RC-4 Care and Feeding

D

dcgisme

Joined
Feb 3, 2009
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Hello, new to this particular forum and hoping to glean some seasoned wisdom. I was lucky enough to pick up a lightly used (virtually new) RAT RC-4 this weekend from a friend. Being a new owner, a few questions if I may?

1. Given this is carbon steel (1095) what have you found works well for prohibiting rust? How often do you oil this blade?

2. Given the RC-4 appears to be a flat grind with a standard bevel, does anyone know the actual angle or degrees for this final bevel?

3. Given number 2, what sharpening methods have you found to work well w/ an RC-4? Is routine stropping advisable for this grind and bevel? Any particular products or brands work especially well?

4. Finally, while the coating on this knife appears to be durable and looks like it will well serve the overall intent of this knife, it makes for a really poor scraper. I can't use my collection of firesteels with this knife (unless the blade is used directly and this is surely not my first choice). Anyone find a work around for this dilemma? I like the notion that numerous tools (on me) can suffice as a firesteel scraper.

As always, huge and sincere thanks in advance for any insight and wisdom you may impart.
 
1. Given this is carbon steel (1095) what have you found works well for prohibiting rust? How often do you oil this blade?
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When I'm done using a 1095 knife and putting it away I wipe it down with mineral or olive oil.
2. Given the RC-4 appears to be a flat grind with a standard bevel, does anyone know the actual angle or degrees for this final bevel?
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20 degrees

3. Given number 2, what sharpening methods have you found to work well w/ an RC-4? Is routine stropping advisable for this grind and bevel? Any particular products or brands work especially well?
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I use a Spyderco Sharpmaker with good results

4. Finally, while the coating on this knife appears to be durable and looks like it will well serve the overall intent of this knife, it makes for a really poor scraper. I can't use my collection of firesteels with this knife (unless the blade is used directly and this is surely not my first choice). Anyone find a work around for this dilemma? I like the notion that numerous tools (on me) can suffice as a firesteel scraper.
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I use an Ultimate Survival Technologies Strikeforce which has the striker built into the unit. Light My Fire tools also include a scraper. If you're using a fire tool that requires a scraper a piece of hacksaw blade works well.
 
Hello and welcome!

As to your first question, Jeff uses these knives hard in the hot, humid jungles of Peru and he doesn't treat the blades in any way. The edge and the logos can form some rust but regular use will remove it and help to form a protective patina.

I carry my RAT's everyday here on the humid gulf coast of Texas and haven't had any real problems with rust. A light wipedown with some WD-40 or 3-in-1 after any wet useage seems to help.

As to your second and third questions, I hand sharpen my knives, so I can't give you a precise angle. Also, the edges are hand finished at the factory so there really isn't a difinitive angle anyway.

Sharpmaker, Edgepro, Smiths system....they should all work. Someone else will most likely have a better suggestion.

And as far as the firesteel thing goes, you can either take the coating off a portion of the spine or carry a dedicated striker or a peice of hacksaw blade (my personal fav.).

At any rate, enjoy your RAT blade and welcome to the RAT pack.
 
1) I've never oiled mine and they've been champs even in wet weather. And mine are stripped. ;)

2) Around a 40-degree inclusive.

3) I use my Sharpmaker on mine, but lots of folks have had success with stropping and even convexing RATs of all makes and models.

4) Strip it, file the spine, and gun blue it! It's what I did with my RC-3.

ThunderHoleMysteryBeachandSargea-39.jpg


Looks like I got beat to the punch, but the answers were so similar I got confused! Did I hit that button twice...? :D :D :D
 
I totally agree with the previous posts. The only thing I would add is that after sharpening any knife, even with a beveled edge, I always hit it with a strop. I find it adds that extra touch of sharpness with very little additional effort.
 
Like the others have said, you don't really have to put any coating on the blade. I, being the OCD freak I am, wipe it down with Tuff-Cloth about once a week. It does a really good job of protecting it, and it's easily removed if you need to use the knife for food prep or something.

As for the angle, I can't say one way or the other, but I can agree with using the Spyderco Sharpmaker for sharpening. I use that on my RC3, and it will shave paper, and then shave the shavings, so it gets it pretty friggin sharp! ;)

Like everyone else has said, either strip off the coating or use something else. Personally, I have a small neck knife that I carry with me and use to shave tinder and strike the flint with. I suppose if you only wanted to remove a small section for the striker you could use some rough sandpaper and remove a small portion of the coating from the spine. That way the majority of the coating would be intact, and you'd still be able to use it as a striker. But my recommendation would still be to use a small neck knife or part of a hacksaw blade, and keep the knife completely coated. But that's just my opinion.

Welcome to the RAT Family! :thumbup: :thumbup: :D
 
I guess I must be missing something. -and I'm not being a smarta$$ here honest, but I honestly don't understand the major worry about rust with 1095 blades. I guess if I was going to long term store a RAT and not look at it for months I'd probably grease it up a bit. But other than that I just don't have any issues. If it get the blade wet, a quick wipe on my pant leg is all I ever do before returning to the sheath. If I went swimming with it, sure I'd take it out and wipe it down as a matter of the same process of me drying myself off. But I don't carry a can of oil with me to relube it or anything. It's no different than any steel tool or gun, a second or two of as you go maintenance is required, but thats all there is to it.

