Pics and a Sharpening Question

[aggiecouch]

Good evening all!

I'm fairly new to Swamp Rat knives, and a novice with respect to knives in general. I was wondering if any of you guys use a ceramic rod to sharpen your rodents. I've been trying to sharpen my RMD with one, but it won't take a good edge near the tip. This is probably my sub-par technique but I know that SR101 is a harder steel so I was wondering if the rod is too fine to really sharpen the blade. I have heard some people on the forums mention that their rat takes much longer to sharpen than other knives, which has led me to consider this possibility. I was thinking of maybe looking for rough and fine diamond rods or perhaps a loaded strop to replace or supplement my ceramic, so any comments about those would also be welcome. Thanks for your time!

And now for some high quality cell phone pics!

I love this knife, would love it more if it was sharper...

RMD in it's awesome Mashed Cat pants

My two rats

With cousins and others too! You would find most of these on my person or in my truck

Thank you guys in advance for any help! Wishing you a great night from Texas

 

[steelnut]

I use the ceramic rod for touch ups,
When that stops working it is time for a real sharpening:thumbup:

 

[jdigi101]

I have a Wicked Edge sharpener. It was kind of pricy but judging from your collection I think it would be a good investment. Once you have the bevel you want on your knife it will last. SR101 is all about edge retention. You are having trouble honing the factory edge on you RMD. On mine I set a 25 degree bevel and I hone it on ceramic V sharpener. It took time to set the bevel (especially the tip) but is has held up to a ton of abuse. When you do wear the edge out you will have the means to put a new edge on it. The Wicked Edge is also great for your kitchen and other knives. I have actually been recycling my utility knife blades on it. Another option is to have someone put a convex edge on it. Once it has a convex edge it will be easy to touch up. My 2 cents.

 

[bpiatt]

If your having trouble getting your edge the way you want it I would recommend going convex. Its very easy to do and forgiving if you dont hold the angle perfectly the same each time.

Materials you need:

-Mouse Pad

-Wet/dry sand Paper (400, 600, 800, 1000, 1500, and 2000 grit)

-Old leather belt or go to your local arts/crafts store and get some leather, at least 4mm thick is desirable

-2 Pieces of wood roughly 2in wide and 12in long 1in thick

-Green Polishing Compound (chromium oxide) ex.http://www.harborfreight.com/1-4-quarter-lb-green-polish-compound-96778.html


Cut the mouse pad down to fit the piece of wood you selected and go ahead and glue it to the wood. Then take your leather and glue it to the other piece of wood so it looks some what like this http://picasaweb.google.com/lh/photo/moe_pmjrqe46XeADSA_N_g . Then you can just use tacks to hold your sand paper in place so it doesnt move around on you. Start off with 400 grit and take it all the way up to 2000. Make sure you get all the scratches out before you go to each finer grit. When your finished with 2000, load up your strop with the green polishing compound. Polish up your edge and itll have a mirror finish and razer sharp.


Watch these videos found here: http://www.knivesshipfree.com/pages/Sharpening-Videos

Hope that helps man!

-Ben

 

[aggiecouch]

Thanks everyone truly for the responses, especially bpiatt for all of the great info! I think convex might be the way to go. I looooove the edges on my SAR-6 and my CABS and I'll be needing a strop to keep them shaving sharp soon. Seems like a fun little project. With school starting tomorrow I have no clue when I'll get time to get this done, but as soon as I do pics will be forthcoming

Have a good night all.