BearMan Report post Posted September 16, 2009 Hi Everybody, Here is my Picture Site: My Maul Picture site http://tinyurl.com/BearMauls My Name is Ed the"BearMan" I got that name a long time ago. When I was about 4 or 5, My Father worked at Texas A & M, in the Agricultural Dept. A person that he worked with happened to be the coach for the football team,,, his name was Paul "Bear" Bryant. To make a long story short, "Bear" Bryant called me "A little Bear" one time,,, & it kinda stuck. Unfortunately, I don't remember him. Many years later, I had the opportunity to work at Lion Country Safari, in West Palm Beach, Florida. And of course, I ran the Bear Section,,, So,,, I became known as the"BearMan". After working with the animals, I worked at McLelland Saddle Shop in Florida, where I saw the need for better tools, especially stricking tools. The head "tooler" there, helped me to understand what works best as far as Mauls go. Soooo many years later,,, here are some of the mauls I've made over the past 10 years or so. My Mauls are in the hands of some of the finest Leather Artist around. As far as the weights go, the largest I have been making is a 20oz version. The Smallest I make is a 9oz version. I primarily make my mauls for tooling. The larger Driving type mauls, I leave to others. As far as the woods,,, I have about 30 varieties on hand, & have availability to just about anything else. Of course, the more exotic,,, the higher the price. So far, the sets I made using the Amboyna Burl has been the most expensive. That wood added $45.00 to the price of each Maul. >>I use only Solid Stainless Steel bolts & Nuts in my mauls.<< I also assemble all of my mauls using Devcon 2 ton Epoxy, so that they are completly solid, & will never loosen. >> The Polymer I use for the stricking surface is a special type that has shown to resist flaking & denting, like lesser quality materials.<< This type of Polymer is somewhat more costly, But, it's worth it! I have personally tested many types of the polymers that have been used including: HDPE, PTFE, UHMW, LDPE, just to name a few. >>>The base price on the mauls is $45.00 ea.<<< Also, if you like the type without a acorn nut on the end, which makes the maul very smooth looking, that adds $9.50 to the price. Custom File work adds $5.00 to $10.00 to the price of a maul, depending on the extent. The stand that is for the pair of mauls, a bigger one, & a small one is $25.00, which is usually made out of Maple or Mahogany. >>>>Basically the more Figured the wood is, the more it costs.<<<<< ALL wood prices depend on availability,,, & market price. The types of woods that would be included in the base price of ea. is: (some of which I have on hand:) Bubinga, Hububali(kind of like a darker Zebrawood), Leadwood, Purpleheart, Bloodwood, Thin Win (same family as Wenge), American Walnut(2 pc handle), Mahogany, Sapele (2 pc handle) The type that would add $4.00 To the base cost of ea. would be: Argentine Osage Orange, Black Palm, Bolivian Rosewood, Burmese Rosewood, Asian Satinwood, Brazilian Cherry (jatoba) , Goncalo Alves/Tigerwood , Curly Maple, Marblewood, Red Palm, RedHeart, Zebrawood The type of woods that would add $10.00 to the base cost of ea. would be: Claro Walnut, Cocobolo, Kingwood, Madrone Burl, Redwood Lace Burl, Tulipwood, Ziricote There are several types of woods that would add whatever market price is at the time, but probably anywhere from $35.00 to $50.00 added to each maul. Afzelia Burl, Amboyna Burl, Bees Wing Narra, Buckeye Burl , Ebony, Black & White Ebony, Macassar Ebony , Gmelia Burl, White Holly , Lignum Vitea , Maple Big Leaf Burl, Karelian Burl, Olivewood, Pink Ivory, Teak Burl, ALL FALL INTO THAT CATAGORY. I'm sure that I've missed several, So if you have something in mind,,, Please ask. My turn around time is usually pretty good,,, although,,, sometimes I'm just not able to do anything for a few days, because of my Back Problems,,, I hope you understand. Thanks for your interest! Ed the"BearMan" My link polarb1717@aol.com Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
King's X Report post Posted September 16, 2009 "Soooo many years later,,, here are some of the mauls I've made over the past 10 years or so. My Mauls are in the hands of some of the finest Leather Artist around." Thanks Bearman! I know, I know, you were not describing the average joe here, but I bet these will still be in use long after we are gone, for sure. I just want everyone to know that I have had the Bman rehandle my Barry King mauls (not putting down BK at all) mainly because due to an injury I am not able to grip the smaller handles easily for any length of time. Since I had these new handles, I have been able to last longer (sounds like a Viagra commercial huh?). Seriously, this man is a top notch professional and seriously understands leather work. He even fixed issues with my mauls that I didn't understand that I had. I hope to continue to work with him in the very near future. Rock Stars brother!! Side note: did you recevie my PM over a week ago for a quote on a new project? Let me know, if not, I can resend it. Highly recommended!! Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
Tina Report post Posted September 16, 2009 Quickly jumping in and agreeing with King'sX, You absolutly Rock BearMan :-) I'm moooore than happy with my mauls and I highly recomend your work to anyone...Yihaaaa Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
hidepounder Report post Posted September 16, 2009 Ed.....what a beautiful collection of mauls! Who wouldn't be proud to own one of these? It's just fantastic that such an important tool we all use can now be custom made to fit the individual. My hat's off to you....beautiful work! Bobby Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
Hilly Report post Posted September 16, 2009 Yes, yes, YES! You make AWESOME mauls! I'm loving every minute of using the ones you made for me. I wish I would've been assimilated earlier! Hilly Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
