It's here! First Impressions of Swamp Rat, Busse as a whole and the HRLM

[PayetteRucker]

Got home last night all excited to find a package on my porch and... the dreaded pink slip from USPS. "Available for pickup after 7AM." Crap. I ran to the post office this morning and ripped open the box with a Svord Peasant. Wow. This little blade is Sa-weet. The micarta is extremely grippy but not so much that it's going to cause hot spots.

The handle is nice and full, unlike the RC4, which is very similar in size. I'm a southpaw, with rheumatoid arthiritis, and my different hands like different things, due to mobility and deformation of individual joints. I couldn't get into the choil and thumb ramp with my left hand. It just felt awkward. However with the right, it fits like a glove-go figure.

Sage blade finish is so cool... when ordering black canvas scales (I guess black paper was out) I was expecting the dark black color-instead it's more of a heather gray, which I don't mind in person now, it looks really good. The saber grind is less extreme than I thought it would be, and the blade tapers toward the edge at a very reasonable angle. I still may scandify it. Overall, exceptionally happy with the general design of the blade, the handle and the knife overall.
Reasonable priced alternative to those with ergo issues with the RC4.
Good show, Swamp Rat.

To tandy, to tandy to buy me some cow. Home again, home again, jiggity jow. Seriously though, I'm thinking a gunmetal gray and black lacing.

 

[dogrunner]

.... This little blade is Sa-weet. ... Overall, exceptionally happy with the general design of the blade, the handle and the knife overall.

Crap. I was trying to avoid one, but now I'm thinking about it again. I love my Gen 2 howler with the res-C handle, but these have been on my mind lately too, thanks to Eric's note about their availability.

 

[Cutshaw]

My favorite Rats to date?

HRLM and Ratweiler: Tied for #1.
Dog Skinner, Desert Jack and RatmanDu: Tied for #2.

You did good.

 

[banana-clip]

The HRLM is my favorite SW knife.

 

[bushflyr]

Funny you should mention the RC-4. I started out my migration away from folders with one. Then came my RMD and HRLM. Due primarily to the handle the RC4 gets very little carry time now. It just feels too small.

 

[PayetteRucker]

I agree entirely-I mention it alot to newcomers in the ESEE forums, who usually dismiss my advice as trolling, and two months after actually using their new 120 dollar knife they decide, "oh, ya know what, this handle kinda sucks...". Fanboyism getting in the way of product design and quality. Never thought I'd say that of a RAT Cutlery knife, especially when compared to a Bussekin one, but it's true. This really is a practical survival knife. I have TONS of pictures. They're being uploaded now. And I find the micarta super comfortable... I was kinda thinking that the textured grips would get shredded but after fondling this thing for a while, I highly doubt it. This micarta is the toughest of any knife I own.