Latest Mule Project

phillipsted

phillipsted

Joined
Oct 4, 2010
Messages
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This is my M390 Mule with some new scales. The scales are made from unstabilized Australian red gum with thin red G10 liners. I decided to try something different this time and fitted a piece of red/black linen micarta to the tail of the scales using GFlex epoxy. As usual, these are knockdown scales held on with 3/16" pivot bolts and no glue. I ran out of leather lacing material as I was tying the lanyard, so I had to cut it a bit short. I'll end up retying it soon to make it more functional...

TedP









 
Excellent fitment. If you had not said they were only held on with the bolts I would have assumed that you glued them on and finished them along with the tang for a perfect fit.
Great job with the contrasting micarta, too.
 
Very nice. The tail end is pretty neat and well-executed but the subtle figuring in the wood and the warm color are really, really nice!

Some of those Australian hardwoods are tough as nails too! How did it work compared to some of the harder woods you've used?
 
Thanks for the compliments, folks!

There seems to be 1001 varieties of eucalyptus out there - this one was advertised as red eucalyptus. Got it from Mark at Burl Source. Like most eucalyptus, it is a very hard and dense wood, but not particularly oily or resinous. The grain was also very fine and it didn't splinter out or chip. This block wasn't stabilized, but it didn't really need it. I finished it with about 10 coats of TruOil, applied thin and buffed between coats - topped off with a coat of Ren Wax.

TedP
 
Beautiful work! Thanks for sharing. I love the micarta yet part of me wants to see the entire handle in that beautiful red gum! I would look for a chance to use that wood again if I were you. Very nice!
 
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