Ranger RD7 & RAT7 Comparison W/Pictures

Tolly

Tolly

Joined
Jan 1, 2006
Messages
555
These have got to be two of the most asked about and compared knives on this forum, so while I had the camera out tonight I thought I would snap some comparison pics. I know pictures could probably be found on this site by doing a search, but I thought I would post up a few anyway that maybe gave a different view of the two blades. I hope nobody minds.
RATRanger7s-1.jpg

RATRanger7s-4.jpg

RATRanger7s-2.jpg

RATRanger7s-3.jpg

RATRanger7s-5.jpg
 
Thanks, I was gonna ask for pics of these two in that other thread a few days ago.You've answered my questions.
 
They are definitely totally different knives. I'm not sure that a Ranger RD series knife doesn't also clasify as a weapon of mass destruction as well as cutlery..:D
 
Great pics, thanks.

I really like my RAT7, especially since it's available in part serrated.
With very aggressive serrations.

I've found them to be very useful on more than one occasion.
 
It still surprises me when I see how thick the Rangers are when being compared in photos with other fixed blades. Those things are absolute tanks. Definitely have one on my wishlist, only question is what kind of scales I want . . .
 
The funny thing is that the Ranger will fit a small to med/large hand better than the RAT7 will in stock trim. The handle on my RD7 is custom colored G10 but it is standard thickness and shape, and my hand goes around it nicely, the RAT7 handle however feels more rotund in my hand and if I keep it I will definitely thin the scales down some. I don't have small hands either. I wear a mens Cadet/Large in glove size.
 
Maybe this should be a new thread, but I wonder also about the difference in Justin's 5160 and RAT's 1095. I guess what I'm saying is: why use 5160 when 1095 is such a well-proven cutlery steel?

I guess I'm just gonna have to get a Ranger and see what all the good noise is all about.
Probably will be an RD6 or RD7.
 
Tolly

Thank you for those nice pictures, as well as, the information. Very helpful too. It really is impressive to see how much thicker the RD7 is Vs. the RAT7! One thing that I believe should be mentioned here is that the limiled edition RAT7's are much thicker than the regular ones. I have one RAT7 with serrations in D2 and I also have had four of the limited editions (the two are already gone to some fellas who wanted them very bad) and I have witnessed the difference. Of course, the limited edition Rat7 came with ram's horn handle scales making the handle thicker by about 50% than the regular ones. They are also made out of D2 that has an exceptionally bright finish.

Aside from that, it is evident that your RD7 is a custom rendition. It's truly a beautiful knife. How much more expensive is this than the standard version? Also, other than the finish and the scales did you ask for a different blade profile / thickness?

Tolly said:
They are definitely totally different knives.
Click to expand...

In what way?
 
rifon2 said:
Maybe this should be a new thread, but I wonder also about the difference in Justin's 5160 and RAT's 1095. I guess what I'm saying is: why use 5160 when 1095 is such a well-proven cutlery steel?

I guess I'm just gonna have to get a Ranger and see what all the good noise is all about.
Probably will be an RD6 or RD7.
Click to expand...

This is an interesting topic that could take quite some writing to analyze. I have found that this post by Daniel Koster provides important information on what you asked. Of course, he goes further than that by touching on other steels which was pertinent for that particular thread but, this is besides the point here.

I hope you find it useful.
 
Andros said:
This is an interesting topic that could take quite some writing to analyze. I have found that this post by Daniel Koster provides important information on what you asked. Of course, he goes further than that by touching on other steels which was pertinent for that particular thread but, this is besides the point here.

I hope you find it useful.
Click to expand...

Will check it out, thanks.
 
rifon2 said:
Maybe this should be a new thread, but I wonder also about the difference in Justin's 5160 and RAT's 1095. I guess what I'm saying is: why use 5160 when 1095 is such a well-proven cutlery steel?
.
Click to expand...

Because 5160 is very much a proven steel for applications that require toughness. It's a lot tougher than 1095 and does not rust as easily. If you want something that you can chop, stab and pry with like there's no tomorrow, then 5160 is miles better than 1095. On the other hand, 1095 has better edge holding, so you'll be doing less sharpening than with 5160.
 
Originally Posted by jetwrnch...
Weight is also a factor for me. Do you have a comparison?
Click to expand...

My Ranger RD7 weighs 19 3/4 ounces. The RAT7 weighs in at 12 5/8 ounces.

Originally Posted by Andros...
Aside from that, it is evident that your RD7 is a custom rendition. It's truly a beautiful knife. How much more expensive is this than the standard version? Also, other than the finish and the scales did you ask for a different blade profile / thickness?
Click to expand...

The only things "custom" on my RD7 are the satin finish, G10 scales, and I had Justin thin it just a bit right behind the edge to make it a better slicer over a stock RD7(it worked very well too), other than that it is a plain old RD7, and the cost was about $35 more for what I had done. He still had the knife at my front door in two weeks..:thumbup:
 
Andros said:
Tolly

Aside from that, it is evident that your RD7 is a custom rendition. It's truly a beautiful knife. How much more expensive is this than the standard version?
Click to expand...

It doesn't cost much extra to have Justin customize a knife. I recently bought a custom RD-7 (pic below) from him and it was shipped quickly and the customizations cost about $50 extra. He's a great guy to deal with.

attachment.php
 
I have a RAT7 and Ranger RD7 and RD6. The RAT is closer in size to the RD6, if that matters. But they are truly different knives. On my last three trips I've taken both the RAT7 and RD7, because I find I use them for completely different things. The Ranger is much better for chopping and is the best batoning knife I've used (because of the width it quickly splits firewood). BTW Justin is a pleasure to deal with, and is amazingly prompt.
 
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