MT32P & MTGBK Issue/Fix

[TazKristi]

Hey, everyone:
We became aware of a minor issue with the recent MT32 SRS13/SUS405 Mule Team and the MTGBK G-10 handles. The MTGBK posts are getting hung up on a small tab in the post hole that was left behind from the laser. If you're experiencing this issue with your MT32, the fix is fairly simple. Just file the tab (it's visible) down; it shouldn't take more than a few seconds in our experience.

We apologize for any inconvenience or frustration this may have caused.

Kristi

[Tucson Tom]

Well, these are mules. And we are the mule team! Right?

We can deal with some rough edges, literal or otherwise.

Anyway, I indeed had this issue. After reading this post I took a look under the stereo microscope, and what do you know? Every hole has a little "peak" of metal at the same orientation. So I got out the needle files, but before I even started I had trepidation. This is heat treated steel, and probably as good or better an alloy than my files. Sure enough the file was just kind of skating along without digging in. I was pretty sure the SRS13 was going to win and my file was going to lose.

So, out came the dremel tool and a diamond encrusted burr with a 3/32 inch diameter. I was going to use a carbide burr, but my fingers found the diamond first in the drawer, and why argue? With a light touch this did the job on the 3 holes I wanted to clean up in less than 2 minutes.

Then it was on to swap scales. The LC200N comes out and the SRS13/SUS405 goes in. So I am swapping scales from the kinfe I have used in the kitchen the past several years. Indeed, the pins did not fit before I ground off the "peak" in each hole.

If you do this with a power tool, use a light touch. I think this mostly serves to preserve the diamonds on the tool as it wasn't really removing metal all that fast, but it is better to go slow and check multiple times than to make the hole sloppy.

All ready for the kitchen now!

[Bolster]

Thanks Kristi, but this should not be a problem for any Mule-ster. We understand that these are not finished knives, and that some fitting work is often required.

As long as the heat treat's good, it's Mule Team Ho!

(Thanks for a descrip of your fix Tom. I need to purchase a diamond burr or two for just such events. I don't have my mule yet so can't say, but a dremel-type grey or pink or white stone might do the trick too...but more slowly)

[Tucson Tom]

I'll just say that that dremel tool (battery operated) is one of the best tool investments I have ever made. Hardly a week goes by that I don't use it for something. Of course Dremel tools are widely abused and employed for all manner of hill-billy engineering, along with duct tape and bailing wire, but they are good for fine work as well. It is all about the workman.

I have a whole bin of carbide burrs (with a few diamond rods thrown in as mentioned). They are endlessly useful, but they are brittle and their limits have to be respected. Patience wins almost every time.

[Ramonade]

I have some diamond needle files (cheap, but should work long enough for this). Otherwise, there's the carbide burrs and such on the Dremel. I'll make sure to rectify this when I receive it, thanks for the heads up !

[troutinCO]

My normal file took a little over 3 minutes to knock those down enough to let me put the posts through the holes and everything line up fine.

[Ramonade]

My normal file took a little over 3 minutes to knock those down enough to let me put the posts through the holes and everything line up fine.

Nice to know. I forgot that this is a cladded blade. The flats of the tang mustn't be that hard!

[Zive]

I think I spent two minutes on the first hole, then realized by the second and third that 20-30 seconds was all it took with a cheap-o round needle file. At least in my case the left over tab was confined to the softer cladding and didn’t reach the core.

This minor imperfection aside, I am impressed with the fit and finish on this piece. Have seen the good the bad and the ugly out of Seki in the past few years but this has slight chamfering which makes it feel a lot more comfortable in hand and is the sharpest out of the box of the six MT’s I own.

[heavyjumbo]

I fixed mine too. I don't have a lot of tools so I went to Lowes and got the smallest diameter file I could find (the Kobolt hobby file set). These did the trick. Took about 5 minutes in total. Installed the Halpern micarta scales and I am all set.

[troutinCO]

I think I spent two minutes on the first hole, then realized by the second and third that 20-30 seconds was all it took with a cheap-o round needle file. At least in my case the left over tab was confined to the softer cladding and didn’t reach the core.

Thats kinda how mine went and why it took way longer than it should have...I spent way longer than needed on the first hole.
I went to town on the first hole without really looking. Finally I stopped and looked at another and realized that I just need to do a tiny part and only on one side.....

[cjk]

I used a reamer I forgot I had. I found it while looking for a set of small round files I'm sure I have... umm ... somewhere.
Took about 4 minutes to fix and install the Halpern G-10 scales. The burr was minimal.
Later, while putting the reamer back in the toolbox, I dug through the drawer which contains my Dremel in its case and found the small round files I had been looking for inside the Dremel case. I suppose I put them there so they wouldn't get lost.