Love My Chopweilers....But?

HISknife

HISknife

Joined
Jan 17, 2010
Messages
211
Hello. First time posing here at Swamp Rat side.

Recently, I sort of went crazy, and bought three Chopweilers. Just out of the blue, I had to. Bought a used one first, used it, and fell in love with the knife. Best handle for my hand by far, just so comfortable. Bought two more new, unused ones. Can't believe I found a knife that suits me so well, for all my needs.

P1070546.jpg

P1070396.jpg


First time I ever had knives other than Busses. In fact, first time I had NO Busse in my possession. Funny thing is, I don't miss it.
Maybe they don't chop as well as BMs or even FSHs, but so what? I have Gransfors Bruks axe for that, as well as Machetes. What I needed was a all around camp knife, and for all my bushcraft needs. Chopweilers fill that beautifully, with just the right length and a great handle.

But I do have some questions, for you esteemed members.
Why is it that there aren't many reviews or posts regarding Chopweilers, let alone Ratweilers? I've searched, but couldn't find any in-depth look of this knife anywhere. Is Chopweiler bit of a love-child of Swamp Rat family? Sometime I see on Sale section, of people selling knives. And often Chopweilers would be the last to go, over all other Busses and Swamp Rat. Has there been, in the past, something negative about Chopweilers? Just curious, is all.

My second question is, will stripping my Chopweilers work? I hear that SR-101 rust like no other steel out there. Will stripping it, and putting satin or mirror finish be a stupid endeavor, forcing me to carry a bucket of oil (or a can of WD-40) with me whenever I go camping with my Chopweiler?

Feeling a bit frantic over my new found enthusiasm over these great knives. Hopefully, I will have couple of RatManDu added to my collection before the end of summer. That will round them up nicely, I think.
 
With regards to the chopweiler, they are not at all an unpopular knife -- they just fit a very specific niche. Most people usually find one chopper that looks good and feels good to them and stick with it, and usually don't see the need to purchase more. For me I feel like res-c is the best handle for a big chopper, so I like the dogfather for now and potentially will replace it with the Basic 11 when mine comes in. There are huge fans of choppers with micarta and G10 handles though (just look at all the huge blades Busse Combat sells).

In addition, color combinations are a huge factor imo -- black blade with black micarta tends to be a quick seller, while sage blade (tan) with a tan micarta handle seems to move slower. That goes for even the smaller sized blades. Take that into consideration when you see how fast a blade moves.

I'm not sure why there aren't many chopweiler reviews, but the ratweiler is an older model so that might explain that one for you.


With regards to stripping it and satin finishing it, yes it can indeed be done. However, it will be very much more prone to rust and more regular blade maintenance (oiling, cleaning, not putting away wet etc) will be required. The coating diminishes the amount of maintenance these knives need pretty dramatically. Also be aware that with a satin finish you will get a lot of staining from use.


I don't think of staining as a bad thing though -- gives character. :) Keep using those knives, and great pictures. I always love to see good knives being put to use. Just wait until I start putting up some more pics of my ratmandu, that baby has been beat up quite a bit!


Just my two cents.
 
LOVE the Chopweiler! It's my favorite Rat. It's the only knife I have a double of.

ETA: My user is missing some coating and I've never had a real problem with corrosion. YMMV.
 
I love my chopweilers. Like you I had to have several very fast. I have two chopweilers and one ratweiler. The chopweiler is a super overall camp knife. It batons well, chops well and holds an edge beautifully. I have kept mine coated and with use and just a little wipe off I have never had a problem with rust. Do a search on youtube for chopweiler and you will find a great review or two. I agree about the res c handles though. If anything has replaced my chopweiler it is a battle rat. With a slightly longer blade and comfy handle it is super too. Even that said, the chopweiler is a special knife. Enjoy.
 
i have a stripped Ratweiler and have never had any rust issues... to be fair i do live in the desert though. IMO the extra work of putting a satin finish is unnecessary....like INFI, SR101 looks nice naked....it will darken and develop staining as it is used....but that just adds to the knife's character.

Here are some pics of my stripped Ratweiler:)

ratweiler2.jpg


ratweiler1.jpg
 
Nice scales on that one Pit!

I'm back and forth on wanting one...the nicer scales like that would help...plus, the RW is always a temptation and I think it's a better looking blade and I wouldn't buy both. But, it's nice the CW have been at blade and Knob Creek so a proxy could score one at factory prices...
 
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I love my new Chopweiler:thumbup::cool:

DSCF3292.jpg
 
Chops rule...for me, at least. Go over to the swamp rat website and there are more discussions regarding them.

As for "rusting like no other"...should be changed to "no more rusting than others". Proper carbon steel knife caring and you'll have no issues.
 
HISknife said:
Hello. First time posing here at Swamp Rat side.

Recently, I sort of went crazy, and bought three Chopweilers. Just out of the blue, I had to. Bought a used one first, used it, and fell in love with the knife. Best handle for my hand by far, just so comfortable. Bought two more new, unused ones. Can't believe I found a knife that suits me so well, for all my needs.

P1070546.jpg

P1070396.jpg


First time I ever had knives other than Busses. In fact, first time I had NO Busse in my possession. Funny thing is, I don't miss it.
Maybe they don't chop as well as BMs or even FSHs, but so what? I have Gransfors Bruks axe for that, as well as Machetes. What I needed was a all around camp knife, and for all my bushcraft needs. Chopweilers fill that beautifully, with just the right length and a great handle.

But I do have some questions, for you esteemed members.
Why is it that there aren't many reviews or posts regarding Chopweilers, let alone Ratweilers? I've searched, but couldn't find any in-depth look of this knife anywhere. Is Chopweiler bit of a love-child of Swamp Rat family? Sometime I see on Sale section, of people selling knives. And often Chopweilers would be the last to go, over all other Busses and Swamp Rat. Has there been, in the past, something negative about Chopweilers? Just curious, is all.

My second question is, will stripping my Chopweilers work? I hear that SR-101 rust like no other steel out there. Will stripping it, and putting satin or mirror finish be a stupid endeavor, forcing me to carry a bucket of oil (or a can of WD-40) with me whenever I go camping with my Chopweiler?

Feeling a bit frantic over my new found enthusiasm over these great knives. Hopefully, I will have couple of RatManDu added to my collection before the end of summer. That will round them up nicely, I think.
Click to expand...

If you ever feel that you made a mistake with buying the Chopweilers, pm me. I will buy them from you based upon your word as to their condition. No joke.

They are one of SR's best knives, IMO.
 
Hi folks -

I have only had my Chopweiler CF a few weeks, but I really like it.

I hope to do some chopping with it soon.

Here is a picture of it -

DSC_2742.JPG


best regards -

mqqn
 
Where do you find them? How much do they cost. It sounds like they are one of the best blades out there but I cant find anything about them
 
"Where do you find them? How much do they cost. It sounds like they are one of the best blades out there but I cant find anything about them"

They sell every now and then on forums + ebay for anywhere between 250-300. picked mine up a few months ago on bladeforums along with a spec ops sheath that fits holds it wonderfully.
 
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