Remington R-3 Big Game- AFTER pics added

[thrillbilly]

Got this today, part of my yard saling endeavors. Is a nice design, could see it being very useful as a game knife. Didnt find out a whole lot on the intergooglywebz about it, but I think it was manufactured by Camillus, swear I saw that somewhere today and now I cant find the page again to verify.

Came with a Gorgeous leather sheath and built in touch-up rod. The sheath alone is worth what I payed for it (to me anyways).

Looks like it was never or barely used. Slight crack around the back pins on both sides, not sure if this is naturally/commonly occurring on these handles or if it was perhaps dropped on the butt?? I like this blade quite a bit. classy.

all that ^ makes the Bad Part even worse. As u can see in pics, some G****** A****** previous owner took a grinder or belt sander or something to the blade! On a BRAND-NEW knife! I dont understand the thought process that would lead someone to do this. But I'm displeased, greatly. I love Remington rifles, thought it would be nice to have a Remmy knife for a companion in the woods.
I will take closeups of the blade momentarily but you can kinda see what I'm talking about in the pic with the Buck and Bic


Any thoughts on how to correct this? It appears they left no bevel? Shoulder? to the edge, just an straight angle from spine to cutting/leading edge. I will say this, it's pretty durn sharp...but all botched up. I would like to make it at least look correct again.

 

[orca8589]

Yup - Camillus-made. I have a Boy Scout knife that's similar. IIRC, Camillus used stainless steel pins, so you can see the color difference between the pivot pin and the bolster material.

You might ask in the Camillus Collector's forum and see if there's any advice on repairing those scales.
http://www.bladeforums.com/forums/forumdisplay.php/695-Camillus-Collector-s-Forum

~Chris

 

[thrillbilly]

Thanks, I havent even noticed a Camillus forum LOL, BFC is so huge, its easy to get accustomed to only using a few forums. The minor scale damage dont bother me, not very noticeable in person and they appear solid, no structural damage just cosmetic, Im more concerned with the edge ''reprofiling'' LOL and I use the term loosely.

 

[Peregrin]

I'm going to move this over to the "Maintenance, Tinkering & Embellishment" forum. I'm sure you'll get some good input on repairing that edge.

 

[thrillbilly]

Thank You Peregrin! I thought about this forum right after I posted in Traditional, Was thinking about asking for it to be moved but didnt wanna bother the mods LOL

 

[Obsessed with Edges]

As rough as that blade looks, it still looks like a solid user to me. I've also bought knives with similar 'cosmetic' issues, and I like them for my own sharpening practice and/or experiments. If it were mine, I'd just keep it as a user, and over time, maybe use some wet/dry sandpaper to even up the finish & scratch pattern on the blade. Anything in the 400-800 grit range will leave a nice satin finish on the steel. Sand in a linear direction, one-way, like spine-to-edge. Avoid sanding in back & forth or circular motion. A new v-bevel can always be put back on, if you choose to do so. A guided setup would be ideal to put a uniform bevel on it again. OR, you can just use the sandpaper to gently convex the edge, over some forgiving backing like leather. That is likely what I'd do, in this case. As a 'user knife', I'd focus on getting the edge exactly as I want it, then maybe the 'cosmetic' issues won't seem so bad anymore.

Assuming it's Camillus-made, I think they used 440A stainless or similar in many/most of these Remington reproductions, as well as in many of their own knives and knives made for others (like Buck's older 300-series of folders). That steel sharpens up to a very fine edge, and also will take a high polish if using a tightly-sequenced chain of wet/dry sandpaper, from maybe 400 grit through 2000 or higher.

You have lots of options, whichever you decide to do. As for the cracked delrin scale, you might be able to close that gap with epoxy. That'd probably hold the strongest.

 

[thrillbilly]

thats my biggest issue, the ''hump'' he left in it, Looks like he was grinding it with two separate motions/angles instead of following the curve of the blade properly.

