Swamp Rat pics!

joeymoey said:
Lance23 - Did you leave the handles on when you stripped it?

BTW it looks great. Makes me want to strip mine.

SR-RMD-RS1a_zps90be0e49.jpg
Click to expand...

Yes, I taped off where the blade and handle meet and stripped the coating about 1cm from the edge of the scales. I used Kleen Strip Premium in the aerosol can. I left the scales on, and oiled them after I was done. No damage to them or the coating anywhere else on the knife. I highly recommend it as long as you have the patience or tools/confidence to take your time and only remove the steel you need to to achieve the desired finish. It took me less than 30mins from stripper to semi-mirror polish. I used my WSKO like a belt grinder, going through my usual belt progression, free hand without the edge guide. It was my first attempt using it in this manner, and my results were beyond expectations, I can achieve a sharper more consistent edge as well.

Bonus pics of the uncoated area, carrying it again today too;)


BTW joeymoey, your RS RMD combo looks sweet! Mine will match once I strip the RMD.
 
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I also highly recommend using PCB etchant to etch the SRKW logo deeper into the steel, gives you more room to sand off the tooling marks. Plus on coated blades only a light sanding is all it takes to remove the etched logo completely once you've stripped. Just things to think about, some prefer sterile blades.
 
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My arms were dying after all that hand sanding.
On the RS I could just lay the blade on the belt and grind away...
On the RMD its a bit too tall/wide and I had to resort to make shifting a foil platen and then went to hand sanding after I got it somewhat evened up. Depending on my mood after work today I may go and get some more 3000grit Trizact to try and finish it up a bit more.
Right now it's @ 2000grit. Definitely shiny, while still definitely a working finish.
 
Very shiny, but that high grit wil take forever to clean up the deeper grooves/scratches if that was your intention...
 
Oh no I'll move back to 320 before I make the full progression.
I'm sure my response seemed a bit strange, "mirror polish with only 3000g".
Lol I'm not that delusional.

Although I am extremely not looking forward to going to town on this thing again.
The end result should be much more pleasing to the eye.
 



Much nicer now. Got all the uneven spots out and still got it back to a mirror polish with the "rodent bite marks" still showing proudly. I feel like given maybe another hour at my lowest grit I could have gotten the CNC lines out too but I'm not too worried, it kind of makes it look like a TGLB.
Once I see how it wears with use after I get to use it I'll decide on whether to go full convex/mirror, or leave the saber/CNC lines.
 
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This thread is making me itch to get outside with my RMD and wreck some stuff...

Sadly, I've just been using my axe for any wood processing I've had to do, so my RMD is still looking pristine. I'll have to dirty her up a bit.

p0EeiOV.jpg
 
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