A Few Ratweiler LE Questions

G

Glenn Jones

Joined
Feb 26, 2002
Messages
618
That LE looks sooo beautiful and is sooo tempting.

I love big slicers and am generally not fond of thick blades except for one I have owned for over 10 years (the busse Basic 9 - great blade). One of my favourite big slicers is the Becker BK5 (I placed the micarta scales on mine but it is still about half the price of the LE). The BK5 and the LE are approximately the same thickness and length and I assume are similar in slicing ability; the BK5 blade is of course a coated blade but that uncoated LE looks so nice. I have owned a few Swamp Rat knives over the years but never an LE model. My only real maintenance with the coated BK5 is to wipe the blade clean and dry it after every use. I have suffered no rust problems along the uncoated edge and use this knife often in the kitchen.

My questions:

First, what is the weight of the Ratweiler LE?

Second, will wiping the blade clean and drying it after every use work to keep a LE blade from rusting (with a blade this thin it would be used often for slicing in the kitchen)? At times of high humidity in my area I have occasionally coated my BK5 uncoated blade edge with mineral oil but that doesn't occur often even though I live in a inland sub-tropical region (we tend to have distinct wet and a dry seasons during the year).

Third, I love canvas micarta scales in preference to G10 scales. I suspect though that G10 would be less likely to absorb moisture and therefore a better scale material on an uncoated blade. Am I correct in this thinking?
 
To prevent rust on all carbon steel knives you should coat them with some form of lube, like mineral oil.

Cleaning and making sure its completely dry does wonders, but there is still a chance of oxidation. I have had several Beckers start to rust after stripping them, but never really have any problems with the edge on users... Possibly because if there being used often the edge is being "cleaned" during use.

The LE being completely uncoated and used in the kitchen, i would expect a patina or oxidation to start to form if you dont keep a light coat of lube on it. We have a lot of humidity where i live and i have had a never used satin swamp rat RMD start to form a small amount of oxidation in a display case after just a couple days. Then i lubed it up and havent had any more issues in months.

If your going to be using this blade i would just force a patina on it to keep oxidation from being a huge problem. If your using it often in the kitchen as you said its going to be almost impossible to keep looking satin and shiny regardless.

I know on a knife this pretty its hard to think of messing up that pretty satin finish, but the only way to REALLY keep it looking that nice is to lube it up and then lock it up!!
 
Glenn, we don't have your humidity here, but I never really had too much problem with rust on my satin Rats. I keep them clean and that's about it.
When you will use it in the kitchen the blade will start turning like this:

Patina helps with keeping them rust free. Fruit (especially mangoes and citrus), some of the veggies and even meats will cause patina.
 
Thank you for the information provided. What a great facility these forums are. You have convinced me to wait for the CG version to come out.
 
mainaman said:
Patina from blood or craving hot meats is with beautiful blue /purple tones
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I have a Rodent 3 that I acquired last Xmas. I've used it quite a bit, but kitchen duty only. It is pretty much impossible to use and keep in a satin finish ( unless someone has got a way??). I use a sink cleaner that is mildly abrasive and Turtle Wax scratch remover. I've even used steel wool. It worked ok for a while but this is the best I could do...




....considering using meat / blood to force a blue petina. Many varieties of fruit will just turn the blade black. Love the knife nonetheless. Very solid feeling, NICE edge!
Thanks Mainaman for the info.
 
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Noxious Fumes said:
I have a Rodent 3 that I acquired last Xmas. I've used it quite a bit, but kitchen duty only. It is pretty much impossible to use and keep in a satin finish ( unless someone has got a way??). I use a sink cleaner that is mildly abrasive and Turtle Wax scratch remover. I've even used steel wool. It worked ok for a while but this is the best I could do...




....considering using meat / blood to force a blue petina. Many varieties of fruit will just turn the blade black. Love the knife nonetheless. Very solid feeling, NICE edge!
Thanks Mainaman for the info.
Click to expand...
Once patina forms, there is no reaction with acids in foods, at least nothing that changes the color over time, all my kitchen knives are carbon steel and it seems the patina holds the colors with time.
 
I love swamp rats as much as all of you but I have to ask, why use a Ratweiler in the kitchen? Clearly there are far superior blades for kitchen tasks because they are designed as kitchen knives. Why sacrifice performance? Use the right tool for the right job, buy a Ratweiler for outdoors tasks and buy a nice chef's knife for kitchen duty.
 
stereo.pete said:
I love swamp rats as much as all of you but I have to ask, why use a Ratweiler in the kitchen? Clearly there are far superior blades for kitchen tasks because they are designed as kitchen knives. Why sacrifice performance? Use the right tool for the right job, buy a Ratweiler for outdoors tasks and buy a nice chef's knife for kitchen duty.
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Why not?
99% of people dont need a razor sharp chef knife to prepare food. Even a butter knife will suffice.
A knife is meant to cut....
 
knifeguy101 said:
Why not?
99% of people dont need a razor sharp chef knife to prepare food. Even a butter knife will suffice.
A knife is meant to cut....
Click to expand...

I think you are confusing sharp with proper geometry for the task.
Any knife made from good steel will be sharp, but not all will cut equally well for the same task.
Knife edges can never be razor sharp by the way.
 
mainaman said:
I think you are confusing sharp with proper geometry for the task.
Any knife made from good steel will be sharp, but not all will cut equally well for the same task.
Knife edges can never be razor sharp by the way.
Click to expand...

The point is its their knife and they can use it to do whatever they want with it. I personally dont use my knives in the kitchen but different strokes and all.
And generally speaking, people refer to knives that can shave hair as being "razor sharp"
 
The point is its their knife and they can use it to do whatever they want with it.
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True but also very simplistic logic to explain things.
And generally speaking, people refer to knives that can shave hair as being "razor sharp"
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Unfortunately incorrectly, there is big difference how the edge feels shaving arm hair , which can be done @ 1k grit, and the face, which requires much higher finish and different geometry (just like cutting food)
 
Deer blood renders a nice bluish/purplish patina on 1095 and O1. Not sure what it'd do on SR101, but I bet it would look nice. And like someone said, carving a hot bloody steak works quite well, too. Great... Now I'm hungry.
 
Noxious Fumes said:
I have a Rodent 3 that I acquired last Xmas. I've used it quite a bit, but kitchen duty only. It is pretty much impossible to use and keep in a satin finish ( unless someone has got a way??). I use a sink cleaner that is mildly abrasive and Turtle Wax scratch remover. I've even used steel wool. It worked ok for a while but this is the best I could do...




....considering using meat / blood to force a blue petina. Many varieties of fruit will just turn the blade black. Love the knife nonetheless. Very solid feeling, NICE edge!
Thanks Mainaman for the info.
Click to expand...

I've seen some of the hogs use plain old white Colgate toothpaste and it takes the discoloration right off.
 
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