Big choppers, little help please.

Here are my current users in rotation.

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Unsub said:
You might try a CS machete kukuri, at the price of 26$ it won't bother you much if it doesn't work.
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-Unless you're out in the boonies trying to build a fire or shelter!

Sorry- nothing personal, but some things you go cheap on, others not. Anything I'm taking into the woods is expected to do it's job for the duration or it stays home.

Rant off
 
Well i can see there is some hostility towards the RTAK II from those involved in "Busseism" and although i've never used the RTAK i do have a RAT-7 and a RAT-3 which i love. They are tough knives and feel great after long term use. So even though they dont fit your specifications, I'm just sticking up for the Ontario RAT line. I think it all depends on your knife budget
 
I wouldn't call it hostility, but this is the Swamp Rat Forum.......folks are biased here...:D . It goes beyond chopping ablilty, it is the people behind the product also and the community of people who use it. And both are unmatched in my biased opinion. I had a Rat 7 D2, solid knife....not as comfortable as a SR knife though and I like thicker blades. So I sold it and got a Camp Tramp.....you can't even say they are near the same level....fact not opinion. Chopping power, lateral strenght..handle and handling all go to the CT. The RTAK2 might be a great blade, but should something happen to it, you will not be taken care of like you would here. And I have no doubt it would fail critically before any blade of the Trinity (Busse, Swamp Rat, Scrapyard).
 
jarlaxle said:
Well i can see there is some hostility towards the RTAK II from those involved in "Busseism" and although i've never used the RTAK i do have a RAT-7 and a RAT-3 which i love. They are tough knives and feel great after long term use. So even though they dont fit your specifications, I'm just sticking up for the Ontario RAT line. I think it all depends on your knife budget
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Nothing against the RTAK. I actually like the blade and would like it more if it was made of 1060 or 1084 steel and HT'd by paul bos. Ontario products are more inconsistent that CS products, which are bad enough. You might get one really good one for every 5 that come out with crappy HT.

But if you don't believe me here are several reports of Ontarios failing prematurely:

http://www.bladeforums.com/forums/showthread.php?t=234657

http://www.bladeforums.com/forums/showpost.php?p=3824887&postcount=16

http://www.cutleryscience.com/reviews/ontario_rtak.html

http://www.cutleryscience.com/reviews/ontario.html

http://www.cutleryscience.com/reviews/machete_ontario.html

Oh and in reference to UNSUB's recommendation of a cheap 26 dollar Khuk, that would be ok if you are playing in your backyard, but if you are actually going into the field and plan on being there and using your tools, you never go cheap. You go quality and durability.
 
Gravelface said:
I wouldn't call it hostility, but this is the Swamp Rat Forum.......folks are biased here...:D . It goes beyond chopping ablilty, it is the people behind the product also and the community of people who use it. And both are unmatched in my biased opinion. I had a Rat 7 D2, solid knife....not as comfortable as a SR knife though and I like thicker blades. So I sold it and got a Camp Tramp.....you can't even say they are near the same level....fact not opinion. Chopping power, lateral strenght..handle and handling all go to the CT. The RTAK2 might be a great blade, but should something happen to it, you will not be taken care of like you would here. And I have no doubt it would fail critically before any blade of the Trinity (Busse, Swamp Rat, Scrapyard).
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Yea i'm sure that the camp tramp is an overall better blade. And as far as not being taken care of, i would have to disagree check out www.ontariorat.com and you'll see that Mike and Randall are very responsive in their customer service and take pride in fixing and replacing any and all problems for no cost.

BTW, if you have an extra camp tramp around i'd love to take it from you so i could see the difference you're talking about;) lol but seriously i am lookin for a CT
 
Here is Ontario's Warranty.....I am not printing this to bash it only compare it. As I said before, I had a Rat 7 and now I don't. One of the other post tells tales of Ontarios failing where they shouldn't have and 1 had a happy ending with it being replaced. QC seems to be an issue with them. Swamp Rats are some of the best out there.

ONTARIO WARRANTY
Warranty Info

Ontario / RAT knives have a limited lifetime warranty against defects or damage – please refer to our actual warranty for full warranty coverage details.

In general, however, this warranty does not cover abuse of the product, such as using our knives as a crowbar or trying to chop through cement blocks (which they will do but not without some edge damage). In other words, if you intentionally or unintentionally abuse the knife then you most certainly void the warranty. If, however, you damage one of the knives while using it for its designed intent then, in all likelihood, we will repair or replace the knife free of charge (subject to applicable shipping charges) after it is returned to our factory.

OK, with all that said, if you own and damage one of our knives, then call and tell us your story. Not only will we listen, we will do our very best to accommodate your concerns. Customer service is more than just a slogan with us, it’s our way of life. We’re regular folk like most of our knife buyers and we know that sometimes “stuff happens” - sometimes you just have to use your knife for things it’s not supposed to do. So, if that happens then tell us your story and we’ll do our best to make you happy. That’s about as fair as we can be and still stay in business.


I haven't heard of Swamp Rat voiding anyone's warranty...not even the fellow that shot his Battle Rat...."how do you like dem Apples"?!
 
jarlaxle said:
Yea i'm sure that the camp tramp is an overall better blade. And as far as not being taken care of, i would have to disagree check out www.ontariorat.com and you'll see that Mike and Randall are very responsive in their customer service and take pride in fixing and replacing any and all problems for no cost.

BTW, if you have an extra camp tramp around i'd love to take it from you so i could see the difference you're talking about;) lol but seriously i am lookin for a CT
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Besides I said,"but should something happen to it, you will not be taken care of like you would here"....I never said you wouldn't be taken care of, just not like you would here.

