New-to-me RTAK II

B

bigghoss

Joined
Jul 27, 2011
Messages
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I was about to order an Ontario RD9 when I saw two used RTAK II's for ~$72 shipped so I scored one of those instead. Pics aren't great but there's only a few small cosmetic blemishes to tip you off that it's not brand new. My guess is it was used to display custom sheaths (I got it from a well-know custom sheath maker/knife store). The finish is intact so it hasn't been thumped on and the factory sheath is like new also.

Here it is sitting on an old metal five-gallon "jerry" can.
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and with my BK9
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I just unboxed this so I haven't had any chance to try it out. The balance doesn't feel as blade-heavy as the BK9 thanks to the taper of the blade so I'm interested to see how does compared to the BK9, the RTAK II feels closer to a machete almost. It would have been nice if they had done a taper to the handle area too to take some of the weight out of the handle. The handle is pretty big so if you have small hands the RTAK II probably isn't for you, I'm going to have to do a little work on the scales to make it fit me better. Anyway, first impression is it's a pretty nice blade and it seems like it could get some work done.

Oh, and I checked. The other used RTAK II is gone already.;)
 
Took the handle scales off and found out that the tang is not skeletonized like the becker line. I'm hoping to move soon so after I get settled I'll have to take care of that. Should give the knife better balance. While I'm at it I'll contour the scales more to my liking.
 
Yeah, it's a beast alright. Makes my BK9 look small. Just spent a good hour recontouring the scales to fit my hands better. Made a huge difference but I got some more work to do. Maybe if I work up the nards I may take an angle grinder to the swell of the handle.

Also on my list from Onatrio is the SP8, kukri, 12in cutlass machete, and RD9. Maybe an SP10 and SP50 if I have way too much money laying around.
 
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I'll enjoy it a whole lot more after some more work on the scales and take some weight out of the tang. Then I'll bend some kydex for it.
 
Good news fellas. I just found out that the other used RTAK II is still available. I got it from Chestnut Ridge Knife Shop through a third-party vendor (not fleabay). Price is $65.99 +$5.74 shipping. It's not listed on their website though. Better hurry, I get paid at midnight and I'm seriously thinking of getting a second. As you can see from my pics, when they say "like new" they really mean it. Mine has what looks like some rub marks from a kydex sheath but nothing that tells me it was actually used for any serious tasks.
 
Called them. They don't have the deal YOU got, but they've got RTAK II seconds for $71. Ordered one.
 
Nice. The website must not be entirely up to date. I guess that's not uncommon. I have a lot of other ontario's I need to buy anyway.
 
I had one. Changed the scales etc. Had to get rid of it. Everytime I cut into something and gave a audible "ting". Drove me nuts. It did chop great though.
 
I had just been looking at them on another site and thinking about buying one. The cheapest I'd seen so far was 84.99.
 
I haven't even seen them that cheap for a new one, but I haven't shopped around a whole lot. Now to find me an RD9...
 
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