 

[thrillbilly]

As rough as that blade looks, it still looks like a solid user to me. I've also bought knives with similar 'cosmetic' issues, and I like them for my own sharpening practice and/or experiments. If it were mine, I'd just keep it as a user, and over time, maybe use some wet/dry sandpaper to even up the finish & scratch pattern on the blade. Anything in the 400-800 grit range will leave a nice satin finish on the steel. Sand in a linear direction, one-way, like spine-to-edge. Avoid sanding in back & forth or circular motion. A new v-bevel can always be put back on, if you choose to do so. A guided setup would be ideal to put a uniform bevel on it again. OR, you can just use the sandpaper to gently convex the edge, over some forgiving backing like leather. That is likely what I'd do, in this case. As a 'user knife', I'd focus on getting the edge exactly as I want it, then maybe the 'cosmetic' issues won't seem so bad anymore.

Assuming it's Camillus-made, I think they used 440A stainless or similar in many/most of these Remington reproductions, as well as in many of their own knives and knives made for others (like Buck's older 300-series of folders). That steel sharpens up to a very fine edge, and also will take a high polish if using a tightly-sequenced chain of wet/dry sandpaper, from maybe 400 grit through 2000 or higher.

You have lots of options, whichever you decide to do. As for the cracked delrin scale, you might be able to close that gap with epoxy. That'd probably hold the strongest.

thanks, I have been considering convexing a couple of my Beckers, I guess this is as good a blade to start on as any. Practice wont hurt it much LOL

on a sidenote, I usually sand hilt-to-tip...is that any worse/better then spine-to-edge? I was assuming it didnt matter as long as the strokes were all in the same direction...and I find hilt-to-tip sanding ''easier''


I confess I know little about edges/sharpening, or at least to the level y'all take it to! I have carried knives every day since I was a young'un...but always had someone else sharpen them or used a pull-thru type ''sharpener''. I decided that if I want to ''get serious'' about my blades I better learn how to properly sharpen them, bought a few stones, been reading on here and watching youtube videos. It's a daunting topic to just jump into!

 

[Obsessed with Edges]

thats my biggest issue, the ''hump'' he left in it, Looks like he was grinding it with two separate motions/angles instead of following the curve of the blade properly.

Almost looks like a remnant of the original secondary bevel on the blade, near the tip. I think the 'hump' seen in the edge is from excess metal being removed from the edge aft of the 'hump', while essentially missing the tip portion forward of it. It's real common, when sharpening any blade, to miss part of the tip's bevel. The edge angle is usually much thicker near the tip, and unless the person 'sharpening' the blade sufficiently raises the handle to get the tip's edge in flush contact, it gets missed. Metal gets removed from the shoulders above the edge in the tip area, but not from the edge itself. It'll take some time to even out the curve of the edge, but it can be done. Draw a line on the blade with a Sharpie or similar, in an arc which smoothly blends the edge forward & aft of the hump. Then grind/sharpen to the line.

 

[Obsessed with Edges]

thanks, I have been considering convexing a couple of my Beckers, I guess this is as good a blade to start on as any. Practice wont hurt it much LOL

on a sidenote, I usually sand hilt-to-tip...is that any worse/better then spine-to-edge? I was assuming it didnt matter as long as the strokes were all in the same direction...and I find hilt-to-tip sanding ''easier''

Entirely your preference, if that's what you want. If it gives you a finish you like, that's all that matters.

I confess I know little about edges/sharpening, or at least to the level y'all take it to! I have carried knives every day since I was a young'un...but always had someone else sharpen them or used a pull-thru type ''sharpener''. I decided that if I want to ''get serious'' about my blades I better learn how to properly sharpen them, bought a few stones, been reading on here and watching youtube videos. It's a daunting topic to just jump into!

Yes, it can seem daunting. But, just take 'baby steps', a little at a time, and be patient with it all. So long as one approaches it with the intent on learning the process, as opposed to just trying to get a sharp edge right now, it'll be a lot more rewarding. This particular 'project' might be a good way to start.

 

[thrillbilly]

Ok, started polishing it with 1,000 and moving to 1,500. looks way better now, all shiny and such. Im using spine-to-edge strokes.


