- Joined
- Apr 3, 2013
- Messages
- 197
Two months ago i got myself a RAT-1 and did a review over the course of a couple days.I had a lot of good feedback on that review but i felt that it was not enough considering i had just bought the knife so here's an update. During that time i cut a ton of Cardboard, some thin plastic (Milk jugs and such), and a bit of wood.
The results were as expected, the RAT held up nicely. Shortly after the head of one of the pivot screws snapped so i sent it in for repair. I was sent a whole new knife.
Two months of hard use and abuse later, this is how it has held up.
NOTE: I don't intentionally abuse my tools, i love them all (especially my RAT). Tools are just that... tools, and tools are meant to be used. So, with that out of the way here's how it is now.
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I have cut A LOT of cardboard, paper, wood, thin metal sheeting, Various thicknesses of plastic (and a lot of it) Ranging from very thin packaging to medium thickness straps and thick plastic storage bins. I've had to punch through metal cans, sheet metal, i've had to use the tip as a screw driver, i've opened a few cans with this knife. I've even performed minor surgery with this knife (No shit, seriously) I have broken many of my own knife rules simply because i know that this knife could take it. Here's the results.
Let's start with how the paint wore. The pocket clip has worn pretty bad but in my opinion it looks pretty bad.... ass..... pretty badass.... so i kept the paint on it.
The paint on the blade did not wear as well as i had hoped so i ended up stripping it off.
The head of the pivot screw stripped and the other snapped after tightening them back down dozens of times and disassembling the knife for maintenance about a dozen times. I found short computer screws fit perfectly as replacements.
I have over a hundred screwdrivers, bitdrivers, bits, etc. but a couple times i didn't have access to any and had to use my RAT as a screwdriver (I know... it's sad, and breaking my own knife rules but you gotta do what you gotta do) I ended up snapping the tip twice. I ground it back down to a usable, pointy, and stronger tip. Here's the new blade profile.
The Nylon 6 handle scales have held up amazingly well. There's barely any noticeable wear on them.
Lockup has suffered a bit but is still rock solid at about 80% engagement.
Final notes: This knife has been put through A LOT in a short period of time and is still a tank, sharp as a razor, and my favorite knife. My RAT is at my side every second of every day and has never failed me. One thing i forgot to take pictures of is blade centering which is still perfect. It opens as smooth as the day i got it although i did have to polish the washers once and clean and re-oil it many many times. I hate for my knife to be less than razor sharp so i've sharpened it more than necessary and have had to remove a lot of metal to get rid of chips and dings in the edge.
All in all... my rating is pretty much the same. Considering the price i'm gonna stick with a 9/10.... I would like to give it a 10 but there has been one thing that has bothered me about this knife. The detent ball does not spin and has stayed in the same place. This has caused it to wear down, creating a flat surface, and therefore increasing surface area contact between itself and the blade. This increases friction during opening and closing and a slight metal on metal grinding sound. Detent has suffered. If i hold the knife closed with the spine of the blade facing down and push down and stop abruptly the blade will swing out all the way into the open and locked position. Also, if a heavy wrist flick is applied the blade can be opened without use of the thumb studs. I do not recommend wrist flicking any blade, though as it puts unnecessary stress on the pivot, blade stop pin, and locking mechanism.
The results were as expected, the RAT held up nicely. Shortly after the head of one of the pivot screws snapped so i sent it in for repair. I was sent a whole new knife.
Two months of hard use and abuse later, this is how it has held up.
NOTE: I don't intentionally abuse my tools, i love them all (especially my RAT). Tools are just that... tools, and tools are meant to be used. So, with that out of the way here's how it is now.
------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
I have cut A LOT of cardboard, paper, wood, thin metal sheeting, Various thicknesses of plastic (and a lot of it) Ranging from very thin packaging to medium thickness straps and thick plastic storage bins. I've had to punch through metal cans, sheet metal, i've had to use the tip as a screw driver, i've opened a few cans with this knife. I've even performed minor surgery with this knife (No shit, seriously) I have broken many of my own knife rules simply because i know that this knife could take it. Here's the results.
Let's start with how the paint wore. The pocket clip has worn pretty bad but in my opinion it looks pretty bad.... ass..... pretty badass.... so i kept the paint on it.
The paint on the blade did not wear as well as i had hoped so i ended up stripping it off.
The head of the pivot screw stripped and the other snapped after tightening them back down dozens of times and disassembling the knife for maintenance about a dozen times. I found short computer screws fit perfectly as replacements.
I have over a hundred screwdrivers, bitdrivers, bits, etc. but a couple times i didn't have access to any and had to use my RAT as a screwdriver (I know... it's sad, and breaking my own knife rules but you gotta do what you gotta do) I ended up snapping the tip twice. I ground it back down to a usable, pointy, and stronger tip. Here's the new blade profile.
The Nylon 6 handle scales have held up amazingly well. There's barely any noticeable wear on them.
Lockup has suffered a bit but is still rock solid at about 80% engagement.
Final notes: This knife has been put through A LOT in a short period of time and is still a tank, sharp as a razor, and my favorite knife. My RAT is at my side every second of every day and has never failed me. One thing i forgot to take pictures of is blade centering which is still perfect. It opens as smooth as the day i got it although i did have to polish the washers once and clean and re-oil it many many times. I hate for my knife to be less than razor sharp so i've sharpened it more than necessary and have had to remove a lot of metal to get rid of chips and dings in the edge.
All in all... my rating is pretty much the same. Considering the price i'm gonna stick with a 9/10.... I would like to give it a 10 but there has been one thing that has bothered me about this knife. The detent ball does not spin and has stayed in the same place. This has caused it to wear down, creating a flat surface, and therefore increasing surface area contact between itself and the blade. This increases friction during opening and closing and a slight metal on metal grinding sound. Detent has suffered. If i hold the knife closed with the spine of the blade facing down and push down and stop abruptly the blade will swing out all the way into the open and locked position. Also, if a heavy wrist flick is applied the blade can be opened without use of the thumb studs. I do not recommend wrist flicking any blade, though as it puts unnecessary stress on the pivot, blade stop pin, and locking mechanism.
