Now that I've had my Bandicoot for a few days...

C

Coonskinner

Joined
Mar 28, 2001
Messages
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I recently traded a BM 940, used, for a new 'Coot. It is my first Swamp Rat, but now that I've had the opportunity to play with it for a few days, I think I can safely say it won't be my last.

I love the blade shape. I do a lot of hunting, and this knife is going to see some use in the woods. It is just right for field dressing a Whitetail. It is also ideally suited for a lot of other outdoorsy chores.

One reason I never got terribly interested in a lot of Busses was the lack of a fine enough point for my tastes. I understand they are designed for strength, but I don't really need that kind of point strength as much as I need a point that is sharp and pointy. The Bandicoot has a strong enough point that I'll never have to worry about failure, but it is also sharp enough to poke holes in things, which is why knives have points to begin with.

The steel is everything it's touted to be, a great balance between ease of sharpening and edge holding. It responds extremely well to a loaded strop. It acts a lot like hand forged 52100.

I like the leather sheath mine came with. I'm not a big kydex fan.

One thing I did was reprofile the edge quite a bit thinner. With the excellent steel I wanted the extra cutting power of a thinner edge. It's still plenty durable.

All in all, I really like this knife. I do have one question...how is the best way to remove the coating??
 
like you said great knife. I have one but never got around to using it during hunting season. I did use a Howling Rat on 2 or 3 deer and it worked without a hitch. I hope to put my 'Coot through its chores while fishing this year, should make a all around bait, fishing chore knife.


dave
 
Yup, the coot is a great design!

Not sure why you would want a naked one.... but Jasco epoxy remover will do the trick. HOWEVER I do not know what it'd do to the respirene... probably nothing but don't hold me responsible. I used the stuff to strip a Busse blade recently... secret project.
 
Naked is good, whether you're talking knives or...never mind.:)

I just don't like black coatings. The Rats supposedly have a temper line, and I like temper lines. I also like the patina that a carbon steel blade develops over time.

I live on the high plains where the humidity is low and I enjoy maintaining carbon steel. So I plan on stripping mine. Thanks for the tip...I'll try to avoid getting any on the handle.
 
Coonskinner
Our differentially tempered blades do show the temper line, and they show it well once the coating has been removed. However, the Bandicoot is not differentially tempered so if you take the coating off you won't see any temper line. Just wanted to give you a heads up so you weren't disappointed.

:D:D

I still think it will look like a very fine blade without the coating
 
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