Ontario Rat-3 1095 Steel, a very interesting fixed blade

C

Climb14er

Joined
Dec 16, 2003
Messages
244
I was in the market for a 3.50 inch approx fixed blade and read a ton of recommendations on the forum. I easily could have spent upwards of three hundred for one but this fixed blade will be a backcountry knife, so I wanted a value re: pricing coupled with decent quality.

Last week I decided on the Rat-3 and had to make a decision re: D2 or 1095 steel. I wanted a knife that I could easily resharpen in the deep woods and strength rather than holding an edge were deciding factors. I went with the 1095 steel.

Got the knife earlier today from Bill Horn at Cumberland Knives and he was a real gentleman getting it out to me, at a great price I must say.

After I opened the package, I saw the blade was somewhat sharp from the factory. Upon further inspection, there was a chip in the first third of the blade. No problem.

I got out my Shapton stones and began to regrind and reprofile the blade edges. This process took approx. forty five minutes. Granted, a blade should not have to be reground when new from the factory but heck, this is a relatively inexpensive knife and I had some time and extra elbow grease.

The blade turned out really sharp and the chip was removed. Being 1095 steel, the blade was easily reprofiled and sharpened.

I went to the garage and got a 2 x 4 and began to test the blade inc. chopping. The blade did fine and I went back inside the house and cleaned up the edge and gave it a final strop. Really sharp again!

When I finished, I put some Breakfree on the blade and put it into the kydex sheath that came with it.

The Rat-3 I think will be the perfect small fixed blade for the backpack. I got a good sense that this is an excellent knife, especially for the money I paid.

Double thumbs up.
 
Thanks for the follow up report, glad you like it! Having a good knife that you truly enjoy is right up there with single malt scotch and a good cigar.
 
I smoke good cigars like La Gloria Cubana Wavels, Fuente Sun Grown Belicoso, El Rey Del Munco Robusto Larga; drink scotches like Laphroig, Lagavulin and Vodka such as Ketel One, Chopin... and have Benchmade M2 blades and Spyderco Sv30 Mini Manix.

This Rat-3 was my first fixed blade since I was a teenager.

Sure, it's nothing fancy, but it's got I think a Micarta handle, good steel and it's well balanced. Plus it comes with a kydex sheath.

I mean... what more can I ask for, under sixty five bucks, delivered. ;)
 
Glad you like your RAT-3. Too bad about the little chip, but I think that is not the norm. I'm up to my 4th RAT now and all have arrived pristine. They are a good value for the money.

cheers
 
I've got a RAT-3 in D2 and I really like that knife. The handle is shorter than what I'm accustomed to, but it didn;t take me long to get used to it. It's a joy to hold now. I ground about 1/16" or so of the edge almost flat just in front of the choil... I found if I really grip the knife hard, the flesh from my index finger gets just a tad too close to that blade, and I wanted some "fudge" room. Sharp little slicer it is..... the whole length long.

I'm dissapointed in the mating between the sheath and the TekLok...and, for that matter, between the plastic clip attachment too. With just a little more foresight, Ontario could have designed that sheath and clip to mount at several angles. Not much they could do about the TekLok, but the sheath design could. I kindly like that knife mounted on my belt at about a 45 degree angle, and I just can;t do it the way it is. I've played with it a bunch, and considered drilling a new hole or two in the clip attachment to mate with the sheath holes, but it won't work... there's not enough material there.

Enough complaining about the sheath I 'spose. The knife is a tough one to beat for the price. Great blade design and, so far, nice epoxy coating. We'll see how that goes by this time next year. Blade was ground spot-on even, from the choil to the tip. I got lucky!

Sounds like you like yours as much as I do mine :) Now I need to decide whether to go ahead and get the RAT-5 in 1095 or wait for Ontario's rumored D2 version. Hmmm...maybe a new Skirmish or Snody FB will tide me over until I can decide...........
 
Climb14er said:
Last week I decided on the Rat-3 and had to make a decision re: D2 or 1095 steel. I wanted a knife that I could easily resharpen in the deep woods and strength rather than holding an edge were deciding factors. I went with the 1095 steel.
Click to expand...

I have been planning to buy a RAT-3. Is 1095 stronger than D2? If so, is edge-holding the only thing D2 has to offer?
 
theocguy85 said:
I have been planning to buy a RAT-3. Is 1095 stronger than D2? If so, is edge-holding the only thing D2 has to offer?
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Decent corrosion resistance is something D2 has that 1095 doesn't. I know that 1095 is a whole lot tougher, and a lot easier to sharpen, but as far as which is "stronger", I'm not sure.

Regards,
3G
 
theocguy85 said:
I have been planning to buy a RAT-3. Is 1095 stronger than D2? If so, is edge-holding the only thing D2 has to offer?
Click to expand...

When I checked out the two re: differences, the strength 'factor' of the 1095 had to do with lateral stress and that you could 'beat' on a 1095 if you need to 'more' than the D2.

The Rat-3's only purpose for me was a knife that I could easily sharpen and give abuse to if I had to, while in the backcountry.

This is not an EDC or a blade to show off to friends.

However, I wanted a blade that could take an edge w/o a lot of difficulty to resharpen, say on a rock, and the 1095 suited my needs more than the D2.

And corrosion or staining is not an issue that I'm concerned with. This is where D2 has an advantage for some, not for me.
 
