Spyderco Mule Copy Project (Pic heavy)

[spader]

I was after one of the Spyderco Mule blade for a while, but when they came up for sale, they were snapped up like hot cakes by other buyers. I have been pipped out a few times, so I decided to try make a copy of it my own.

I have no work shop or proper tools, so it was a challenge, but decided to give a go. I got a rusty saw blade which I paid 99 pence on eBay.

I started working on it with an angle grinder & cordless drill from Argos, sander from ALDI and a few good old files.

I was going to make a Nessy originally but I scrapped that idea. It looks like mule but the scale is not exactly the mule. I wanted the blade to be wider & longer - so it has some chopping power.

Some heat treating to make the metal softer.

After air cooled, I put edge on the blade with files - it became scary sharp. Then I was drilling some holes on the handle with cordless drill and hand drill when battery ran out - this was so hard job.

When the battery was fully recharged.. I swapped over to the cordless drill again... but...somehow, the drill bit came loose and flew off into the air with the blade attached in the hole, and hit my thumb. Ouch... I cut myself & bleeding. I should have worn some gloves but too late...Another lesson is that I should have wrapped the blade with some tapes before working on it.

After hours drilling.. I managed to make 3x holes. I wish I had a workshop with some bench drill and proper sander and tools.

Now the blades was heat treated again for hardening on gas cooker.

Quecnhed in cooking oil...

Wow after 2 days hard work.. the blade is ready. I have got a mule.

I got some high quality thick leather and handled with epoxy, and sanded with Aldi sander. Why did I spend hours drilling holes on the handle cutting my thumb? I almost lost my thumb. x-(. But I wanted to finish the blade as soon as I can. I couldn't wait for brass bars to arrive if I bought them. But critical thing was that at this point, I liked the idea of high quality leather scale handled mule.

And.. it is ready to be used... it slices, chops, carves and whittles very well - so versatile & looks cool.

Made a sheaths with old leather wallet to be thrown out. Need to trim the corners.

It was a great learning exercise & fun. After this project - I have decided to have a proper workshop & some proper tools & working on it now.

Thanks for looking.

 

[dwardo]

Proper job that! Also i like the idea of "i want one" so "ill make one"

When i think of cutting corners safety wise (which i do often) i remember my uncles mates hand which is more of a glove that a functional hand due to a slice through all the tendons in his palm.

 

[TJRoots]

wow thats really good i started something like that myself ages ago but it got put in the "i'll just finish that later" pile.

is the handle comfortable? i've never thought of doing handles like that before.

 

[spader]

Proper job that! Also i like the idea of "i want one" so "ill make one"

When i think of cutting corners safety wise (which i do often) i remember my uncles mates hand which is more of a glove that a functional hand due to a slice through all the tendons in his palm.

Thanks for your kind comments.

Yes, safety issue was not even in my mind until I saw blood all over the floor. This happened so sudden without any warnings, I bit my lips - only one word kept popping into my blank minds - safety, safety & saftey. I always use to think that things like this would never happen to me. But it did. Truly valuable lesson for me.

 

[spader]

wow thats really good i started something like that myself ages ago but it got put in the "i'll just finish that later" pile.

is the handle comfortable? i've never thought of doing handles like that before.

Thanks TJRoots.
I used to put up things in the past - saying one day I will do it. But this time - somehow I managed to pull myself up, and allocate my full weekend for it.
I am glad I did - it was a good fun.

The handle is - surprusingly enough - comfy to me. When I hold it, I can feel that I am in control of the blade. It is so comfy, that I can use it all day.
Good balance can be felt from the whole blade.

I felt kinda gulity that I was opting for quick fix in putting the scales i.e. instead of pinning or bolting the scales into the drilled holes on the handle gluing all of them together like traditional way, I just epoxied the leather scales on the handle - but it turned out to be a handle that is solid and nice feel.

I also thought that if ever I want to change the handle with some other scales in the future, or by any chance if the leather scales get damaged, then it would be easier to take them off.

