The SR-3V RatManDu Is Coming Friday May 26, 2023 At 9:00 PM Eastern!!!!!!!

Father & Son Traditional Sharpening said:
Am I reading the prices correctly? The stonewashed version costs what the hand applied satin INFI Full Height Flat Grind Ratmandu cost just a few years ago.

Now... I get inflation is a thing which becomes more relevant by the day but something seems a bit off here. Why not just use INFI at that price? If there's no INFI to be had then why not use 50100B at half the price?? It would have been an easy YES at the 50100B pricing but this is a tough pill to swallow at double the price. I'm sure they'll sell like hotcakes but it doesn't seem to jive with the old Swamp Rat price-to-performance model from years past. The loss of SR-101 weighs heavy indeed.
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Because SR-3V is better for this application.
 
Father & Son Traditional Sharpening said:
Am I reading the prices correctly? The stonewashed version costs what the hand applied satin INFI Full Height Flat Grind Ratmandu cost just a few years ago.

Now... I get inflation is a thing which becomes more relevant by the day but something seems a bit off here. Why not just use INFI at that price? If there's no INFI to be had then why not use 50100B at half the price?? It would have been an easy YES at the 50100B pricing but this is a tough pill to swallow at double the price. I'm sure they'll sell like hotcakes but it doesn't seem to jive with the old Swamp Rat price-to-performance model from years past. The loss of SR-101 weighs heavy indeed.
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SR-101 (52100), 50100B (1095CV), and INFI (basically A8 mod) all cost much less to purchase and machine/finish compared to a particular metallurgy steel with a decent amount of vanadium like 3V.

Now it’s not a huge difference but to keep profit margins the same it for sure has a larger than expected impact on the final price.

I too am a little surprised at the cost considering there are similar if not better knives out there for around the same price that come with an excellent kydex sheath.

I will just be happy with my base RMD from 10 years ago that is still trucking along. I am glad to see any of the Busse shops finally running something at a decent hardness now if we could just get some decent factory geometry.
 
Awesome addition to the family, Busse people. I have love for all of my RMDs and variants. Easily one of the all time best field knife/ medium do all patterns. And with your heat treat on 3V this is a No Brainer. Big kudos 🤘🫡👊
 
ferider said:
Me too. I have 4 Infi RMDs, two G10, two wood, two sabre and two flat. Not sure if I should wait the new one out until we get first SR-3V vs Infi user reports .... I know, clearly a first world problem :)
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On a knife this size I can imagine that 3V at 62 would blow infi at 59 out of the water.
 
I gave up counting at this stage 😂 between all the variants and multiples. I will definitely buy one if not 2 and would buy again in Magnacut if it's ever done.

What I'd love to see is some Custom shop versions with maybe a swedge and hand smoothed black micarta and red liners. Mammoth tooth or some of those type of scales never did it for me personally.
I can only dream 😂
 
F1fan said:
On a knife this size I can imagine that 3V at 62 would blow infi at 59 out of the water.
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This. I think the same exact thing.

Probably not as tough, but more than tough enough for anything you'll use a knife this size for and with better edge retention to boot. Maybe even more stainless as well but I'm less sure of that.
ferider said:
I don't do rope cutting tests. We need a new RMD in SR-77, that would be a no-brainer :)
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Personally, I can't imagine why that'd be a better choice than the optimized 3V on offer here.

I mean, S7 is tough as can be, no doubt about it, but in a knife this size it seems like it's wasted potential. Like having a race car but only being able to drive in school zones. You'll never need or even be able to use all that toughness (barring ridiculous antics) and the 3V should have way better edge retention in every day normal use, not just in rope cutting tests. Plus it's more stainless too.

It has both better abrasive wear resistance (like if you're cutting lots of rope, but certainly not limited to that!) AND it has way better edge strength (ability to keep it's edge aligned and not roll or misalign).

So, to me, it seems better all around than SR-77 in this particular application. I see no practical upside to SR-77.

