Just recieved my RAT-7 D2

Chris Pierce

Chris Pierce

Joined
Nov 15, 2006
Messages
4,837
Well i got my RAT-7 in the mail today and i cant say that i'm very impressed with it. But than again i havent used it yet.
It looks like they cut the blank out with a torch and then didnt bother to square up the spine. It angles off to one side pretty badly and you can still see the marks from cutting.
The knife feels pretty good in hand when i choke up on it
Its not quite sharp enough to shave. Which is interesting, because my Ontario Marine Raider Bowie did come shaving sharp from the factory.

I did a lot of research on this knife before i bought it, i dont usually going around buying $110 knives, i try to stick around $50 or so unless its something really cool. But anyway, i didnt read any negative about the knives while reading up on them, except about how some people wanted to reprofile the edge to a less obture angle.
Did i just get a lemon? Or is this pretty normal? I guess i just expected more for a $100+ knife
Thanks,
Chris
 
I would contact Ontario. I have several and they are usually very nice--not beautiful, but excellent workmanship and usefulness.

I'll bet Ontario will fix it for you.
 
For some reason there were a lot of RAT-5 and RAT-7 factory seconds available recently. I second the 'contact Ontario' idea.
 
I bought two knives from them in the past and got a full refund.

Glad you posted that it's a good clue for others to look at for information. I couldn't believe the lack of quality control coming out of the knife company myself.

I do thank Ontario for the full refund.
 
I'm not looking for a refund, and its pretty much just astetics. I dont think it'll effect the knifes ability to cut and chop. I just expected more since these knives are talked up so much here on the forum. Maybe i can work out an exchange with ontario.
Dont even get me started on the sheath.... I was planning on getting a nice custom from Rowe's Leather anyway, but still
 
Can't speak of the RAT7, I have the TAK-1 and can report no quality control issues. I am certain that Jeff or Mike at RAT will make it right for you.
 
my rat wasn't shaving sharp out of the box either, its better now after i reprofiled the edge. other than that it was a good all around knife. before i got big into Busse it was my "go to knife" sounds like you just got a lemon
 
Does sound like you got a lemon, or at least lemon "flavor".

I'd first contact the dealer you bought it from.
Maybe they'll exchange it for one that they can eyeball before shipping to you. It might be quicker than going directly to Ontario or RAT.

In any event, I'm sure it'll be made right.
 
This is sad to hear, I know there have been QC problems in the past but I thought that was behind them now...still I guess any company can have the odd bad apple slip by !!!
 
ac1d0v3r1d3 said:
Well i got my RAT-7 in the mail today and i cant say that i'm very impressed with it. But than again i havent used it yet.
It looks like they cut the blank out with a torch and then didnt bother to square up the spine. It angles off to one side pretty badly and you can still see the marks from cutting.
The knife feels pretty good in hand when i choke up on it
Its not quite sharp enough to shave. Which is interesting, because my Ontario Marine Raider Bowie did come shaving sharp from the factory.
Chris
Click to expand...

Chris,
I too did a lot of research before buying my RAT-7 D2. I knew ahead of time that it might have some issues, so when I got it I wasn't too surprised that it wasn't perfect. The spine on mine is straight, though you can see what look like grind marks on it. The edge angles weren't even, and it was very obtuse. Also, the serrations on the spine by the handle were very sharp on the edge, making it uncomfortable to choke up for finer work.

The good news is that I've addressed most of these concerns, and am VERY impressed with my knife's performance now. The first thing I did was work on the edge, and was rather impressed at how tough D2 is! I ended up gently working the edge on my power grinder, never letting it get hot, and was able to get it much closer to the angle I wanted. I also rounded off the corners on the grooved part of the spine, making it FAR more comfortable to wrap my finger around.

After the grinder, I used a coarse diamond hone for some time to get the edge smoothed out. This got it fairly sharp, but not even. After I got my Sharpmaker, I used the medium sticks on the 40 degree bevel to put a very nice edge on it. After the Sharpmaker, I could easily shave with the straight part of the blade. To test it, I chopped through a 2.5" fallen tree that was mostly dried out, twice. After this, I was STILL able to easily shave hair! I'm very impressed with D2, I have to say.

One issue I'm still working on is the thickness of the point. The edge on the curved part of the blade is still at too obtuse of an angle, and it's taking awhile to bring down. It does fine for everything I need it to, so I don't worry about it.

D2 is very close to stainless, but I did get some rust spots on the edge after using it in the kitchen. Make sure you dry the knife, especially the edge, carefully. When I do this, I have no problems.

Overall, I'm very happy with my knife. It rides around in my pack with me every day, and is what I would consider pretty close to my ultimate survival tool. Hopefully you'll get the bugs worked out with yours, and be able to enjoy it too!

P.S. I don't mind the sheath, though I'd really like to get a kydex one so I can carry it IWB.
 
IUKE12 said:
Can't speak of the RAT7, I have the TAK-1 and can report no quality control issues. I am certain that Jeff or Mike at RAT will make it right for you.
Click to expand...

:grumpy: Glad yours was. I fixed it myself, so I'm not going to complain to anyone...
BUT...the grind was off, and the Micarta slabs were not lined up properly; when I gripped the knife hard, my skin got pinched between the tang and the slabs...very annoying. I expected a little more quality control from such a well respected company. I know that Jeff and Mike are good guys, but I'm a good guy, too.
 
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