Old Ratweiler vs. New Ratweiler

So UPS arrived today.
Driver had a curious look; he said, "Um, you got something from SWAMP RAT?"

Got the new beast in today and had to immediately compare "old school" to "new school."

Right off the bat, let me say that if you are fortunate enough to own ANY of these monsters; you have a real winner in my opinion. As many of you know, this was the knife that first lured me to the Bussekin; and there is no substitute as far as I'm concerned. The Ratweiler by Swamp Rat isn't just a knife, it's a freaking legend.

There is nothing that I have seen that even comes close to the unique style of the Ratweiler (except for its brothers the old Mastiff, the Daddy and maybe some of the pricey items coming out of Spartan blades). As far as knives produced out of 1/4 thick steel in 2016, the new Ratweiler is once again in a class by itself.

Anyway, comparing these two, the first thing that was apparent to me today was the handles; the latest offering (which I was fortunate enough to order before last call back in October last year) sports that signature diagonal cut micarta, and I love it. Handle is wider too, you know, "thickerer" than my old school version. And nicely contoured, with even more curves. I didn't think the bodacious, beefy Ratweiler could possibly have any more curves, but Busse figured out a way.

Handle is actually quite a bit wider in the back end (tried to get a photo as shown). Really digging the new handle on this blade, and if you have larger hands I think you will love it. Although to be honest, the old one fits me pretty good too.

Other than that, they look nearly identical. I think my old one is differentially treated, but they appear the same in style and I'm okay with that. If it ain't broke, don't fix it. Just make more. Meanwhile, I realize you might have questions; like, will I keep both of these beasts? Does a man really 'need' nearly 40 ounces of SR-101 steel in the same style? Heck, I don't know; but I think we can all agree, having an extra Ratweiler is not a bad problem to have.

 

Thanks guys, much appreciated.
Nice to see this one coming back around for others to enjoy.

 

Not anything noticeable in my hand, they are both 1/4" steel. If I can locate my scale I will let you know for sure. But I'm sure the 3/16" version would be noticeable.