How Good are the United Rambo Knives?

Great posts guys. I am hearing some good ideas and thoughts. I started this thread to evoke thought about knives which are an icon (whether they be of good quality or not). I am proud to be a part of Bladeforums!!!:D
 
ranger88 said:
One more thing, if I may ask. Does anybody know the purpose of the sawback spine, other than to get snagged on everything?
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You city guys :)
Them's fer makin' hash browns fer breakfast !
 
Dang...this thread takes me back to my childhood. I wanted a Rambo knife so bad I spent the night at a friends house and walked/snuck five miles to the local flea market to pick one up. Blew my entire $10 allowance on it. (had to sneak it, my parents had the nerve to call that knife "impractical"!!) But between that and my automatic Uzi squirt gun, there was no question I was the toughest kid on the block. (never mind the "block" was in rural Georgia where there weren't many kids anyways)

I woulda ruled the world if I could have afforded one of the REAL Rambo knives.:D

As for now...one of the last things I'd ever pack, right before the Lord Of The Rings knives.... but if I needed one, I'm sure it would beat the hell out of a sharpened tin can lid, and I'd make due with it.

Although I would trade it off on a Mora or hardware store hatchet the first chance I got...
 
ranger88 said:
That's what I ment by the Q. Cause they don't saw.
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You are right. They are terrible for use as a saw. The saw teeth are there to look cool. Unfortunately, this knife is just for fun and not function.

(Kerf is the width of the channel made by the saw's teeth as it cuts through a material. The Rambo I and II do not utilize kerf. Your better off carrying a pocket saw.)
 
i do beleive the "saw teeth" were actually representative of the members of Rambo's platoon that didn't make it. dunno if it was actually ment to be a saw.
 
BadKarma05 said:
i do beleive the "saw teeth" were actually representative of the members of Rambo's platoon that didn't make it. dunno if it was actually ment to be a saw.
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I've never heard this explaination. It would be interesting to see some evidence showing this was the original design intent.

Even so, some dealers selling this knife still advertise it as having a "saw-back" blade. As a saw, the Rambo 1 and 2 knives are not very effective.
 
I've a book from the 80's by Leroy Thompson (Survival / Fighting Knives) in which he reviews the Jimmy Lile Rambo knives. The originals would appear to be perfectly functional - the sawback had a lot more thought in it than the copies indicate - the teeth vary along the profile, being a single row near the tip and a double row on the spine. According to Thompson it cuts quite well - it was definitely designed as a saw and not for symbolism. I'd certainly expect something that works from the late Jimmy Lile.

Mark
 
The UC First Blood is actually a pretty accurate copy, cosmetically, of the Lile original. Of course, it has not been properly heat treated and tempered, which Lile told me was the strength of his survival designs (along with the special method he used to attach the blade to the handle). The UC Rambo II versions I have seen are flat out pieces of junk. It does not even match the Lile original in thickness and weight, and the workmanship is awful.

I must admit I am speculating on the whole "saw teeth" legend about Rambo's platoon, but the two knives have different numbers of saw teeth, so that does not seem to make sense. (I have a hazy memory that that was the purpose of the "scallops" on the Rambo III by Hibben.) Also, the saw teeth were a stylized version of the teeth on the Randall Model 18 which was meant for ripping through metal, specifically the thin skin of a downed aircraft. This was requested of Randall, who felt saw teeth would weaken the blade, by a military medic who was afraid of being trapped in the crumpled fuselage of a helicopter. The Lile version is also suitable for that purpose, although they do saw wood. Anyway, why would you saw wood in the wilderness when you could chop it with the blade?
 
I have a Sly II and its a great knife. well balanced for its design. I belive their pretty tough but nothing as tough as somthing like a Busse. Its a real paradox because you have a fighting style blade with a survival idea handle. For a downed pilot that had to stab a raghead or somthing it would be great but to use to split wood or skin and chop its kind of useless.
 
Jeop86 said:
. . . Anyway, why would you saw wood in the wilderness when you could chop it with the blade?
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'Cause a real saw uses less energy and any saw is quieter than chopping.
 
Unfortunately saw backs are rarely real saws. They are mainly useful for notching and with precision chops or even a nice efficient edge it is hard to argue that is productive unless you really need perfect square edges.

-Cliff
 
fulloflead said:
Here it is:



If you want it, it's yours.:thumbup:

.
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Dude, that is one boss knife. Check the sheath, that suckah is T-A-C-T-I-C-A-L! The pumice "whetstone" is a nice touch! :thumbup: Does it make the rad "Dunn-Duuunnnnh!" sound when you pull it out of the sheath like in the movie? The balde looks like it has a few scratches, from fighting communists, no doubt.
 
moonwilson said:
Dude, that is one boss knife. Check the sheath, that suckah is T-A-C-T-I-C-A-L! The pumice "whetstone" is a nice touch! :thumbup: Does it make the rad "Dunn-Duuunnnnh!" sound when you pull it out of the sheath like in the movie? The balde looks like it has a few scratches, from fighting communists, no doubt.
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Looks like he bent the tip on a russian bone in episode 3:D

sadly thats not even a united model just a chinese "super knife"
 
You guys have no idea what your talking about, that's the toughest knife that has ever been made. Those knives are made primarily for fighting armored vehicles but supplies became scarce when jewlers discovered their ability to slice diamonds like budda.

That sheath is made out of a special weave of carbon fiber and kevlar, thats the only combo the sheathmaker could find to handle the sharpness of the blade. In fact, in order to sew the sheath, they needed a 20ton press and a needle made of the blade itself.

That sharpening stone.....yea, its plutonium.

Those scratches are from a fight with Chuck Norris, his fingernails are the only substance known to man harder than the blade, once it's tempered.
 
Cliff Stamp said:
Unfortunately saw backs are rarely real saws. They are mainly useful for notching and with precision chops or even a nice efficient edge it is hard to argue that is productive unless you really need perfect square edges.

-Cliff
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Too true.

I, of course, only answered the question put.

The BEST "saw" backed knife I have tried (Got Kerf!) was nowhere near a match for the worst foldiing prunning saw I have used.
 
shotgunner11 said:
Those scratches are from a fight with Chuck Norris, his fingernails are the only substance known to man harder than the blade, once it's tempered.
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Finger nails! :rolleyes:

TALONS, dude, TALONS!!!!
 
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