Just got My first rat.

D

dubs chops

Joined
Apr 29, 2009
Messages
83
I am Excited about it arriving in the mail. it is a sage & tan RMD. I was wondering what type of stone would you guys recommend for sharpening and what would the correct way to sharpen be? I am a real Knife NewB and don't want to screw up my edge sharpening it in a incorrect fashion.

thanks for the info guys.
 
It depends on what you want. I WANT to say that my new RMD is slightly convexed from the factory.

The good news is that you'll have some time. RMD's come VERY sharp and SR101 takes a while to dull.

For regular non-convex sharpening, I'm partial to Edge Pro. Don't be surprised at how long it takes to reprofile if that's what you do. Again, SR101 is hard stuff. Stout!
 
My RMD came VERY dull with an uneven profile. This was an acknowledged issue that has apparently been addressed now.

SR101 is EXTREMELY abrasive resistant, total dog to sharpen by hand on stones or diamonds. I have moved to a belt sander (kalamazoo 1x42) and paper wheels (grizzly razor sharp). I am having a much better time with this setup than trying to re-profile these by hand.

OH, and congratulations on a GREAT knife and a new addiction.

-- Adam
 
Congrats on the new RMD. Once you get the knife in hand, you will soon know why it's loved around the world.
 
is it preferred to keep the convexed edge? If so is there a preferred method to do this? I read somewhere that the infi steel busse uses one requires a litght stropping away from the cutting edge with a ceramic rod. would the SR101 react well to that type of sharpening? I am really excited about getting it. thanks guys.
 
I just used a mousepad and sandpaper to convex the edge on mine. Started with 400, then went to 600, 800, 1200, 1500, 2000. After 2000 I used a leather strop loaded with chromium oxide. It takes awhile but well worth it. If you keep up with the strop youll be set for long time.

Since then Ive picked up 2 belt sanders. I have the craftsman 2x42 and harbor freight 1x30. You can get belts at trugrit.com. I also recommend getting the leather belt for one of them. Makes all sharpening a breeze.
 
My RMD came paper slicing sharp, but wouldn't shave because the edge bevel was too thick... maybe 50-55 deg. inclusive. I've been using a Norton economy stone I picked up at Home Depot for about $6 to reprofile it.

Otherwise, I've had good success using the rods from my Sharpmaker to sharpen my other Swamp Rats. I just hold the rods and sharpen freehand. Once the RMD is reprofiled, I'll do this too, or get a set of Spyderco bench stones.
 
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