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- Sep 2, 2007
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here's my interpretation of a RC-3 folder
Daddy like!:thumbup:
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RATs of the Future
- Thread starter Boats
- Start date
Daddy like!:thumbup:
savagesicslayer
Gold Member
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- May 24, 2005
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I was thinking about a RAT knife in a really strong stainless.I live in a wet salty climate and I use my knives a lot in the wet undergrowth of tidal swamps and the occasional bog.Micarta scales are awesome, don't change a thing there and the design is top notch too just an uncoated stainless blade with the RAT company logo on it with etch or something similar for wet work and play.lol
If a stainless blade is in the future in any of your knives, fixed or folder, I would think a bead blast or satin finish would be fine.
No powder coat = No chipping. I am also in a marine environment, and I don't particularly like coated blades, unless they are non stainless high carbon, in which case a coating is a must for me.
That being said, you could always offer the coating as an option.
No powder coat = No chipping. I am also in a marine environment, and I don't particularly like coated blades, unless they are non stainless high carbon, in which case a coating is a must for me.
That being said, you could always offer the coating as an option.
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- May 25, 2007
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sweet concept on the pic of the folder.......
savagesicslayer
Gold Member
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- May 24, 2005
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Yeah a non-glare satin would be very nice indeed.
154cm is a nice steel, should be inexpensive to use, and is quite easy to sharpen. As much as we can sit around and tout the edge retention qualities of S30V and similar "super" steels they can take a bit to sharpen. 154cm, 440C, and VG-10 seem to be good "user" steels with good edge retention without a loss of ease of sharpening. I tend to touch up my S30V blades more often, just to keep time of sharpening down. My 154cm blades take alot less to bring back to a razor edge. Both my BM 556 and my Charge ALX get to shaving sharp in no time, and my Delica is pretty much the same way.
- Joined
- May 5, 2005
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I'm also after 154CM rather than more expensive one. SERE 2000 is great folder despite using vg10.
I imagine RC folder as a medium/heavy duty utility knife, without any fancies.
About the lock - in the RAT folder lock hold like a rock, but will it work as well after 5 or 10 years? Liner and frame lock relay on friction, and their working parts get used. I've seen Spyderco knives over 15 years old, with minimal blade play. Are production grade linerlock be similarly durable? I don't know - I don't own one long enough.
What will be essential in new folder - well, 4 clip mountings, full liners, full metal backspacer or lots of screws, 2 thumbstuds - ambidextrous and single-side.
I imagine RC folder as a medium/heavy duty utility knife, without any fancies.
About the lock - in the RAT folder lock hold like a rock, but will it work as well after 5 or 10 years? Liner and frame lock relay on friction, and their working parts get used. I've seen Spyderco knives over 15 years old, with minimal blade play. Are production grade linerlock be similarly durable? I don't know - I don't own one long enough.
What will be essential in new folder - well, 4 clip mountings, full liners, full metal backspacer or lots of screws, 2 thumbstuds - ambidextrous and single-side.
- Joined
- Mar 5, 2005
- Messages
- 5,069
here's my interpretation of a RC-3 folder
for me i prefer a real heavy duty lockback over a liner/frame lock. if you're talking american steels, i think 154cm, cpm-154, and s30v are about the only reasonable choices around...
Well, what more can be said?:thumbup::thumbup:
- Joined
- Jul 19, 2006
- Messages
- 812
here's my interpretation of a RC-3 folder
Now I would definitely buy one of those!:thumbup::thumbup::thumbup: My vote goes to 440C stainless as my steel of choice. Preferably, it would have four mounting points for the clip as well. Coated or non-coated, doesn't matter to me. Just PLEASE don't make it hollow ground. (This IS going to be a hard-use folder, after all.
)I like this idea. I'd buy one.
It would be like a ruggedized Spyderco lockback. I like lockbacks. The only maintenance you need is to blow out the slot, and then it's pretty much foolproof, unlike liner or framelocks, which seem to develop a nasty habit of either slipping or overengaging. That can't be fixed in the field... or at home, either, for that matter.
I would add a few things.
- A version with < 3" blade length but a full-size handle. There are a lot of states with 3.0" to 3.5" length limits, unfortunately.
- A deep and aggressive front guard. Too many folders have no more than a "speed bump". If I wanted a knife that I had to palm, I'd get a puukko, not a folder.
- I don't mind a thick powder coat on the blade. I've used Greco folders and while not pretty, it certainly didn't rust.
I've had beadblasted 154CM rust on me in a day of carry, much less the pits on the stop and pivot pins of a "tactical hard use folder" I got when I carried it near the ocean for a day. Boats, from your name, I'm sure you have a lot more exposure to marine environments than me (the extent of mine is when I'm on vacation in Hawai'i!), but I seem to have particularly scary sweat.
Clarification: Uncoated 154CM is fine. Uncoated O1/1095/5160/A2 is not so good, like you said, especially because moisture can get stuck in dirty dank places you can't clean and dry in a folder.
-j
It would be like a ruggedized Spyderco lockback. I like lockbacks. The only maintenance you need is to blow out the slot, and then it's pretty much foolproof, unlike liner or framelocks, which seem to develop a nasty habit of either slipping or overengaging. That can't be fixed in the field... or at home, either, for that matter.
I would add a few things.
- A version with < 3" blade length but a full-size handle. There are a lot of states with 3.0" to 3.5" length limits, unfortunately.
- A deep and aggressive front guard. Too many folders have no more than a "speed bump". If I wanted a knife that I had to palm, I'd get a puukko, not a folder.
- I don't mind a thick powder coat on the blade. I've used Greco folders and while not pretty, it certainly didn't rust.
I've had beadblasted 154CM rust on me in a day of carry, much less the pits on the stop and pivot pins of a "tactical hard use folder" I got when I carried it near the ocean for a day. Boats, from your name, I'm sure you have a lot more exposure to marine environments than me (the extent of mine is when I'm on vacation in Hawai'i!), but I seem to have particularly scary sweat.
Clarification: Uncoated 154CM is fine. Uncoated O1/1095/5160/A2 is not so good, like you said, especially because moisture can get stuck in dirty dank places you can't clean and dry in a folder.
-j
I'd really like to see a lockback or "axis lock" - possibly a framelock - but I very much dislike liner locks. I've never had one that didn't wear out in short order. I agree w/ the guys who said that an uncoated stainless blade would be good, but if its 1095 or similar, coated would be the way to go IMO. Textured G10 or Micarta handle slabs would be ideal in my book as well. Can't wait to see what you guys come up with!
i vote lockback all the way. liner and frame locks need to be perfect to work really well. for instance if you have a bad contact area between the lock bar and tang you're basically screwed.
i'd LOVE to see a nice thick 5/32" blade with a beastly lockback like the extrema ratios. BUT no extrema ratio price tag please
i'd LOVE to see a nice thick 5/32" blade with a beastly lockback like the extrema ratios. BUT no extrema ratio price tag please