I'm interested to hear why you think otherwise though! 🙂👍
 
F1fan said:
On a knife this size I can imagine that 3V at 62 would blow infi at 59 out of the water.
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It is nowhere near this simple, unfortunately. Hardness is a single data point, which can only tell so much. Microstructure is really the key and getting over 60 RC is really pretty meaningless if you don't nail the microstructure. Most all common steels can get over 60 RC with careful heat treats but commonly heat treating is a 'get er' done cheaper' thing in the knife world.

Knives blunt in ways beyond simple wear resistance properties of steel and things get even more complicated when you factor in geometry changes (which bring far greater differences in performance). If you consider that CATRA testing is highly controlled and still only produces 2:1 ratio from the highest to lowest wearing steels, the difference is not night and day. In cutting many people would simply be unable to tell a difference reliably because what you cut and how you cut it factor heavily.

The answer to this Infi vs 3V as always comes down to.... it really depends on many factors. How is the edge failing? If it is not slow wear then increasing the wear resistance will not help and can make things worse.
 
The Knife Life said:
I'm interested to hear why you think otherwise though! 🙂👍
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That’s a little personal: (1) I have plenty of 3V knives in that size, (2) I don’t mind sharpening but hate chips … so ~59-60 HRC is fine and I rather deal with a slightly rolled than chipped edges because I’m lazy (which I do have on occasion with 3V).

Remember- there was a reason we all have loved INFI :)
 
The Knife Life said:
This. I think the same exact thing.

Probably not as tough, but more than tough enough for anything you'll use a knife this size for and with better edge retention to boot. Maybe even more stainless as well but I'm less sure of that.

Personally, I can't imagine why that'd be a better choice than the optimized 3V on offer here.

I mean, S7 is tough as can be, no doubt about it, but in a knife this size it seems like it's wasted potential. Like having a race car but only being able to drive in school zones. You'll never need or even be able to use all that toughness (barring ridiculous antics) and the 3V should have way better edge retention in every day normal use, not just in rope cutting tests. Plus it's more stainless too.

It has both better abrasive wear resistance (like if you're cutting lots of rope, but certainly not limited to that!) AND it has way better edge strength (ability to keep it's edge aligned and not roll or misalign).

So, to me, it seems better all around than SR-77 in this particular application. I see no practical upside to SR-77.

I'm interested to hear why you think otherwise though! 🙂👍
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Toughness is very important in a chopper but less important when you're not applying heavy impacts to the edge. Ease of maintenance is a strong benefit to S7 type steels, they have little carbide so grinding is much easier. In real world use (especially in survival situations) this is a big deal as often the materials being cut are quite dirty and this causes the edge to blunt quickly no matter the steel. In this case, the wear resistance is not your friend and will cause your time in grinding to skyrocket, not to mention you have less ability to sharpen on natural materials as needed.

It's not just about raw strength either because while Powder steels are quite strong yet they typically have high carbide volume which actually heavily reduces edge stability (which means you have to run more obtuse edge geometry, leading to higher force in cutting).
 
Father & Son Traditional Sharpening said:
Toughness is very important in a chopper but less important when you're not applying heavy impacts to the edge. Ease of maintenance is a strong benefit to S7 type steels, they have little carbide so grinding is much easier. In real world use (especially in survival situations) this is a big deal as often the materials being cut are quite dirty and this causes the edge to blunt quickly no matter the steel. In this case, the wear resistance is not your friend and will cause your time in grinding to skyrocket, not to mention you have less ability to sharpen on natural materials as needed.

It's not just about raw strength either because while Powder steels are quite strong yet they typically have high carbide volume which actually heavily reduces edge stability (which means you have to run more obtuse edge geometry, leading to higher force in cutting).
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Yowza! . . . . This has gotten way too far off track. o_O

Let's try to get back to the awesomeness of this newest model from the Swamp! :cool:

Killer job Voodoo and crew! :thumbsup:

Let's Drink!

Jerry :)

.


:thumbsup::thumbsup:
 
damnit!!! just did the Choppasaurus, Hell Razor, and radioactive duty There goes another chunk of a paycheck.
Got a SR-101 black paper micarta Ratmandu from way back, but I really, really like the stone wash with the 3V
 
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