How Good are the United Rambo Knives?

I've just read and watched First Blood and it's really put me in the mood to find a knife of that type. Choice seems to be either a high-end custom model or a cheap and nasty one. Perhaps there's a market there for a reasonable quality item at an affordable price? I know I'd buy one.

Just to keep the thread alive, here's one I found on Ebay- the Martin MCE III. It's 154CM stainless steel which I believe is very good quality indeed. It also has a split sawback, which is apparently a feature of the original design. On the subject of the utility of the saw, I too was led to believe that it was for cutting out of downed aircraft; in the field wouldn't it most likely be used for cutting notches for traps?



Here's a question, can anyone recommend an affordable, decent quality lookalike knife; I'm very much a fan of the big blade and round grip design but a hollow handle isn't a requirement for me. I'd just like a knife that looks like the "Rambo" model and which won't break the bank; and won't break in my hand when it's used.

Appreciate any help.
 
http://www.sworddemon.com/index.asp?PageAction=VIEWPROD&ProdID=386
Jay.Mac said:
I've just read and watched First Blood and it's really put me in the mood to find a knife of that type. Choice seems to be either a high-end custom model or a cheap and nasty one. Perhaps there's a market there for a reasonable quality item at an affordable price? I know I'd buy one.

Just to keep the thread alive, here's one I found on Ebay- the Martin MCE III. It's 154CM stainless steel which I believe is very good quality indeed. It also has a split sawback, which is apparently a feature of the original design. On the subject of the utility of the saw, I too was led to believe that it was for cutting out of downed aircraft; in the field wouldn't it most likely be used for cutting notches for traps?



Here's a question, can anyone recommend an affordable, decent quality lookalike knife; I'm very much a fan of the big blade and round grip design but a hollow handle isn't a requirement for me. I'd just like a knife that looks like the "Rambo" model and which won't break the bank; and won't break in my hand when it's used.

Appreciate any help.
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I bought this one from Sword demon.com . It's a nice knock-off with a nice leather sheath, but the compass is junk. I had to krazy glue mine back into the handle right out of the box. The knife is useable and is easily sharpened, but mine is just for show.

http://www.sworddemon.com/index.asp?PageAction=VIEWPROD&ProdID=386

they also have the higher priced movie replicas too.
 
tripletrash said:
I think you guys are missing the point. would Rambo, a guy who obveously depends on his knife, switch knives year after year?(movie after movie) I personaly would find something that works and stick with it from frist blood on.
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I think you're right. Rambo was supposed to be a Vietnam vet. He would have carried a ka-bar. But I guess Ka-Bars don't look manly enough for the movies.
 
I think you're right. Rambo was supposed to be a Vietnam vet. He would have carried a ka-bar. But I guess Ka-Bars don't look manly enough for the movies.
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I think that a number of Viet Nam vets carried the Randall Model 18,which was a hollow handle knife with a saw back. They were of course, private purchases. (Someone correct me, if I have the Model # wrong)

Clint Hollingworth
The Wandering Ones webcomic
http://www.wanderingones.com
 
I didn't want to start a new thread on the topic but I've been looking around for a hollow handle knife myself lately. I don't know, there's just something about the design that appeals to me.

As far as I can tell the option is to either lay down $12.99 on a piece of junk (or $80 on the same quality for a UC Rambo blade) or to spend in the region of $300 on one of the following-

Farid Survival Knives- just discovered this page via eBay; some of the knives are fitted with tritium capsules which seems a bit crazy to me but it might look pretty cool at night:)

Chris Reeves- One piece construction and they seem to be the most recommended.

Klotzli- They make a No. 5 Survival knife complete with a small SAK in the sheath.

Aitor- The make a number of hollow handle knives and while I have heard some criticism of them, I've also heard some very good things about their knives. They seem to bridge the gap between the more expensive custom-style knife and the cheap and nasty brigade, coming in somewhere under $200 depending on the shop.

Randall Model 18 Attack and Survival which seems to have been the one that started it all off.

Martin Knives- Again, an outfit I came across after doing an eBay search. They do a range of custom made knives, including a "replica series" Randall-style knife, and their own Combat Elite range which look just like the Lile Rambo knives.

That's my summation of what's what in the hollow handle market at the moment. Are there any brands I'm missing?

Does anyone have any personal experience of any of these types? Any recommendations?
 
One other hollow-handle knife I forgot to mention- the out-of-production Wilkinson Sword (Dartmoor) survival knife. It aimed to overcome the main criticism of hollow-handle knives by including a full tang. A locking nut fitted over the end, securing a removable handle. When the nut was undone and the handle taken off, a small survival kit could be found in the skeletonised tang.

 
Ok, who remembers in the early 80s the infomercial to get 2 of the survival knives for only 39.95?

I took mine to boyscout camp once, and then threw it in the corner never to look back after getting home.

Oh and speaking about hollow handled knives, what about the CS bushman? Ugly but , sharp as hell from the box decent sheath, and only 20 bucks, so if it really gets dammaged, you could send it back in, or hell it's only 20 bucks.
 
I am still amazed at the legs this post has. Rambo knives, no matter who makes them, always make me smile when I see them. Keep the stories and comments coming.:thumbup:
 
I think the reason that this thread has lasted so long, is because the Rambo Knives are a guilty pleasure for a lot of us knife nuts. I would venture to say that there is a Rambo style survival knife in quite a few collections out there.
 
When I was 15 I saved for a FROST "BLOOD MASTER" Which was $75 made out of Surgical Steel. I still have the thing! Sharp as hell and is a good Ruck blade.
Ranger88 I think you nailed it.
 
The saw on the Lile knife works. A dealer/friend of mine has a Lile Rambo II knife and I watched him saw a 4" log in half. The key is that each tooth is slightly slanted downward allowing the tooth in front of it to catch the wood. The saw only works on the pulling motion, but it does work.

The problem with the United saw is that all the teeth are straight, not slanted.

Here's an option for a pocket survival knife that includes a real working saw: http://www.swissarmy.com/MultiTools/Product.htm?category=originalswissarmyknives&product=53964&
 
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