Help me decide between a Becker BK7 & Ontario Rat 7

The only Becker I own is The Joy of Cooking. Sorry about that, Ethan.

I bought a remaindered Ontario RTAK II for $60.00. I figured at that price it would do as a truck knife.

I hated the boxy handle. Fifteen minutes with a belt sander smoothed the corners off the micarta and produce a handle I was willing to use. Not great, but acceptable.

Don’t buy an Ontario RAT unless you are up for a do it yourself project.
 
Raymond1000 said:
Don’t buy an Ontario RAT unless you are up for a do it yourself project.
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It ain't like all these snarky nut cases don't turn everything into a project anyway. :) most of these guys don't even let air touch their blades before they strip the coating off, change the scales, and get a new sheath. Ka-bar might as well just sell the blades without handles, sheaths, or coatings. I'd buy all my knives that way of I could.
 
bigghoss said:
It ain't like all these snarky nut cases don't turn everything into a project anyway. :) most of these guys don't even let air touch their blades before they strip the coating off, change the scales, and get a new sheath. Ka-bar might as well just sell the blades without handles, sheaths, or coatings. I'd buy all my knives that way of I could.
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Nobody in this forum needs advice from me. Not about remodeling knives. Not even about poaching eggs. :D

The OP sounds like a beginner. He may just want to buy a knife and use it.
 
The BK7 chops better (I had both Rat 7 and BK7), because of the weight forward balance.

Like others have said, Beckers are the way to go. The OKC HT for most of their knives (this includes the RAT series), leaves much to be desired.
 
I have a RAT 5 and it is a good knfe, it has, I think the same handle size and ergonomics as the RAT 7. Quality being the same (maybe) depends on who you talk to, I'd go with the becker because the handles are more comfortable, I feel the same way about ESEE knives. I really want to buy a couple ESEE's but they don't feel good to me. There's another option for you, esee vs. Becker. For what it's worth.
 
I'd pick the Becker hands down. I agree that Kabar has the best HT out there for their 1095 crovan...or any 1095 for that matter.
 
The BK7 is a great knife. If you are looking for a replacement to the Kabar 1217 F/U then it is definitely what you are looking for. It makes for a great starter knife because almost everyone is familiar with the Kabar 1217 and at a similar size and weight it doesn't break the bank or the back.
 
Both of these knives are approaching an awkward size, and I know some would agree. When a knife starts getting larger there is a point where it is not the best for small tasks and not great for large tasks either. Both the RAT7 and BK-7 are there IMO. I had a BK-7 but it didnt do much for me. It didnt baton particularly well, the handles were slippery, the sheath was nothing to write home about. The edge was not in ideal proximity to the handles so smaller tasks were harder. When Jeff Randall split Esee away from Ontario he knew this (hence Esee's lack of 7-9" blade offerings). He redesigned the RAT 7 with a smaller blade (RC-6) and then released the Junglas. His thinking there is no magical sized knife that can do it all ideally. A big knife has its pros and so does a small knife. Anyway ill end my rant with this, if I was you and had the money you had to spend on a knife......save a bit longer. There are so many great blades in the 80-150 range. Check out the Esee line-up (specifically the 4, 6, and Laser Strike), Swamp Rat line-up (specifically everything in their offerings now lol), and Scrap Yard.

If you still have your heart set on the 7ish inch blade check out the SYKCO 711. Its what I sold my BK-7 for. It is the best 6-8" outdoor knife for the weight IMO.

If I have swayed you to check out smaller knives check out the RC-4, BK10, BK16, Laser Strike, Ratmandu, Fallkniven S1, Fallkniven F1, and Buck Punk. All of those stated a more functional knives IMO.

If you want larger check out BK9, Junglas, Rodent 9, BRKT Grasso Bolo II, SYKCO 911,
 
someone convince me to get a bk2 over an esee4. I think the esee 5 is a useless sharpened pry bar and so when I look at the bk2, I don't give it much thought...
 
The Ergos on ontarios are terrible! I have a Ontario Afghan And I have NEVER used it because how large and blocky the handle is. The Beckers, however, are designed for long term use. Well designed and superbly made!
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Beckerhead #32
 
I’ve been a big knife-small knife guy for decades. I recommend the trail knife size, 9 to 10 inches. Swamp Rat and Scrap Yard both make affordable high quality trail knives.

They also make a good task knife, 4 inches or so. But so do many other cutlers.

For all I know, you can get a great big and small blade set from Becker. They certainly have a good reputation.
 
chemistguy said:
someone convince me to get a bk2 over an esee4. I think the esee 5 is a useless sharpened pry bar and so when I look at the bk2, I don't give it much thought...
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If you don't like it, you don't like it so there's no reason for you to buy it. You could check out the BK10 which is about the same length but .188" instead of .25" or the BK16/17 is comparable in size to an ESEE 4.
 
I would say any Becker over the Ontario. And the 9 over the 7. And it is only $30ish (?) Extra for micarta scales. And if you want to pay a few extra bucks for I knife that comes with a nice sheath and scales already I would recommend an ESEE. But I think an ESEE 6 is about $125 almost double the BKS
 
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