Backcountry Rat Maintenance

L

Longlosthiker

Joined
Dec 9, 2006
Messages
32
I'll be getting my first Rat (RC-4) for Christmas this year and plan on it becoming my primary backpacking blade.

I'll admit that I have steered clear of tool steel knives for fear that I'd be fighting a constant battle keeping them free of rust. I have mostly carried stainless folders in the backcountry and even they have tarnished, though admittedly I haven't been vigilant about keeping them cleaned and oiled while on the trail.

So if you were to carry your Rat for a week in the backcountry what would you use to mitigate the rust? I normally carry some of that alcohol based gel soap, so that could be used for cleaning but what for rust prevention (knowing that the Rat will be used for food prep)?
 
I carried my RC-3 on a 6-day trip in the Beartooths this summer and had no problems with rust. Just make sure to wipe it dry after use, beads of water are what gets rust going, especially if you stick it in your pack or somewhere that keeps water from evaporating quickly.

Used my RC-3 for food prep (mostly cleaning trout) and just a few other duties... Worked great. The coating on the blade keeps most of it from rusting even if there is a bit of residue that you don't get off.

I hope you get the MOLLE back with it, that makes it easy to mount the knife just about anywhere on your pack. Some have said they used parachute cord with just the plastic sheath as well, but I'm really liking the MOLLE thing.
 
These guys would say, in Spanish, "Just use it, rinse it, dry it, and put it back in the sheath. Pretty easy, gringo."

RC60708-2-lowres.jpg

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No special care needed. I use mine to prepare bloody and acidic food regularly. Just rinse it off and dry it. That's all it takes. No rust.
 
If you are in a really hunid environmrnt then you may benefit by rubbing the blade down with beeswax available at any place which sells sewing supplies. Or cooking oil if you carry it.
 
Just bring a silicone cloth (or piece of one) and wipe it down before sheathing it for any period of time.
 
Scrap your thumbnail down the crevice where your nose meets your cheek to collect some of the "grease" there...after a few days in the back country you will have some! :D

Wipe that on the blade....wipe off right before you cut food! :D

Yeah, I know...sounds gross, but it works.

Can't claim the idea though, got it from "Outdoor Survival Skills" by Larry Dean Olsen
 
i use tuff-cloth, (marine cloth)excellent suff. use on knives & my firearms. not one problem.
 
I have a small film type canister in my pack that I keep full of cotton balls (the real kind) soaked in mineral oil. I use them to periodically wipe down my carbon steel blades. Mineral oil is safe to ingest AND the cotton balls can be used for emergency tinder to start a fire with your RAT firesteel kit :) :)
 
smcclown05 said:
I have a small film type canister in my pack that I keep full of cotton balls (the real kind) soaked in mineral oil. I use them to periodically wipe down my carbon steel blades. Mineral oil is safe to ingest AND the cotton balls can be used for emergency tinder to start a fire with your RAT firesteel kit :) :)
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Careful to much and you will be looking for a bunch of broad leaves and a tree:D:D
 
Haha. When I first went to buy it I never new what people used it for. I asked the guy at the pharmacy and he pointed me to the "intestinal lubricant" section. I bought a big bottle too :)
 
I wonder (no, I don't) what people think when outdoors nuts walk up to the register with athe big bag of cotton ball,s a box of condoms, a jar of vaseline, a king size bottle of "intestinal lubricant" and a strop. . .
 
They think were some pretty sick twisted folks...so look at em, leer and wink. Save the busting out into laughter till on the way to the car.
 
wildmike said:
They think were some pretty sick twisted folks...so look at em, leer and wink. Save the busting out into laughter till on the way to the car.
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It'd be the same folks who would show up asking for help at the first sign of disaster.
 
Cpl Punishment said:
I wonder (no, I don't) what people think when outdoors nuts walk up to the register with a big bag of cotton balls ,a box of condoms, a jar of vaseline, a king size bottle of "intestinal lubricant" and a strop. . .
Click to expand...

I bet it is something to do with Craigslist Casual encounter section or they may think your a sheep farmer ? :barf:
 
Ok, so help my ignorance, but what is the box of condoms for? I have seen people say they use them before for survival but I have no clue what for except for the old fashioned use ;)
 
Cpl Punishment said:
I wonder (no, I don't) what people think when outdoors nuts walk up to the register with athe big bag of cotton ball,s a box of condoms, a jar of vaseline, a king size bottle of "intestinal lubricant" and a strop. . .
Click to expand...

Well, I can tell you for sure you will get funny looks!

When a friend in the Army was in his first tour of Iraq during the initial invasion, he asked me to ship his unit some stuff.

Baby wipes to clean up with
Un-lubricated condoms to keep sand out of their rifle barrels
Chapstick with sunscreen

No imagine going through the checkout with about 5-6 of each! :D

If the gal at Wal-Marts eyes had got any bigger her head woulda popped!
 
jawilder said:
Ok, so help my ignorance, but what is the box of condoms for? I have seen people say they use them before for survival but I have no clue what for except for the old fashioned use ;)
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In small kits, where space is very limited, they are generally included for water collection/transport.
 
Longlosthiker:
I did 5 days on the Susquehannock Trail in PA last September carrying my RC-3. It rode on my chest in a TT MAV and got plenty sweaty. It was used mainly for food prep. Daily maintenance was basically wipe clean with water. All that resulted were some rust spots along the sharpened edge. No big deal. They were gone after a few swipes on my sharpener when I returned home.

The ride...
http://i93.photobucket.com/albums/l45/gander6/STS080901009.jpg

The specks...
http://i93.photobucket.com/albums/l45/gander6/STS080901074.jpg
http://i93.photobucket.com/albums/l45/gander6/STS080901071.jpg
 
I appreciate all the responses guys!

I gotta say, logging in here has been about as pleasant as a root canal. Clear cookies, close browser, restart browser, goto bladeforums, clear cookies again....that's the combination I finally hit on before a successful login. I'm not around very much but I don't recall it being like that in the past. Sorry for the vent.
 
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