Ranger RD7

theonew

theonew

Joined
May 16, 2006
Messages
2,724
I received a Ranger RD7 on Friday. When I ordered it, Justin said it would take 3 to 4 weeks for me to get the knife but it was at my doorstep 2 weeks after I placed the order. I ordered it 3/16 thick and to be honest it arrived on the very dull side. Out of box sharpness usually isn't of any concern to me, I always end up tweaking the edge. But on a knife this size (its my first knife over 5.5 inches) tweaking required removal of a large amount of metal and I was ill prepared to do that with the equipment I had. If I hadn't been in such a rush to get it sharpened I could have easily picked up various different tools that would have made the job much easier. In any case after an hour or so of work it was whittling free hanging hair.

On Sunday I took it to the woods and basically chopped like a neanderthal (I apologize Geico-style to any neanderthals still out there). Wet wood, dry wood. I hacked the top off a tree (3 inches thick) that was blocking the trail. The edge showed no signs of wear and remained shaving sharp. I'm sure this isn't news to most of you out there and I guess this is how choppers are designed to work, but wow, I was pleasantly surprised. I mean you could build a log cabin with this thing.

I am a little concerned about what will happen to the edge I have on there if it hits a nail or a rock but if/when I have a problem I will gladly regrind the edge and consider it a lesson learned and maybe buy a belt sander.

The handle fits my medium sized hand with room to spare and no complaints with the quality of the sheath.

All around great knife, great company.
 
I have a set of Lansky diamond hones and basically held the knife between my knees and the tip with my fingers and scraped like a crazy man. Then used a #1000 grit waterstone and finished on a ceramic rod.
 
Thank's Theonew for the review...I got a question for you, did you have any problem contacting Justin 'cause after several e-mails to place an order I still didn't get any response yet, how long did it take for you???? Thank's Treg!!!
 
Treg said:
Thank's Theonew for the review...I got a question for you, did you have any problem contacting Justin 'cause after several e-mails to place an order I still didn't get any response yet, how long did it take for you???? Thank's Treg!!!
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His response time email-wise was strikingly quick, within hours. I used the phone though to place an order
 
I bought an RD7 from Justin recently, too. So far, I've chopped down only one tree with it. Great knives, and great service from Justin. With large chopper knives, often they don't come very sharp from the box. My RD7 had a good working edge - wouldn't shave, but would still cut well and chop like mad. These things are tanks, you can't break them in any reasonable use. And if you somehow manage to do that, then there's Justin's warranty. :)

But do watch out for the nails and rocks. If you chop one of those, especially a nail in the wood, you'll have some edge damage. Not too bad, though, with the toughness of 5160.

Treg, Justin was very quick to reply when I messaged him. Spam filters can be a problem for legit email, too, so if you're not getting an email response, you can try the phone. Or you could do what I did - sign up at Knifeforums, where Ranger Knives has their forum, and send Justin a private message.
 
I've had my RD7 for almost a year now, and I've beat it silly, even did some spine damage with a rock (stupidity) and Justin said he'd fix it for free, he is a class act and them some. The chances are he never got your email Treg, he's fast! He made my RD7 in record time, with customs! Join the forum like Elen said and you'll get through. And congrats theonew :)
 
theonew said:
Its also possible his spam filter is blocking you. I'd try the phone.
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That is my theory. I had no problem contacting Justin but I had contacting Yangdu Martino with my hotmail account.

Justin does answer fast, most of the time. After all he's a knifemaker not a computer geek :p

Try a different email account.

And yes he does deal with canadians :)
 
Dantor said:
I've had my RD7 for almost a year now, and I've beat it silly, even did some spine damage with a rock (stupidity) and Justin said he'd fix it for free, he is a class act and them some.
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Heh, I remember that! You posted those pictures of your RD7 with the enormous boulder you used as a baton. :p The spine damage looked merely cosmetic, too. :)
 
I've had my RD7 for about a month but finally used it in the yard this past weekend. I've never owned or used a chopper before and I was blown away at its performance. And like others have said, it stayed sharp after heavy usage. My only complaint is that the grind becomes uneven closer to the tip, so I can't get it sharp as I'd like.
 
s.c. said:
I've had my RD7 for about a month but finally used it in the yard this past weekend. I've never owned or used a chopper before and I was blown away at its performance. And like others have said, it stayed sharp after heavy usage. My only complaint is that the grind becomes uneven closer to the tip, so I can't get it sharp as I'd like.
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The non-custom Rangers may be a little rough around the edges with fit and finish, so to speak, but I don't think the grind should be uneven. You might want to contact Justin about it. Most likely, he'll offer to fix it for you at no cost.
 
Justin has EXCELLENT customer service

He will work with you to make you HAPPY..

Sincerely

Dr.Bill
 
Justin's a great guy to deal with. My custom RD7 arrived a month ago and its a beast of a blade that seems to say " lets go chop stuff" every time I pick it up. The fit and finish are excellent and Justin balanced form and function perfectly.

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