Making the new Ratweiler my own (pic heavy)

Dicko

Dicko

Joined
Dec 28, 2014
Messages
332
Fellow Swamp Rats!

I received my new Ratweiler yesterday morning, gave it a bit of a work out while we were having a bbq lunch & some tea. It's phenomenal! The countors of the handle are perfect for me. Mine's 1/4 thick - this knife is indestructable!

I won't blab too much more, but will let the pictures speak for themselves. Please forgive me, this is my first go at working and photographing at the same time - I didn't really put much thought into setting up the pictures, I just took them.

0.0002 seconds after I picked it up from Australia Post:



Just getting the feel for it, nothing too drastic yet.




Revisited an old friend - Ruger Hawkeye in 25/06 with Leupold 4-12x40 scope, Boyd's stock that I bedded & floated myself. It was a proper dodgy set up for checking zero - put together very quickly. Ants, heat, winds, ants... all good fun! Did I mention ants??



Re-25 and 120gn Speer Hot Cor pills - I love 'em! 100 yards.

 
First go at stripping with aerosol paint stripper. Will not try again, it's hopeless!





I etched the logo using cotton wool ear cleaners (I think you folks call them q-tips??). Didn't take any photos of this part unfortuately. Used a battery charger, salt water etc. Very simple to do!




No more paint!



Light rust forming already.



Tidied up the decarb with a wire wheel on a Dremel. It worked really well!




A couple of character marks:

 
Spent some time with the young fulla in between. Just him & I are flying from Queensland to Western Australia in 2 weeks to visit my brother so I got him a 'spiter man' back pack for him to keep his stuff in.




My set up for sharpening - slow speed angle grinder (1400 rpm) and the absolutely essential water. I admit I don't get all flustered about the science of sharpening - what I do works for me and my knives stay sharp for a very long time. I work by eye and dunk the knife in cool water after each & every pass.



Halfway there.



First attempt at a video ha ha.



In action. Check out my sexy legs! Eeeek!!



Sharp!



Finished. Did I mention I love Eezox? Well, I love Eezox!



The big girl in her natural environment - the outdoors!

 
Can anyone give me tips on how to post videos through Photobucket please?
 
Great thread!, and that's a smart looking yound lad you have there :)

Can't help with embedding the vids, but they worked fine for me, they just opened in my VLC app instead of in the browser.

Always good to see someone stress the importance of using water when grinding. I just have a Harbor Freight 1x30, but I converted it to be water cooled with a simple gravity fed drip line. It feeds in through the spark shield and has an in-line micro drip emitter to control the flow rate. IIRC, a 5 pack of the micro valves was only $2.50 and I had a plastic soda bottle, vinyl tubing, and tape lying around. So many benefits, so little cost... :)
 
Stellar work sir! The little guys enjoy time with Dad. Make the most of it! I've got a little boy at home. He will be two the day after Christmas. I plan to pass the love of steel on to him. Pass the torch!
 
Looks good! My Battle Rat has been thinned down and performs great.
 
Dicko, thank you for that good sir! That stripped rat is going to bite deep, especially after the thinning. And it looks mean!

I like your sharpening setup. I'll bet it's handy to have the belt, flat disc, and buffer all on one machine. Did you buy it that way, or did you do some mods to it yourself?
 
Apophis said:
Great thread!, and that's a smart looking yound lad you have there :)

Can't help with embedding the vids, but they worked fine for me, they just opened in my VLC app instead of in the browser.

Always good to see someone stress the importance of using water when grinding. I just have a Harbor Freight 1x30, but I converted it to be water cooled with a simple gravity fed drip line. It feeds in through the spark shield and has an in-line micro drip emitter to control the flow rate. IIRC, a 5 pack of the micro valves was only $2.50 and I had a plastic soda bottle, vinyl tubing, and tape lying around. So many benefits, so little cost... :)
Click to expand...

Oh he's smart alright! Amazes me everyday with what he learns...

Yeah I've never had a problem with overheating that I've noticed. I always go very slow, not a lot of pressure and keep things cool.

RobStanley said:
Awesome work man!! Love the naked steel. Very cool. It'll patina up nicely too. :)
Click to expand...

Thanks Rob! I realll like how it looks underneath. Heaps of character!

tinfoil hat timmy said:
Stellar work sir! The little guys enjoy time with Dad. Make the most of it! I've got a little boy at home. He will be two the day after Christmas. I plan to pass the love of steel on to him. Pass the torch!
Click to expand...

I will try! I love spending time with them!

rpn said:
Looks good! My Battle Rat has been thinned down and performs great.
Click to expand...

Played a little with the Ratweiler last night - cuts like a laser!

Hard Knocks said:
Dicko, thank you for that good sir! That stripped rat is going to bite deep, especially after the thinning. And it looks mean!

I like your sharpening setup. I'll bet it's handy to have the belt, flat disc, and buffer all on one machine. Did you buy it that way, or did you do some mods to it yourself?
Click to expand...

Pretty much put it together myself, though all the parts come ready to go. I just had to fiddle a bit with bushes etc as the shafts on the bench grinder aren't a standard size.

The belt is run on what is sold here in Australia as a 'multi-tool', they come in heaps of different sizes and are very well made.
Mulit Tool Australia.

Then it's just a matter of changing the buffing discs to suit through a quick change spindle. I use a stitched cloth and also loose leaf calico.
 
Dicko said:
Tidied up the decarb with a wire wheel on a Dremel. It worked really well!
Click to expand...


What a great transformation. Which wire wheel did you use with the Dremel? I'm guessing the lower RPMs did not get the blade too hot? I have a BG MOFO coming to me eventually, and I'd like to strip it. With the CBT, I think that the wire wheel will make my life infinitely easier--I just do not want to heat the blade to a degree that messes up the heat treatment. Also, does SR-101 have marginally better (or equal) corrosion resistance than 1095 or O1? I have plenty of experience with those steels, and I think that if I can manage/ maintain those knives stripped, SR-101 should be fine.

Thanks again for posting the pics/ process.

Anthony
 
Aias said:
Also, does SR-101 have marginally better (or equal) corrosion resistance than 1095 or O1? I have plenty of experience with those steels, and I think that if I can manage/ maintain those knives stripped, SR-101 should be fine.
Click to expand...

Anthony, it would be similar to those 2, after stripping give it a good workout in the kitchen veggies, fruit, raw red meat and you won't have to worry much about rust after you get a patina on exposed steel.
 
Team, the etching was super easy. It'll take me a little while (couple of weeks - flat out at work and then flying across the country to see my brother) but I'll see if I can do a dummy run and do a photo essay.

Seriously took all of 5 minutes!
 
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