RAT-7 or RD-7?

Ludwig said:
Nice work mountainman, the Rat 7 looks great :thumbup:

I think I'll try it on my Rat 3. Exactly which paint remover did you buy at Home Depot? Also, did you need a real tough brush to remove the coating?

Thanks in advance for the help.
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Thanks! I think it looks a lot better now, too. The coating was getting pretty ragged from all the chopping I do, and really wasn't serving any good purpose. The only concern that I have is what will happen to the handle portion, since it doesn't have the same surface finish as the blade. When I took the slabs off to strip it, there was some rust in one of the holes. I'll keep an eye on it, and post the results in a future "RAT7 vs. ______" thread.

The stripper is indeed the one in the picture. I put it there for reference, should anyone want to duplicate my project. I don't know that it's the best for the job -- as I said, Home Depot's help isn't much help -- but it worked fine for me.

The brush was a fairly stiff plastic model they had next to the paint strippers, and is one intended for use in stripping paint.

Should you want to strip your knife, I highly recommend getting some thick latex gloves ahead of time, putting down some floor protection, and making sure you're in a well-ventilated area. I used automotive repair type gloves, which worked well, but still got a bit of the remover on my arm. It really burned, so I'd take their warnings pretty seriously.

The directions say to apply the remover and let it sit for 15 minutes, but I was too impatient so I poured it on (it's like really thin jelly), moved it around with the brush so it covered the whole blade, then started brushing away. It dries pretty fast, so you'll have to pour some more on, but it's really a pretty easy process.

After the majority of the coating came off, I quit brushing and started sanding. A few minutes of this gets you a nice, shiny blade, which I enjoy looking at much more. Like I said before, just stay away from the edge, or you'll be doing some serious resharpening!
 
WVHILLS said:
BTW the Rat that you stripped looks awesome:thumbup:
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Thanks for the info. Someday I'll have to own a Busse, or at least some INFI. I've been looking at the Scrap Yard 4" long Scrapper in INFI, which is a great looking knife. They're a little hard to come by, though, and I really want a knife in a stainless that I don't have to worry about rust at all with. I really like the blade shape (a LOT!), but don't care for the coating. I saw one that had the handle reshaped and the coating removed, and it was beautiful.....

Thanks for the compliments on my knife project. I really enjoyed modifying it and making it more personal, and am happy it came out as well as it did. It's interesting what you learn about a knife once the coating comes off, though. There are very deep, repeated grooves on the spine that weren't visible before, and there's a dimple near the point that has some discoloration that won't sand off. I do understand that for a $90 knife, you're not going to get world class symmetry and beauty, and that's ok. This is a great knife, and I like it very much.
 
I also would have to give the nod to the Ranger RD7, and I own Ontario RATs as well.

Someone said earlier that the RAT-7 was a much better slicer than the RD7, well, that is really too much of a blanket statement and it is not necessarily true. First of all you have to remember that Justin will make your RD7 however you want it, and if that means you want the edge thinned out for better slicing ability then that's what you'll get. He will even make it 3/16 thick like the RAT-7 if that's what you want. You just can't go wrong dealing with Justin at Ranger knives. Call the man up, tell him exactly what you will be doing with the knife and what you want it to do, listen to his suggestions, give him your credit card number and in the time that it takes most custom makers to return your phone call you will be the proud new owner of a custom RD7. Oh ya, it won't cost much either...To me it's almost a no brainer.
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I have an old style RD6 with the same style sheath as in Huugh's photos. Thanks Huugh, nice shots. I was told that the plastic insert was purposely designed with a loose fit in order to make cleaning the sheath easy, which makes sense to me. I have no problems with the fit and I have never deployed the blade from the sheath with the plastic insert still attached to the knife. The Velcro strap is where I have issues. I would like to meet the rocket scientist who came up with this. The strap wraps around the widest part of the handle. You can pull the knife straight out of the sheath without unfastening the Velcro strap. A very poor design to an otherwise very usable knife IMO.
 
I'm a Rat-man also. Probably because thats what I happened to buy when I fist started collecting FB's. The Rangers look great also. Busses? Love them own a Game Warden but a bit expensive, IMHO.

However, I found sharpening them, especially the Rat-7 in D-2, impossible with the current edge.

I clip some 220 grit "black" sandpaper (from auto parts store) to the Sharpmaker rods at 30 degrees. After a good reprofiling, I do it again at 40 degrees. I have a 1/8" piece of split cowhide tacked to a 2X4. I use 400 grit placed on the leather to smooth the scratches from the 220 and put on the final edge.

