Ontario Rat-3

hilltopper

hilltopper

Joined
Oct 31, 2006
Messages
90
Greetings, Handled the new Ontario Rat-3 D2 today. I loved the way this knife fits your hand, the way it looks and it is razor sharp right from of the box. Having said this, now for the down side. The sheath looks great, it holds the knife in position perfectly, the boot clip is ok, but the Blade-Tec lock is strange. It causes the sheath to stick out from your belt. The Blade-Tec lock lets the heavy handle tilt down. The vertical and horizonal fastners will only work in two of the four holes and require washers to try and balance the carry. The folks at Blade-Tec and the folks at Ontario need to talk about this system. You receive extra screws, but only two will work. Love the knife, hate the sheath.
 
I wanted one for EDC also. You will love the knife, just have someone make you a horizonal sheath, maybe Dozier, I am not sure. I was just very disappointed in the sheath.
 
I carry one daily and I love the knife and the sheath I have 2 and I plan on buying one in 1095 its the perfect edc fixed blade imo
 
Hey Guys..

Hilltopper..

I have an answer for that...

rat3.jpg


Nice and close to the body,, and will accept a bunch of different types of clips and belt loops,, including IWB and horizontal loops...

ttyle

Eric
O/ST
 
See above post for good sheath options.

A crappy sheath should never be a factor in not buying a knife.
 
The RAT-3 is an excellent knife. I could make several complaints but I'll stick with the sheath for now. I complained about that TekLok and its inability to be mounted in a variety of ways too. However, I've resigned myself to the fact that it's a vertical carry only, so now I keep the TekLok installed all the time and have resigned the clip to its box. I slide the TekLok up under my belt, on either side, and don;t clip it closed. That way it swings out a little bit when I draw the knife. I like that.

The RAT-3 can also be carried as a neck knife. It's a little big and heavy, but not unbearable. As Halfneck said, don;t throw the knife out with the sheath. The RAT-3 is too good for that.
 
Hey Stretch...


StretchNM said:
I slide the TekLok up under my belt, on either side, and don;t clip it closed. That way it swings out a little bit when I draw the knife. I like that.
Click to expand...

This is not something I suggest doing..
you are tempting fate.. These sorts of things have a tendency to come back and haunt you..

ttyle

Eric
O/ST
 
I really liked the design, but when I held one, I was not impressed at all. I have large paws, but they're not oversized. I could not get a good grip on the handle. Rat 5 handle was a little bit better. Still looked like a great little knife.
 
Normark said:
Hey Stretch...

This is not something I suggest doing..
you are tempting fate.. These sorts of things have a tendency to come back and haunt you..

ttyle

Eric
O/ST
Click to expand...

Eric,
Could you explain that? I'm not sure I understand. Just venturing a guess, maybe you're suggesting the knife could slip out from under the belt and drop sometime and I might not notice it. If that's what you mean, I agree it possibly could. But remember, the TekLok has that hard rubber spacer block that you can adjust up or down to fit belt sizes. It hooks under there pretty securely AND even though I usually don;t snap it closed, alot of times it'll lock itself because I leaned over or against something and inadvertantly pressed it closed.

Other than that, I can;t think of any other reason. Please explain because I sure could be missing something.

Thanks,
 
silenthunterstudios said:
I really liked the design, but when I held one, I was not impressed at all. I have large paws, but they're not oversized. I could not get a good grip on the handle. Rat 5 handle was a little bit better. Still looked like a great little knife.
Click to expand...

I had the same feeling when I first picked one up. Not only was the handle short, but it was narrow too in relation to its depth (from top to bottom). PLUS, the linen Micarta was smooth...almost silky smooth. But I handled one several times after that and it grew on me...now I've overcome the mental aspect of it and it feels fine in my hand. If it starts to bother me much, I just unsheath my BM Snody Activator for a few minutes and then the RAT-3 feels HUGE! :D
 
I have the same issue with the rat-3 handle, but it feels just fine when I choke up so my first finger is in the finger choil which is how I use this knife 90% of the time anyway. As for the Tech lock, I have mine set up for horizontal carry, and it works just fine. I carry in small of back with sheath on inside of tech lock so as to be above it, and proximal to body.
 
silenthunterstudios said:
I really liked the design, but when I held one, I was not impressed at all. I have large paws, but they're not oversized. I could not get a good grip on the handle. Rat 5 handle was a little bit better. Still looked like a great little knife.
Click to expand...
I have the solution to your problem: buy the RAT-7 D2. I have larger hands too, and find this knife just about perfect.

I thinned the edge down, rounded the serrations on the back, and spent a couple of hours off and on wearing away at the D2 until now it's a great knife.

I use it in the kitchen for chopping carrots and cucumbers, slicing tomatoes/apples/pears/cheese, in the garage for slicing up cardboard, in the woods for chopping limbs, skinning bark, or cutting back overgrowth, and to open packages or whatever around the house.

The knifes only limiting factor is the sheath, which is too big for me to carry flapping against my leg. When I can get a kydex sheath suitable for IWB carry and that will let me hang it easily from my belt if I want, it'll be pretty close to the perfect utility knife.
 
I have the rat 3 and I love it . I've used it in the woods,batoned it through limbs and besides a few scratches it's no worse for wear. I find it's real easy to touch up the edge with my EZE lap diamond hone.
 
I have the RAT3 and have also noticed similar problems witht the techlock. I never liked the boot clip so it stays in the box. The techlock works best for attatching the sheath more permanently to a duty belt or drop holster strap. I have found the best way to carry on it on your person is to wear it around your neck or to pass a piece of 550 cord through the bottom two eyelettes and tying a knot then tether the sheath to your belt and tuck the sheat inside the waist band. When you draw the knife the sheath comes out of your pants and catches on the 550 cord allowing you to draw the knife. The 550 cord keeps the sheath from dropping down your pant leg and also retains the sheath when you draw your knife. You will need to experiment with different positions around your waist as well as how long to make the 550 cord "leash". This my favorite way to carry this knife. I do have other sheaths for this knife permanently attatched to my tac vest and drop leg sheath. Just my two cents... hope it is helpful.
 
the rat said:
I have the rat 3 and I love it . I've used it in the woods,batoned it through limbs and besides a few scratches it's no worse for wear. I find it's real easy to touch up the edge with my EZE lap diamond hone.
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Wow! A reply after two years! I'd forgotten about this thread.

I still like my RAT-7 very much, and carry it in the woods on longer walks. The RAT-3 is a good knife too, though more limited in it's wood working abilities. I carry it when I don't want the big sheath of the RAT-7 hanging down, but still want a good fixed blade.

I still find my Manix more useful for chopping away blackberry vines and small limbs, as the hook at the bottom of the handle lets me snap cut much more effectively.
 
I was going to reply to this thread and tell the OP to get an RC knife...and then I realized that it is 2 years old.


So, just out of curiosity, why do so many people dig these threads from the dregs of the past just to add on to what was posted last?
 
Tripton said:
...So, just out of curiosity, why do so many people dig these threads from the dregs of the past just to add on to what was posted last?
Click to expand...

Probably because the guy who dredged it up just registered, did a search for a knife he owns and likes, this thread came up, and he wanted to give his input.

As for the RAT Cutlery/Ontario Knives unpleasantness, I strongly side with RAT Cutlery. However, even though I REALLY like the design of the RC4, I don't own one because they only use 1095. Even though D2 isn't truly stainless, I find it much more user friendly than a carbon steel, and am quite happy with my two D2 RAT knives.
 
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