Is the Ontario RAT-3 from Cabela's good to go?

Macchina

Macchina

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A friend of mine wants to get a knife for our up-coming hunting trip and he has a Cabela's card to spend. I recommended the Benchmade Steep Country but then I saw they have a unique version of the Ontario RAT-3 with a wood handle and leather sheath. Is this knife otherwise different on any way from the standard Ontario lineup? It still says "USA" right on the blade...

I've had RAT knives in the past and really liked them. A bit rougher than ESEE but still great knives.

Screenshot_20171017-192958~2.png
 
I am a fan of OKC and the RAT line. Not a fan of laminated wood scales, so that would be the killer. For me, the blade and steel isn't in question, so if your buddy likes the looks, I would say its a go.
 
From the online description, the steel is 1074/1075 instead of 1095 for the standard. From the photos, the micarta handles on the standard look more rounded but I don't know if I would trust photos for that.

Cabelas version
http://www.cabelas.com/product/ONTARIO-KNIFE-RAT-EXCLUSIVE/2509401.uts?slotId=0

Standard from knife center
https://www.knifecenter.com/item/ON...-Knife-w-35-inch-Plain-Blade-and-Black-Sheath

If a folder is okay, the cabelas BM griptilian and mini-grip have D2 blades if you have a preference for D2 over 154cm or just like it different. Of course, there are plenty of good options and the Rat 3 is a solid pick. There are a lot of "right answers" in this scenario of other choices, of course.

As far as ontario in general, I've found them to be a good knife at a good price. I tend to choose them over esee because I usually don't care as much about fit and finish when it's clearly going to be a user as long as it's not so bad to create comfort issues. I have another ontario on the way, an older TAK 1 that I'm hoping to enjoy more than previous ontario's. The fixed blades tend to have bigger handles than I like, at least the ones I've tried so far. They're just thick for me.
 
Like AWGunS, not a fan of wood handles. If your buddy truly likes the Rat 3, then go for it.

Cabelas will do a price match for certain online retailers and certain brick & mortar stores within 100 miles. For the same price, I'd rather have the Gerber Strongarm. Cabelas has it for $75 but you can find a price match for $50. That Rat 3 looks like an exclusive, so pricing matching wouldn't work.
 
I wonder if the laminated wood handle can be sanded and refinished without fears of delaminating the wood? Just asking, since a lot of people like to round down the corners to eliminate hot spots.
 
i don't know but i love the look of that handle, and the price is great as well. i hate black blades, so this would end up being a project... still considering it. if they had gone with D2, i would've bought it in a heart beat, but i guess the price would be different?
 
Wouldn't the laminated wood react similarly to sanding as micarta as both seem to be based on gluing layers of material together just using different materials. I guess my assumption is the laminated wood would be like a wood micarta.

I think bladehq has a nice wood handled version in D2 as it's on my want list if I buy a knife in that size. The blade is a different size and the handle is shaped a little differently as it has thumb scallops too. I was originally this is what the cabelas version was when I saw the handle but exclusive with black coating but that's definitely not the price. The cabelas also less expensive by a fair margin.
https://www.bladehq.com/item--Ontario-RAT-3-Hunter-Limited--50003
 
bikerector said:
Wouldn't the laminated wood react similarly to sanding as micarta as both seem to be based on gluing layers of material together just using different materials. I guess my assumption is the laminated wood would be like a wood micarta.

I think bladehq has a nice wood handled version in D2 as it's on my want list if I buy a knife in that size. The blade is a different size and the handle is shaped a little differently as it has thumb scallops too. I was originally this is what the cabelas version was when I saw the handle but exclusive with black coating but that's definitely not the price. The cabelas also less expensive by a fair margin.
https://www.bladehq.com/item--Ontario-RAT-3-Hunter-Limited--50003
Click to expand...

yea the price what's appealing the cabelas rat 3. at $140 i'd probably go for a BRK
 
If don't like the wood handles, I recently got the tkc extended scales for my rat 3, fits the hand much better, more control.
 
I just bought this knife, don't really care for the handles, not bad looking just not my cup of tea, if somebody wants to trade for factory micartas let me know.
 
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