 

[spader]

I made another one this time in one day, and managed not to cut my fingers - wore gloves and wrapped the blade, and put the edge at last stage - learning well from previous bitter experience... LOL.

This time I put oak hardwood for scales - it has got that beautiful grain.

 

[Kerne]

Great job. Using the gas stove to heat treat metal - not something I'm brave enough to do! (Might have a go when SWMBO is out...)

 

[spader]

Great job. Using the gas stove to heat treat metal - not something I'm brave enough to do! (Might have a go when SWMBO is out...)

Thanks Kerne.

I had to make sure SWMBO had gone out for the weekend shopping, before I started toasting the blades on the gas cooker... . It was quite thrilling fun projects, must admit. LOL.

 

[bushcraft_lad]

Dont suppose you have any of that saw blade left over i might be able to buy/swap so i could try something like this out ? As i dont have a Ebay.

regards,Jordan

 

[spader]

Dont suppose you have any of that saw blade left over i might be able to buy/swap so i could try something like this out ? As i dont have a Ebay.

regards,Jordan

Hi Jordan

I bought 2 of them off ebay, and that's them all used up. Sorry.
They were 99p each but postage was 8 quid - a case of belly button is bigger than belly. :-(

But they weren't bad after all. I think saw blades are harder to work on, but once finished off - they seem to hold edges excellent.
And huge round metal surface means that you can expand the width or length of the blade at your will. You cannae do that with file blanks as they usually have narrow width blade.

I got a few scraps left over from these two blades - I m not sure if they will be any use to you.
If you are making neckers, small EDC or small kiridashis - maybe they will be ok.
If you want them - I could post to them to you. Please let me know.

But also - try your local joiner people - I met one of them, and he told me that he has piles of used saw blades rotting away in his back yard.
When I asked him if he would sell some, he said if I bought some of his old tools, he might chuck the whole lot of them to me.
I cannot buy any of his tools until my sheds are ready - as they are heavy & large pillar drills and 150 kg sanders resembling huge cooker & Russian tanks.
Actually I am not sure if huge old tools like that would suit me - maybe get one of the NEW ones from B&Q or Amazon would be better?

But if & when I manage to get hold of some of the saw blades, I will let you know.


cheers.

Jay.

 

[spader]

Put a review on this blade on REVIEW section.
Next time I will do comparison review on this Mule Copy & Seved Survival. (Made by Swedish maker - SEVED). Watch for this space soon.

 

[TJRoots]

Dont suppose you have any of that saw blade left over i might be able to buy/swap so i could try something like this out ? As i dont have a Ebay.

regards,Jordan

im gonna be replacing the blade on my bench saw soon, its big enough to get two or three knives out of depending on how big you want to make em. if your willing to pay the P+P you can have it when i replace it. PM me if your interested

like the new one spader, the oak scales look lovely

ATB
TJ

 

[spader]

im gonna be replacing the blade on my bench saw soon, its big enough to get two or three knives out of depending on how big you want to make em. if your willing to pay the P+P you can have it when i replace it. PM me if your interested

like the new one spader, the oak scales look lovely

ATB
TJ

Hi TJ

Thanks for your offer on the saw blade.

Yes, I will take them please. Please let me know the cost.

Saw blades are hard buggers to work with, but when finished - the reward is fantastic & now I feel that I have got wee bit more hang of how to work on them.

Thanks for your kind comment on the oak wood handed mule clone too. It seems better in chopping due to wider blade and thicker handle.
When I was testing it last Sunday - I abused it so much, I found the tiny corner of wooden handle on one side was broken off near the part where the edge starts. (You can see it on the testing photos... after outdoor session, when it was cutting papers & hairs.. lol.) If you look here,....lol.

http://www.bushcraftuk.com/forum/showthread.php?t=56826

But I was gonna trim that anyway, as there was excess wood bit - so it worked out not bad. I can trim the other side now, and it will look balanced.... LOL.


regards.

j.