I have a RAT3 in D2, I use it alot for diff chores around the house and the campfire. I chose D2 over 1095 as I like the grains structure and the edge of D2 better for the smaller cutting tasks that I use it for. I'd rather have 1095 in a larger blade(like my rat7:D ). Glad you like it though, to each his own:thumbup:
 
Climb14er said:
And corrosion or staining is not an issue that I'm concerned with. This is where D2 has an advantage for some, not for me.
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Understand that I'm not promoting one versus the other here--I like D2 but I also like 1095 and the majority of my knives are not stainless. The one thing to keep in mind is that corrosion is not limited to cosmetic effect--the edge corrodes too. If you keep a 1095 blade clean and dry in between uses--which can certainly be done out in the field with just a little effort--it'll do fine. However, if blood or vegetable matter, etc. gets left on the edge or if your sheath ends up getting soaked, the more stain-resistant qualities of D2 will give it another benefit in edge holding over 1095. In reverse, if you're doing really hard work, 1095's greater ductility and flexibility can give it a leg-up in edge holding since the edge will not be lost due to chipping/fracture, but this is far less of an issue in a knife of this size than it is with a blade 6" or greater. Both steels have strengths and weaknesses, everything is a tradeoff. But to me, a RAT-3 in D2 makes a hell of a lot more sense than a RAT-7 in D2.
 
t1mpani said:
Understand that I'm not promoting one versus the other here--I like D2 but I also like 1095 and the majority of my knives are not stainless. The one thing to keep in mind is that corrosion is not limited to cosmetic effect--the edge corrodes too. If you keep a 1095 blade clean and dry in between uses--which can certainly be done out in the field with just a little effort--it'll do fine. However, if blood or vegetable matter, etc. gets left on the edge or if your sheath ends up getting soaked, the more stain-resistant qualities of D2 will give it another benefit in edge holding over 1095. In reverse, if you're doing really hard work, 1095's greater ductility and flexibility can give it a leg-up in edge holding since the edge will not be lost due to chipping/fracture, but this is far less of an issue in a knife of this size than it is with a blade 6" or greater. Both steels have strengths and weaknesses, everything is a tradeoff. But to me, a RAT-3 in D2 makes a hell of a lot more sense than a RAT-7 in D2.
Click to expand...

I agree with you, and a very good point made:thumbup:
 
t1mpani said:
Understand that I'm not promoting one versus the other here--I like D2 but I also like 1095 and the majority of my knives are not stainless. The one thing to keep in mind is that corrosion is not limited to cosmetic effect--the edge corrodes too. If you keep a 1095 blade clean and dry in between uses--which can certainly be done out in the field with just a little effort--it'll do fine. However, if blood or vegetable matter, etc. gets left on the edge or if your sheath ends up getting soaked, the more stain-resistant qualities of D2 will give it another benefit in edge holding over 1095. In reverse, if you're doing really hard work, 1095's greater ductility and flexibility can give it a leg-up in edge holding since the edge will not be lost due to chipping/fracture, but this is far less of an issue in a knife of this size than it is with a blade 6" or greater. Both steels have strengths and weaknesses, everything is a tradeoff. But to me, a RAT-3 in D2 makes a hell of a lot more sense than a RAT-7 in D2.
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I understand. However, I'm no knife newbie and blood, fruit acids, etc will never remain on my blades long enough to cause corrosion. ;)

So in the end, D2 is fine for most. For what I want in the backcountry, 1095 is preferred.

I had my choice, I could still buy a D2 in Rat-3, but the 1095 makes more sense for my applications.
 
Fair enough, just putting it out there as a point of consideration. My favorite steel of all time for just do-all work is O1 hardened into the lower 60s RC, so I'm certainly no stainless adherant. Nonetheless, even keeping the blade clean, if I sharpen both a stainless blade and a non-stainless blade to the same degree so that hairs on my arm pop off in front of them and then put both in a drawer--not even in their sheaths--and then pull them out again in a month, the stainless one will usually remain unchanged, whereas the carbon will have lost some of its keen-ness just from the moisture in the air. Obviously, a few strokes on a steel will set it aright, but it still is worth a mention.

Wasn't accusing you of newbie-ness, just pointing out that the effects of corrosion on a cutting blade are continuous and not simply limited to cosmetics. But again, you have to weigh the factors and decide.
 
t1mpani said:
Fair enough, just putting it out there as a point of consideration. My favorite steel of all time for just do-all work is O1 hardened into the lower 60s RC, so I'm certainly no stainless adherant. Nonetheless, even keeping the blade clean, if I sharpen both a stainless blade and a non-stainless blade to the same degree so that hairs on my arm pop off in front of them and then put both in a drawer--not even in their sheaths--and then pull them out again in a month, the stainless one will usually remain unchanged, whereas the carbon will have lost some of its keen-ness just from the moisture in the air. Obviously, a few strokes on a steel will set it aright, but it still is worth a mention.

Wasn't accusing you of newbie-ness, just pointing out that the effects of corrosion on a cutting blade are continuous and not simply limited to cosmetics. But again, you have to weigh the factors and decide.
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We're cool! You make excellent points. I figured the knife is inexpensive enough that I could regrind the bevel and overall knife and experiment on some carbon steel. It's a solid knife, exactly what I wanted in a small fixed blade.
 
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