Benchmade Rukus & SOG Tomcat 3.0

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338 Stalker

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Firstly Hello all :) . Great forum by the looks.

OK this is my problem. I'm a dedicated deer hunter that needs a tough, sharp & super-strong knife that will handle abuse & rough treatment.
My hands can get plenty blooded-up at times & have found some knives do slip around.

I've been looking into the higher end folding knives & found these two look to be the best for my needs. The Rukus 610(615 also looks sweet) & the SOG Tomcat 3.0 look great!

What do you men recommend for my use & is there any other super-tough blades(folding) out there worth a look?

I would also like to get some info on where to buy one.


Thanks in advance,


338

PS-Any Rukus or Tomcat reviews(links) will be most welcomed.
 
Well if its mainly for hunting you want this knife i would suggest a fixed blade instead of a folder. A FB is super tough and much easier to clean after a bit of gutting/ skinning. A folder is going to need a very good cleaning after animal cleaning chores are over.

If you have your heart set on a folder i can recommend the rukus. Its a great knife, good ergos, good edge holding and solid lockup. I dont own the sog, but i am sure someone will chime in soon on its performance.

Good luck.
 
I just sold a Tomcat and orderd a Rukus which still isnt hear yet one month later.
I just didnt like the plastic spine on the Tomcat except that its a sound solid knife with a smooth sturdy lock.
 
These are both great knives but for hunting, I think the Tomcat's better corrosion resistance would be an advantage when dealing with flesh and blood
 
I just got the 615 S rukus through the door 2 hrs after i lasted posted on this and they sent the bloody serated instead of plain edge.That Karma works real funny sometimes.
First impresion were good except for the serations i hate serated blades unless im cutting bread.
The knife as i expected feels more solid than the Tomcat although a bit slimmer the lock isnt as smooth as Sogs but locks with a more audible click the omega springs also look thicker than the ark lock.The micarta was slightly rough around the edges but will sand away no problem.
The handle materials are far superior to the Krayton on the Sog which felt like it would come apart eventualy although the new carbon fibre version looks much better.
I would never use either to cut anything up as blood and stuff gonna be a big problem with all the parts these knives have a fixed blade or if you have to go with a folder a frame lock would be better IMO.
The tomcat is a kind of rambo style blade that is very thick at the spine and not as good for slicing id also say that to me the Rukus feels strongest IMO because the Tomcat is let down by the plastic handle spine which feels cheap looks cheep and i didnt trust it as apart from a lanyard hole and the pivot screw its all that holds it together unlike the Rukus which has 3 solid pins on the handle which feel and look better IMO.
Overall im glad to have swapped the Tomcat 3 for a Rukus even if it is serated but both are without doubt very tough folders and id say that the price is about right for both.
Also with the Tomcat the polished steel will scratch if you even look at it funny which was also a pain in the ass.
 
Benchmade makes excellent knives. That said I might look at getting a fixed blade for your use, backed up by a SAK or a Griptilian.
 
The 615 looks the goods ATM. Being that it's not too big, it also looks like it would work great in different hand positions.

What's the deal with the "black" coating on some of the 615's blades. Is this a special tough-coating or should I just stick with the original steel look?


338.
 
I have a couple of the 610 Rukus'es and find that the drop point, flat grind of the blade is a great all around cutter. I've heard talk of the S30V blade having some chipping problems, but have never seen mine suffer from that. Of course I've not used mine to dress a deer either. The Rukus will cost you more than the Tomcat, and the Rulus has a pocket clip while the Tomcat does not, but the Tomcat does come with a sheath. I would check with www.newgraham.com as I got both of mine from them.
 
I have a 610 and a 615. I can tell you that I love them both. I use them both for hunting and skinning all the time and have had no problems with corrosion at all. They are really not that hard to clean if you make a slight effort to not get them too dirty! even if they are soaked in blood all I have ever needed to do is soak them in water afew minutes, spray them out with a hose, blow them out with compressed air and put the rem oil to them, I have had them both openat times for a full cleaning but they have never really needed it there has never been the slighted sign of chrosion.
Either rukus can take anything that you can throw at it! I have thinned out the edge on both of them and they both cut great although I have the 615 thinned out quite a bit more and use it for all my smaller animals like squirrel, partridge, rabbit, woodchuck, ect...I thought a fix blade was better for hunting for a long time, thats what my dad told me, but I prefer my rukuses(ruki?) these days!! I certianally do not believe either would ever fail me but if one did ther is no way they both would before I could replace the broken one (the though of either failing still seems kind of absurd)
Anyways what ever you chose, get out into the woods and have some fun!!:)
edit: I have skinned deer with mine and beat that 610 through the pelvic bone...and no, I have never had any problems with chipping either
 
VT. This makes me wonder whether I should just stick with what I intended to get in the first place, the 610.

