Kabar Mule Request

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Hi, I'm looking for opinions, reviews, photos etc of the Kabar Mule folder. Thanks.
 
I have the Mule.

It is one bell built, affordable knife. It's ergonomics is simply outstanding, the handle is one of the most comfortables I've ever seen. The lockup is very good, no bladeplay in any direction. Thumbstuds are grippy, the knife is easy to open with them, but forget about flipping. :D It is kinda hard to close with one hand, but this is a well known downside of lockbacks.

This is my first knife in AUS8 steel, and I found this material fine enough. Of course the edge retention is far from M2, 154CM, BG42, but very easy to sharpen, and can be honed to virtually razor sharpness. I haven't abuse it yet, so I can't give you informtion about chipping or rolling, but it seems like Ka-Bar's AUS8 is a little on the soft side (maybe around 56-57 HRC).

Dissassembling and cleaning is easy if you have the proper sized torx driver. The screws are quite good, they didn't stip during proper dissassembling unlike the ones on some much more expensive kives. Believe it or not, this is a very important consideration. The whole knife would be much better with phillips screws though.

It came without a pocketclip, but this problem is easy to solve. The sheath is a quite good one though; it can be carried vertically and horizontally.

The blade is quite thin for it's size, just a hair above 3 millimeters (.125). I think my older Cuda Quik-Action or a Buck Strider 880 could beat the Mule's thin, tapered, hollow ground blade to death easily. Of course it's strong enough for any normal task, but I would't try to use it even for light prying.

Oh yeah, one more thing; the Mule was stupid sharp out from the box, nearly as sharp as my girlfriend's Kershaw Storm, although Kershaw's NIB sharpness is legendary. Kudos for Ka-Bar for this!

Anyway, it's a good, dependable beater, sharp, extremely comfortable and inexpensive, but because of the thickness (thinness) of the blade and the deep hollow grind, it doesn't look as indistructable as advertised.


If you have any more questions, just ask.
 
I just recieved mine from brigadequartermasters about two weeks ago and it does currently(or from BQM at least)come with a very deep carry pocket clip simular to those in some SOG'S.Largest pocket knife I currently own-If you don't
like big intimidating knives,this one is not for you.Havn't had a chance to use it yet-except for minor cutting tasks around the house.Mainly intend to bring it along on camping trips as it looks to be a good compliment (with a solid lock) to my fixed blades.I myself find it best to open and close this with two hands rather than just one-call me paranoid.
 
Thanks to each of you for your responses.

I like my folder large, to better fit my big hands. The Mule looks shaped similar to my favorite EDC, my Buck 110, but with a more ergonomic shape. The handle has struck me as something that'd be very comfortable ever since I first saw the knife.

I do more cutting than prying, the the blade thickness sounds about right for me. Looks like it'd be about the thickness of a D'allara. Are the handles plain zytel or are there steel liners in the knife? It looks like there are no liners, so if this is the case do the handles ever flex when you guys push the knife hard?
 
There are thick (well over 1 millimeter) steel liners under the zytel slabs. The whole stuff is rock solid; the handle doesn't flex anywhere. If you push he knife really hard, the blade or the pivot pin will go well before the handle or the lock.

Hey, did I mention that this is the best folding chef knife I ever head? :D
 
Looking at it I feel like it's basically a modern take on the 110 design. I want to pick one up in a trade sometime soon and to a head to head comparison of the two, that's be fun.
 
I have one and I carried for a week in the woods and found no problems at all with it. I split small sticks with it and the edge was still very sharp (not razor but up there). It isn't very quick to open or close but its really for utility. It is one of the knives that I always reccomend especially because it has a ton of variations. BTW the sheath is great too. I silenced the velcro though with a strip because its really loud.
 
Got mine and it's a BEAST!

Built like a tank and razor sharp OTB.

Big, heavy and well up to the task in hand, I am very impressed.

Typical Ka Bar............SH*T HOT!!!!!! You will not be disappointed.
 
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