hows does a stripped swamprat knife do

SR101 will rust if you dont take care of it. I have several nekkid Rats and none get out of hand, but I dont put them away wet or covered in tree sap, but I dont go to extraordinary means to keep them rust free. I like the patina that developes through long time use and care. The Rat Mastiff that I have is just beginning to patina.
 
mine has been stripped for a few years and its doing good.


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I stripped my first Rat, a Bandicoot and it looks good. Keep in mind that the crinkle coat does cover up some imperfections in the grinding so it may take a bit of work to buff them out. I don't care about them since mine is a user, they just add character. SR-101 polishes up very nicely so with some elbow grease satin is just a few hours away. Speed up the process by using a stripping agent (Kleen-Strip) to remove the coating. Like Leatherman said, SR-101 is more prone to rusting than INFI, but if maintained with some light oiling or Renaissance Wax (I've never used by heard great things) after each use you shouldn't have any problems.
 
Ditto on what everyone else here has said. In fact, it's hard to come up with exact numbers, but I would guess that more than 50% of my Rats are stripped. It's actually how I prefer them.
 
I am a huge fan of satin blades and I am not fond of blade coatings especially on smaller knives. I can tolerate the coating on larger knives, but I still easily prefer satin.

I have about 20 or so Swamp Rat, Scrap Yard and Busse knives all together and there are only about 3-4 left with coatings. The only reason these knives have coatings is because I haven't had time to get to them yet. ;) :thumbup:


I HIGHLY recommend using a chemical stripper, but instead of typing a long thread on "How to", there are a lot of posts at Rat Chat and here on Bladeforums about stripping knives. Here on Bladeforums, there are probably more threads at the Busse forum, but probably some here at the Swamp Rat Forum as well.

Use the "Search" feature here on Bladeforums and specifically search the Busse forum and the Swamp Rat forum - then also search the Swamp Rat forum. Key words such as "strip" and "Stripping" should get you many hits related to your questions.

Here is one from Swamp Rat: http://www.swampratknifeworks.com/cgi-bin/ultimatebb.cgi?ubb=get_topic;f=10;t=005087#000020

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SR-101 will indeed rust very readily if left damp. However, it is very reasonable to maintain if kept dry.
SR-101 doesn't rust as fast as many popular steels such as 1095, 1055, 5160, O-1, but you want to keep SR-101 dry for sure and like Mike said: "if maintained with some light oiling or Renaissance Wax (I've never used by heard great things) after each use you shouldn't have any problems."

A lot of people seem to think a car is a safe dry place to leave a blade, but this is wrong. A car will have many temperature changes. The temperature changes cause moisture to condensate. Steel is a prime target for condensation!

For the record, I use Ren Wax and it is great stuff. :thumbup:

I have had many SR-101 blades kept in drawers and such in my air-conditioned house without many problems. Sometimes I have seen a little spot pop up here and there if a blade wasn't protected with Ren Wax. But, one of the great things about stripping a knife yourself is it helps you get over an concepts of a knife being a safe queen. Since you finish the knife yourself, you know you can touch it back up! ;)

....... still, to avoid any hassles, I recommend protecting SR-101 and any blade short of stainless to prevent rust.

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Also, like Mike said: "the crinkle coat does cover up some imperfections in the grinding so it may take a bit of work to buff them out".

These imperfections vary. I have had a couple of blades (notably my Desert Jack) that had a very nice light dimple finish on the flats under the coating. I kind of liked it, so I left it.
But, most of the knives have pretty rough machine markings on the flat sides of the blades. IMO, these machine marks look worse than the coated blades. So, you probably should be prepared to do some sanding (or a lot) of sanding to clean up the flat sides of the blades or leave the coating alone.
The grind areas (bevels) are usually pretty decent unless you get a Busse with a convexed blade such as the AK-47 and the SJTAC.

To be honest, it is very hard to make a home stripped knife look like a factory satin knife.

For me, with a belt sander and quite a few home tools, I can make about 95% of my exposed blade look very nice.
I don't think a professional knife maker could do too much better - althouth, I am confident with their skills and tools they could do it a LOT faster.

