Jeff, I got the replacement on Friday, I forgot what a new one looks like - it's way too clean, so I will have to get it dirty, grungy and dinked shortly.
Thanks again for building an amazing product for really an unreal price, and thanks for taking care of me even though I earned the idiot-of-the-moment card.
I guess I gotta go sell a few more folks on how handy these are (and also remember to keep a five-way with me when doing demo work!)
Pilot, this is the first knife I've broken in about 20 years or so. The last was a Pacific Cutlery Model 10, which got a re-profiled blade and resembled a Buck 105 when i was done. it was sharp as a scalpel and I miss that knife a lot.
I have treated an RC3 like a do-it-all tool since it proved useful as one when i first got this knife. It never showed a hint of weakness until it busted a couple weeks back. If you're not getting your knife dinked, dull, dirty, bloody or whatever, you're not playing hard enough. I know precisely where it;s limits are, and will avoid those edges of the envelope, but I shall not baby it.
The butt cap pries open a paint can with ease, the knife works on everything from squirrel to drywall to a case of beer and pizza. The handle lets latex paint/ Kilz, roofing tar or animal goo clean off pretty easily with naptha and a 3M pad, and at the end of the day, it gets cleaned up, touched up and stuck back in my waistband before dinner.
I did not like the HEST at all. Grip was useless in my hand and frankly I found all the "features" detracted from it's being a knife. The sheath was WAY bulky for a knife its size and I leave it to folks who like the design and are okay with being poked in the ribs by the hook thingy.
And while an RC5 may be in the cards for the future, it's really not configured for IWB carry behind my hip
