I won this in a give-away and while I haven't used it hard yet, I've got some normal use out of it and can form an opinion about it. This is the RAT Cutlery RC-4, and it includes a MOLLE backing and MOLLE clips. It's a great knife, and sells for around $120 in stores. It weighs 7.5 ounces and, again, is a very nice outdoors knife. Let's get into the review...
The Handle: The RC-4 has a full, exposed tang. It's covered on both sides with nicely-lined micarta slabs; the liners on mine are green and the micarta scales are a dark brown. The handle is 4-1/4" long overall, with 3-3/4" available until you reach the guard. It's 1/2" thick. The handle slabs are removable with hex screws - three on each side - and they appear to be 1/8" in size. Underneath, you'll find a serial number unique to each knife.
There's also a lanyard hole in the butt, and it will accomodate non-gutted 550 cord. The handle feels nice in hand, and doesn't irritate or fatigue when in use. There are no rough or sharp spots, which really makes it a comfortable knife to use.
The Blade: The blade is 4-3/4" long with a 4-1/4" cutting edge. It's flat ground, and is 1095 carbon steel at 57 Rockwell. The entire knife, except for the grind line, has a baked-on black finish. The blade is 3/16" thick and is of the typical drop point style. There's just under 1" of very functional jimping on the spine, which really helps when using the RC-4 in woodworking tasks. The blade is just awesome, and is about the perfect size for an all-around outdoors knife. It will slice, baton, and chop extremely well. It came out of the baggie pretty sharp, and only required a light stropping to shave hair. Edge retention is great, even for 1095 steel. After whittling some fuzz sticks and what I call medium-duty batoning, the edge was still shaving.
There's also a choil right ahead of the guard, and it's 3/4" long and 1/4" deep. I find this not-so-useful simply because my hands are on the larger side, and using the choil actually puts the flesh of my index finger on the cutting edge. It's a nice touch, but I wish it were about 1/4" longer.
I really can't say enough good things about the blade. The steel, size (length and thickness), and shape are ideal for outdoors use.
The Sheath: The RC-4 comes with a black Kydex sheath, which is fully adjustable for tension. Just remove and switch one screw to adjust the tension on the knife to suit your needs. The sheath is what it is - a Kydex rig for your knife. It has a water drainage hole and several holes for attachment points. I tried to use a large Tek Lok on the sheath, and found only one position where it will fit: horizontal with only two holes being used. The sheath holds the knife pretty secure, even moreso with the adjustment screw swapped to the edge-side. The sheath is 6-1/8" long on its own, and 9-1/2" long with the RC-4 inserted.
The MOLLE Stuff: If you get the model I have, you'll also receive two MOLLE clips, hardware for them, and a MOLLE back. The MOLLE clips are pieces of black plastic, hinged together and locking at one end. They're used to secure the sheath to MOLLE straps (or anything else of a 1" webbing size). Two are included, and each has four holes for optimal attachment. Each clip has two screws, two nuts, and two rubber washers to use as spacers. The MOLLE clips can be used on the sheath either horizontally or vertically.
The MOLLE back is a flat, flexible Cordura backing that will attach to the holes in the Kydex sheath with the included screws and bolts. Once installed, it gives you more carry options: belt carry being the most useful to me. The front has a Velcro closure to secure the handle, and an elastic flap to further hold it in. The top has a plastic leg drop extension. The back has MOLLE webbing and the typical long MOLLE snap strap, and the back is where you screw the screws in for attachment to the Kydex sheath. When screwed together, the sheaths feel like on unit. No wiggle or movement at all. Because of the ambidextrous design of the Kydex sheath, the MOLLE back will screw on either side - left or right-handed - and still be fully functional. I wish more companies would use an optional platform like this. Here's a detailed view of the MOLLE back, from RAT's website... http://www.ratcutlery.com/rc-4_sheath_instructions-A.jpg
And here are a few of the many attachment options without the MOLLE back... http://www.ratcutlery.com/rc-4 instruction sheet-B.jpg
Mine also came with a 15" piece of OD 550 cord and a cord lock, although I'm not sure if this is included with the basic knife / sheath set or just the MOLLE set-up.
All I can say about the RC-4 is, wow. Jeff has taken a time-proven design and made it even better. The knife is sharp, comfortable, and about the perfect size. Not too small and not too large, it will accomplish 90% of your outdoor tasks without weighing you down. The MOLLE backing just makes it even more versatile, and is another one of those time-proven designs made better. Very nicely done :thumbup:
A special thank-you to Derrick of knivesshipfree (dot) com for the give-away.
