Customizing a Ratmandu

redbeardrob

redbeardrob

Joined
May 25, 2011
Messages
855
Aright I got a couple of questions for those of you guys who like to do a little customizing to your blades. Just got a swamp rat knife works ratmandu and I was thinking it could use a little customizing. Here's a pic:
SAM_0415.jpg

Now I wan't to strip this and give it a nice satin finish but I have no idea how to do either of these things. I also am afraid that if I do strip the blade, I am going to have to do a fair bit of sanding to get a nice satin sheen and going to lose the very nice Swamp Rat Knife Works logo on the blade. But I have somewhat of a good idea and i want to know what you all think. A while back I saw a picture of a Junglas that some dude had done some custom work with that turned out beautiful. He had given it some kind of an acid bath before stripping the paint and it etched the logo into the blade. Here is a pic:
018-2.jpg

I want to know if and how the same thing could be done to my RMD. If anybody knows anything that could help me I would be much obliged. Thanks!!!
 
Dude that's one deep etch. Can't speak to that but I have stripped a couple Rats in my time. Stripping the coating is easy. You just coat it with paint stripper you get from the hardware store. Then wash it under the faucet and scrub with steel wool. Prepare for a lot of sanding though. A lot of sanding. It's a pain and I wouldn't do it again. However if you wanna do a patina, you don't have to do as much sanding cuz the patina covers most of the machine marks. Here's the two I did. The M6 is the best mustard patina I've done. Came out nicer then the pic shows. The sun kinda washed it out in the pic.

IMG_0309.jpg
 
Shotgun said:
Prepare for a lot of sanding though. A lot of sanding. It's a pain and I wouldn't do it again. However if you wanna do a patina, you don't have to do as much sanding cuz the patina covers most of the machine marks.
Click to expand...

Please correct me if I'm wrong but you had to sand because of machine marks? Like grinding marks?
 
Hmmmmm....... what if you were to use an engraver to remove the coating of the logo and Then you could etch the logo into the blade!?!? Don't forget to paint the bare edge before you start etching!
 
Shotgun, those look pretty sweet!

redbeardrob, You could etch those blades, but it will be trickier than it was with the esee knives. The esee's have easily removeable handle scales, that make modding much more simple.

To etch either of those Swamprats, you would have to figure out a way to not get etchant on the handles. You could wrap the handles in some sort of watertight plastic, then seal it off at the ricasso with some tightly wrapped ducktape or something. Or find a vase or glass that is about as deep as the blade is long, and suspend the knife in etchant. Though that would likely require a few bottles of etchant at $11 per bottle. ..Or you may be able to just angle the blade into the liquid so that the logo/lettering is submersed, while the handle is up out of the etchant. ???

Getting a nice clean satin blade is easiest to do with a belt sander. Other than that, you are going to have to use a LOT of elbow grease!

I just bought myself a sander, and I'm planning on trying some satin blade making, but I don't have a lot of practice yet. :)

I did this little Izula by hand, and it took some work. Your knives are MUCH larger, and would be a challenge without power tools!

various2008-2009190.jpg

various2008-2009194.jpg
 
BryFry said:
Shotgun, those look pretty sweet!

redbeardrob, You could etch those blades, but it will be trickier than it was with the esee knives. The esee's have easily removeable handle scales, that make modding much more simple.

To etch either of those Swamprats, you would have to figure out a way to not get etchant on the handles. You could wrap the handles in some sort of watertight plastic, then seal it off at the ricasso with some tightly wrapped ducktape or something. Or find a vase or glass that is about as deep as the blade is long, and suspend the knife in etchant. Though that would likely require a few bottles of etchant at $11 per bottle. ..Or you may be able to just angle the blade into the liquid so that the logo/lettering is submersed, while the handle is up out of the etchant. ???

Getting a nice clean satin blade is easiest to do with a belt sander. Other than that, you are going to have to use a LOT of elbow grease!

I just bought myself a sander, and I'm planning on trying some satin blade making, but I don't have a lot of practice yet. :)

I did this little Izula by hand, and it took some work. Your knives are MUCH larger, and would be a challenge without power tools!

various2008-2009190.jpg

various2008-2009194.jpg
Click to expand...

Thanks for coming to my thread, I love your work. Yeah I though about that as well with the handle scales and I though i could suspend it in a thin glass of the etchant. I was wondering though. Besides spray painting the blade edge with a couple of coats is there any other prep work that I need to do before attempting this?
 
redbeardrob said:
Thanks for coming to my thread, I love your work. Yeah I though about that as well with the handle scales and I though i could suspend it in a thin glass of the etchant. I was wondering though. Besides spray painting the blade edge with a couple of coats is there any other prep work that I need to do before attempting this?
Click to expand...

Clean it first, both edge and logos. I use dishsoap/water, then alcohol. Tape off the logos with blue painters tape while you paint, let the paint dry completely, remove painters tape, then cover the edge with with some ducktape for extra protection.

A really deep etch takes a day or 2, and you should take the knife out about every 4 hours (or whenever you can mannage) to rinse off with water and gently scrub logos with a toothbrush, before drying and resubmerging back into the etchant.

If you can draw, or know someone who can, you can also draw/scratch any lettering or design you want into the factory coating and it with be etched in as well.
 
BryFry said:
Clean it first, both edge and logos. I use dishsoap/water, then alcohol. Tape off the logos with blue painters tape while you paint, let the paint dry completely, remove painters tape, then cover the edge with with some ducktape for extra protection.

A really deep etch takes a day or 2, and you should take the knife out about every 4 hours (or whenever you can mannage) to rinse off with water and gently scrub logos with a toothbrush, before drying and resubmerging back into the etchant.

If you can draw, or know someone who can, you can also draw/scratch any lettering or design you want into the factory coating and it with be etched in as well.
Click to expand...

Thank you my friend, you have been a big help and I am much obliged. Not sure if it is going to turn out as pretty as some of your projects but I'm gonna give it a shot. I will be sure to keep everybody posted with lots of pics. Thanks to all!
 
jfive said:
Please correct me if I'm wrong but you had to sand because of machine marks? Like grinding marks?
Click to expand...

Yep. Other than the usual rough grinding marks you can kind of see in the Izula above, the two knives I have pictured had some deep marks here and there.
 
I would just leave them alone. The only knives I strip have the full height grind and are in better condition underneath than the saber ground combat grades. You see lots of pics of the cool mods not the ones gone bad.
 
jfive said:
thanks shotgun...that's a bummer since the coating will come off eventually...
Click to expand...

Not that big of a deal since the coating usually rubs off on the bevel and the deep marks are on the flats like High Desert said. I actually left some of the deep ones because I thought it gave the knives a neat character.
 
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