Swamp Rat INFIDU

pjandyho

pjandyho

Joined
Feb 12, 2014
Messages
673
Hi all,

This is the first time I am posting in the Swamp Rat sub forum. I am pretty new to knives and started this hobby about 3 months back. The first fixed blade I purchased is the Infidu which I purchased off the exchange. The Infidu is in brand new condition with the original factory edge which in my opinion left a lot to be desired. I then had the knife shipped to Mashed Cat for the Kydex sheath to be made. Ordered a Gatco diamond kit and did some major sharpening on it.

So I finally found a chance to put it to the first serious chopping task. I know that I would be better off with a saw but I just wanted to know that this knife is capable of doing some heavier chopping work. It took some time for the knife to chew through the entire trunk but it did eventually. Prior to that I did some chopping on bamboo and when I got home and checked the edge under magnification it looks perfect! I am so thrilled! I know what I am putting the knife through is considered mild compared to some of you guys here, but this is my first attempt with it. I now know that this knife is capable of doing much more before having to go on the sharpening table.

It received some scratches when I was trying to chop on some dead and hardened stump. Never really expected the INFI steel to get scratched so easily


Not so sure what style I should put on the lanyard yet so this adjustable loop is here till I can think of something else.


Just gotta love this sheath by Eric of Mashed Cat. His work is perfection and he is hell of a great guy to deal with!


Here is the blade, stained after I did some delimping with it. I later had a hard time cleaning up the blade when I got home.


So finally, get to try chopping a fallen trunk with it.


At last! I was surprised at how tiring it actually can get doing this. Those YouTube videos made it look so effortless.


Overall, I am very happy with the Infidu and I am glad I bought this as my first fixed blade. I do have some Survive! GSO coming soon but the Infidu is here to stay. What do you guys think of your RMD and Infidu?
 
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Congrats!
The infidu is amazing knife, and that sheath looks great.
Welcome to the madness,,,, check out Swamprats smaller blades,, SR101 is some outstanding steel.
 
I would imagine chopping with a 5" blade is very tiring. Not the test I would have thrown at it, but bravo! Its always nice to see a knife's capabilities.
 
Very nice little review :thumbup: Nice scales you got on yours as well, canvas? Excellent sheath as well. I think you made an excellent choice for a first fixed blade.

I am a big fan of Survive! knives, active in that subforum, but the Swamp Rat Ratmandu remains my favorite fixed blade, and the only fixed blade that I own more than one of. Like yours, mine required some edge work upon arrival, but I have been more than happy since. Very tough knives with excellent ergos, a solid blade design, and steel that takes a good edge and holds it well in a variety of tasks... once you get the edge to the geometry you want ;)

My two RMDs:
P1020195.JPG

P1020691.JPG
 
rcb2000 said:
Congrats!
The infidu is amazing knife, and that sheath looks great.
Welcome to the madness,,,, check out Swamprats smaller blades,, SR101 is some outstanding steel.
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I have been thinking of getting another RMD in SR101. Been hearing how great that steel is and would love to try it. Also, I kind of like how the knife would look after the coating starts wearing a bit.

adrock1978 said:
I would imagine chopping with a 5" blade is very tiring. Not the test I would have thrown at it, but bravo! Its always nice to see a knife's capabilities.
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It is very tiring no doubt. I almost gave up a couple of times during the process but I took a minute of breather and told myself to finish what I started. I don't know what I am trying to proof other than that it is possible to do so even if that's the only knife you have during an emergency situation.

chiral.grolim said:
Very nice little review :thumbup: Nice scales you got on yours as well, canvas? Excellent sheath as well. I think you made an excellent choice for a first fixed blade.

I am a big fan of Survive! knives, active in that subforum, but the Swamp Rat Ratmandu remains my favorite fixed blade, and the only fixed blade that I own more than one of. Like yours, mine required some edge work upon arrival, but I have been more than happy since. Very tough knives with excellent ergos, a solid blade design, and steel that takes a good edge and holds it well in a variety of tasks... once you get the edge to the geometry you want ;)
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Hi Chiral,

Nice to see you here too! Mine is the same handle as yours. Black micarta. I love the look of the GSO 5.1 and I also love the Infidu. I am not sure if this is correct but is it true that the Infidu has a thinner blade profile than the SR-101 RMD? I thought I heard it mentioned somewhere that it is not possible to shave paper with an RMD no matter how well you sharpened it? I am not sure if this is the truth. With the Infidu, I got it razor and hair popping sharp.

I saw the video where you gave the RMD a new grind and edge. Do you see a lot of improvements over it? I believe it is the same knife as the second picture you posted? BTW, I am subscribed to your channel. Great videos!


Merry Christmas to all!
 
pjandyho, hi bud good to see you here! Congrats on the infidu. I have an INFI RMD from a previous ganza, and you're correct, the INFI version is a bit thinner than a standard RMD by about .015" to .020."

You can absolutely get SR-101 screaming sharp, it might take some reprofiling as you know, the original edge is very thick. But once you get it where you want it, it's easy to maintain and bites deep.

You know I'm a GSO fan, too, but like Chiral, the 5.1 has not yet unthroned the RMD as my favorite blade in that size. When Guy sends out the new versions with the recontoured handles, it's going to get very interesting!

Here's a pic of a custom shop of mine that I like very well. Standard RMD with FFG grind and drop point.

 
pjandyho said:
...I thought I heard it mentioned somewhere that it is not possible to shave paper with an RMD no matter how well you sharpened it?...

