Ontario Rat 1?

I have been carrying one almost every day for about 6-7 months now, and I use it quite a bit. Like anything, they require a little maintenance to keep them in top condition. All I have had to do, though, is occasionally blow them out with compressed air and tighten the pivot screws. Here they are new:

 
I bought a rat1 , looking to upgrade on my old opinel 10 .
It cost 2x as much , it was not 2x the knife tho .. blade shape is nice , but it hasnt got the edge holding , and I kept rolling the edge as well as having to retouch it to keep it bitey sharp . Just peeling cleaning and parting up game and making fuzz sticks , carving nocks making shelter ..
The handle game me some big blisters .. its not a comfy shape to use hard for any length of time , in my hand anyway .

I have no doubt that as a back up blade ,or doing regular pocket duty downtown , it would be up to task . It wasnt the upgrade I was looking for tho , so I gave mine away .

I have a rat2 .. its cute , its small enough to be a handy back up , mine hasnt seen much use at all tho , just food duty . Its pretty tho :)

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Thanks for the happy birthday wishes, guys. The night before my 14th birthday my present was a baby brother. So his birthday was yesterday and mine is today (19 for me, 5 for him) We shared a spongebob cake.

Badass, right? A spongebob cake on my 19th birthday. xD

I looked a lot at the RAT II as well but just as stated before, the RAT I is bigger and therefore better for me. I'm thinking about a RAT II as a backup blade to replace my Kershaw Kuro or my Victorinox Sentinel, perhaps.
 
Killtation said:
So his birthday was yesterday and mine is today (19 for me, 5 for him) We shared a spongebob cake.

Badass, right? A spongebob cake on my 19th birthday. xD
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Congrats on your birthday... and accepting something like that graciously is as good a sign of adulthood as I've heard of in a while, so congratulations on that too. ;)
 
On my 19th bday I broke all 4 bones in my left leg and severed my ACL in a ~30' fall onto the corner of a concrete pilon so enjoy your spongebob cake!

That was 7 years ago, my leg still hurts and will never fully recover.
 
I just became aware of the Utilitac through the other thread, never paid any attention to it.

I don't get it. However good it may be, just within the "II" models looks like we've got two very different handle shapes, and two significantly different blade shapes, with several variations on each. How is it even possible to consider this or discuss it as a single knife model? You can easily have two "Utilitac II" knives next to each other that have different blades AND handles. It's like you can mix-and-match parts from two different models.. but that doesn't really make them one.

Just my preference... without really knowing anything about the knife, there are a lot of options I see that I don't care for. One of the two handle-designs, which seems to be referred to as the "grooved" one, is a skinny-tail thing that makes the knife look unbalanced toward the blade and generally looks less functional and comfortable. Can't hold it to be sure, but for the moment I'll rule that out. I dislike dark/coated blades, so that rules out half or more of the options. I dislike serrations except for a few specialized knives, now 80 percent of them are gone. I'm not crazy about tanto points, but the other blade makes a critical design mistake IMHO, it has a SLIGHTLY recurved edge, just enough so that it looks like it can't be sharpened effectively on a flat surface (which is how 90% of the world sharpens things) but not enough to provide any real benefit (if recurves ever do in a knife smaller than a kukri, very debatable). For me that's a completely unnecessary sacrifice just for a little cosmetic appeal and a major drawback.

So, I'm left with the larger-handled, bright-blade tanto version with no serrations, the 8912, which of course seems to be the rarest of combinations and the cheapest I see it for is over $40.

I don't mind a tactical knife as a weapon, but people seem to react more strongly to aggressive-looking tanto blades. Not a huge deal, but in some circumstances that may make me more reluctant to use it as a tool. After reading and considering I've come full-circle, this may be a great knife for some but probably isn't one I'd consider unless I found a real "deal" on one. YMMV.
 
But i agree with you on the recurve. Which is why i love the rat. The tanto is a huge blade but not as practical for me compared to the more slender rat. The utilitac does feel beefier and stronger prob as bly can take more of a beating.
 
wolverine_173 said:
The auction site that starts with E. $ 27.50
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I was talking about the 8912 variant in particular, which I finally found in that very place.. for $41.95. Haven't found it in-stock anywhere else. $27.50 seems about the going rate for the more common configurations.Heck, if I found it for $27.50 I'd probably buy it just out of curiosity.. which is why I have drawers full of "other" knives, besides those I actually carry.
 
wolverine_173 said:
But i agree with you on the recurve. Which is why i love the rat. The tanto is a huge blade but not as practical for me compared to the more slender rat. The utilitac does feel beefier and stronger prob as bly can take more of a beating.
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I tired to "get over it" and learn to love the recurve, I've got three Ken Onion designed knives with it, including the ZT-0301 and the ZT-0350 (composite).I just don't. It's always in the back of my mind that I might end up taking that long walk someday, the one you didn't know was coming, maybe though a disaster area, and just might need to resharpen with whatever... bottom of a coffee mug, maybe. Shame about that recurve...
 
Get the Rat you like, a 1 and/or a 2! My RAT 1 is used almost daily for a wide range of tasks around the house and outdoor. Works like a charm, easy to sharpen and easy to modify. To big for EDC so i need a RAT2 ;) Best budget folder if you ask me. Its held up better than Byrd knifes, Opinels and such.

Sure the lock will fail under extreme abuse....a I-beam will also break at some point. Lucky you for seeing those videos what NOT to do with a RAT or any other (folding) knife actually.
 
I love the look or Americanized Tantos but when it comes to sharpening... just no. I just use the tanto edge until it becomes dull and do my best to sharpen it.... usually screw up and just reprofile it into a belly like on my current EDC the Kershaw Kuro. Gave it a high polished edge, hair popping sharp. So close to hair whittling but I only freehand sharpen so it's a pain in the ass.
I hate serrations, by the way....
Before:

After: The blade looks a lot thinner but it's just the angle of the picture.
 
Got my RAT today. Several days before the expected shipping date and only 2 days after my birthday so that was a great surprise. This thing is a tank. Heavier than i was expecting and i love heavy knives. I have big hands, Large gloves are a bit tight and XL gloves are a bit baggy so somewhere in between and this thing fits me PERFECTLY. I sliced through thin cardboard once and the paint came off a bit where the bevel starts, but that's fine. Came razor sharp, can easily shave hair. I'm gonna use my Kuro as my beater now so my new baby doesn't get too beat up too quickly. It's just buttery smooth, too. I've opened it probably a couple hundred times and i've only had it for 3 hours. Still just as smooth and the pivot hasn't loosed at all. It came well oiled and it was easy to switch the clip to tip-up carry.

I've owned Cold Steels and Spydercos that cost over $100 and this is by far my favorite knife i've ever owned. The only thing i can really hit about it and it's no big deal for daily use but the thumb studs are just a bit uncomfortable and the lock is stiff. These would never bother me, though. Only today because i've been playing with it so much.

Everything about this knife is perfect and it is worth ever single penny (And more) I'm probably gonna EDC this for years to come. Thanks for all the recommendations and info, guys. I have absolutely no regrets or dislikes about the RAT-1.

I was worried that because of all the hype i'd have my expectations too high and not be too impressed but i was completely wrong. I love every bit of it.

Thanks again, everybody. I can't say it enough, i absolutely love this knife.

-Church
 
Glad to hear, always gratifying when recommendations work out. I think you'll like it even more as it breaks in, you get accustomed to it, and you actually use it more. It's one of those designs that just works, from cutting wood to making meals.
 
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