Got my battlerat!

G

gitarmac

Joined
Jan 20, 2001
Messages
401
This blade is huge! I think of it more as a short battle sword than a knife! So far my only uses have been some kitchen duty and chopping some small firewood logs, it performed admirably. I made neat lanyards for both the CT and BR by first tying black paracord just above the handle. Then I tie a square knot sinnet for 5 or 6 inches and tie the ends through the hole in the handle. Make a wrist loop and done! It' looks really cool and its functional too. I like the color or the CT sheath better but the BR sheath fits better and is easier to snap. I'm glad I got them both cause I would have had a hard time deciding on which one.

Once I get my howling rat my little rat family will be complete. ;) (and so will the remainder of my tax refund :D )
 
I forgot to mention, I was in bed watching TV while making the lanyards. The blade of the BR was resting on my leg, on its side. I started to notice a stinging sensation and looked down to see little razor like cuts from the slight shifting of the blade as it rested against my leg made from the force of the weight of the blade! Awwww, a "love bite".
 
Glad you received the BR :D

Those lanyards sound really nice, any chance you can post some pics?

:D:D
 
Originally posted by gitarmac
Awwww, a "love bite".
Click to expand...

Glad to hear your blade likes you. I hear Swamp Rat blades tend to do things like that to their owners when they aren't being used heavily enough. I think it's the knife's equivalent to pawing at the screen door, begging to be let out into the wild to play.
 
I don't have a digital camera dang it!! I got the idea from someone on bladeforums (I think). But it's easy to do and there are a lot of variations a person could make. On my battlerat I put a couple decorative beads on the ends that go good with the color scheme. On both I cut the black covering on the paracord and the white inner strings show, for about an inch from the ends.

I have a question, I don't think it takes a new thread to answer but I'll bet others are wondering the same thing. Ok, the rats have a convex grind right? Eventually after many sharpenings will the grind reprofile itself? So far I'm mostly used the sandpaper/mousepad method with a little swiping on the sharpmaker or other fine stone to polish the edge. I'm looking for better sandpaper, I can only find 400 so far. It seems that no matter what I do the edge gets sharp. I've noticed a slight variation on the knives, the CT looked like it had a "bigger" edge that went razor sharp after a few swipes on sandpaper, which may have accounted for the chip I got. It's my sharpest rat as things stand now, and if I had to choose only one that might be it as it chops and slices with aplumb! Luckily I don't have to choose! And I havent' recieved the howler yet, I'm really curious about this one as I didnt' expect the coot to be such a substantial blade, the beefier howler is going to be a pleaser, I can tell! The camp tramp almost looks beefier than the BR because it's shorter!. After recieving my BR I don't think SR needs a sword anymore, it IS a sword! For now it's going to serve nightstand duty next to my nightly firearm. I don't have an extensive knife collection but I do have quite a few, the rats are my favorites! I'm glad I got them now cause it's going to save me money in the long run, I no longer yearn for other ones I was planning to get. When deer season opens back up I won't have 3 sharp knives in the truck, I know I won't need them! It's wierd cause I have a couple of knives that "seem" sharper than my rats but when I test them by slicing through a piece of sponge, or paper, or meat, the rats outperform them. I guess some steel has characteristics I just don't understand. I feel like I have the performance of carbon steel without the negative aspects. Maybe I just haven't had this good of a knife before!

Sorry this is a long post, I'm just babbling cause I work late and when I get home there isn't much to do but play with my "toys" and go to my favorite websites.
 
Babble on! Can't give a Rat to much praise. I know I'll use mine till it looks like a toothpick. I reprofiled my edge to 30 degrees included and my BR slice and dices and juliannes. I can cut myself just looking at it. All I can say is "Long live the RAT!":cool: :D
 
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Originally posted by gitarmac:
...the rats have a convex grind right? Eventually after many sharpenings will the grind reprofile itself? So far I'm mostly used the sandpaper/mousepad method with a little swiping on the sharpmaker or other fine stone to polish the edge.
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Using a Sharpmaker, EdgePro, or Lansky type device will eventually reprofile the edge from a convex edge to a flat V edge. In a microscopic sense, it does it the first time the edge is sharpened. Using the sandpaper & mousepad method (or freehand sharpening on stones for most people) will put a convex edge on the blade.

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Originally posted by gitarmac::
I'm looking for better sandpaper, I can only find 400 so far.
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For most knife edge stropping, you shouldn't need more than about 800-1000 grit, unless you want to polish the edge. For finer grits of sandpaper, check out an automotive supply store in the painting section. For auto bodywork they use up to 2000 grit or smaller to smooth the surface before painting. Lee Valley also carries some micro-abrasive sandpaper here: http://www.leevalley.com/wood/page.asp?page=33004&category=1,43072&ccurrency=2&SID=

Here's a webpage with some general info on grit size & sandpaper grading: http://www.i-car.com/html_pages/abo...ge/advantage_online_archives/2002/072902.html
 
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