Esse 5, 6, or Ratmandu

[Huntsman Knife Co. LLC.]

Cant decide on the next fixed blade I want to buy. I will be using it for hunting/ camping/ woods activities. The 6 is the cheapest, the 5 I like best and the Ratmandu is the most expensive but is likely the highest quality.

Is the quality/ SR-101 of the Ratmandu worth the extra 40 dollars compared to an ESEE 5? Will i notice a difference in the edge holding and or corrosion resistance?

I think the 5 and 6 are gorgeous and the Ratmandu is kind of an "ugly" brute. The only ESSE product i have is a Junglas and i love everything about it.

Which one should I buy in the near future?

Thanks!

 

[arijer]

]Ok, I love ESEE products. Saying that, i am ( i think at least) objective enough to know that there are plenty of other good products out there. however just because the Ratmandu is more expensive has no bearing on being a higher quality at all.

SR101 is a great carbon steel. Rowen's HT of 1095 it top notch in my opinion and i do not notice a vast difference of edge holding between the blades at all. I am not the best sharpening skill person.... Dont forget that its not just a $40 difference but that you also get a rather good quality sheath with both the ESEE 5 and 6 while the Ratmandu does not come with one at all for the regular street price.

I personally think the micarta handles on the ESEE blades are very comfortable and much more ergonomic then the Ratmandu which are either G10 or Micarta, depending on what you get. I also dont like the hollow pin feeling in the handle. You can take off the handle slabs on the ESEE if you need to clean the blade more or other issue arrise. i have seen a few Jute Twine wrapped ESEE and the are cool looking, prob very functional too.

Here are some shots of my ESEE and one of my Ratmandu to give you a idea in case you have not seen them together.

The top blade is the Ratmandu, next is the ESEE 5 and then the 6, these are the spine shots and below are flat shot of the blade shape and size

Hopefully this gives you a idea of the difference in the blades. The Ratmandu is the size of the ESEE 5 in length but has the thickness of the 6. I really dont feel that i needed that choil in that size blade there, but there it is for you to use. In the ESEE 6 i think the choil is very effective however.

If I had only one blade to take, it would be the ESEE 5 and second choice would be the Rat. Its a tank, no argument possible here. If i had 2 blades it would be the ESEE 6 and a ESEE 3 or HEST as my small blade ( a few other small blades come to mind) again the Ratmandu would not be my first choice.

Hope this helps. then again i may be FOS

 

[Huntsman Knife Co. LLC.]

Thanks! Looks like i will be going with the 6 or 5 then. i can get a 6 for 107 and a 5 for 140. I will likely end up buying a molle for them regardless so thats an extra 40 or so. Now between the 5 and 6. I def like a thicker blade and the I think they 5 is the better looking knife. I Guess Ill just have to man up and spend the extra on the 5. I think the 5 is going to retire my tech bowie.

 

[PayetteRucker]

I chose the Howling Rat, myself, though if I come into a hundred and fifty bucks I don't have budgeted, I'll be picking up a RatManDu for sure. Sr101 steel is CRAZY, and the finish on this blade was tougher than the ESEE powder coat. All three are awesome knives. The Howling Rat/RMD handle, I have to say, is by far one of the nicest in existance. If I were facing this choice I'd get the RMD now while you can-it won't last forever. The ESEE 5 and 6 aren't leaving production anytime soon. That's just my beef...

 

[bd51]

knifeworks.com has the 5 for 129 just to let you know

 

[J. Oeser]

It really depends on your plans for the knife. If you plan to do more cutting and slicing get the ESEE 6. If you want a do all knife that is darn near indestructible get the Ratmandu. Having owned both myself as well I personally like the ergonomics of the Ratmandu better than all three. Also you can get SR101 crazy sharp without much trouble and it holds an edge incredibly well. It's probably a little more corrosion resistent. The only draw back, if you can call it that, is the Ratmandu is thicker than the 6 but it's still a very capable slicer.

Let us know more of what you want it to do and that will help.

 

[RABII]

Draw a number out of a hat. I'm really not being facetious, as either of the three would still be win/win. Odds are, you'll probably end up with all of them anyway .

