RAT 7 vs. Becker 7?

Looking Glass Rock in Pisgah National Forest, NC.
 
Hi shin1ichi2002!
hahahahahah yeah I know about Bjarne Riis, but since I'm french I prefer Jalabert or Bernard Hinault! :D
good luck in your quest!;)
 
this discussion has been done to death here (which is fine by me! these are great knives and worth being rehashed)

i've got the BK-7. i haven't handles the others. i have used my bk-7 very heavily around the woods. i've done everything to chopping wood, digging, cutting heavy brush, rope, food, i've hammered with it, minor surgary...you name it, i've done it. i love the handle. it's slick but it's shaped perfectly for me. i've used it for an hour straight chopping wood and not even a blister. it's a joy to use and carry. not a single complaint.

just an opinion. but i have put it to the test. there may be tougher knives out there (the other 2 in question included) but i can't imagine any tougher tests than i've put it thru so for the money i say bk&t!
 
Hi Olivier,

your name, matricule ect, doesn't ring any bell to my friend Fred Perrin.

Where are you based ?

cheers

JM
 
Hi JM,
presently I'm based at the foreigners section DCRG in Paris. Fred and I have a comon friend "Isidore"(armes bastilles).
If you want more details you can send me a mail :)
Beside I don't think Fred remember the matricule of all the guys he speak with?
 
I am thinking about getting a BK7 but am worried because I have read some posts about it breaking.

Could it be the heat treatment was bad on those BK7's?
:confused:
 
Hmmm...I just double posted on another forum too. Time to check my mouse settings. :rolleyes:
 
Originally posted by greens
Their customer service is decent. Well, it shouldn't take more than 2 weeks to get your order. They're production knives not custom. When I ordered HR, the knife was stuck in the sheath and I had to pull it out with two hands! When I did finally manage to get it out, some of coating came off. Other folks complain also that sheath is either too loose or too tight fit. They are "ok" knives in my book. I think the Rat line from Ontario is the best value out there right now.
Click to expand...

I'm sorry for the trouble you had with your Swamp Rat. It certainly is not the norm, and I think you'll find that the customer service is excellent should you choose to avail yourself of it. The guarantee is very simple: you decide if your knife hasn't performed to standards, and it is covered. If you drop a line to Eric Isaacson and tell him that you were disappointed and why, I imagine something could be done. New Howling Rats have leather sheaths. The non-form fitted military type sheaths tend to have too loose/too tight problems from any company. That includes Becker (a Crewman I have--just about have to hit it with a hammer to get it in the sheath) Buck (my Buck/Strider Solution simply flops around in the factory sheath) and I am absolutely positive it'll apply to the RAT-7 knives from Ontario. The good part of these sheaths is they're universal for left/right handers, they're tough, easy to make and resultantly cheap. The downside is obvious.

The Swamp Rats, Beckers, and now Ontario RATs get compared a lot, and lots of opinions (usually increasingly heated) get thrown around. The basic fact--and nobody wants to hear it--is that for the grand majority of knife users (including most of our Bladeforums ranks) little performance difference will be noticed. All have been designed well, and it comes down to personal preference.

I'll say that I absolutely love the Becker's handle, but I have big hands, and some friends of mine find it uncomfortable. If that's the case, pull those scales off (they're easily removeable) and sand 'em down a bit, and if you screw up Camillus will hook you up with a new set for $5.00 The BK-7's blade is a little lighter than I like on a knife its size, but it makes a good slicer and I doubt it'll break without serious encouragement. If you put your mind to it, you can break any knife from these makers, Busse, Fehrman, and anybody you want to name. For that matter, Camillus stands behind their products, especially the Beckers, and if you ever do break it, give them a holler and they'll make it right.

Swamp Rat has the afore-mentioned unconditional guarantee. The Camp Tramp has good blade heft, a very comfortable handle (that more people seem to like) and probably the toughest coating I've ever used. The resiprine-C handles are incredibly tough, and many reviews have reported hammering with them with little to no damage. Also, if you have a cut or tear in them, five seconds with a lighter or match will make it close up and smooth out. The handles are also absolutely guaranteed by the warranty. It isn't a custom, but low production allows them to apply stringent quality control (detailed on the site) and mistakes don't seem to get made very often--in fact, as far has material/construction goes I've yet to hear of a problem.

I haven't handled the Ontario RAT. It looks like a good design, which I've come to expect from Randall's Adventure and Training--as I've bought a couple of custom callaborations from them before and always been impressed. People I've talked to/reviews I've read have said it has a comfortable handle. Consistant criticisms about the edge grinds are about the only negative thing I've seen, and if you have even basic sharpening skills, that should be correctable to the point of only being a cosmetic flaw. If Ontario keeps up its end of the deal with quality control--which they've had some issues with in the past--it should be an excellent worker. Being one of their higher grade models, I imagine they'll put in the effort.

Do some searches here, read reviews, look long and hard at the pictures and pick your favorite. You're not going to go wrong with any of them.

Warren
 
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