Ranger Knives dont know much about them

S

soapboxpreacher

Joined
Apr 3, 2010
Messages
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Well I know a little because of the RAT/ESEE/Ontario circus. But besides that not much other than what is on paper. I was reviewing some of their blades and a few have caught my interest. The RD6 is a 6" long 1/4" thick 5160 steel blade. I like the handle design the way it holds the butt of your hand (at least it looks that way from the pictures). I also like the choil and the lower profile thumb serration. But this is all from pictures. I dont know much about the steel, heat treating and so on. I do have a spec op (SP5) and think it is alright for the money but nothing special and it didnt come from the factory all that sharp compared to my other cheap big blade the Kabar Heavy Bowie. Both have held up well. But I believe the SP5 is a 1095 not a 5160. The Range knives seem to be a good value and are made in the USA. The Shiv looks nice as well. At one point I remember looking at the RTAK II and the RD9. Didnt go with either and ended up with a Kabar Heavy Bowie and a Ontario SP5. Now I have a Junglas...the best of the bunch by far!!!! Am I missing something with the Ranger Knives. Why arent they more popular? I rarely see them mentioned.
 
I'm not sure why they're not as popular here as they are over on knife forums. They are great blades. They are made by Ontario now (which could be why) but I'm pretty sure if you called Justin up he would make one himself for you. I have an RD-6, but it was before I knew much about them so I ended up with a Bush series which is only 3/16" instead of 1/4" thick. Either way, its been a great knife. I was cutting down some trees and had it on my side, it battoned with the best of them, using the top of an ax to beat on it with. I will say I dislike the sheath that it comes with. Its junk.
 
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I caught a video by nutnfancy where he chipped the blade fairly bad without grounding it or hitting a rock. Wonder if it was just a defective blade or what? But honestly dont hear much.
 
soapboxpreacher said:
I caught a video by nutnfancy where he chipped the blade fairly bad without grounding it or hitting a rock. Wonder if it was just a defective blade or what? But honestly dont hear much.
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I wouldn't say it chipped fairly bad (if I remember correctly, even nutnfancy didn't say it was bad, but that he was a little disappointed) and the conclusion was a poor HT. ESEE and OKC had a falling out and that affected OKC's rep here.

If you do a search, you can see that Ranger blades and their owner had a good rep here before the OKC deal. I am sure their owner still has a good rep here.
 
I have an RD4, I like the blade design....clip point with FFG.
The grip is blocky, but works, ergo's could have been better.
I'm not a fan of Ontaio's micarta, on the Rangers or the RAT's, as it's way too smooth to grip solidly.
 
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