RAT's 1095 with acute edge angles

If you like to play with thin edges, Spyderco has a special line of knives they call their Mule Team knives. They release the same knife in different steels. Currently you can still pick up CPM-S90V and ZDP-189 versions of the Mule directly from Spyderco. Both these steels are good for thin edge experimentation. Apparently the ZDP-189 Mule is in the 65 Rockwell hardness range. Better bring your diamond stones. The older 52100 and CPM-M4 mule versions are sold out and have to be found in the secondary market.

http://www.spyderco.com/catalog/details.php?product=413


 
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I put a convexed edge on my Izula. Wouldn't do it any other way.

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This thing is scary sharp...will shave your arm smooth as a baby's butt.
 
Love convexed edges and I think they are much easier to keep sharp and touch-up.

Did you use mousepad/sandpaper to get it done?
 
My First Rat arrived yesterday and i found that its factory edge is really thick (20 per side), i think i follow your method. I have an XX coarse DMT benchstone. How much time did it take to you to reprofile it?? Thanks for hte heads up:thumbup:
 
TrailWolf said:
Did you use mousepad/sandpaper to get it done?
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I used sandpaper (150 progressing through 2000 grit) on a piece of thin foam matting. Probably less than 1/8" thick at most. Finished with some diamond paste on a leather strop.

Since I freehand my sharpening, unless I am very meticulous, my edges tend to end up being convexed, even when using a stone. With scandi-grinds or Wharncliffe blades, I try to be very consistent to keep a V-grind.

Someday I'd like to get a belt grinder to make convexing a bit quicker, but the foam pad (mouse pad) technique works really well.
 
R.A.T. said:
Now, there's a man that understands what a knife is suppose to do! It is a damn shame that inexperienced people have pretty much set the standard for geometry in this industry!

Jeff
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thank you Jeff, I could say the same about you with the knives you design. The best drop point production knive's for real work I own. The sere is cool but it would be a safe queen for me like my becker b2, .25 in is too thick for me except in a chopper.

as to the knives we used. I liked the victorinox and the frost brand(they make mora). Reasonably priced and durable edges for a stainless, no carbon blades in government inspected facilities as well as no wood handles or cutting surfaces.
 
R.A.T. said:
I use to sharpen all my Old Timers and Case knives very thin. If you were raised up on a farm in Alabama that was the way it was done. None of this 20 degree factory edge bevel BS.
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Oh, yes. That sounds very familiar, even though my farm life was in old central California.

Knives were exclusively for slicing and cutting.
 
Brad "the butcher";7153589 said:
thank you Jeff, I could say the same about you with the knives you design. The best drop point production knive's for real work I own. The sere is cool but it would be a safe queen for me like my becker b2, .25 in is too thick for me except in a chopper.

as to the knives we used. I liked the victorinox and the frost brand(they make mora). Reasonably priced and durable edges for a stainless, no carbon blades in government inspected facilities as well as no wood handles or cutting surfaces.
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The Forschners we use are made by victorinox. The company I work for switched to a cheaper icel brand so for the last 7 years i have been buying my own......I have had the same 10 in breaker and 12 in butcher blade since the mid 90's but I buy a new 6 in. boner every year.....
 
Great job theonew it looks really good. This is exactly what I'm looking for, maybe I will get a rc4 and thin it down to 12 or 15 degrees. Jeff, any chance of you ever doing a thinner, scandi version of the RC4 with maybe a more defined choil? I think that knife would be just tits for finer activities like carving and skinning, which are essential aspects to survival and aren't really covered by the line you have right now.
 
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Some pretty awesome sharpening! Its good to know how much RAT's edges can be brought down.
 
13 degrees is what I'm currently at. I'll stick with this for a while to see how it performs but ultimately I'll try the convex edge. Can someone who uses a knife with convex edge please tell me how well the blade performs as far as slicing and medium cutting goes? My mother has a very dull kitchen knife that was once a convex edge so I'd like to practice sharpening on it first then if I do well I'll move on to my Izula.:rolleyes:
 
If you want a convex edge, it's real easy. Just sharpen a bit at 10 degrees per side without paying much attention to keeping a consistent angle. Voila, a convex edge :thumbup:
 
What is the standard angle for RAT knives from the factory? I'd like to be able to maintain that angle until I become skilled enough to create a convex edge.
 
I think the factory angle is 20 degrees per side. But for the life of me I cannot understand this obsession with convex edges. They only make sense on an axe, or for the primary bevel of a knife.
 
Large thin bevels.. now yer talkin!!!!
 
Sigh... I guess I need to turn in my RP number, I LIKE the factory edge I got on both my Izula and my RC-3p, they both cut great.
 
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