Coldsteel TrailMaster or BattleRat Swamp Rat??

B

brightbade

Joined
Dec 27, 2002
Messages
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Hello everyone! I am new here am i must say what a great group of guys with hours of great reading :)I am a modest knife collector and would like some advice. I am either going to buy the BattleRat, or the Coldsteel Trailmaster CarbonV. I have heard a little about the poor Kraton handle on the Trailmaster. Perhaps ColdSteel has dicovered the problem, and address it. I guess i could go with a Battle Mistress from Busse, however,is there a great difference between the Busse and the Rat. I understand that the Busse it INFI steel and the Rat is a slightly lower grade steel. The Rat seems to cut concrete blocks well enough. :) Which nobody has said a TrailMaster will survive. Regards, Brightbade
 
the swamprat knifes are made from 52-100 tool steel!added to this they have added a few extra chemicals,to make it even tougher!they wont tell,but i think it is a offshoot of INIF.the true genius to there knife making process is there heat treating/tempering process.they cook and heat treat it for over 40 hrs!i love cold steel products and have many.now someone can give them a run for there money!i plan on buying the bandicoot for self defense,it is smaller than the battle rat,but just as tough.price wise you will save at least 150.00 bucks with swamp rat.52100 is a exceelent steel for hard used knifes.check out there site at swamprat.com,good look investing in a good blade.my vote battle rat.
 
The Battle Rat is similar to 52100...they call the steel SR101. What exactly is in it, no one knows...

I have the Battle Rat and I love it! I just chopped up a small tree with a few chops! Awesome knife!
 
The Battle Rat is thinner than the Trailmaster .25" vs 5/16" IIRC.

The Battle Rat has a convex edge while the Trailmaster has the more traditional edge (can be changed to convex).

The handle on the Battle Rat is likely to be much more ergonomic than the kraton handle on the Trailmaster.

The Battle Rat has a choil on the blade that allows you to choke up for finer work, the Trailmaster does not.

The Battle Rat has a cordura sheath with a kydex liner, and an external pouch, plus eyelets to lash the sheath in multiple ways. The Trailmaster has a more traditional leather sheath.

The Battle Rat has a differential heat treat (hard edge, soft spine) for tough use, but I do not know that the Trailmaster does.

Both knives are heavy duty.
 
I could make the decision blind and take the Swamp Rat.
Swamp Rats are quite similar to the Busse offerings. The grind and the edges are definately different, but the steel perform pretty much the same and I've never heard of complaints about Swamp Rat's handles.
I'd imagine the Kraton handles from Cold Steel would be damn annoying if you used Deet bug repellents.
 
How about a SOG Tigershark? The blade is 9 inches long, and 1/4 inch thick with double grinds and a clip-point.
 
I have the Swamp Rat Camp Tramp, same as BR but 7" blade. One tough bugger.

IF you manage to dull it up (I used it for this fall's pruning - including roots) a few "strops" with 1000 (approx) sandpaper on a mouse pad bring it right back to shaving sharp.

I've always been a small (3 1/2 - 5 1/2") blade and axe kinda guy, so a "BIG" blade was a new thing for me... I like it...

I've even tried it out for kitchen chores.. it slices... it dices...

I'm surprised just how much you can do with the 1/4 inch thick blade. The choil really helps with control,and you need to try the respirine grips to believe 'em.

I like the SRKW products enough I'll get the HR and 'Coot next.

I like the looks of the BR, just can't see myself using a 9" blade...
 
Originally posted by glockman99
How about a SOG Tigershark? The blade is 9 inches long, and 1/4 inch thick with double grinds and a clip-point.
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Hey, Glockman. Just curious. Why would you chose a Tigershark over a Trailmaster. I'll take Carbon V over 440A anytime (unless I live on the beach) Don't get me wrong I love the "look" of the Tigershark, but I think the Trailmaster is the superior knife for basically the same money. FWIW, I'll choose the BattleRat over either for anything but a fighting knife role. 'Course, I never have felt the balance and handling of a BattleRat, but they make some pretty outrageous claims for 150 bucks. Gotta give it a try. Anyone put a BattleRat through it's paces yet? YMMV.