How do you find the 610 compared with the 615 in hand? I have rather big hands so the 610 might gel better. Do you use the 615 on deer.
ha ha ha I can see me getting both over time(grin).


338.


PS-Keep the responses coming men, more the better. Thanks.
 
Tomcat 3.0:
-Very good ergos. rubbery feeling handle material seems ideal in potential slippage environments
-VG-10 has better corrosion resistance than S30V and sharpens a little easier. I prefer the VG-10 overall as an EDC steel.
-Arc lock isn't as comfortable for me to use compared to the axis lock
-No pocket clip
-Blade type is about equal for my preferences

610:
-Feels more solid
-More blade
-Prefer the axis lock
-Sharpening is a little more difficult and corrosion resistance is is a little weaker, but both are negligible
-Ergos are nice, but slightly "blocky" feeling
-Detent is weakest of all 3 because the blade is so heavy
-Clip is nice and "rides" low in the pocket, but feels slightly flimsy, maybe because the the knife feel so solid

615:
-Blade size comparable to the 3.0, but smaller than the 610
-Detent is the best of the 3
-I prefer the axis over the arc, but only because it feels more natural for me to operate. Not because its any more secure or effective
-lighter and smaller, but I'm not sure if the extra size matters all that much compared to the 610. I might be wrong as I've never went hunting before (city boy).
-pocket clip same as 610
-Ergos is nice, but blocky

Overall for EDC, I prefer the 615. I thought I would prefer the 610, but the weak detent turned me off. If that didn't matter, I'd probably go for the 610, especially since its for outdoors use and there's minimal concern of non-knife people.
 
Kaizen1 said:
-Clip is nice and "rides" low in the pocket, but feels slightly flimsy, maybe because the the knife feel so solid
Click to expand...

I've always felt that way about this particular clip. It felt the same way on the BM Snody 420 and I didn't like it then and don't really like it now. Always felt like the clip should be made from thicker stock.
 
I hate to complicate things but I've just found the Benchmark 710. By geez it looks handy at 3.9".

This looks like it has plenty of fans(Youtube). Any here?


338
 
Yes the 710 has plenty of fans here too. Its a Benchmade classic and was the first knife with the Axis lock
 
If you can go to a store and hold both the Rukus and 710, you'd get the insight you need. While the 710 is very popular, I simply didn't like its grip ergonomics. It didn't fit my hand comfortably. The Rukus, however, felt really good to me. I've got medium-large hands and prefer a larger grip. It's not that the 710 is small; rather, I didn't like how my thumb and forefinger seated on the handle. The Rukus has a more basic handle profile, IMO.
 
Trout Tamer said:
If you can go to a store and hold both the Rukus and 710, you'd get the insight you need. While the 710 is very popular, I simply didn't like its grip ergonomics. It didn't fit my hand comfortably. The Rukus, however, felt really good to me. I've got medium-large hands and prefer a larger grip. It's not that the 710 is small; rather, I didn't like how my thumb and forefinger seated on the handle. The Rukus has a more basic handle profile, IMO.
Click to expand...

This is not possible as I cannot get access to these knives down my way.
My hands are not small but fairly large, & because the deer I shoot are big critters(up to 750lbs) I bone them out on the deck. Which does see my hand in some pretty tight situations at times.

I really like the look of the mini Rukus & 710, I've ruled out the SOG Tomcat & 610 Rukus.
So which is better the mini Rukus or 710 for my needs, hmmmm.


338.
 
Andre V said:
Well if its mainly for hunting you want this knife i would suggest a fixed blade instead of a folder. A FB is super tough and much easier to clean after a bit of gutting/ skinning. A folder is going to need a very good cleaning after animal cleaning chores are over.

If you have your heart set on a folder i can recommend the rukus. Its a great knife, good ergos, good edge holding and solid lockup. I dont own the sog, but i am sure someone will chime in soon on its performance.

Good luck.
Click to expand...

What he said.It's a real pain in the neck cleaning all the blood & guts from a folder after cleaning game.

I'd recommend the Rukus over the Tomcat,if you have to get one.The Ruckus has S30V,better ergos & a solid lock up.
 
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JTR357 said:
What he said.It's a real pain in the neck cleaning all the blood & guts from a folder after cleaning game.

I'd recommend the Rukus over the Tomcat,if you have to get one.The Ruckus has S30V,better ergos & a solid lock up.
Click to expand...

ATM I will stick with the folder but thanks for the suggestion on a fixed. Will seriously look at a SOG Seal Pup Elite for a quality fixed blade very soon.


338
 
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