The leather/2X4 combo is also how I sharpen my Bark River knives. I find that convexing my other hard steel (like D2) fixed blades and sharpening in the above manner is much easier than the Sharpmaker alone. Also, the reprofiling to 30 and then again to 40 gets rid of the coating near the edge and prevents it from continuesly loading up the rods.

The other thing I discovered came from cutting up boxes. While I sort of like the blade coating, it creates a lot of friction and cuts down (a little pun there) on the Rat-7's slicing ability. I used a piece of the 400 grit to smooth the blade surface. Now the coating is very smooth and acts like a lubricate.

It now a fast and easy knife to sharpen and a great slicer. The same things were done to my Rat-3.

I'd appreciate hearing any one's tips.

Regardd
 
sherlockbonez said:
What kind of edge would be optimal for chopping through thick ice? I only used axe and hachet before for this type of work, and have little experiences with big blades.
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Ice is really soft, it is of no concern edge wise. Look more of the type of wood you have to cut and set the edge accordingly. The range of edge angles for woods is usually 10-30, but that covers some extreme woods. About 12-18 covers most. If the edge is thick as in > 0.025" then set a relif angle at half the primary angle.

-Cliff
 
Tolly said:
Someone said earlier that the RAT-7 was a much better slicer than the RD7, well, that is really too much of a blanket statement and it is not necessarily true.
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Ehm, I think that it is generally applicable.
I have resharpened mine quite a bit but 6.4mm thick is simply very thick no matter what you do with the edge.

RD-6 is great knife but if I was to buy it again, I'd rather have it in about 4mm thickness.
 
Cliff Stamp said:
Ice is really soft, it is of no concern edge wise. Look more of the type of wood you have to cut and set the edge accordingly. The range of edge angles for woods is usually 10-30, but that covers some extreme woods. About 12-18 covers most. If the edge is thick as in > 0.025" then set a relif angle at half the primary angle.

-Cliff
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12-18 inclusive?
 
Per side. You can reduce this with raised skill levels but I would be really surprised if you could work at those exclusive angles on a heavy chopper outside of balsa.

-Cliff
 
T.K.C. said:
shootist16:
Have you decided yet which one you are going to get?
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I ordered a RD-7. It was a tough decision. Probably would have been easier if I had examples of each to actually see and hold, but such is the way of internet commerce. I'll probably order a spec-ops sheath to go with it. I could've gotten by cheaper with the RAT-7, but it seems the general consensus is that the Ranger knives are "better".
 
shootist16 said:
I could've gotten by cheaper with the RAT-7, but it seems the general consensus is that the Ranger knives are "better".
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This seems to call for a side by side test and review. I've got a Rat-7 and a RD5 on the way, but no RD7, so I can't do it.
 
Another person has ordered the RD-7!

This is tempting me to get one :thumbup:

But I'll have to wait until I get back to school :grumpy:
 
The personalized service at RANGER Knives is second to NONE ...!!!
Just a few of Justins work ...

Left to Right.....

-Bowie based on a RD6 frame, but 1.5" high, so it would fit a little "easier" in a Spec Ops sheath..
This is for my oldest grandson (15) who hopes to attend the USNA like his uncle (my youngest son) did.
Satin finish, top swedge sharpened, flat ground, and tan linen micarta handle w / red spacers.

-Basic RD7 for me.
Black coated finish, black canvas micarta handle (paracord covering it).

-Modified RD7 for my oldest son. He is a LtCol in the USMC, and is the CO of my old regiment.
I got this for him to carry into combat, if he chooses to do so.
The handle is red, black, and tan linen micarta, w / white spacers.
I had the blade height also reduced to 1.5" to fit easier in a Spec Ops sheath.
Black coating, saw back, blade serrations, modified spear / tanto point.

-Modified RD7 for my youngest son. He is a USNA grad, and fighter pilot on one of the Nimitz Class carriers.
I got him this so he could have one similar to his brother. I doubt if he will carry this while flying.
The handle is tan canvas micarta w / red spacers.
I had the blade height also reduced to 1.5" to fit easier in a Spec Ops sheath.
Satin finish, saw back, blade serrations, modified spear / tanto point

I am extremely pround of my two boys.
All of the fine young men and women who serve in our military deserve our support, respect, and prayers.
They are the best of what Our Great Nation has created.


ranger_1b.jpg
 
My RD-7 came today. It does inspire confidence. I think I could cut open a tank w/ this thing. The edge isn't scary sharp. I would consider it more of a utility edge. They did fix the issues with previous sheaths. The insert seems to be glued in and the retaining strap has been narrowed and moved to better hold the blade in the sheath.
 
I have been looking kinda seriously at a RAT-3

But get me up to speed as to why the carbon blade over the D2-----everybody seems to just gush over the D2 Benchmade 710-----so why the carbon?
 
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