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

VooDooWitchDoctor said:
Swamp Rat is excited to introduce the RatManDu in their high-performance SR-3V steel!

It is coming to the Busse Combat Website this Friday, May 26, 2023, at 9:00 PM Eastern

We have been working around the clock to bring this project to fruition and we have scored big-time!

Combining Swamp Rat's SR Heat Treat protocol on CPM-3V steel with the now legendary RatManDu model brings an action-thirsty blade that begs to be shown how much you love it through heavy abuse!

Swamp Rat 3VMandu Specs:
Blade Length: Approx. 5 3/8"
Overall Length: Approx. 10 3/8"
Blade thickness: Approx. 3/16"
Blade Finish Options: Stonewashed and Coated
Handle Options: Canvas Micarta and G-10
Steel: SR-3V (CPM-3V with Swamp Rat's Proprietary Heat Treat Protocol)
Hardness: 61-63 Rc
Bevel: Flat Sabre

Base Prices:
Coated: $268.95
Stonewashed: $298.95

Handle Options:
Black Canvas Micarta
Tan Canvas Micarta
Green Canvas Micarta
Black G-10 + $40
Tan and Black G-10 + $55
Orange and Black G-10 + 55
Red and Black G-10 + 55
Green and Black G-10 + 55
Blue and Black G-10 + 55

Blade Coating Options:
Black
Desert Sage
Forest Green
Muddy Brown
Hammered Silver
Midnight Blue
Bronze

There is an optional Danny The Bull Sheath available for $44.95. with a special offer of $34.95 you save $10.00 Free Shipping & Handling is included if shipped with your knife.

Please Note:
- Production will take 6 to 10 weeks.
- Orders require one of the following; A $75 Down Payment due at the time of order with the balance due upon completion, OR Fully prepaid.
- You can cancel your order at any time and get a full refund. Repeated cancellations may make you ineligible to place additional pre-orders.





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Never heard of SR-3V steel. How does it compare to INFI steel?
EagleMark
 
Father & Son Traditional Sharpening said:
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.
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True but I am under the assumption that the Swamp will get the ht right on the 3V so the microstructure will be in tack with limited grain size.

It’s been my experience that’s unless you are trying to be YouTube famous that increases in edge stability will directly result to increase in wear resistance.

3V is in the same class as Infi from a lateral strength stand point but at a higher hardness and with better edge stability it should be a higher performing alloy so long as you aren’t being an idiot.

I also think the higher hardness of the 3V will much better support thinner edges but this will have to wait until these drop.
 
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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You might be surprised. Actually, I would be VERY surprised if that statement turns out to be correct.

I’ve got quite a few 3V knives. I’ve got at least 13 ‘mandus in both SR101 and INFI. I’ve not been impressed with any one of my 3V knives. But they haven’t been SR-3V. There’s room for SR-3V to impress me. And that MAY convince me to try one of these. It would be an easier sell if they had maroon micarta. And easier still if I knew the thickness behind the edge was less on this 3V version.
 
Really tempting, but I'm going to wait on a DB-421 or Dog Soldier 8.
A clip point anorexic Team Gemini would be very cool too.
The Ratmandu is a great knife, but not my favorite handle. A little bigger and fatter would suit my hand better. Plus I've got a perfectly fine example of the beast already.

LCrtHVe.jpg
 
dogboye said:
You might be surprised. Actually, I would be VERY surprised if that statement turns out to be correct.

I’ve got quite a few 3V knives. I’ve got at least 13 ‘mandus in both SR101 and INFI. I’ve not been impressed with any one of my 3V knives. But they haven’t been SR-3V. There’s room for SR-3V to impress me. And that MAY convince me to try one of these. It would be an easier sell if they had maroon micarta. And easier still if I knew the thickness behind the edge was less on this 3V version.
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As the RMD is my favorite knife the Swamp has ever made I’m going to eventually pick one of these up. I will say I sold my infi RMDs fairly quickly because aside from better corrosion resistance I saw little to no performance gain over my 52100 RMD from 10+ years ago. I have had knives in other steels that have far outperformed the RMD in its size range. Again I do not put much value in the fact a knife can pass a YouTube stupidity test I put value on its performance as a knife. If 3V at 62 does not outperform infi or 52100 at 59 I will be both surprised and extremely disappointed. I agree with the BTE thickness part, as if it’s left the same there is zero point to using a harder tool steel. That is where my disappointment would come in if they aren’t ground thinner then it’s just a waste of time and money for me.
 
JACKMANDU said:
I’m tempted to get this coated. I wonder how stainless SR 3V is?
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I can't ever remember seeing 3V coated and from what different knife manufacturers have been able to do with it in terms of heat treatment they seem to have been able to get it fairly rust resistant (at least any I have ) so I'd imagine it should be good that way.
 
JACKMANDU said:
I’m tempted to get this coated. I wonder how stainless SR 3V is?
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My experience with Nekkid INFI has shown better corrosin resistance than Nekkid 3V...However my Carrothers D-3V seems on par with INFI. My climate is extremely dry so YMMV if you're in a humid climate.
 
JACKMANDU said:
I’m tempted to get this coated. I wonder how stainless SR 3V is?
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They had some problems with CPM-3V rust and piting maybe fifteen years ago, but I think Crucible (quality control) and manufacturers (surface cleaning and etching) figured out the issues over the years. You probably want to keep it clean and dry though. Having the coating under the handle can't hurt either, you can always strip the blade end and do a ghetto finish.
 
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Busto said:
My experience with Nekkid INFI has shown better corrosin resistance than Nekkid 3V...However my Carrothers D-3V seems on par with INFI. My climate is extremely dry so YMMV if you're in a humid climate.
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I've had 2 INFI models both Comp finished a Hellrazor 2008 Special edition and a Sarsquatch 2008 Special edition both rust a lot and they were dry going into storage and wrapped in rust proof treated paper I get metal clutches etc in. Satin seems to hold up better. I've had peened finished Survive! 3V corrode a bit but I've never had Delta 3V corrode so far.
 

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My experience with Delta 3V has been great. I know that the Delta protocol gets a little more corrosion resistance out of cpm 3V. I’m wondering if the SR heat treat has a similar effect. Either way I think I’ll get stonewashed and find out for myself. This thing is gonna be a beater anyway. Like Jerry says “ just beat the rust off it!”
 
JACKMANDU said:
My experience with Delta 3V has been great. I know that the Delta protocol gets a little more corrosion resistance out of cpm 3V. I’m wondering if the SR heat treat has a similar effect. Either way I think I’ll get stonewashed and find out for myself. This thing is gonna be a beater anyway. Like Jerry says “ just beat the rust off it!”
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Yeah stonewashed is the way I'll go myself.
The good thing about when they aren't so pretty is you are more likely to use them.
The shiny ones I always get it hard to use 😂
 
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David Lennon said:
I've had 2 INFI models both Comp finished a Hellrazor 2008 Special edition and a Sarsquatch 2008 Special edition both rust a lot and they were dry going into storage and wrapped in rust proof treated paper I get metal clutchs etc in. ...
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Free iron oxide surface contamination was a source of rust and pitting in 3V.
I suspect that those metal clutchs etc left contamination on your paper that started the rust on the knives. Next time try new clean paper instead.
 
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shunsui said:
I suspect that those metal clutchs etc left contamination on your paper that started the rust on the knives. Next time try new clean paper.
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It's possible maybe, I'm not au fair enough with metallurgy to really know but I've never had it happen with any of the rest. Thankfully it doesn't worry me as they will be used.
 
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