New Rat 1 D2 - Extremely hard to open!

F

FBonPB

Joined
Sep 7, 2018
Messages
28
Hi Everyone!

I purchased a brand new Ontario Rat 1 in D2 and it finally arrived today! Hurrah!

But, I noticed it is near impossible to "flick" open and extremely hard to close, when compared to my Spyderco Tenacious.

I have tried loosening the blade , but that only makes the blade go out of alignment by a large margin.

That, and the blade lock is very hard to push (so much so the tip of my thumb hurts) and the lock makes a "crunchy" sound when being actuated (moving against the blade I imagine).

Is this normal, and I just need to let the knife break-in? If not, any ideas what I can do to improve the action ?

Thanks
FB
 
I would take it back and get another one. I would ask them to check their inventory if they have one that opens easy.
 
That was the same experience I had with the original Rat 1.
I wrote the distributor, who replied: That's a shame.
 
Ok, I've taken it apart. I can see where there is zero polishing on the place where the blade and lock interact. From +/-100 openings/closings, I can see where the metal on the lock is being worn away.

Some 200 grit sand paper might be useful to polish/remove a bit of metal to make it smoother.

Returning it will be a royal pain in the arse, the site I bought it from (the only one that has D2) took 2.5 weeks to deliver it, and their customer support is horrid.
 
Sounds more like it's missing a washer or bushing (can't remember what's in there) on the opening problem. Or maybe the scales aren't machined properly and there's rubbing somewhere there shouldn't be. Any obvious signs of rubbing on the blade around the pivot area?

The lock stick could have several remedies, a sharpy can help add a little lube as can pencil graphite. If those don't help bending the lockbar may help a little bit. Shouldn't need to be polished but that's not a bad idea either.

Pictures would be helpful.

None of my rats have had this issue but I have had similar issues with other knives. It's unfortunate that the distributor isn't helpful on this as that's usually the best remedy as the knife is likely out of tolerance somewhere.
 
Did you buy it from an authorized dealer? If so it's legit. Then send it back to the vendor for a replacement.

If you already taken it apart use the warranty. Never send it back to vendor if you've opened it.
 
Mine did that. I ended up bending the lock bar to fix it . I went slow and it took 3 tries to get it right. Messed up the teflon washers doing it but it worked fine on just the pb washers.
 
Just a thought, based on experience:

Have you owned a Rat-1 before, OP? As I recall, when I first got one, I realised the angle of push is different from what I was used to. Try pushing a few more degrees West, if you follow.

Otherwise, send it back. :thumbsup:
 
Thanks everyone,

Did I get it from a AD? Well, yes. There are three knife websites that sell them locally (I'm in Europe) and this is the only one that sells the D2 currently. I think the knife is legit (not a Chinese copy) based on comparing it to Shabazz's video of the disassembly/reassembly. I will try and take photos.

I did notice that the standoffs are not D shaped on one side (as shown in Shabazz's video). Has anyone else experienced this ?


Have I owned a Rat before? No. This is my first Rat. I have learned to press more down/right than simply right with it. My thumb hurts!!!!

Washers: it has both the paper thin Teflon and PB washers.

Other lesson learned: always go to a shop to pick one out, don't order over the internet.

A gentle polishing of the blade where it contacts the slide lock with some 200 & 1000 grit sand paper, as well as ever so slightly "rounding" of the edge of the blade where the ball rolls on, has already done wonders to the action.

I need to do it a bit more, but wanted to try bending the lock bar back again (already tried, doesn't seem to have done much, might have to have a proper go at it).

Other lesson learned: always go to a shop to pick one out, don't order over the internet.

Thanks,
FB
 
My first Rat 1 (Aus 8) I purchased was from Am..on and had strange openning characteristics. I took it part, and there were abnormalities in the blade underneath the washers. I returned it. The second one I purchased from KW and asked that they check the action of the blade before shipping it. It had no issues.
 
Odd. Every RAT 1 or 2 I've owned was surprisingly smooth opening and closing for the price, and my D2 1 and 2 have actions I'd expect on $100 knives, not $40 knives. Did you get one with a coated blade or satin?

Generally the way they assemble the knife is the rounded side of the PB washer faces away from the liner, the Teflon goes between the PB and blade, and the rough side of the PB contacts the liner. I frequently have to disassemble knives to face the rounded side of the washer towards the blade, though, and I've had a lot of knives go from awful to smooth action with that small change.
 
Isn’t the lack of “D” shaped stand-offs and indication of a counterfeit? I’ve taken down a few different RATs and they’ve always had that type of stand-off. Has this changed recently?
 
Hackenslash said:
Isn’t the lack of “D” shaped stand-offs and indication of a counterfeit? I’ve taken down a few different RATs and they’ve always had that type of stand-off. Has this changed recently?
Click to expand...

I thought they did too. I will shoot photos of the knife and the box and post them.
 
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