Boss St. Vs Ratmandu

Iboschi

Iboschi

Joined
Sep 17, 2009
Messages
2,692
I recently picked up a Ratmandu and absolutely love it. It's an amazing knife. I love my SFNO but the Ratmandu is an EDC for sure (My SFNO is just a touch to big for EDC). To those that own both, how does the Boss St. weigh in against a Ratmandu? Does it feel as light and fast in the hand, whilst being a beast still? The Ratmandu feels like an extension of me, can I expect the same from the Boss St.? I hear vague reviews of the Boss St., but really want to know how it feels and operates for a EDC sized fixed blade.
 
It's not light in the hand, it's not a high speed blade. It's very robust however, with a very secure/comfortable grip. To me it's pretty much the perfect EDC blade, for others maybe not. I don't have a Ratmandu to compare it to, sorry.
 
The Boss Street feels very good in hand, the handle feel awesome and it's extremely comfortable, the balance point is on the 1st scale fastener in the handle so balance wise it is a fast knife. It's very solid, feels beefy for a small blade. The handle affords a lot of control and leverage on the 4.25" blade that is .220" thick.

I did a video of it.

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The main difference will be the balance point .... the RMD balances on the fore finger whilst being held .... making it as you say "light and fast" in the hand ... the Boss St balances further back into the grip ... MM said near the first eyelet from the Ricasso ... essentially a more handle heavy knife ... this makes for a lighter feeling blade ... good for delicate work but the knife is not the usual thin stock for this type work ... it is thick and very robust ... thicker I believe than the RMD ... the Boss St is nowhere near as heavy as a BATAC LE which I had and for me the handle heavy aspect there was a bit too much ... it felt like a delicate grip for skinning would have the knife wanting to slide out the back of my hand ... the Boss St should be fine though ... a fair bit lighter I expect .... it is the sort of knife I like shape wise ... but would probably try and remove the grips if I had one and taper the tang to bring the balance point closer to the end of the front of the grip as per the RMD.

As a shape and robust designed EDC the Boss St is really good IMO ... a Tanker A for less than half the secondary market prices ... but the RMD is regarded by many as being one of the best designed small knife "users" Jerry has done ...

At that size of knife there is nothing in the steels IMO ... SR101 and Infi both take a great edge ... SR101 might edge Infi for "edge sharpness" in terms of Carbon available if you were to analyse it technically ... in terms of "user" knowledge ... they both do as well as each other for me ...

People have been asking for a RMD in Infi for as long as I can remember .... I doubt that the Boss St will eclipse the "following" on here that the RMD has as the ideal 5 inch blade...
 
I like the smaller, thicker BS a little better for EDC, but the RMD is a fine knife.

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Fantastic responses and right on point. Thanks for the pictures to boot! Those helped a LOT. End result is this: I'm going to have to buy all factory direct knives from now on I think. There just isn't any other way...
 
Iboschi said:
Fantastic responses and right on point. Thanks for the pictures to boot! Those helped a LOT. End result is this: I'm going to have to buy all factory direct knives from now on I think. There just isn't any other way...
Click to expand...

hah! And a hog is born! :D:thumbup:
 
I found the grips on the Boss Streets to be vastly superior for me in terms of comfort. My RMD was a g10 version and I found the textured to be lacking. The micarta version would likely be better in this regard but I still prefer the overall grip on the BS. Much the same overall functionality and ability in each with the exception of the reach in a knife fight.

I have not checked the secondary sources in a while but it seems the Boss streets ordered from busse will win in the price category and will likely have better resale down the road.
 
As much as I love the BS, the RMD is the better knife in terms of feel and balance.

However, a 3/16" BS may win out as the better EDC. Until then, my RMDs get more play time.
 
My Boss Street feels great in the hand, and for my money right now it may be my favorite small Busse of all time, and I have or have had almost all of them, including all the Basics. The Boss is a definite EDC knife.

+1 on a satin anorexic version. That would only make a great thing even better.
 
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