chopper

I like the RD series. Big tough choppers. 5160 steel. Fits well in my hand.

I did recently come into an HI Chitlangi Bowie knife. That is one big 15" hunk of steel! I haven't used it, but I bet it would keep up with my RD9.

Chitlangi.gif


I'm thinking I should find someone who has an HI khukuri and trade so I can try a khuk against my RD9. An HI khuk is about the only thing left that I think could give my RD9 a run for it's money :)
 
Elen said:
For a chopper, I'd take the Ranger RD7 or RD9. Very tough knives, and the price is very reasonable, as well as the availability. The Fällkniven A1 is great, but a bit short for a chopper. The A2 might be better for that.
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I agree. I have an RD7 and RD9 and they are a great value. I also have a Fallkniven A1 and it's a tad short to be an efficient chopper. I myself am also looking at getting the Fallkniven A2, and also the Bark River Golok.

As far as the Swap Rat stuff..... The unavailability, the hype, the games, all got rather annoying and I have since moved on. Too many other good choices out there to put up with all the BS.
 
I've become a huge fan of the Ranger RD knives myself...their combination of price, durability, availabilty, and customer service cannot be beat.
 
brianNH said:
As far as the Swap Rat stuff..... The unavailability, the hype, the games, all got rather annoying and I have since moved on. Too many other good choices out there to put up with all the BS.
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You took the words right out of my mouth. :notworthy: :thumbup:
 
brianNH said:
I
As far as the Swap Rat stuff..... The unavailability, the hype, the games, all got rather annoying and I have since moved on. Too many other good choices out there to put up with all the BS.
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True, but some are willing to wait for a superior product.

Skam
 
brianNH said:
As far as the Swap Rat stuff..... The unavailability, the hype, the games, all got rather annoying and I have since moved on. Too many other good choices out there to put up with all the BS.
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This is the voice of immediate gratification. Swamp Rat makes good hard use knives, and IMO they're worth the wait. SR just happens to produce them in batches, and they go first come, first serve. Thus, the knife you might happen to want this very moment is not always available.

With a little patience, I've gotten every SR I ever wanted. And I was going to suggest the Battle Rat as something the OP might look into. I saw one on the Exchange just the other day. Battle Rat is back left with the Res C handle. 9.5" blade. 1/4" SR-101 steel.

SwampRats.jpg
 
I'd have to second the YardHook bro....best bang for the buck out there !
 
skammer said:
True, but some are willing to wait for a superior product.

Skam
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I wouldn't quite call them superior. Look at Ranger for knives of the same design type and comparable steel (Swamp rat uses is 52100 Ranger uses 5160) at a lower cost and much easier to get a hold of.

Personally I would take a Fallkniven over any Busse family knife any day of the week. I find Fallkniven designs to be more suitable for my outdoors activities and Lam. VG-10 is my favorite of the two steels, mainly because of it's high corrosion resistance and blend of edge holding and sharpen ability.

JMHO
Cheers,
 
Wabajack said:
I wouldn't quite call them superior. Look at Ranger for knives of the same design type and comparable steel (Swamp rat uses is 52100 Ranger uses 5160) at a lower cost and much easier to get a hold of.

Personally I would take a Fallkniven over any Busse family knife any day of the week. I find Fallkniven designs to be more suitable for my outdoors activities and Lam. VG-10 is my favorite of the two steels, mainly because of it's high corrosion resistance and blend of edge holding and sharpen ability.

JMHO
Cheers,
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I would not say that 52100 and 5160 are comparable steels unless you think Aus 8 and VG 10 are comparable !
Ranger knives are great knives and real good value but I have to say IMO they are a slight step down from the Swamprat line !

Fallknivens and Busse's are like chalk and cheese, both great blades but each for their different merits !
 
pitdog said:
I would not say that 52100 and 5160 are comparable steels unless you think Aus 8 and VG 10 are comparable !
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No I do not.

pitdog said:
Ranger knives are great knives and real good value but I have to say IMO they are a slight step down from the Swamprat line
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I have used both Ranger and Swamprat knives side-by-side and there wasn't a noticeable performance difference in edge holding or sharpen ability. This was over the course a few hours of hard use chopping frozen wood and battoning.

pitdog said:
Fallknivens and Busse's are like chalk and cheese, both great blades but each for their different merits
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Good thing I wasn't comparing the two then, I merely said that FK was my preference of the two and gave reasons to support my view.

Cheers,
 
Wabajack said:
No I do not.



I have used both Ranger and Swamprat knives side-by-side and there wasn't a noticeable performance difference in edge holding or sharpen ability. This was over the course a few hours of hard use chopping frozen wood and battoning.



