Ontario RAT-3 Knife

D

Dave_Markowitz

Joined
Sep 9, 2007
Messages
214
Last week I picked up an Ontario RAT-3 knife from Knifecenter.com.

The 3.5" blade is made from 1095 carbon. The knife is also available in D2, but I wanted one that was a bit easier to sharpen. It has a flat grind and a full tang. The handle scales are made from linen micarta. There is a finger notch at the ricasso to facilitate choking up on the blade when performing fine cutting tasks. Except for the edge, the blade has a black epoxy coating to protect it against corrosion.

The kydex sheath was made by Blade Tech. It comes with two ways to attach it to yourself. Out of the box it had a boot clip. It also came with a Tech-Lock fastener which can be used to clip it to a belt or webbing. I replaced the boot clip with the Tech-Lock but may reverse this decision. The knife clicks into and out of the sheath. It's held very securely and the papers which came with the knife note that if you remove the boot clip and Tech-Lock, you can attach the sheath to some cord and wear it as a neck knife. Even carried handle-down, the knife should remain in place until you take it out.

The RAT-3 came sharp and I didn't touch the edge before trying it out. The first test was cutting some slices of summer sausage and jalapeno monterey jack cheese for a snack. The blade is thin enough to slice food well.

This afternoon I took it out back and tried it out on some wood. Finding a dried out arborvitae stick, I proceeded to make a pile of shavings, as if I needed to start a fire. The RAT-3 worked well for this, allowing me to quickly make the pile of shavings shown below.

The back of the blade has some jimping which I found to be a bit abrasive to my thumb, when used as a thumb rest. It's the only negative I see in this knife.

If you're looking for a small fixed blade knife made here in the USA from carbon steel, for well under $100, it's worth a look.

rat3.jpg


rat3-sheathed.jpg
 
got the same knife and I love it. Very solid in the hand and the edge geometry is great.

Nice knife!
Brett
 
My son was gifted one a few weeks back and we took it out and messed with it the first time today. It worked as well in his 8 yr old hands and my adult (as in five sausage links hanging off a patty) Great little knife that will serve him for a long time.
 
They are great knives, but right now, we all need to boycott Ontario until they shape up, and stop trying to rip off RAT Cutlery and steal their trademark. Here's where you can buy a higher end version, from men of integrity. http://www.ratcutlery.com.

For info on the controversy, you can see here: HTTP://WWW.ONTARIOBOYCOTT.COM.

Dave M., please accept my apologies for hijacking. We all need to stand behind small business owners and against large companies who try to intimidate and threaten them.
 
Very well said. I didn't buy my Rat-3 but was gifted it in a roundtable on another forum.
I FULLY intend to get a RC-4.

Thanks for reminding us Brian!
Brett
Brian Jones said:
They are great knives, but right now, we all need to boycott Ontario until they shape up, and stop trying to rip off RAT Cutlery and steal their trademark. Here's where you can buy a higher end version, from men of integrity. http://www.ratcutlery.com.

For info on the controversy, you can see here: HTTP://WWW.ONTARIOBOYCOTT.COM.

Dave M., please accept my apologies for hijacking. We all need to stand behind small business owners and against large companies who try to intimidate and threaten them.
Click to expand...
 
I got one in a trade last week and it is an excellent little knife. Jeff Randall (and his partner if applicable) designed a great knife.

I wanted to try to support him in the past week but all I could afford to do was get one of the cool little Dog Tag Knives he has on his website. It's made out of titanium and it's a handy thing to have.

As for a boycott, I am inclined to agree with what Jeff has posted about not wanting to necessarily boycott them because let's face it, there are not many American Knife Companies around and something like this could tank them.

If I start "boycotting" everyone that is a crappy businessman or a ripoff artist, I wouldn't be able to pay my rent and definitely not my gas and electric bill. I would never walk into another Wal-Mart. However, there are places people have to go in order to get something they need.

I'm looking into getting a RAT-7, there are no real alternatives available for me at this time.
 
I want the basic design and that's that. If I had the extra buck to send to Jeff, I would do it. Simple as that. Like I said, if I start thinking this way, I'd be sitting in the dark.
 
I have been buying Ontario Knives for to many years to count. I love the Rat -3 and have never got a bad knife from Ontario. I support the Rat cutlery team but Ontario products have served me well and I don't plan to quit on them now.

The RAT-3 is the biggest little knife i have ever used.
 
For the record, I think the guy that started all of this nonsense with Jeff Randall should be in the unemployment line on Monday morning searching for a job. All of that having been said, I really don't want to see Ontario go the way of Camillus, either.

I think we become very compartmentalized on these forums and sometimes we get a little bit big for our britches, so to speak. If Ontario was really concerned with the BFC market hurting them, they would have fired the guy already out of fear.

I think one of the best things to do is simply order ANYTHING you can from Jeff. But I think BFC, KFC and any other other "FC" pressure put on Ontario in the form of a boycott is quite likely to not do a damned thing.
 
Don Rearic said:
For the record, I think the guy that started all of this nonsense with Jeff Randall should be in the unemployment line on Monday morning searching for a job. All of that having been said, I really don't want to see Ontario go the way of Camillus, either.

I think we become very compartmentalized on these forums and sometimes we get a little bit big for our britches, so to speak. If Ontario was really concerned with the BFC market hurting them, they would have fired the guy already out of fear.

I think one of the best things to do is simply order ANYTHING you can from Jeff. But I think BFC, KFC and any other other "FC" pressure put on Ontario in the form of a boycott is quite likely to not do a damned thing.
Click to expand...

It couldnt hurt, and the bottom line for me is that I'm not going to be an enabler.
 
Personally, I hope Ontario stays in business and this RAT issue gets settled quickly. I have used Ontario knives and machetes for years and I would hate to see them go the way of Camillus, but for now, I am refraining from buying any of their knives. I was looking to get the Retribution folder, but that is on hold.
 
A boycott isn't to put Ontario out of business. It's to pressure them to stop trying to put Jeff and Mike out of business using sneaky and underhanded tactics, such as secretly applying for trademarks that Jeff and Mike already own, hoping to find a loophole that lets them grab them. Nobody wants to put the workers of Ontario out of their jobs. They are some of the finest people I know. it's the management who are unscrupulous and have a history of screwing over anyone they partner with just to save a buck.

The person who "started" this won't be unemployed anytime soon. Nick Trbovich is the CEO of Ontario, which is owned by a parent company, Servotronics, which went public a few years ago. Servotronics was started by Nick's father, who is Chairman of the entire enterprise. He gave his son, Nick, a job. Nick is a figurehead who cannot make any decisions on his own. None. So, this came from the top down.

A boycott helps keep dishonest corporations honest -- not put them out of business. And, it keeps them from screwing over people who partnered with them in good faith, who are small businessowners.
 
No offense, guys, but we have enough threads on the Ontario/RAt problem, let's stop mucking up this guy's thread with it. I hope we aren't going to pile on anyone that posts about an Ontario product are we?

That said, the Rat-3 seems to be a great little knife, the RAT knioves being, IMO the best of what Ontario sells. Witht he full flat grind, 1095 steel, seems like a great choice for a woods blade.
 
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