Yeah, I had some issues with the blade. Sharp in some area, flat dull in others. It was just a crappy grind and the coating was flaking off.

When I inquired about fixing it I was also interested in having him do a custom hatchet, similar to the RD Hawk. Anyway I'd write and hear nothing for a week then I'd send a friendly reminder about the issue and the hawk, then I'd get a response, I'd write back, wait a week etc... etc... Anyway after about two months of this I just threw my hands up in the air and said forget it.

I was unable to return the blade because I waited so long. I'll wait a bit longer and see how the new RDs are doing. If it doesn't appear that there are any issues with them then I may take another chance. I don't know. Right now the RD-7 sits in my trunk.

I was not favorably impressed with the RD-9 I purchased from them a couple of years ago. It is real tough, but not much good at anything except being a paperweight. I was not aware that they had revamped the line until you just mentioned it. So I just went and looked at their web site and the new RD line looks much nicer than the old ones. Maybe I'll try an RD-7.

Yeah, I'm thinking another RD-7 something to fill the void while I wait for the scrapper 7.

Ummmm... Scraper 7!

What you needed was another light source from the other direction to get rid of the shadows. If you don’t have another available light source, here’s a tip that I sometimes use. Use a mirror to reflect light onto the dark area. If you don’t have a small handheld mirror for some reason, you can use some aluminum foil and tape it to some cardboard.

I'm not too good at this picture stuff. I will have a DF soon. Glad I got some Beckers while they were available. There's a BK-9 in this pic. I ground a double edge on the clip point because it supposed to be a Combat Bowie.