Thought I'd give 1st impressions of the Battle Rat that arrived today.
WOOT !!
It's excellent ! Lighter than I thought it would be, but with a nice blade heavy feel. Put forefinger in choil using sabre grip & it starts to feel more neutral balanced, though still a little blade heavy.
Put 2nd finger in choil and Bingo. Now the blade naturally rotates 90 degrees & is lying flat for easy horizontal slices, but can still work vertically. It's almost neutral balanced in this grip & the overall weight would not be a problem for extended use, field dressing larger animals. No need for a saw, heh. The balance point of the knife is slightly in front of the choil.
It's obviously got major chopping power in a compact package, compared to a machete.
I've broken some nice machetes by chopping too close to the handle. No worries here, hehe.
Shaving sharp right out of the box. You won't catch me using the Sharpmaker on This baby. As with all my knives that have choils, or when I like to use 'em "choked up" on the blade, I dull the very end of the edge closest to the choil. This prevents cuts from having a finger ride up the choil into the end of the edge.
I'm a big fan of the convex edge & was able to tickle it to "sticky" sharp by a little work on the strop. Gotta get a bigger strop! I'll have to use it a while & then see what sandpaper grit is best to keep in the pouch on the sheath. That may be all I need for minor touchups in the field. I have no doubts about edgeholding ability with this knife. Goin camping/fishing this weekend, it'll get a workout there.
When in the field , I need tools that don't fail & can do more than one job. Got one here. Fit & finish on knife & sheath are first rate, but the sheath retaining snap is a little tight. It'll probably loosen up with use.
Thanks to all at SwampRat for the fast service. I ordered it on the 23rd of October. Great value for the money & prompt service. Happy customer here
WOOT !!
It's excellent ! Lighter than I thought it would be, but with a nice blade heavy feel. Put forefinger in choil using sabre grip & it starts to feel more neutral balanced, though still a little blade heavy.
Put 2nd finger in choil and Bingo. Now the blade naturally rotates 90 degrees & is lying flat for easy horizontal slices, but can still work vertically. It's almost neutral balanced in this grip & the overall weight would not be a problem for extended use, field dressing larger animals. No need for a saw, heh. The balance point of the knife is slightly in front of the choil.
It's obviously got major chopping power in a compact package, compared to a machete.
I've broken some nice machetes by chopping too close to the handle. No worries here, hehe.
Shaving sharp right out of the box. You won't catch me using the Sharpmaker on This baby. As with all my knives that have choils, or when I like to use 'em "choked up" on the blade, I dull the very end of the edge closest to the choil. This prevents cuts from having a finger ride up the choil into the end of the edge.
I'm a big fan of the convex edge & was able to tickle it to "sticky" sharp by a little work on the strop. Gotta get a bigger strop! I'll have to use it a while & then see what sandpaper grit is best to keep in the pouch on the sheath. That may be all I need for minor touchups in the field. I have no doubts about edgeholding ability with this knife. Goin camping/fishing this weekend, it'll get a workout there.
When in the field , I need tools that don't fail & can do more than one job. Got one here. Fit & finish on knife & sheath are first rate, but the sheath retaining snap is a little tight. It'll probably loosen up with use.
Thanks to all at SwampRat for the fast service. I ordered it on the 23rd of October. Great value for the money & prompt service. Happy customer here
