Srkw

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ghost squire

Joined
Feb 1, 2004
Messages
360
One simple question:

How are Swamp Rat knives so tough?

And no, I don't work for the company, I genuinely want to know.
 
They're thick and heavy, made of a very tough steel and (in the big ones) differentially tempered to add toughness--making them springy along the spine to help absorb shock and resist fracture. Their transition points are radiused so as to not have any built-in stress risers.

Nothing magical, just very well thought out and built to very high quality standards.
 
Their transition points are radiused so as to not have any built-in stress risers
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Does that mean that it doesn't have any sharp angles but rather smooth curves and tapers?

It says some of their knives are made of SR-101 steel, and it doesn't list the steel their larger ones are made of. It also doesn't list what RC hardness the big ones are at... Should I just ask in their forum or would that insult them by asking trade secrets? :confused:
 
ghost squire said:
Does that mean that it doesn't have any sharp angles but rather smooth curves and tapers?

It says some of their knives are made of SR-101 steel, and it doesn't list the steel their larger ones are made of. It also doesn't list what RC hardness the big ones are at... Should I just ask in their forum or would that insult them by asking trade secrets? :confused:
Click to expand...

All the Rats are made of SR101, the larger blades are differentially heat treated to make them tougher. I cant think of the RC numbers offhand, but they are not any kind of secret.
 
For sure you should ask in the Swamp Rat forum. The guys over at Rat Chat are all really nice, and will help you out as best they can.

All of the big knives are made of SR-101, only a few small blades and the Rat Trap were made of other steels, namely D2 and S30V. As for RC hardness, sorry, cant help you with that one.
 
The big blades use SR101.
RWadd.jpg
 
Thanks everyone, thats exactly what I was looking for. Its weird, its apparently no big secret and yet... they are probably the best knives around for what they are intended to do.
 
ghost squire said:
Thanks everyone, thats exactly what I was looking for. Its weird, its apparently no big secret and yet... they are probably the best knives around for what they are intended to do.
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of course the details of the heat treating process are secret.;)
 
I can tell you, however, that the the small ones are through-hardened at 57-59 RC and the larger, differentially tempered ones are that same hardness at the edge (and for about 1/2" up into the blade) and then the rest of the blade body, spine and tang are at about RC 50, for springiness and shock absorbtion. This hardness is about like a typical hammer.
 
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