1/2 Stripped Ranger RD7

D

diceman

Joined
Jan 1, 2007
Messages
815
I had a couple spots on my finish on my Ranger RD7 that were kind messed up, so I decided to strip the blade - I like it! Any suggestions for maintenance of this naked blade would be appreciated. I decided to leave the coating on under the scales to avoid having to take them off for cleaning all the time. I just used a stainless steel kitchen scrubbing pad to take off the finish - took about 1 hour and 1 thumb to get 'er done. Its such a great knife! Click the pix to make them bigger!





 
It looks nice, just interested as to why you took the finish off? Im not even famaliar with the knife so i dont know what it looks like with the coating on.
 
Keep going, you'll get there.:thumbup:
this used to be a Ranger 9 :D

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Paint stripper would have done the job in about 15 minutes. Just keep the blade oiled as it is not stainless.

I did the same to an RD7 I used to have. You can also cold blue the blade for a little extra protection like this one.

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Cougar: I don't get it?

Suzuki - I had a couple spots on the finish that were chipped, so I decided to take it all off!

Whitefoot - What did you use to polish with?

HatchetJack - is cold blueing something that an amature like me can do?
 
I tried my hand at some cold bluing - It turned out pretty nice - I did oil the blade before I took the pix, so its not quite as mirrored as it looks. I might redo the finish sometime because its a little uneven, but let me know what you guys think!





 
OK, last set! She's now FINISHED! Click and make the pix big, so you can see the blues and purples! Too easy! Again, I know NOTHING about bluing! First attempt... Here she is!



 
I scuffed off the coating w/ a kitchen/dish scrubber (stainless steel variety) just cuz thats what I had laying around the house. I degreased it real well, and then using a cotton ball in my fingers (make sure not to touch the part of the cotton ball that you're applying with, "no oil" is the secret I guess) I applied some "Super Blue" (like $4 for a small bottle) and just lathered it on. Waited about 30 seconds, rinsed it off under cold water, dried it, and then scrubbed it lightly w/ my dish scrubber. Did that about three times before I took the middle set of pix. Then, I degreased again, and put the bluing on again (I think I did it before my solvent was completely dry) real heavy, waited about a minute and a half, rinsed it off, and then oiled it while it was still kind of wet, wiped it down, and oiled again. Didn't scrub after my last application. It was definately a cluster f#ck, but I'm really happy with the results! Very easy to do - I'm going to try it on some other knives as well I think!
 
I gotta say - looks great. :thumbup: I've been thinking about doing the same kind of thing with a BK7 I bought a year ago, but I wasn't sure how it would turn out. I've dug, poked, scraped, hacked out limbs, opened ammo cans, soup cans, etc., with no damage except to the finish, and I've only had to sharpen twice. The only thing wrong with the knife is the finish. (powdercoat?) That's just my opinion, but I've never liked "thick" finishes on blades. Those finishes serve a purpose, I know, but I'd rather get my knives out once a week and clean & oil'em. (My son likes to help, too; good daddy/kid time) And, I like the look of clean steel. I buy knives all the time at flea markets, garage sales, etc. and it drives my wife nuts. I get them home, clean them up - steel wool & WD40: a ratty knife's best friend - and then eventually give them away to friends, etc. who can use them. The Becker is one of the best knives I've ever owned; I'm looking to get a spare. The only other complaint I have is the sheath. (I've submitted an inquiry under Becker Sheaths in the Camillus forum, to see if there's a better one out there. Leather, possibly?)

Anyway, after seeing what you accomplished, I think I'm ready to "take the plunge".
 
Orca - I used Birchwood Casey's "Super Blue" Liquid Gun Blue. I'm looking forward to seeing how yours turns out! I had thought about the Becker, but heard so many great things about Ranger knives that I went that route - I love my RD7 - and Justin's customer service is top notch! Anyways, the bluing was pretty easy - mine isn't very even if you look up close, but I think it looks good being kind of "splotchy." Good luck!
 
diceman - I'll keep you posted on this; thanks for the clarification on bluing. I've got some B-C Superblue in my gun case; no excuse not to do it now. Now that I'm a stay-at-home dad, I've got time to actually finish several knife projects I've started over the years. I may go for wood grips on my BK7, too - bought a nice block of cocobolo years ago for gun grips, turned out it was too narrow to get two grip panels out of it. Seeing the work of some of the posters here is giving me some great ideas. (Dangerous ideas, as my wife would say . . . )

I'll look into Ranger knives as well; with what's happening at Camillus, maybe I'll latch onto a Ranger if I can't get a Camillus BKT. Thanks for the info . . .
 
I'm a stay at home dad/student now (I work very part time, and do a weekend a month w/ the National Guard) - after a few years w/ the military, its my wife's turn to work! Looking forward to your results. Cocobolo grips will also look nice I'm sure. I'll be doing some projects my self. I've got an Ontario RAT3 on the way - I think that its going to get a similar treatment to what I did w/ the RD7. Have a good one.
 
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