stainless RATS

R.A.T. said:
A lot of this goes back to Rowen's shop, availability of materials, types of heat treat required and a lot of other things figured into the mix. Like I said, 440C works. Has worked for years. It's a great steel just like 1095 Carbon is. We're known for simplicty and what works.
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I think 440C is a wonderful idea, and if you guys show your usual genius for heat treatment with 440C as you have with 1095, your stainless products will be amazing and the envy of the rest of the industry.
 
Josh K said:
I think you should explore H1 as a possibility. If you want to do stainless the way you seem to be doing everything else (best you can, no compromises ;) ) I think it would work out well.

If you've never tried H1 I have a Tasman Salt I could send you to play with. It's a little specific of a blade shape, but you could get a feel for the steel.
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The problem with H1 is that it's "heat treated" by work hardening, so the grinding process is what hardens the edge zone. This means that for the grinding not to be a b*** you need to grind both sides simultaneously. Spyderco's H1 knives are all done in a saber grind because there's no such thing as a machine that can flat grind both sides of a blade at once! Tom Krein has done a few regrinds of Spyderco H1 pieces to convert them to a full flat grind, but it took a lot of effort and wouldn't be feasible in large-scale production--you'd be be spending a fortune in abrasives. Given that the only RAT knife in a saber grind is the RC-5, I doubt you'll be seeing an H1 option. ;)
 
Not really interested in a SS RAT unless it is a folder. One thing I would really like to see is a sweet sheath for an Ontario or Tramontina machete.

Either way though I like seeing new items from good makers.
 
R.A.T. said:
A lot of this goes back to Rowen's shop, availability of materials, types of heat treat required and a lot of other things figured into the mix. Like I said, 440C works. Has worked for years. It's a great steel just like 1095 Carbon is. We're known for simplicty and what works.
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Agreed.

In real world use, heat treat will make or break the realization of max potential(for intended use) from blade steel.

When it comes to knives and guns, I usually defer to the maker/smith.
 
R.A.T. said:
440c.....
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I knew you stepped in it when you let this out.

Personally I'd like a 440C RAT blade for camp duty so I don't worry about WD-40 getting in the food (like my 1095 blade). Otherwise 1095 is perfect for these blades, at least the way Rowen cooks it.:cool:
 
I don't think I stepped into anything. People will either buy it or they won't. We think it's a good steel and deserving to be in our knives. Those that may disagree probably think we need something better than 1095 in our Carbon blades.
 
R.A.T. said:
I don't think I stepped into anything. People will either buy it or they won't. We think it's a good steel and deserving to be in our knives. Those that may disagree probably think we need something better than 1095 in our Carbon blades.
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1095 and 440C work great for me. Nice to see a knife company using these steels. A couple weeks ago I was thinking how nice it would be if there were more knives made in the USA from 440C. It's probably my favorite stainless steel. :) Sure I have knives in ATS34, VG-10 and VG-42 that I like and use but I find 440C easier to sharpen and it takes a better edge then VG10. At least for me.

I know you guys probably will never some out with a large heavy built chopper, but if you ever did, please use 5160. Awesome for large blades.

Heber
 
R.A.T. said:
A lot of this goes back to Rowen's shop, availability of materials, types of heat treat required and a lot of other things figured into the mix. Like I said, 440C works. Has worked for years. It's a great steel just like 1095 Carbon is. We're known for simplicty and what works.
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It's weird, the two companies I'm most interested in right now are RAT and Spyderco which seem to at the same time be similar in their focus on functionality but completely different in their approaches.

Whereas Spyderco seems to me to be innovative and uncaring of convention, RAT seems to stick to the basics and do it amazingly well.

Between the two I couldn't be happier. Well, of course unless I had more cash lying around.
 
Count me as a 1095 fan. Just because there are many other alloys out there doesn't mean I want to use them. The fact that RAT uses 1095 is a huge reason that I'm buying their knives. The knife industry is awash with more options than a knife nut can hope to wade through in a lifetime. In that respect I guess it's a great time to be alive. I'm perfectly happy however, to stick with a simple, traditional, proven steel like 1095. I'd MUCH rather see RAT introduce another awesome design in 1095 than tool up for another alloy.
 
With in water use being one of my main interests in some SS, a rubber sheath backing/ leg mount would rock. *ducks*
 
I think 440C is a good solid choice. While not as easy to sharpen as 1095, it's a lot easier than 154CM or ATS-34. It is less expensive, too. For those of us in salt water climates, a good stainless knife is always appreciated.
 
Horn Dog,

Some day you and I have to have a beer together. I appreciate your no-nonsense, no-bullshit, approach to the knife biz!
 
I'm not going to consider any RAT product in stainless steels, especially not the RC-5... but that's just me. to each his own!
 
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