The Handle: The RC-4 has a full, exposed tang. It's covered on both sides with nicely-lined micarta slabs; the liners on mine are green and the micarta scales are a dark brown. The handle is 4-1/4" long overall, with 3-3/4" available until you reach the guard. It's 1/2" thick. The handle slabs are removable with hex screws - three on each side - and they appear to be 1/8" in size. Underneath, you'll find a serial number unique to each knife.
There's also a lanyard hole in the butt, and it will accomodate non-gutted 550 cord. The handle feels nice in hand, and doesn't irritate or fatigue when in use. There are no rough or sharp spots, which really makes it a comfortable knife to use.
The Blade: The blade is 4-3/4" long with a 4-1/4" cutting edge. It's flat ground, and is 1095 carbon steel at 57 Rockwell. The entire knife, except for the grind line, has a baked-on black finish. The blade is 3/16" thick and is of the typical drop point style. There's just under 1" of very functional jimping on the spine, which really helps when using the RC-4 in woodworking tasks. The blade is just awesome, and is about the perfect size for an all-around outdoors knife. It will slice, baton, and chop extremely well. It came out of the baggie pretty sharp, and only required a light stropping to shave hair. Edge retention is great, even for 1095 steel. After whittling some fuzz sticks and what I call medium-duty batoning, the edge was still shaving.
There's also a choil right ahead of the guard, and it's 3/4" long and 1/4" deep. I find this not-so-useful simply because my hands are on the larger side, and using the choil actually puts the flesh of my index finger on the cutting edge. It's a nice touch, but I wish it were about 1/4" longer.
I really can't say enough good things about the blade. The steel, size (length and thickness), and shape are ideal for outdoors use.
The Sheath: The RC-4 comes with a black Kydex sheath, which is fully adjustable for tension. Just remove and switch one screw to adjust the tension on the knife to suit your needs. The sheath is what it is - a Kydex rig for your knife. It has a water drainage hole and several holes for attachment points. I tried to use a large Tek Lok on the sheath, and found only one position where it will fit: horizontal with only two holes being used. The sheath holds the knife pretty secure, even moreso with the adjustment screw swapped to the edge-side. The sheath is 6-1/8" long on its own, and 9-1/2" long with the RC-4 inserted.
The MOLLE Stuff: If you get the model I have, you'll also receive two MOLLE clips, hardware for them, and a MOLLE back. The MOLLE clips are pieces of black plastic, hinged together and locking at one end. They're used to secure the sheath to MOLLE straps (or anything else of a 1" webbing size). Two are included, and each has four holes for optimal attachment. Each clip has two screws, two nuts, and two rubber washers to use as spacers. The MOLLE clips can be used on the sheath either horizontally or vertically.
The MOLLE back is a flat, flexible Cordura backing that will attach to the holes in the Kydex sheath with the included screws and bolts. Once installed, it gives you more carry options: belt carry being the most useful to me. The front has a Velcro closure to secure the handle, and an elastic flap to further hold it in. The top has a plastic leg drop extension. The back has MOLLE webbing and the typical long MOLLE snap strap, and the back is where you screw the screws in for attachment to the Kydex sheath. When screwed together, the sheaths feel like on unit. No wiggle or movement at all. Because of the ambidextrous design of the Kydex sheath, the MOLLE back will screw on either side - left or right-handed - and still be fully functional. I wish more companies would use an optional platform like this. Here's a detailed view of the MOLLE back, from RAT's website... http://www.ratcutlery.com/rc-4_sheath_instructions-A.jpg
And here are a few of the many attachment options without the MOLLE back... http://www.ratcutlery.com/rc-4 instruction sheet-B.jpg
Mine also came with a 15" piece of OD 550 cord and a cord lock, although I'm not sure if this is included with the basic knife / sheath set or just the MOLLE set-up.
All I can say about the RC-4 is, wow. Jeff has taken a time-proven design and made it even better. The knife is sharp, comfortable, and about the perfect size. Not too small and not too large, it will accomplish 90% of your outdoor tasks without weighing you down. The MOLLE backing just makes it even more versatile, and is another one of those time-proven designs made better. Very nicely done :thumbup:
A special thank-you to Derrick of knivesshipfree (dot) com for the give-away.
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