I've had a BK7 and used it hard almost daily for a year or so. It has been my 'big knife' for camping and sea kayak trips. It's been used to chop/spilt wood, general cutting, hammering, light prying and even digging. It was a sad day when it was was stolen from the back of my car as it had become what every good knife should be, a reliable companion. On an online whim and I have replaced it with the RAT7. If you look over on Knife reviews and testing I've posted some initial comments over there on the RAT7 thread.
Overall the RAT feels like a better knife for my purposes. Especially in the ergonomics department. It is easier to choke up on for fine work, it is a slightly better chopper and feels lighter in the hand (although according to the respective web pages it is an ounce or two heavier). It also has a more bush/jungle inspired, less military look which suits me.
The steel guru's will tell you that the BK7 has better steel although for my purposes I can't tell the difference. I have noticed the RAT flexes more, this is probably due to the 1/2 inch full thickness section on the BK7. The RAT is full grind right to the spine. So we could argue that the BK7 is stronger.
The BK7 seems to have a more durable coating (I've scratched some of the RAT7's off already). The BK7 was sharper out of the box and more flawless in it's finish than the RAT. MY RAT was assymetrically ground, not real sharp and has some tiny imperfections where the scales don't quite match the tang - None of these things bother me and I got it shaving sharp in about 5 minutes.
The BK7 has some military/combat features that I don't need. Like a swedge ? (is this what you call the slightly thinned out section at the distal end of the spine?)to aid penetration and the skull crusher pommell (I realise that this is not purely for 'crushing skulls' and has some good utiluty purposes like hammering and heavy prying) The smoother, more rounded pommel of the RAT can still be used for hammering and doesn't chew the back of my hand when chopping. The fuller thickness along the spine is easier on the piece of wood I choose as a mallet when batoning.
As for value for money. That's a tough one. I have gladly paid more for the RAT because it suits my fussy preferences. But the BK7 is the same sort of quality and a substantally cheaper price. Even though I'm happy with the RAT (so far) I would concede that the BK7 is better bang for the buck.
There you go mate, I hope that helps your decision. You won't go wrong with either and it will come down to subjective preference in the end. Welcome to the forums by the way.
