First Swamp Rat knife.

V

VolundoftheForge

Joined
Jan 3, 2012
Messages
1,491
Hello all, I'm new to the high end knives and wanted to pick myself up a nice little knife by Swamp Rat :) I want a blade that is between 7-9 1/2", 1/4" thick, SR-101 or equal steel, and all the good stuff :P This knife is to serve as a camp knife, survival knife, and defensive blade. My limit is no more than $250. Also, I would like it to be still sold by the company or one of their sites. If you have any suggestions on knives, fitting these parameters or not(May be better for me anyway :P), please let me know :)
 
bld522 said:
Your best bet is to pick up a Scrap Yard 711. You can find it here:

http://shop.scrapyardknives.com/product.sc?productId=60&categoryId=4

With the money you save, you can have a nice sheath made for it. Check out the following sheathmakers:

http://www.buybrownholsters.com/
http://www.rainwalkercreations.com/
http://www.armoralleather.com/
http://okuden.net/

Any of them will serve you well. :thumbup:
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I had actually looked at that one and the Rodent 9. I like it just the handle worried me as it looks as though it would wear out quickly. also I heard swamp rat knives came with a better out of the box edge and better heat treatment. I was going to get the Rodent but I heard it's a little too top heavy to really make a good Defense knife :P
 
bld522 said:
Your best bet is to pick up a Scrap Yard 711.
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Couldn't agree more! You are one lucky man, as the 7-11 is sure to be the new camp knife to beat. 7.5'' of SR-101 with a resiprene handle and a convex saber grind, what else could you ask for?!
 
VolundoftheForge said:
I like it just the handle worried me as it looks as though it would wear out quickly.
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Without going on a tangent, DO NOT WORRY ABOUT THAT! Even if your handle does "wear out," the Yard will replace the handle with a brand new one free of charge :thumbup:
 
Trust me, VOTF, the handle on the 711 will wear you out before you wear it out.
 
bld522 said:
Trust me, VOTF, the handle on the 711 will wear you out before you wear it out.
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I may have spoken too soon then! :) Honestly, durability is my #1 want on anything, which is why I was worried. I like to prepare for long term disasters and the fact Busse-kin knives seem nearly indestructible is why I'm here. Does anyone know how well the 711 chops? Also, how much quality difference is there between swamp rat and junk yard?
 
The 711 should chop well for a knife its size. And the quality difference between a Swamp Rat knife and a Scrap Yard knife is virtually nonexistent. Both brands are made in the same manufacturing facility by the same people. And they carry the same warranty. The nice thing is, if you don't like the 711 when you get it, just hold onto it for a few months and you'll be able to sell it for more than you paid for it.

Try it. You'll like it. :)
 
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1 more vote for the 711 :)
Al
 
I'd also suggest the 711 . If you want to see how tough the handles are , just go to knifetests.com and look at the Scrapper 6 or the Busse Basic 9 test . they both have the same handle as on the 711 , BOMBPROOF !


HOLD MY BEER AND WATCH THIS !
 
Also, the knife will not be purchased til the end of the month, so everyone feel free to comment. SO far all votes for 711 xD
 
+1, I'm so sure of it, I ordered two. But don't wait too long, it is a limited time offer.

bld522 said:
Your best bet is to pick up a Scrap Yard 711. You can find it here:

http://shop.scrapyardknives.com/product.sc?productId=60&categoryId=4

With the money you save, you can have a nice sheath made for it. Check out the following sheathmakers:

http://www.buybrownholsters.com/
http://www.rainwalkercreations.com/
http://www.armoralleather.com/
http://okuden.net/

Any of them will serve you well. :thumbup:
Click to expand...
 
I'm definitely reconsidering going with the 711, but what about the ratmandu? Shop.ratknives sells them still but it says they're out of stock, so that may be for a while or forever :P
 
There'll be more RMD's back in the store, just keep an eye out. That knife is as close to perfect as you're gonna get, but the blade length is shorter than what you're looking for at about 5 1/2". Get the 7-11 or wait for the R-7 to be released from the Swamp. R-9's pop up in the exchange pretty regularly. There are a few more models that fit your criteria: Mischief 9, Ratweiler and Chopweiler instantly come to mind. All that said, I think I would go for the 7-11.

eta: I guess most of the knives I mentioned don't exactly fit your criteria since they're not currently being offered, but they do pop up in the exchange fairly regularly, except for the Ratweiler.
 
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If a Busse-made knife says "out of stock", I never assume it will be back in stock. But if you want to roll the dice, VOTF, the RatManDu is my second all-time favorite Swamp Rat knife. What's my first all-time favorite, you ask? Why the Camp Tramp, of course. And is there something available right now at factory pricing that emulates the Camp Tramp? Why yes, there is. It's called the 711 and you can buy it from Scrap Yard Knives. Will it still be available at the end of the month? That's anybody's guess. But as the old saying goes, a bird in the hand is worth two in the bush. And if you decide you want it after it's out of production, be prepared to pay more for it than you would have had you purchased it directly from the factory. Such is the nature of Busse-made knives.

Good luck with your decision. :)
 
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When you order, from Scap Yard, your card will not be charged until your knife is ready. So if you order now, your card will probably not be hit for a while.
Al

VolundoftheForge said:
Also, the knife will not be purchased til the end of the month, so everyone feel free to comment. SO far all votes for 711 xD
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That's true. Again my only drawback is the res-c, not only for the durability portion but also because if I ever had to use it for survival and the handle failed, the one hole at the bottom makes it harder to use a para chord replacement :P Also the whole "spear" portion, which I'd probably never need but it's nice to know I have the option. The trading idea sounds nice, but I'd really prefer to just get it from the actual company. Also, what about the ratmandeux? Sorry, I'm new to all these knives, but hopefully not for long :)
 
Unless I'm mistaken, the Ratmandeux is no longer available from the actual company. So that rules that out. And you never really know what's coming from the Bussekin companies until it gets here. So getting what you want at factory pricing is always something of a crapshoot. Of course, there's always the secondary market. But you can't buy knives from the actual company off the secondary market either and you'll normally have to pay a markup for them as well. Point is, your choices are limited to begin with. If you paint yourself into a corner, and I'm concerned that's exactly what you're doing, you won't end up owning any Busse knives at all.

Once again, good luck with your buying decision.
 
You're right. Honestly, I'm terrible with decisions :P But as of now, unless by the end of the month the sellings has changed, I shall be purchasing the 711 :) Worst comes to worst I just trade up in a few months if I find something that strikes me more. So, now that that's out of the way, can anyone tell me about good sheaths to buy? I was thinking kydex with tech lok, but that's open for consideration. Also, are there anythings I should avoid doing with the 711?
 
Go back to Post #2 in this thread for the web sites of several excellent sheathmakers. My personal favorite is Jeff Law at Rainwalker Creations. But you can't go wrong with any of them. And the most important thing to avoid doing with the 711 is leaving it in a drawer. To paraphrase Jerry Busse, beat it like you stole it!
 
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