cant decide...rat 2, esee zancudo or leek

The best of the 3 IMHO would b the Rat 2. Both the leek and zancudo are good knives, but the rat is one of the best bang for the buck blades avail!

That's just my opinion, it's probably wrong :)
 
Can't speak about the leak but I have both a rat-2 and a Zancudo and while I was rather disappointed in the Zancudo at first (or maybe I should say let-down) I really like the little knife now, I did have to mod it to take a deep-carry clip (btw its not quite a kershaw clip like it looks) but I love the overall shape and the blade profile and it's actually very comfy in hand for a 3 finger grip and its a cool looking little light weight frame lock. The rat is probabily a little more resilient but if your just using it for light duty tasks where beefier parts can be sacrificed for a more comfy carrying knife then I'd go with the Zancudo for sure, its a solid little knife with good lock up.
 
Last edited:
I've had all 3 and would go with the RAT 2. Best blade for the money.
 
The RAT knives are the vest knives you can buy for less than $30 dollars I have a RAT 1 and 2, a Zancudo, and a Leek. I like the RAT knives the best of all.
 
I think the Leek has the better steel by a fair margin, and I think it looks the best, for what that's worth. If I was going to be using the knife in question hard, I'd probably go for the RAT, but for general EDC, Leek all day.
 
I have a RAT I, Rat II, and a Leek. I have only read about the Zancudo. With that in mind I'd recommend the RATII.
 
I haven't got a Leek, but the shop I work at got in a stock of Rat-2s and Zancudos and I didn't warm to the ESEE at all. The Rat-2 on the other hand is great, especially as Cereal_Killer says with it's very comfortable three finger grip plus razor sharp steel. I've got three so far. :)
 
Of those three, I like the Leek best for my EDC uses. The RAT-2 and Zancudo are good knives too. The Leek is practically unnoticeable in pocket, and the blade shape (modified wharncliffe) is very handy for a lot of urban EDC tasks.
 
I've got two Leeks, a RAT I, and a RAT II. I don't have a Zancudo but got to spend a weekend with one courtesy of a friend. It's hard to "rank" them for a couple reasons. One, the Zancudo just wasn't as comfortable for me. Nothing wrong with it at all, I just didn't like the feel in my hand as much as the RAT II or even the Leek, so why get one? Totally a personal preference, so YMMV.

As for comparing the Leek and RAT II, they serve different purposes for me. I love the Leek because 1) I am a huge fan of Sandvik steels, and both the Leeks I have are 14C28N, and 2) I just love the look and blade shape. Now, I'm also not one of the guys that has any grudge against AUS-8 either, so the RAT II is just fine for me in that regard. But I carry one or the other based on the environment and job. I like the Leek for the office or where a more "elegant" knife is appropriate...it looks like that to me, anyway. I like the RAT II for heavier duty stuff...it's more of a "chore" knife. The tip on the Leek is known to break, and I've done it once myself (granted, I dropped it on concrete, so my bad, but it is ground to a very fine point and susceptible to this).

So that's a fair amount of words to say: They are all three solid knives, comparable in quality (I think the RAT II is a little tougher), and they differ just enough that you may just want to get one of each :)

Find a way to get your hand around each one, if you can, and then decide.
 
To add more confusion to the list, check out the Todd Rexford designed Kershaw Injection 3.0 - IMO, it's a better value than the Rat2, Zancudo, or Leek.

The Rat1 is an amazing value, the Rat2, not so much IMO (its like what... $1 cheaper than the Rat1 - although, it's definitely less expensive than the Zancudo). I want to say that several folks have said that both the Rat 1/2 and Zancudo are made in the same factory - both have the same blade-steel (AUS-8) and a molded plastic scale but only the Zancudo has the stonewashing on the frame/clip/blade. The Rat2 has the better pocket clip IMO, and it's 4-way changeable.

The Leek is kind of a unique knife - Better blade-steel (Sandvik) definitely a pokier tip, but also in the opinion of many, kind of ultra-thin and more delicate than that of the Rat or Zancudo.

The Injection 3.0 has 8cr13MOV cheaper blade steel, but a nice blade-shape (in between the more obtuse tip of the RAT and Zancudo, and yet not as thin as the Leek), fairly thick blade steel, Real G10 scales (that provide a slightly thicker handle) with a more grippy set of scales than the Leek, Rat, or Zancudo.

Whatever you get, if you're deciding between any of these, you're sure to not be disappointed as they're all great knives.
 
To add more confusion to the list, check out the Todd Rexford designed Kershaw Injection 3.0 - IMO, it's a better value than the Rat2, Zancudo, or Leek.

Ah man, I didn't even think about the Injection. I've got the 3.5 and love that knife!

Back on topic, between those I would say either Leek or Rat II. Do you have a preference between assisted and manual knives? I know that's the deciding factor for a lot of people around here. I've owned a few Leeks over the years and have nothing but good things to say about them.
 
Back
Top