I guess if you're thinking from a true stainless perspective that you can pretty much gut the fish, resheath and the only thing to worry about is the smell till the gut-goo dries hard to the blade then ya, 1095 requires an extra wipe down. But heck my fence pliars would rust if I used them in the rain and just threw them back in the tractor box. It's just second nature to me that I guess I never think twice about.
 
If you're really concerned about rust, you could just get a small box (like an Altoids box or similar), a small piece of cloth and some oil of your choosing. Just soak the cloth in some oil and keep it in the box to carry with you in your pack. That way you always have it handy if you feel the need to treat your knife.
Remember to not use your blade for food prep when you use petroleum based oils or just wipe the oil of as good as you can before you do.

As for sharpening, I will also throw a +1 at the Sharpmaker. It has always done well for me and is not too expensive. If you want to lay down some coin though, I've heard very good things about the EdgePros.
 
I use baby oil when I store my knives. :o It smells funny, but it's cheap and common to every store. Its basically perfumed mineral oil.
 
10Beers said:
I guess I must be missing something. -and I'm not being a smarta$$ here honest, but I honestly don't understand the major worry about rust with 1095 blades. I guess if I was going to long term store a RAT and not look at it for months I'd probably grease it up a bit. But other than that I just don't have any issues. If it get the blade wet, a quick wipe on my pant leg is all I ever do before returning to the sheath. If I went swimming with it, sure I'd take it out and wipe it down as a matter of the same process of me drying myself off. But I don't carry a can of oil with me to relube it or anything. It's no different than any steel tool or gun, a second or two of as you go maintenance is required, but thats all there is to it.

I guess if you're thinking from a true stainless perspective that you can pretty much gut the fish, resheath and the only thing to worry about is the smell till the gut-goo dries hard to the blade then ya, 1095 requires an extra wipe down. But heck my fence pliars would rust if I used them in the rain and just threw them back in the tractor box. It's just second nature to me that I guess I never think twice about.
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I don't know about everyone else, but for me it's just my nature. If you tell me there is the possibility that something will rust, and I really like that something, I'm going to put some rust inhibitor on it regularly. I know it's not likely that my RC3 will rust, but since I know it can I have to apply something to the blade regularly. It's all part of my OCD, heck I even apply Tuff-Cloth to my CountyComm pry bar, I'd go nuts if I didn't. I know.....I'm weird. :p
 
I have found that knives that are used don't get rusty. They get nice and petinaed up, but not rusty.
 
questions answered.... lightly stropped on leather works wonders on the edge & removes funky spots if you don't like 'em.. Welcome
 
Just my 2 cents, I agree with previous posts, except one thing. Using mineral, WD, 3 in 1, baby oil are fine. Food oils (olive, vegetable, corn or other) on the other hand do become rancid :barf: (oxidized) when exposed to air. As for fire-striking, I used a prong from a metal rake that fell off while I was raking the lawn. I cut the rake prong into 2 pieces first. I used a coarse stone and put an edge on both metal pieces from the rake, and they work great. I get a shower of sparks each time and the prong shows no wear.
Not to deviate from the subject of this thread, I was reading a previous discussion regarding $400 - $600+ folding knives. A few reasons given to justify the cost of the knives were, 'general use of the knife included stabbing through sheet metal, using the knife as a step point when climbing and as a pry bar'. What happened to knives used to cut things? What shocked me was the price, cuz I'm CHEAP. Is it me or is that’s a lot of money for a knife (let alone a folder)? I just bought a mini pry bar (made in the USA) from a large home & garden chain for $3. Subtract that from $400, and that gives me a lot of cheddar to buy Rat knives, and I will use them as knives...
 
Terrific insight gang; thanks for the prompt feedback.

As a minor correction, keeping the blade rust free was the least of my worries; as some have noted, I'll swipe the RC-4 with some mineral oil (I prefer food grade compounds as I do occasionally work with food with various bush/camp knives) and be done with it. Otherwise, I'll merely keep it reasonably dry.

I have the Spyderco Sharpmaker and may see what this will do to maintain the edge. I plan to more so take a light, routine stropping to the blade in hopes of delaying the need to really go at it (I keep hearing this is the trick)

The coating will remain; an old hacksaw blade (or my SAK farmer implements) will suffice for scrapping various firesteels.

Thanks again for the friendly and useful insight folks!
 
I'm a new RC-4 owner so this is a great thread with some helpful info. I am still waiting to field test it beyond the basic backyard fun and games.

Any tips on adding some "tooth" to the micarta scales? Mine seem a little smooth/slick for my taste. Thought I'd ask before I start messing around.
 
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I know at least one fellow has carved his scales with a dremel. I find the ergonomics good enough not to warrant any extra tread myself. :)
 
I ended up giving it a little cross hatch with 50 grit paper. It turned out pretty well. I often work and play in the wet and little extra traction is great.
 
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