The problem is the areas near the handles are too hard to get finished decent. The chemical stripper will easily remove the coating next to the handle, but it is near impossible to sand right up next to the handles.
Because of this, there is a huge advantage to finishing the blades prior to putting the handles on.

Some people only remove the coating from the grind areas (not the flat sides) because they can just run the blade through a belt sander to clean it up. But, I don't care for the two tone look on my knives. - to each his own.

A belt sander is a GREAT tool for cleaning up the blades. But, it takes some practice, technique and knowledge of abrasives to get decent results!!! Most knife makers use belt sanders to make and finish their knives.

You can use the search feature to search for a WHOLE lot of info about using belt sanders as well. Try Knifeforums for even more info.

Here is a good link to a thread started by Jerry Hossom over on Knifeforums about sharpening with a belt (* Some good tips in this thread can be applied to using a belt sander for grinding, shaping and finishing as well): http://www.knifeforums.com/forums/showtopic.php?tid/776367/post/new/#NEW

And this link has a compilation of grinding tips: http://www.engnath.com/public/grinder.htm


It will take you about 10 - 20 times longer to read all of the info than to strip and clean up a knife.:rolleyes: ;)

I could have made some pretty good progress on my knives waiting to be stripped in the amount of time I spend making posts. :o


Good luck.

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Like DWRW said you can strip a knife much faster than you could read all the info on the forum about how to do it. The Kleen-Strip I used on my 'Coot bubbled the coating in a matter of seconds. I scraped the majority off with a plastic putty knife. It may take a couple of applications to get the bulk off especially in hard to reach places. Sanding should take care of the rest.

Horn Dog posted a picture of an HRLM in the Busse Woodcraft Blade thread that was beautifully stripped and modded. See here:
http://www.bladeforums.com/forums/showthread.php?p=4844624#post4844624
Look at post #92

I asked him for the details and it is pretty simple. I'm actually looking for another HRLM to do similar mods to with a few other things. His work is very nice. He did say that he used this belt sander and a dremel for all the work:

http://www.harborfreight.com/cpi/ctaf/displayitem.taf?Itemnumber=2485
 
Thanks for the link DWRW.

Do you strip the tang that is sandwiched between the micarta or leave it krinklecoat?
 
diversionmary said:
Thanks for the link DWRW.

Do you strip the tang that is sandwiched between the micarta or leave it krinklecoat?
Click to expand...



I don't strip the tang that is "Between" the micarta :confused: ;) ...., but you probably mean the exposed parts of the tang ;) ....

Yes. I personally do. I think it looks nicer....

But, I don't think you have to if it doesn't bother you and it would be a lot easier when the time comes to sand and buff things up.

I think a pretty reasonable argument could be made and justified for leaving it if the knife is to be a user and if the look doesn't bother you.

Removing the coating from the "blade" specifically has "some" slight functional benefits - "Especially" in smaller knives. The coatings can cause drag on the blade when through cutting and the knives just won't cut as well if the cutting involves material contacting the coating (through cutting).
There is no "functional" benefit for removing the coating around the tang or even the choil. The only benefits would be aesthetic preference.

Side note: Similarly, there are improvements that can be made to the edges of the Busse family of knives for cuttings tasks. ** But, it depends on what you are cutting and using the knife for.
If chopping, I would still argue that improvements could be made to the edges. But, there are compromises in what you can do to an edge. If the edges are thinner and with less shoulder transition between the edge grind and primary grind, then the knife will cut better. If the edge angles are very obtuse and thick like most Busse family of knives, they won't "cut" as well, BUT, they are "Tougher". I hate compromise, but it is always there.

There are compromises to removing the coating.

To me, there are only two justifiable reasons for having the coatings on the blades:

1) Help prevent rust.
2) Help keep costs down.

A third that doesn't apply to me is: some people like the look. - I don't like the look.

In regards to rust: I hate rust! But, I would rather maintain my satin blade than have a coating.

In regards to cost: I am more than happy to pay an additional $15 - $30 for a satin blade. It shouldn't cost much more than that. About 90% of the blades sold in the world don't have coatings and short of full custom knives they almost all cost less than the Busse Family of knives.

