Steel Used

SR-101, a proprietary steel of our sister company Swamp Rat. 

Our proprietary multi-stage tempering protocol and deep cryogenic treatment make SR-101 one of the most high performance steels being used on knives today

Blade Coating

The blade coating is a black wrinkle/crinkle coat.  Through extensive testing, it has been determined this is the best coating available for knives seeing heavy use. This coating is ideal for extreme use knives because the raised areas will take the initial wear and begin to smooth out and after much use that part of the blade will still have the black finish only smoothed out. Only after the finish has smoothed considerably do you begin to see any of the coating begin to wear off. The life of this rough finish is extended when you compare it to smooth finishes of the same thickness.

Other advantages of this type of coating are it is less reflective than smooth coated or non-coated knives. It also resists stains and corrosion far greater than non-coated knives.

Handle Material Used

All Scrap Yard knives come equipped with Resiprene C handles.  Think of Resiprene C as an all-terrain truck tire with better chemical resistance.

Resiprene C was made famous as a handle material when it was used on the Busse Combat Basics. These handles have all the advantages of rubber handles without any of the disadvantages. They are comfortable, shock absorbing, slip resistant when wet, and provide insulation from the cold. Unlike Kraton, Resiprene C is a Non-hygroscopic material which means that it will neither "take on" or "emit" fluids. This quality not only gives them unparalleled durability but makes them extremely easy to keep clean as dirt will simply not stick to them. It is impervious to salt water and petroleum based chemicals, and is much more resistant to higher and colder temps than is Kraton. Resiprene C is likewise impervious to the powerful insect repellent, DEET. It is so amazingly tough and durable that Busse stands as the only company to have ever put a Lifetime Guarantee on a rubber handle. All Scrap Yard handles are fully textured to supply a slip-resistant purchase in any grip configuration. So, whether you hold the blade in a saber grip, reverse grip, upside down grip, side grip, or whatever which way you are required to hold it for your particular application, you will be assured of having a secure hold.

Heat Treat and Tempering

It is in this process that the very soul of a blade's performance will be born. It can also be the most expensive process involved in the making of a fine blade. Sadly, the knife buying public has been led to believe that Rockwell Hardness is some sort of gauge by which to determine performance. This is ridiculous. Following standard ASTM heat treating and tempering protocols, a blade made from a standard tool steel can be "properly" heat treated and tempered in less than 1-1/2 hours and brought to a hardness of 57-59 Rc. Take one of our blades that has received our proprietary heat treat and tempering protocol of over 40 hrs. and it will also test out at 57-59 Rc. The fact is that one of our transversion wave tempered blades that tests out at 57-59 Rc will drastically outperform a standard heat treated knife blade out of the same material that also has a 57-59 Rc hardness.

Grain structure and carbide distribution, are the keys to great performance NOT Rockwell hardness.

Cryogenic Treatment

Swamp Rat knives undergo a deep cryogenic treatment at over 300 degrees below zero.  This deep-freezing of our SR-101 steel to 300 degrees below for a prolonged period of time stabilizes the microstructure of the steel.  Just as retained austenite is transformed to martensite during the tempering process, the same change occurs during the cryogenic treatment.

Our cryogenic treatment improves the mechanical properties of INFI like hardness, wear resistance, toughness, and resistance to fatigue.

Penetrant Inspection

Swamp Rat Knife Company uses a specialized liquid penetration inspection, which reveals surface breaking flaws by bleedout of fluorescent dye from the flaw.

The technique is based on the ability of a liquid to be drawn into a "clean" surface breaking flaw by what is known as capillary action. (Capillary action is the force that is a resultant of adhesion, cohesion, and surface tension in liquids which are in contact with solids, as in a capillary tube.) After a period of time known as the "dwell", excess surface penetrant is removed and a developer applied. This acts as a "blotter". It draws the penetrant from the flaw to reveal its presence. Ultraviolet "black light" is used in darkened conditions to view the colored penetrants for any cracks, fissures, or other flaws.

What does this mean to you? It means your Swamp Rat knife will be free from microscopic cracks and fissures, invisible to the human eye under normal conditions. Whereas other blades, manufactured by other companies, are sent to customers with "unseen" surface flaws that "crack" under pressure, each Swamp Rat knife is individually inspected to be free from any defects. 

Handle Tang Design and Construction 

Scrap Yard knives feature the strongest tang design possible. It is nearly the full length of the handle and comes within 1/4" of the butt of the handle (see photo). When designing the tang for these blades we had considered having it protrude through the end of the handle, but our testing proved that this feature, when used as designed, for hammering, allowed dirt, debris, and excessive moisture to gather under the handle. This in turn leads to a much greater possibility for handle and/or tang failure. At Scrap Yard Knife Co. we don't take chances when it comes to long term durability and performance.

You'll also note the radiused curves leading to the tang from the blade (see photo). Not only do these eliminate the possibility of stress fractures and microscopic fissures that can cause catastrophic failure in the field but the large lower radius ensures that the handles will not rotate on the tang like many competitors' handles will when used in hot climates.

Noting that our knives are designed to be used in the most extreme conditions, we must anticipate the worst possible scenarios possible. With this in mind, we designed our handle tangs to be used effectively even if the handles are removed. Of course this is an almost impossible scenario as it would most likely require burning the handle off, but it is better to be prepared than not.

Handle Design

Not only are the Scrap Yard handles incredibly ergonomic but they offer some other great features. The front of the handle drops down in front of the hand in order to protect it from the integral steel guard. This allows for the hand to remain protected even under heavy stabbing, digging, or plunging operations. The butt of the handle, likewise, drops down at the rear of the handle in order to provide a secure grip when chopping or slashing. The molded friction tape texture covers the entire handle and provides the securest grip possible. The brass lanyard hole allows for added security for extreme use situations.