 

[bikeknife]

I have the 6 and the RatManDu, both are fantastic and it would be tough to pick just one. I think the 6 is better as a all rounder, better chopping and full flat grind makes it a better slicer. The sheath setup on the 6 is excellent, especially if you get the molle back. That being said, the RatManDu just fits my hand like a glove. It feels very secure in every different grip, the 6 is just a little to big for my hands. Also I love the groves of the micarta on the RatManDu, I have not felt a paper micarta RatManDu but the canvas is excellent. I got a Spec-ops Combat master sheath for my RatManDu and I am very happy with it, the overall package is about 200 bucks, 40 or 50 more then the ESEE 6 but I would say for my own use it is worth it.

 

[myowngod]

I love my RMD.. as much as i love ESEE products.. the handle is like an extension of my arm...

 

[Horn Dog]

I own all three of the knives. For my uses, I like the ESEE-6 or Ratmandu better than the ESEE-5. But if you want a nearly unbreakable brute, go with the 5. These knives are all three at the top in quality. It comes down to preference. I love the feel of the Ratmandu.

 

[RABII]

More often than not it seems to come down to how well the handle feels in the hand. IMO the HRLM and RMD handles are hard to beat in the grip/feel department. The larger ESEES' are easier to grip than the 3's and 4's but I still prefer the SwampRat grip to any other.

 

[PayetteRucker]

It really depends on your plans for the knife. If you plan to do more cutting and slicing get the ESEE 5. If you want a do all knife that is darn near indestructible get the Ratmandu. Having owned both myself as well I personally like the ergonomics of the Ratmandu better than all three. Also you can get SR101 crazy sharp without much trouble and it holds an edge incredibly well. It's probably a little more corrosion resistent. The only draw back, if you can call it that, is the Ratmandu is thicker than the 5 but it's still a very capable slicer.

Let us know more of what you want it to do and that will help.

I find most of this the exact opposite. The 5 is .25 inches thick, versus the RMD, which is .175 inches thick. Both are sabre ground, and both come with about a 60 degree inclusive grind. The RMD is more of the slicer, and the 5 is more of the abuse knife. SR101 DOES get crazy sharp, but took me about 8 hours to convert the factory grind to the point where it WAS crazy sharp. That steel is hardly easy to sharpen-if you're doing any type of material removal you're in it for the long haul-break out the Band of Brothers, stay consistant and by the time you hit episode 10 you should be good to go. Forever. Once the knife is sharp, it stays that way, that's for sure. Again, it's 3/16ths versus 1/4th thick, so the RC5 is significantly thicker than the RMD.

 

[hoopster]

The ESEE-5 would be my last choice. It's thick, heavy and blocky. I haven't handled the ESEE-6 but it seems a little more reasonable as far as blade thickness plus the added length would allow you to split larger logs.
The Ratmandu is just about a perfect knife for this category but will cost a bit more overall. If anyone has ever broken an ESEE-6 or Ratmandu, I'd like to hear about it. They're both plenty of knife.

 

[ironmike86]

I find most of this the exact opposite. The 5 is .25 inches thick, versus the RMD, which is .175 inches thick. Both are sabre ground, and both come with about a 60 degree inclusive grind. The RMD is more of the slicer, and the 5 is more of the abuse knife. SR101 DOES get crazy sharp, but took me about 8 hours to convert the factory grind to the point where it WAS crazy sharp. That steel is hardly easy to sharpen-if you're doing any type of material removal you're in it for the long haul-break out the Band of Brothers, stay consistant and by the time you hit episode 10 you should be good to go. Forever. Once the knife is sharp, it stays that way, that's for sure. Again, it's 3/16ths versus 1/4th thick, so the RC5 is significantly thicker than the RMD.

How do you like the 5 incomparison to the Rmd?

 

[shotgunner11]

I would most likely go for the RMD. Great knife, great steel, perfect length and a great thickness.

Now if there were a ESEE with the same configuration (ESEE-5 with a thinner blade) I'd go with that.

But at the same time, I love my 6. It's just that the length limits my ability to carry it regularly (5.5 inch max legal length here in Tx.).

 

[jnphares]

Personally, I highly recommend the RMD (or the shorter HRLM), but another thing to consider if you want an accurate price comparison is that Swamp Rats don't come with a sheath, so you'd need to make one (if you're crafty) or budget another $50 or so to have one made.