Historically, Swamp Rat and Scrap Yard don't seem to have charged rediculous prices for Satin / LE models. But, some of the Busse satin / LE models are $100 - $200 for a satin finish!!! :thumbdn: :barf: - That is REDICULOUS!!!!! :mad: .... but, apparently some people are willing to pay it. Not me!

* I vote for more satin and LE finished knives from Swamp Rat and Scrap Yard, but at more reasonable $15.00 - $30.00 premiums.

I have stripped a bunch of knives and it is not all that hard, but it does take some time and a fair amount of time to get it looking decent.

I would MUCH rather pay Swamp Rat and Scrap Yard for an LE version.
They can do it WAAAAYYYYYYY Easier than we can and WAAAAYYYYYY Faster! Plus, they wouldn't have to actually put the coating on!

So, I wish they would provide LE models much more often! :thumbup:

I don't know why they don't. But, I am certain they would please more people by offering satin versions of everything.

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I have found that the chemical stripper does not affect micarta or Res-C (or at least I can't see ANY visible affect and I have looked hard.)

Also, I use a gel stripper and the gel stripper doesn't really seep between the micarta and tang. I would rather not remove the coating under the handle to help prevent rust and because that layer of coating probably keeps the scales tighter on the tang.

So, I just brush the stripper all around the exposed tang.
Again, getting the coating off is VERY simple.... it's the sanding afterwords that can be a bear.

Mike said the coating will start to bubble in a matter of seconds - this is true.
But, what I have found to be the best for me is to put a fairly even thick coating on and let it bubble till it stops bubbling. This usually seems to take about 7 - 12 minutes.
If you start to scrape it before the chemical is done, you will just have to re-apply. If you put it on too thin, you will have to re-apply.
I just stand and hold the knife outside so I can have fresh air circulation - I don't want to breath the fumes - It is actually not nearly as strong as paint thinner because of much slower evaporation, but I still don't want to breath the stuff.

*** The last one I did I was able to take of the coating in one single big black sheet. It was pretty much falling off. ;) :thumbup:

That was on a Res-C Yard Guard...... and no exposed tang.
Still removing the coating from the exposed tang is very simple as well.

Sanding and finishing the exposed tang at the spine and belly of the handle is simple enough.....

*** However ***, sanding and getting a decent finish around the guard, choil and especially the lanyard hole is tedious! :grumpy:

I should also mention that many people have used 3M abrasive wheels to buff and polish. These may have some advantages around the handles (???) and possibly on the handles (???), but I haven't used them yet.

Same rules would apply about using different grits.

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Give it a shot! SR101 is pretty easy to get to a nice satin. I like sanding the exposed tang because you inevitably smooth the micarta edge to a nice polished finish - no fuzzies!
 
diversionmary,

You could always strip only the blade first to see how you like it and then decide if you want to strip the tang areas later.

It really wouldn't add to the time much and would give the opportunity to decide.

..... just a thought.


What knife are you looking to strip?

We will need some pics. ;)

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Paddling_man said:
I like sanding the exposed tang because you inevitably smooth the micarta edge to a nice polished finish - no fuzzies!
Click to expand...




TRUE!!! .... A lot of areas of the micarta will do well being hit with some 600 then 800 or higher grit.

But, you may actually want to start with 80, 100 or 150 at many areas and work all the way up.

This is very easy to do at the spine and belly of the tang...., but again, unfortunately, a little tedious at the guard and lanyard hole areas.

Did I mention how much I wish Swamp Rat would just provide us with satin "finished" knives.

De-fuzzied would be nice to. :rolleyes:


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I like to buy my knives with a coating and then strip them myself. I was not to impressed with the satin finish on my YKLE which is my only satin Busse kin knife.
I have just finished mirror polishing one side of my SS4 and am very happy with the results.
I left the flats stripped but with the very nice forge finished look that contrasts really well with the polished flat. Even if you leave the coating it needs to be thinned near the edge so it does not drag. I used my little sharpening rod and "sharpened" behind the edge away the coating until the coating was thinnest near the edge and got thicker at the same angle as the edge until it was full thickness. It is actually pretty easy because you can tell the difference between filing the coating from the steel by feel.
 
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