I saw the video where you gave the RMD a new grind and edge. Do you see a lot of improvements over it? I believe it is the same knife as the second picture you posted? BTW, I am subscribed to your channel. Great videos!
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Thank you for subscribing :) Yes, it is possible to get the RMD shaving-sharp, but I'm glad to read from HK above that the INFIdu is slimmer, although it makes me want one more now ;) It is possible to get just about any knife shaving-sharp, that's just a matter of technique and equipment. The thick edge of the standard RMD just takes a bit of work to get it to a place where it cuts as efficiently and sharpens as easily as some other knives. Sounds like you can get your INFIdu right where you want it :thumbup: Awesome.

The video in my GSO-5.1 / RMD review showing a reprofiled RMD is not mine, I linked it from nuts4knives who actually designs/grinds his own knives as well. His video and others from worldwood here in the Swamp encouraged me to find one similarly modified and I stumbled upon that one in my pics here on BF. It still won't cut as efficiently as an FFG model with similar edge-thickness, but it is great :thumbup: probably close to your INFIdu though I've never owned one of those... that may change :p

Hard Knocks said:
...I have an INFI RMD from a previous ganza, and you're correct, the INFI version is a bit thinner than a standard RMD by about .015" to .020." ...


...Here's a pic of a custom shop of mine that I like very well. Standard RMD with FFG grind and drop point.

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Such an awesome version :cool:

Hard Knocks, have you posted up your entire collection anywhere? Drop-point RTs and RMDs, scaled Wardens, some great stuff!
 
Thanks rockspyder, H_K and chiral!

It's great to see you guys post here. Your inputs have been very enlightening for a newbie like me and I greatly appreciate it!

Hard_Knocks, that FFG RMD is real cool! You know I have a soft spot for FFG. Just heard from my friend that the custom shop is closed to new orders so you've got a rare piece there.

Btw guys, I did reprofile my Infidu. The original edge was about 25 degree each side and I got it down to 22 degree each using the Gatco Ultimate Diamond sharpening kit. I wasn't that brave to go freehand yet and had originally thought of getting sand papers of different grades to reprofile it into a convex grind. I chickened out and went with the Gatco instead. I am glad it is now hair popping sharp as the original edge was so dull it's hard to cut anything well. Thankfully I had gone for the diamond kit as the reprofiling took me over 2 hours to do. I did not realize how hard that INFI steel is until I started sharpening. Now that I got the edge right where I wanted it, it's a matter of doing some simple honing whenever it loses its sharpness.

I am now awaiting the GSO 5.1 to arrive. I wonder how it will feel compared to the Infidu or RMD. I kind of like the new rounded handle of the 5.1.
 
The RMD is a great knife.... I have....ummm...a couple... ;)

The DP versions are great (these below are not all mine but they were all together the day four of us met up near Sydney)!!!!!

 
Andy that is a great shot of those brotherhood blades! And very cool you guys get together once in awhile. I would love to get the opportunity to peek into the back of Ian's truck one of those times. :)

chiral.grolim said:
Such an awesome version :cool:

Hard Knocks, have you posted up your entire collection anywhere? Drop-point RTs and RMDs, scaled Wardens, some great stuff!
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I was late in getting after some of the old school stuff. Guys like Andy, Ian, elof_alv, and Magoo, wow! The amount of steel in Oz is why it stays 'down under' I think :cool: But, no I haven't snapped a full picture, I guess I should get that done one of these days. This thread makes me realize I don't have a shot of my INFI RMD either :(

pjandyho said:
Hard_Knocks, that FFG RMD is real cool! You know I have a soft spot for FFG. Just heard from my friend that the custom shop is closed to new orders so you've got a rare piece there.
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I thought you might like the grind on that one from our previous conversations. And yes, the custom shop is closed. I will be glad when they open back up, I've got at least one more RMD I want from them :D
 
The RMD is, I believe, my all-time favorite "just bummin' around" knife. Carried it most of today, out ... bummin' around. It does take some work to thin the edge out, but it's worth it, for certain.
 
Andy the Aussie said:
The RMD is a great knife.... I have....ummm...a couple... ;)

The DP versions are great (these below are not all mine but they were all together the day four of us met up near Sydney)!!!!!

Click to expand...

Hi Andy! I am Andy too! You can see a hint of my name in my BF handle. Nice to see you here. You have been very active here in this sub forum and I do enjoy reading some of your posts.

That is a set of beautiful RMDs there. I especially love the looks of those G10 handles. By the way, you mentioned DP version, but I am not too familiar with Busse and kin so what does DP means?
 
rockspyder said:
The RMD is, I believe, my all-time favorite "just bummin' around" knife. Carried it most of today, out ... bummin' around. It does take some work to thin the edge out, but it's worth it, for certain.
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Certainly a very nice bummin' around knife. It is not heavy, has enough length to get some serious work done, and is small enough for some finer camp craft work. Certainly one of my favorite, at least for now. I am thinking of picking another one up.
 
DP = Drop Point... if you look at those four (and Hard Knocks' one above) you can see they all have the drop point profile... ;) :D
 
pjandyho said:
You have an Infidu? You know it deserves some photo time bro. Quick, get it done and post it here :)
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Lol. It most certainly does deserve a glamour shot. Mine is black G10 with satin finish, before they came out with the BIG finish. I'm in another state for the holidays, so it might be a bit for a photo op :)
 
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