Is this a Scandi grind now? since it has no secondary bevel? Im stropping the blade flat on a piece of sandpaper on my desk, and it is getting sharper the more I polish it. It may be the sharpest knife I ever have done LOL


so perhaps the guy wasnt a total moron, just sloppy about finishing up his work. Ive removed all the marks, and blade looks pretty good, I also seem to be removing the ''hump'' the more I strop it, not sure, but uit seems to be much less pronounced now

 

[Obsessed with Edges]

Ok, started polishing it with 1,000 and moving to 1,500. looks way better now, all shiny and such. Im using spine-to-edge strokes.


Is this a Scandi grind now? since it has no secondary bevel? Im stropping the blade flat on a piece of sandpaper on my desk, and it is getting sharper the more I polish it. It may be the sharpest knife I ever have done LOL


so perhaps the guy wasnt a total moron, just sloppy about finishing up his work. Ive removed all the marks, and blade looks pretty good, I also seem to be removing the ''hump'' the more I strop it, not sure, but uit seems to be much less pronounced now

Maybe not a Scandi, which is more like a sabre grind (upper half of blade is uniform thickness), but with a very wide and distinct bevel from about mid-blade down, usually to a zero edge.

Sounds like you're getting the hang of sandpaper sharpening in a hurry. Edge getting sharper, and more uniformly curved all at once. You're doin' it right! :thumbup:

 

[thrillbilly]

Maybe not a Scandi, which is more like a sabre grind (upper half of blade is uniform thickness), but with a very wide and distinct bevel from about mid-blade down, usually to a zero edge.

Sounds like you're getting the hang of sandpaper sharpening in a hurry. Edge getting sharper, and more uniformly curved all at once. You're doin' it right! :thumbup:

thanks OwE...appreciate the help. I feel much better about this knife then I did a few hours ago, it's for sure a Cutter and now is looking more presentable. Now I think it's well worth the 15$ I have in it LOL

Will get pics up tomorrow, need some natural light to get decent pics I think

 

[thrillbilly]

Turned out quite nice, I'm pleased with it, and it's probably the sharpest knife I've ever handled LOL

The Before pics don't quite show how bad the scuff-marks were...it's a vast improvement now even tho it's not a True mirror-polish.

 

[Obsessed with Edges]

That looks outstanding, Clayton! Even better than I might've expected. You've got yourself an attractive AND solid using knife now. It's truly yours now. Nice work. :thumbup:

 

[Robs92XJ]

That looks really good. Did you keep the flat grind all the way to the edge? In other words, you did not raise the spine up when you sharpened the edge? If not, you'll have something like a 10 degree included angle, which is super thin, like a sushi knife. It will cut stuff extremely well, but will be fragile. Depending on what you do with it, it may be fine. If you notice edge problems, just raise the spine up about 10 degrees or so to put a 30 degree "micro" bevel on it. That is what I do on my Opinels and they cut like nothing else yet are still pretty tough.

Also, the second blade on that knife looks interesting (the "question mark" blade). Is that like a "zipper" for cutting a seam down a hide, combined with a saw?

 

[thrillbilly]

That looks really good. Did you keep the flat grind all the way to the edge? In other words, you did not raise the spine up when you sharpened the edge? If not, you'll have something like a 10 degree included angle, which is super thin, like a sushi knife. It will cut stuff extremely well, but will be fragile. Depending on what you do with it, it may be fine. If you notice edge problems, just raise the spine up about 10 degrees or so to put a 30 degree "micro" bevel on it. That is what I do on my Opinels and they cut like nothing else yet are still pretty tough.

Also, the second blade on that knife looks interesting (the "question mark" blade). Is that like a "zipper" for cutting a seam down a hide, combined with a saw?

Thanks.

yeah, its Sharp...but I dont know how well the edge will hold up. I will try it out and see. If necessary I will put another bevel on it. Yes, the second blade is a guthook/bone-saw for field-dressing big game