John in Boise
 
If you want a tough chopper/camp knife, I'd suggest the Swamp Rat without second thought. The handle material is wonderful, steel, blade grind (convex) and the special crinkle coating are made for hard work.
The sheaths are acceptable, but not great though (they come with a useful pocket attached, but the overall quality of them is quite low IMO).
 
Originally posted by ichor
Hey, Glockman. Just curious. Why would you chose a Tigershark over a Trailmaster. I'll take Carbon V over 440A anytime (unless I live on the beach) Don't get me wrong I love the "look" of the Tigershark, but I think the Trailmaster is the superior knife for basically the same money...
John in Boise
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I'd take the Tigershark over the Trailmaster 'cause I don't like the handle on the Trailmaster at all...I don't like the shape or the "feel" of it. Also, I like the blade-shape of the Tigershark alot better, AND the Tigershark has a better feel and balance than the Trailmaster (at least for me, it does). To me, the Tigershark "swings" alot better than the Trailmaster. Also, I happen to like the AUS-6 steel of the Tigershark.
 
Get a Rat. You can not beat the warranty on it and that is for sure. I am very happy with my Camp Tramp nested in a MtMike leather sheath. :)
 
Another vote for SR.

While I don't have a Battle Rat, I do have the Howling and Bandicoot. Great knives, everything I expected. The handles are really comfortable, as someone said have to be felt to be believed. Try sending back a Cold steel knife for any reason and see what they say. SR has a no questions asked warranty, if you ever needed it.
 
Originally posted by Mississippi_Dave
Another vote for SR.

..........Try sending back a Cold steel knife for any reason and see what they say. SR has a no questions asked warranty, if you ever needed it.
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Why do you say this? Have you ever sent back a CS knife with less than satisfactory results (or personally know anyone who has?)? I've never had to send a CS knife back (or had any problems at all, really) but I've had good experiences with their customer service.

Do you know of anyone who has had to excercise the admittedly great warranty offered by Swamp Rat? I've already voiced my positive opinion of the Battle Rat and the fact that it's the next knife on my list of acquisitions, but until someone tests the warranty, do we really know what the response will be?

John, wait and see, in Boise
 
Originally posted by ichor
Why do you say this? Have you ever sent back a CS knife with less than satisfactory results (or personally know anyone who has?)? I've never had to send a CS knife back (or had any problems at all, really) but I've had good experiences with their customer service.

Do you know of anyone who has had to excercise the admittedly great warranty offered by Swamp Rat? I've already voiced my positive opinion of the Battle Rat and the fact that it's the next knife on my list of acquisitions, but until someone tests the warranty, do we really know what the response will be?
Click to expand...

I'm sure Cold Steel would gladly replace a faulty product, but what would happen if you sent back a knife because the coating got scratched? They would just laugh and send it back to you!

On the other hand, the coating wore on my Battle Rat and Eric from Swamp Rat offered to replace/fix it for me! Now that is an unbeatable warranty! See the thread here for more info.
 
I don't have to have tested the warranty to have confidence in it. Swamp Rat Knives is an offshoot of Busse Combat, and their business has been built in large part by an unbeatable warranty.

I don't think you have to worry about the quality of warranty service you'll get from Swamp Rat Knives.

On the other hand, Cold Steel, while making some decent blades, is well known for their cavalier attitude toward service after the sale.
 
Fun discussion guys.., I'd suggest the Battle Rat simply because I want to hear some more feedback about how they perform from guys that have them :)


"Hunters seek what they [WANT].., Seekers hunt what they [NEED]"
 
Well I've only just heard about alot of the knife makes out there though this place, and I'm starting to get interested in Swamp Rats now. I'll have to do some checking around, it seems like that might be the way to go though, given the replies.

One thing I heard somewhere was that the new Thor http://www.fallkniven.com/nothern/tor.htm from Fallkniven's Northern Lights range was something that could compete with the Cold Steel Trailmaster. What do all you experienced knife users out there think about it compared to the Trailmaster and the Battle Rat?
 
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