F-62DFEFC6D291-544-0000017C9F1590DA_zpsf28ea99f.jpg

2B8D65E1-E1C5-463B-93FF-B1AF9A65FCF7-544-0000017CA6098920_zps54b12420.jpg
 
Oh wow! Was it easy? Could you do a small procedural post on that?

Here you go mate

This is the mustard I used any sort will probably work just the same

First wash the blade real well the coating they came with didn't wash of easily I degreased it then scrubbed it with dish washing liquid a couple of times in hot water
96FD7764-CEB9-414C-9E0D-9BD567658E07-1464-000001BDB48146B8_zpsd85cfeae.jpg


Then make the pattern like this with your fingers so it's nice and even all over this pattern will be how it comes out so make it how you want it to look, where the mustards thicker it will change the depth of colour, I just done it on this stainless blade to give an idea of how it should look
EDCDC285-8C4C-41C1-80D7-ED85601BDA3B-1464-000001BDBD0D149F_zps92a7d328.jpg


I left it for about half an hour then just washed it off in the sink
Previosly done this on a2 and 1095 before and it came out a bit darker so stoked it worked on the k390!! I reckon the lighter blue and yellow colours look sweet

Let me know how it works out,
Cheers
 
Here you go mate

This is the mustard I used any sort will probably work just the same

First wash the blade real well the coating they came with didn't wash of easily I degreased it then scrubbed it with dish washing liquid a couple of times in hot water
96FD7764-CEB9-414C-9E0D-9BD567658E07-1464-000001BDB48146B8_zpsd85cfeae.jpg


Then make the pattern like this with your fingers so it's nice and even all over this pattern will be how it comes out so make it how you want it to look, where the mustards thicker it will change the depth of colour, I just done it on this stainless blade to give an idea of how it should look
EDCDC285-8C4C-41C1-80D7-ED85601BDA3B-1464-000001BDBD0D149F_zps92a7d328.jpg


I left it for about half an hour then just washed it off in the sink
Previosly done this on a2 and 1095 before and it came out a bit darker so stoked it worked on the k390!! I reckon the lighter blue and yellow colours look sweet

Let me know how it works out,
Cheers
Thanks! Looks easy nuff to do. Can't say I have much Australian made mustard in the fridge though:cool::D Pretty sure about any type will do the trick though..as soon as I get some scales this is on the list of stuff to do to the K390 blade.
 
Cypress! Rusty! those mules are lookin great!

I finally got a temporary paracord wrap and after a couple hours of food prep, the blade is slowly changing....once I can get the pics of my girl's iphone I'll post an update...

For now, I thought I'd share a strange development in patina formation I thought some of you would be amused by:

bear in mind im in Mexico and did this to help a Huichol friend process some of his medicine, so no laws should be broken in me sharing this little tidbit...

K390 seems to LOVE the juices and alkaloid content of certain button-shaped sacred cacti. After cutting up 7 of these beautiful cacti yesterday and letting the mule sit in the juices for a half hour, I have a very even patina settling in, and in the right light it there is a beautiful iridescent mix of blues, purples, and shades I struggle to describe! Pretty cool looking although I'm having trouble capturing the full effect on my girlfriend's iphone camera so pics will have to wait...it practically glows!

These results have encouraged me to use my mule on more of the many medicinal plants that grow around here and see what happens. Already have a couple projects lined up and they all demand a fine edge, so k390 should be perfect anyway :)

A patina formed from processing entheogenic and otherwise medicinal plants?! sounds like a pretty sweet idea to me - I think I found my new medicine knife for the time being!

Pics and user impressions to come...
 
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