Ranger Knives

Ok.....What are your needs? what do you intend to do with it?

Thirdly, How big a knife you like to carry?

I love the ranger line, great price for a knife that can really take a beating but cuts well too.:thumbup:. They feel well in your hand imo and you can get a custom for not too bad a price(subjective).

I know you said camp/survival. But that is a pretty open topic. Some people are happy with 4" mora's I carry anything from a Mora to a Ranger 7, Rat7, FSH, FBM etc. Do you want to split wood with it? Does it need to chop well? Are you going to do much food prep with it? etc.
 
this is going to be my workhorse. chopping, spliting, cleaning game, building shelters etc... I currently own one fixed blade, a full size ka-bar. pretty new to fixed blades, but I like the ka-bar size.
 
Ranger knvies are one of the better values on the market right now

Cant go wrong whichever model you choose
 
j williams said:
this is going to be my workhorse. chopping, spliting, cleaning game, building shelters etc... I currently own one fixed blade, a full size ka-bar. pretty new to fixed blades, but I like the ka-bar size.
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Like the Ka-Bar size, the RD6 is for you. Can chop some, split wood some, build shelters, etc. Seems about right for most chores.
 
j williams said:
this is going to be my workhorse. chopping, spliting, cleaning game, building shelters etc... I currently own one fixed blade, a full size ka-bar. pretty new to fixed blades, but I like the ka-bar size.
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If your happy with "ka-bar" size, I'd suggest the RD6. The Ranger is far beefier than the Ka-bar. IMO it's little on the big side for dressing deer sized game, but if you're quartering larger critters it should fill the bill nicely, and still eat up your "camp chores".
 
I had an RD9 and it was a great knife and a great value. If you are looking for perfect grind lines and super fit and finish, look elsewhere, but IMO, they are great working knives and worth every penny. :thumbup:
 
Well said locomike. Rangers are not lookie lou's and are made to be used. Expect finishes to flake and chip and out of the box you may find acute edges on handles but feel free to take out a file or sandpaper to smooth things up if that's more to your liking.

That said, I've owned 4 and will undoubtedly own more. The new RD series has a new blade profile and looks less Busse like. I'll be adding one to my collection soon.
 
I like my RD7. I used it this year to hack away some low hanging limbs and very thick vines where my Dad's deer decided to pile up.
 
I just got an RD7 and love it - its fantastic! I have pretty large hands, and find that the only thing that I would like is a slightly larger grip (will get that done on my Custom though). Super heavy - very solid. Great customer service. I'm definately going to get more. (I also have a "Ka Bar" and think that the RD7 is what you're looking for - thicker/fatter blade, but the same length)
 
I've seen their website and remember not being impressed. In fact, everything looked kind of half-ash. With all these positive comments, I'll have to go back to it and re-examine I suppose.
 
I had an RD-7 that would fall out of the sheath when held upside down, no matter how tightly the velcro strap was fastened.

The scales didn't align w/ the steel.

It hurt to chop with it.

I recontoured the scales, which helped quite a bit as far as feel, but I knew I'd never grab it first, so I sold it.

I much prefer Swamprat or Busse, but granted, those cost more. In the same price range, I'd look at the RAT-7

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I've tuned up about a dozen Rangers for forum members here, and on knifeforums. Overall, I'd say they're a good value for the money. They do cut back on fit and finish, but somethings gotta give. Time is money.

If you take that black coating off its pure ugliness underneath, but that helps the coating stay on too. The mods I've done are: removing the coating then polishing and beadblasting the blades, sculpting the grips, redrilling thong holes, beveling finger choils, reprofiling edges, straightening out grind lines, removing a skull crusher, and making new sheaths. For a little more money you get a real nice knife in the end. Anyone interested in an upgrade, just drop me an email or PM.

I just purchased a used Rd4 here on the trade forums yesterday. I'm gonna give it the full treatrment, make a new kydex sheath for it, and resell it here. Keep a look out for it!
 
David E said:
I had an RD-7 that would fall out of the sheath when held upside down, no matter how tightly the velcro strap was fastened.
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I discovered that sheath flaw quite by accident while placing the knife in my day bag. Fell right out of the sheath and into the bag, it could have been ugly if it landed on my foot. IMO, the retaining strap placement is all wrong, it wraps around the widest part of the grips. I guess the sheaths are more universal than anything else and are furnished to keep the final cost of the Ranger down. My complaints about the sheath aside, the knife is a stout user, no doubt about it, meant to be used and abused.
 
I have an RD7 with orange G10 handles (my tank) and I luv it, Justin is great to work with and will customize it just about any way you want, at a great price, think of a custom knife the same price or comparable to a mass produced Knife, and you get it in half the time, at least I did, Rangers are one of the best EDC knives, IMO.

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I had'nt heard of some of the handle issues, mine came clean and the grinds too. I guess I got a good one? I would suggest and Rd6 or 7 for the jobs your doing, like mentioned above.
 
I own a Ranger RD-6 and RD-9. The RD-6 is close the the size of a Ka-bar Mark II, but much heavier. Mine has rough machine marks at the choil and thumb rest, but it chops better than any 6.5" knife I have ever seen. The Ranger knives are made for heavy, hard use. I put my RD-6 in my old Becker BK-7 sheath because the ranger sheaths retaining strap does not hold the handle when the sheath is inverted.
 
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