Rat 7 edge angle

[Dr. Pepper]

I am sharpening my new Rat7 1095 with a Lansky. This is the first time and I am moving the shoulder back as I go. Very thick in the belly but fine in the straight area. I am using the 25 degree slot on the sharpening jig.

Question: If I work and take it down to twenty degrees will I regret it????
I want this to big just a big strong knife. I can't make myself threat them like prybars.

 

[StretchNM]

Hey Dr Pepper,

I have a RAT-3 that had to be re-beveled because it was too shallow. It was probably ground at about 25 degrees or higher.... certainly no less than that. I used a Lansky to grind it down to 17 degrees. I wasn't happy with the way the Lansky worked (or maybe the way the operator worked it hehehe), so I used the Sharpmaker with wet/dry wrapped around the rods. I started at 320 and worked up to about 600 if I remember correctly, then I went straight to the rods to finish up. There's a noticeable difference in the edge grind between the straight part of the edge and the belly-to-tip, as you mentioned. I think this is due to the primary grind that Ontario does on the knife.... you don;t have much control over that.

I don;t think you'll regret regrinding the edge. Those Ontario's are tough knives whether in 1095 or D2.

 

[Mountainman38]

I am sharpening my new Rat7 1095 with a Lansky. This is the first time and I am moving the shoulder back as I go. Very thick in the belly but fine in the straight area. I am using the 25 degree slot on the sharpening jig.

Question: If I work and take it down to twenty degrees will I regret it????
I want this to big just a big strong knife. I can't make myself threat them like prybars.

I feel like you do, so I use the 40° setting on my Sharpmaker to sharpen my RAT7 D2. It happily shaves hair, and works great for chopping and slicing. I haven't tested it, but it seems like going thin would lead to more chipping and rolling. I don't want to find out the hard way...

 

[Dr. Pepper]

I am not familiar with the Sharpmaker. When you say 40 degrees does than mean total edge both sides or just one?That sounds very thick if that means just one side. I didn't measure it but I do not think my knife even came that thick becasue using the 30 degree notch on the Lansky produced a burr quickly with no thinning out on the shoulder.

 

[JohnnyO]

Sharpmaker 20 each side = 40.

 

[Mountainman38]

Sharpmaker 20 each side = 40.

What he said. There's a 30° setting for what they call a "back bevel", but I just use that for my folders. I imagine using it on my RAT7 would help it chop even more efficiently, but it does extremely well now.