Bring back the rd4, 7, and 9!

beachmaster

beachmaster

Joined
Oct 3, 2014
Messages
679
Hey guys-

Idk if yall have noticed, but its been some time since a large portion of the Ranger line got the axe, namely the rd4, 7, and 9, among others.

These 1/4" beasts were pretty unique on the market, and with the right marketing, could have potentially been Ontario's flagship line!

But alas, the were forgotten, or more likely, most of use had never ever heard of them!
Lets rectify that, sign this petition to show Ontario that the Rd4, 7, and 9 (or at least the 9!!!) need to be brought back!!!

http://chng.it/kP6ypVLC

 
some pf Justin Gingrich's old RD knives came with a sabre grind, I wish OKC made some with a sabre grind too.
 
I have never had the opportunity to play around with any of those models, but I am a fan of Ontario knives.

Ontario offers high value products that really shine in use and utility.

Old Hickory, SP models , Rat and Utilitac folders, Rat 3-7, Woodsman series....all great tools.

An RD9 with a high saber grind would be sweet!
 
YES TO ALL ABOVE!

As for the RD4 like an ignorant idiot I gave it to my little brother. Living on an operating small farmish place there when it comes to critter cutting season from murdered deer to harvesting the live stalk, the RD4 says its his most used knife I gave him. My "evil" step mother (hey they are called evil by "Tradition!" and we all know how important traditions are! right?) uses it for the pig killing time.
I gave it to him because the handle to blade ratio didn't seem right to me. Well guess its great for a great hard use critter cutting up knife.

RD7...well my general purpose do every thing walk around woods blade. I think its tougher than a RAT 7. It may be the usual jack of all trades and "master of none". But its over lapping capabilities make it a knife that I like. But recently I found my NS7 does a bit better than the RD7 for critter cutting. But for my knife sharpening skills for going out in the woodsyhood, I need a straight blade so the RD7 is the usual belt/pack/onotherpackkid rider. That is if I didn't forget it...or get more motivated to go in the middle of the woods with out the warm glow of a computer/HES/device to keep me warm and entertained...

RD9 is a great use blade, as functional as an RD7 but can do a bit more larger task wise.

One thing all RD4-9s and RD-NS have is the choil that looks sort big lets it be used as a good small task blade. Even the ED Tanto to some what.

A Saber Grind RD would be great even if a high saber grind. With the RD Tantos I have I been thinking of converting one to a spear or drop point...that's also the plan if I break the tip off or some how sharpening it wrongly so I make it look like one. The 1/4" spine on the RDs on most of them mostly makes the lack of a saber grind work alright sort of I guess.
The RAK all though a 3/16" has a saber grind is the only RD that has one besides the RD Tanto's sortofish one.

When asked by people what does the RD have over the RAT, I tell them 5160 steel.
 
I like my RD7... but, frankly, I found its performance to be inferior to other comparably sized knives I own(ed). That statement, naturally, applies only to my use - I didn't run it through comprehensive or destruction testing, I just used it for things I would typically do with a knife that size.

And then there's that handle - pretty common knowledge that it sucks; but at least it's easy to reshape with a half-round file.

Still, I like it; so every now and then I'll use it. I wonder if the knife would have fared better if they ran it just a little harder. Improve the edge holding ability a bit without significantly impacting the toughness.
I understand the RD designation implies a knife that will stand up to hard use/abuse; but I suspect most buyers aren't often using the knives as digging tools, pry bars, and levers.
 
I had a couple of the original Gingrich ranger knives (made by Justin using blanks bought from Busse) and they were great. I should’ve kept them but they were not getting carried.

If Ontario was to start making these again, they should go with the original shape with the bird’s beak pommel.
 
fielder said:
And use 3v steel.
Click to expand...

That would probably double the price or more. I believe the originals were 5160 and they were no slouches. I beat that RD9 up pretty good and sold it for more than I paid.
 
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