A Long Due Update to a Favorite - Ontario Rat 1

I think it's a nice upgrade for folks that have fallen in love with the the knife and want something with nicer materials. For me, the Rat is a great budget option that I unhesitatingly recommend as a work knife to friends that ask me, but apart from using one as a beater I just don't really have much interest in one. It would be very hard for me to even recommend it over a Kershaw Link in 20CV if people asked me.
 
Chronovore said:
Like I said in my previous post, it seems dubious to exclude Chinese or Chinese-made knives in evaluating the bang for the buck on this knife.
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Yes, we all know you love cheap Chinese knives. It's basically the entirety of your personality on this forum. I simply observed that the price was in line with other knives of similar materials, made by similar companies, in the same country. My first comment also stated that it is not exactly the value proposition the RAT line is known for, no matter the country of origin.

I look forward to your wall of text in reply. I would offer to take a shot every time you mention China in reference to a Taiwanese knife, but I would rather not get alcohol poisoning tonight.
 
Silent H said:
Yes, we all know you love cheap Chinese knives. It's basically the entirety of your personality on this forum. I simply observed that the price was in line with other knives of similar materials, made by similar companies, in the same country. My first comment also stated that it is not exactly the value proposition the RAT line is known for, no matter the country of origin.

I look forward to your wall of text in reply. I would offer to take a shot every time you mention China in reference to a Taiwanese knife, but I would rather not get alcohol poisoning tonight.
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I would recommend for the most part just ignoring him. He's obviously trying to drum up business in the political arena for reasons unknown. He's also made a cottage industry of shilling for the PRC and then running to the mods when anyone points out the obvious downside of buying Chinese knife swill.
 
Silent H said:
Yes, we all know you love cheap Chinese knives. It's basically the entirety of your personality on this forum. I simply observed that the price was in line with other knives of similar materials, made by similar companies, in the same country. My first comment also stated that it is not exactly the value proposition the RAT line is known for, no matter the country of origin.

I look forward to your wall of text in reply. I would offer to take a shot every time you mention China in reference to a Taiwanese knife, but I would rather not get alcohol poisoning tonight.
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I guess I was breaking character with a recommendation for Hogue in this thread, or today's EDC pic.

I'm a lover of value, quality, and designs that make me happy (even when they take a little modding to get there). A number of Chinese companies deliver on this. Speaking of today's carry and a tasty beverage:

aZ5DIhz.jpg
 
Triton said:
I would recommend for the most part just ignoring him. He's obviously trying to drum up business in the political arena for reasons unknown. He's also made a cottage industry of shilling for the PRC and then running to the mods when anyone points out the obvious downside of buying Chinese knife swill.
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See what I mean? This isn't just politics. It's a personal attack.

What's worse is that this is a political pot-shot in a place where it doesn't belong. I "drum up business" for the political forum because there is obviously a lot of strong sentiment on this political issue and that's the place to discuss it. The thing is, people like Triton rarely follow through because it can take actual work to back up an opinion, engage with alternate views, or handle inconsistencies or other problems that might be revealed in one's own position.
 
entertaining and all, but y'all should get back to the Ontario knife subject....

I passed negative judgement on it already.....I'm also not big on the red scales...but in the end the street price will decide it for me.....
 
jbmonkey said:
entertaining and all, but y'all should get back to the Ontario knife subject....

I passed negative judgement on it already.....I'm also not big on the red scales...but in the end the street price will decide it for me.....
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Agreed, this thread has nothing to do with cheap Chinese knives. Apologies for the departure. I do think despite my personal lack of interest that they will sell some of these after thinking about it. Some people just have to have the latest magic metal.
 
At the moment, Bladehq has this available for pre-order @ $99.95....MSRP $135.95

It's a better value than the Spyderco Tenacious in S35VN which is made in China and has blue FRN Handles.Priced at $108

While the Ontario Rat 1 in S35VN is made in Taiwan and has some RED G-10 handles.
 
razorburn said:
At the moment, Bladehq has this available for pre-order @ $99.95....MSRP $135.95...
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That changes things. Someone had previously stated that the street price was supposed to be $135 and that would have been a deal breaker. While $100 isn't amazing and doesn't fit the value reputation for previous versions, it isn't horrible and the base models have crept up in price too.

If this had been Micarta at $100, I'd be ready to buy. Aftermarket scales are a possibility but that pushes the price back out of consideration for me. I'll be curious to see if Ontario continues in this direction.
 
As sales of the original slow, Ontario has to make the decision to either stick with it or upgrade. The problem is that upgrading always includes a price increase. The RAT was successful because it was a decent knife at a price point accessible to all. Once the initial price point was met it started creeping up. With upgrade steel comes more cost, which defeats the entire purchase of the knife. This is what happens when shareholders are involved...
 
couldn’t care less about the steel or scales. If they said we beefed up the liners I’d be all in
 
razorburn said:
At the moment, Bladehq has this available for pre-order @ $99.95....MSRP $135.95

It's a better value than the Spyderco Tenacious in S35VN which is made in China and has blue FRN Handles.Priced at $108

While the Ontario Rat 1 in S35VN is made in Taiwan and has some RED G-10 handles.
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Not that I generally need more knives, but having an upgraded version of an old classic for a hundred bucks isn't bad. I'll probably pick one up for nostalgia's sake, because that's cheap compared to what virtually everyone else is charging these days. Hell, I'm already going to have to shell out $340 for that new Mini Adamas they revealed for 2023. Satin CRUWEAR? Yes, please and thank you.
 
I have to take back or at least tone down a bit what I said about this upgraded version of Rat, if the retail price is at $100. That price would be in line with some other knives with similar/same materials, aesthetics, ergo, and country of original, in other words neither greatly overpriced nor a super value. I still won't buy it though.
 
I think RATs strengths are:
1. Blade shape
2. Ergonomics
3. Good build quality
4. Price

What they could improve:
1. Better liner lock to fix the issue with vertical blade play developing on some knives with relatively hard use. ( or compression lock could make it a Spyderco military 2 killer :))
2. Skeletonized lines to reduce the weight.
3. Sprint runs with different steels and DLC coatings. Again IMHO design is very practical can complete with Spyderco Para and Military models especially if priced better.
 
I also always thought the price/value was one of the core strengths of the RAT-1. For about $30, the base model is a great bargain (good design, good build, decent materials). And for a few bucks more, they had a CF laminate one with D2 blade (since discontinued, but also quite a bargain when it was available). At the $100 mark, though, it seems like they're venturing into a much more competitive space, and a big part of what made the RAT-1 so attractive may be lost there.

 
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