Good thing I wasn't comparing the two then, I merely said that FK was my preference of the two and gave reasons to support my view.

Cheers,
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Hey I'm not trying to put down your opinions bro cos after all that's what all our comments are , just opinions eh !
What I am going on regards to 51200 being superiour to 5160 is just what I have read from various makers etc...one quote being that 51200 is like 5160 with attitude.
I just believe it holds an edge longer !!!
As has been said before I doubt any of us could push any of the knives mentioned enough to notice a difference !
 
Guyon said:
This is the voice of immediate gratification.
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There is, though, nothing wrong with instant gratification, assuming that it is, in fact, gratifying. And certainly Swamprats, as good as they are, are not the only knives in the world that can be very much gratifying to use as choppers. It would be pretty boring, for example, to have to wait for a couple of months for sex, because instant gratification is bad. Wasn't this why marriage was invented? :D

I have enough experience of Rangers and Busse family knives to say that the latter are not so superior that they warrant waiting for unknown lengths of time to get even a chance at purchasing one new (and not used), when there are Rangers that can do the job available much cheaper right now. Of course, my recommendation would be to get both, if you can afford it. :D But if you really need a chopper for actually doing something, anytime soon, then don't wait - get a Ranger. Now, if you happen to see the Busse family model you like being available at the price and condition that you like, go for it! They make fantastic users, although many people are guilty of abusing them by storing them unused all over their homes. :D
 
Ranger make good blades but Busse's heat treat is still the industry unicorn. I have smashed many top end knives around and you cant go wrong with a Busse (3 dif companies) of any kind.

There are good knives in different price ranges. FK make decent steel but they are not top of the heap.

I do like Ranger blades tho but find their edge retention still has a way to go.

It seems people either like Busse for the true workmanship, inovation and durability at face value or you hate the name because of the hype its MORE than annoying fans bring to the name. Seems everyone hates the top dog, no matter what the subject.

My 2 cents.

Skam
 
pitdog said:
Hey I'm not trying to put down your opinions bro cos after all that's what all our comments are , just opinions eh !
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My apologies, I didn't mean to make you think that I took offense to your post, I was just trying to address it fully. :thumbup: :)

Cheers,
 
skammer said:
There are good knives in different price ranges. FK make decent steel but they are not top of the heap.
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What, in your oppinion, qualifies a knife as "top of the heap"?

For me that would be Fallkniven. Time-tested designs, wrap-around full tang handles, VG-10 (Most high end steels will do, although I really like VG-10) and convex grind. Of course this is just what does it for me, so I am curious what your qualifications are. :)
 
skammer said:
Ranger make good blades but Busse's heat treat is still the industry unicorn. I have smashed many top end knives around and you cant go wrong with a Busse (3 dif companies) of any kind.

There are good knives in different price ranges. FK make decent steel but they are not top of the heap.

I do like Ranger blades tho but find their edge retention still has a way to go.

It seems people either like Busse for the true workmanship, inovation and durability at face value or you hate the name because of the hype its MORE than annoying fans bring to the name. Seems everyone hates the top dog, no matter what the subject.
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There's certainly lots of opinions in the air about Busse. People sometimes feel pretty strongly about these things. I like Busse knives a hell of a lot, and am willing to pay the price for them, and to spend considerable amounts of time (and time itself is worth money) looking for the models I want. But in all honesty, I have to say I couldn't recommend them for everyone. The investment in time and money that is needed just isn't worth it to everyone. Then again, that shouldn't bother me. It just leaves more INFI for me to try and hoard up. :D
 
I just recieved a Blackjack Quick from New Graham and think you could check them out. Convex blade, stainless (plus or minus depends on you), blade size in your range, very comfortable in the hand, quick (ha ha) in the hand. I bought it as I realized all of my knives were small and needed to macho up my order. I have not gotten to use it yet but fully look forward to my first opprotunity. Best of all (to me) was the price (cheap).

Chek it out here
http://www.newgraham.com/detail.aspx?ID=3537
 
my chopper is a RTAK II ,that thing is a monster of a knife/chopper,to me the RTAK II is a great companion for my TAK-1 ,jeez, there is not much the RTAKII can not handle !!
 
Elen said:
There is, though, nothing wrong with instant gratification, assuming that it is, in fact, gratifying. And certainly Swamprats, as good as they are, are not the only knives in the world that can be very much gratifying to use as choppers. It would be pretty boring, for example, to have to wait for a couple of months for sex, because instant gratification is bad. Wasn't this why marriage was invented? :D
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My implicit point was that you shouldn't devalue the knives because of the methods with which the company does business.

And sex is sometimes all the better after a little lay-off. :D
 
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