I bought a few of the Ontario Rat-5s in D2 (closeout priced) -- they're thinner than the ESSEs and very nice, although the fit and finish quality of the ESSEs is superior.

It appears that, based on other posts, I may have overestimated the price of having a sheath made, so it's probably more like $35 or $40 after shipping -- I'm not sure whether that includes a Tel-lok or not.

 

[PayetteRucker]

How do you like the 5 incomparison to the Rmd?

I don't have an RMD-I have the Howling Rat, which is the 4.5 inch long RMD companion. The handles are identical and both share the same blade thickness, finish, steel and factory grind.

I got it because I felt the RC4 handle was insufficient and was looking for a similarly designed practical user. I took some good comparison shots alongside an RC3 showing overall length-they are within a hair of each other. The RC3 handle has a good amount of unusable space between the first finger on the grip and the edge. The Howling Rat Maximizes this space, and the handle, which is identical to the RMD, is AWESOME. The gentle sweep in addition to the belly in the middle of the grip makes for an ideal handle, and the good belly, useable point and small drop on the spine makes the 3/16ths inch blade one of the best designs I've ever wrapped my hands around. Again, the microbevel comes at about 60 degrees, which is shaving sharp but not practical for long term use-expect to put considerable time in to thinning out the steel to about a 30 degree inclusive grind.

Once you get to that point though, man... the fit and finish are perfect, the finish is damn near untouchable (took more than an hour just to get through the finish while reprofiling) but it was worth it. This will become my favorite belt knife/companion blade.

I'm at the Toledo-BSU game and halftime is over-I'll post pictures tomorrow of my Howling Rat, so you can get an idea-but expect a blade on par if not nicer than ESEE's fit an finish, with an unbelievably strong steel.

I'll note that design and intentions will still take precidence in my book, over fit and finish and even the steel. The RatManDu, Howling Rat and RC5 are all very different. I'd say the RMD.Howling Rat are more useable for everyday type stuff, though the RC5 is undeniably the most durable and confidence-inspiring blade I have ever wrapped my hands around.

 

[ironmike86]

. The RatManDu, Howling Rat and RC5 are all very different. I'd say the RMD.Howling Rat are more useable for everyday type stuff, though the RC5 is undeniably the most durable and confidence-inspiring blade I have ever wrapped my hands around.

My mistake I mis read and thought you had the Swamp comparable to the Rc 5 in size. I was just wonder how those compared in toughness. Thicker 1095 or thinner stronger steel

 

[TLR]

My mistake I mis read and thought you had the Swamp comparable to the Rc 5 in size. I was just wonder how those compared in toughness. Thicker 1095 or thinner stronger steel

If you break a RMD you're trying way to hard. Seriously, it's pretty hard to imagine a semi-normal scenario where you could break it.

If you want an extreme extraction device go for the 5 or look for a SR Chopweiler (I have one of those as well) break that and you're the hulk

I really like ESEE but the handle on the RMD & HRLM (I have both) just works for me better.

If you do break it SR has the same warranty as ESEE.

 

[PayetteRucker]

My mistake I mis read and thought you had the Swamp comparable to the Rc 5 in size. I was just wonder how those compared in toughness. Thicker 1095 or thinner stronger steel

Sr101 is an extremely fine grain. My arkansas stones wouldn't touch it, whereas with the RAT 1095, they are very efficient sharpening tools. Edge retention is better, though unless you plan on using daimond or wet and dry sandpaper to sharpen, RAT takes the ecake for easier maintenance. Due to SR101's very fine grain, it takes a hair slicing edge better, and tends to keep it that way. I haven't put my Howling Rat through enough hard use to be able to say it's on par with ESEE's toughness (I got the blade last week) though I can tell it's going to take more than usual camp tasks to do any significant damage to the tip or the edge of this blade. I'd compare edge retention thus far with the 154CM Pardue Auto made by Benchmade that I sharpened for a lawyer buddy a few weeks ago, though not nearly as prone to fracturing/chipping. If you want a fair comparison of destructive tests of the RC5 and 3/16ths SR101, check out knifetests.com. They do a pretty good job of comparing blade toughness through controlled destruction tests.