Here is just one that they added a little something extra to.

http://www.bladeforums.com/forums/showthread.php?t=449752
 
i hate you gravel ;), I just got my RAT-7 2months ago and told myself i wasnt going to buy a knife for a long long time. Then i bought a RAT-3 like 2 weeks ago and i said, now i really really am not going to buy a knife for a long time. now after reading all this and realizing how much i've been beating my RAT-7, you've convinced me to find myself a camp tramp and really experience the difference. Sigh... you owe it to me to help find a CT to call my own ;).:0
 
If you like that Rat 3 you should try a Coot or my favorite Howling Rat!!!! or Howling Fat. Gen 1 HR are best in my book, but everyone has different taste.
 
"griggs, check out the Bill Siegle Jungle Knife in this thread:

http://www.bladeforums.com/forums/sh...d.php?t=450975

The dimensions are not given, but contact Bill. He could make something that fits your needs."

That knife looks great but I bet it is more than $100-150. That is the price range I wanted to stay in. Any more expensive than that and I may not want to really use it like it should be used.

I had decided on getting a Scrapyard Dog Father but I e-mailed them 5 days ago and have not got a response back. That doesn't seem like good customer service. I am sure they are busy but in my e-mail, I stated that I wanted to buy a Dog Father and I just needed to know where to send the Paypal. Maybe they are out of that knife but they could respond and let em know. So far, I am not impressed with Scrapyard but I will give them another try since I hear there may be reasons that they are backed up.
 
Dan and Patti's daughter was hospitalized for a few days there last week....they are catching up as we speak and folks have started to recieve the Dog Fathers already. Email isn't the most reliable way to contact someone...with spam filters and the like. I am not sure if the DF was removed from the order page due to the family emergecy, but it was up there for several days you could have placed an order without having to try to go alternative methods now to try and purchase one. Try to post a thread on THEIR forum as there is a much greater likelyhood they see it there and not here........
 
kgriggs8 said:
Okay guys, I am looking to buy a big chopper but I am a little overwhemled by all the names and companies. I know Scrapyard has the Dog Father and Busse has some as well but I am not sure which one is right for me.

What I want is a 10-12" blade made thin so it can also be used as a machete. I also want the handle to be comfy for all day work. I want the knife to be as light as it can with no extra weight and bulk. Swinging a 4lb knife gets old quick! What I am looking for is a Swaprat or Scrap Yard version of the RTAK II but I am not sure where to start. Is there a Busse that fits this description?

What I don't want is a huge heavy blade that doesn't work well because it is too thick. I find that thick blades are slower which means they cut poorly and they require much more energy to use.

THanks.
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Based off that you might not even want to contact Scrapyard as the Dog Father is thicker than 1/4 and may be too heavy and slow for you.

I don't think it is a knife that is slow and heavy ...those are relative to the user terms....I have a knife with a blade that is 9/16th thick and 12 3/8th long...it is an amazing chopper and I have take 2 14" diameter oak trees down with it......
 
I recomended the CS kukuri because it is actually as thin as you wanted.
As far as durability it as good or better than any other machete.
The handle is nice and comfy as well. I actually spend a lot of time in the bush
and other than myself or the occasional big city hunter you NEVER see a knife that costs more than 100$. 99.99% of people will not have to rely on their knife in a life or death situation and most knives are primarily cheap tools.
The CS kukuri and the tramontonia machetes are perfect for the type of big knife you would keep in your truck. A Buck is considered a nice knife.
You are much more likely to see a nice axe like an Oxhead than a Busse.

When it comes to me I want the best edged tools possible.
I carry a Scrapyard SS4 as an EDC but when a friend was really taken with it I had to recomend either a Fallkniven or a RAT3. The RATs are good knives ,not as good as knives from the Busse kin but a better choice for him as you can buy thgem from a local knife store and don't need to import one from the US and own a credit card.
 
"Email isn't the most reliable way to contact someone...with spam filters and the like. I am not sure if the DF was removed from the order page due to the family emergecy, but it was up there for several days you could have placed an order without having to try to go alternative methods now to try and purchase one. "

I didn't see it listed on the web page, that is why I e-mailed them. I don't know if they are even selling it anymore but I thought I would give it a try. It is within what I will pay for a tool of that type. It is probably too thick and heavy but you never know until you try one.
 
In my opinion,
9-10" and thin is a whacker.
9-10" and thick is a chopper.
you whack at vines and small branches and such.
you chop at thicker wood and branches and such.
If you want one tool to do both, you have to compromise.

My Dog Father came in the mail today.
It is thick and heavy,
the weight is way forward.
Feels like it will be a really great chopper and all around heavy duty knife.
You could whack with it but its optimized for heavy duty chopping type use.
Have not used it yet but for the price, I think it will be a great deal.
Might even order another one when the next batch comes out.

Still waiting on the Rat Mastiff Chopper to come out tho'
 
on_the_edge said:
Kgriggs8-
Victor-
May I ask how many Swamp Rat knives you have used in the past please? Which ones were they? If you have a moment, I would like to hear your point of view in a side by side comparison of the RTAK2 and the comparably sized Swamp Rat knife that you imply experience with. Thank you!
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None. I have never used a Busse or a Swamp Rat. I am trying to get a Scrap Yard Dog Father now. I like the cushy handle and the blade looks serious. The price is reasonable as well. I have heavy choppers from Becker, Cold Steel, Ranger, Colt (don't laugh), Ontario, Kershaw, Hopkinson (Golok), TOPS, and Collins. It depends on what I'm cutting as to which is best. The thinner, longer blades are better for clearing and machete use. The heavier, thicker blades have some advantage in chopping wood. I found the RTAK II to be a very good compromise between a machete and a heavy golok. I was only trying to honestly answer a question. I'm sure Busse and Swamp Rat are excellent knives. I hope the poor man's Busse (Dog Father) is not sold out.
 
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