RAT Cutlery vs. Fallkniven

I don't own any RAT's but I do own and use Fallkniven Knives.

From what I've read about the RAT's, people who own them are happy with them.

Same thing can be said about the Fallknivens too.

Take your pick as both should last a lifetime of use.



Kind regards
Mick
 
Apples and oranges. :rolleyes:


Both companies make great knives and have very loyal customers.

The Rat’s are tough knives, but I don’t like the blade coatings and their beveled edges could use to be thinned and convexed.

The Falk’s are great slicers, but I hate the standard handles and dislike the fact that their choice of steel means the blades are made in Japan.

Both companies are known to stand behind their products.



For me, when faced with this dilemma, usually end up buying a Bark River. :cool:




Big Mike

"Scaring the Tree Huggers."

Forest & Stream
 
Hmmm... interesting comparison and I must admit I am a little surprised at the almost one-sided opinion. That said...

I've got a TK2 (3G steel), F1, A1 and A2. I've never owned or used a RAT, unfortunately.

I really like the fallknivens handles, blade shapes, finish, stain resistance and convex edges. My F1 and very recently acquired TK2 are excellent at the usual small knife tasks, bearing in mind the thick-ish blades. Fine fuzz sticks are easy and they will all push-cut paper once they've had my edge polish. Edge holding is excellent.

However...

I was recently very disappointed and quite annoyed at chipping my A1. I was chopping and splitting driftwood and hit some small barnacles, not sure if there was any embedded sand as well but not that I could see. I'm assuming the barnacles did the damage.

I lost 1/20" off the tip and got three chips along the belly, all about the same size. I was gutted how easily it chipped like that.

I'm now half way through reprofiling the edge to get the chips out and thicken the (new) tip a little. I'm only half way through because I've lost a little faith really and I sort of don't like to see the damage and be reminded of it. :(

So, as much as I did like my Fallknivens, I'm a little unsure now if I can consider them to be 'hard use' at all. Fine for wood, but I prefer knives that I don't have to be too careful with.
 
Its funny how tides have changed. Not too many years ago, you couldnt stumble into one of these threads without everyone praising Fallkniven and the F1 specifically.

I have a RC-3 mil, Izula and F1. I love them all... if I had to choose- well, it would depend on the situation I was choosing for- but right now, Id probably go with the RC-3 mil although I do love my F1.
 
foxyrick said:
Hmmm... interesting comparison and I must admit I am a little surprised at the almost one-sided opinion. That said...

I've got a TK2 (3G steel), F1, A1 and A2. I've never owned or used a RAT, unfortunately.

I really like the fallknivens handles, blade shapes, finish, stain resistance and convex edges. My F1 and very recently acquired TK2 are excellent at the usual small knife tasks, bearing in mind the thick-ish blades. Fine fuzz sticks are easy and they will all push-cut paper once they've had my edge polish. Edge holding is excellent.

However...

I was recently very disappointed and quite annoyed at chipping my A1. I was chopping and splitting driftwood and hit some small barnacles, not sure if there was any embedded sand as well but not that I could see. I'm assuming the barnacles did the damage.

I lost 1/20" off the tip and got three chips along the belly, all about the same size. I was gutted how easily it chipped like that.

I'm now half way through reprofiling the edge to get the chips out and thicken the (new) tip a little. I'm only half way through because I've lost a little faith really and I sort of don't like to see the damage and be reminded of it. :(

So, as much as I did like my Fallknivens, I'm a little unsure now if I can consider them to be 'hard use' at all. Fine for wood, but I prefer knives that I don't have to be too careful with.
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I think that the finer the edge the more likely it will chip. But also the better it will usually cut.
 
Times change gravydan because we are a fickle crowd and we kind of swing with the whims of the times. For all intensive purposes, RatCutlery is new and keeps pumping out new models. Fallkniven has been changing steel lately and coming up with some new knives but they aren't marketing quite as hard, or at least, not marketing directly to us like the Rat team is. I don't begrudge Rat for this, they are turning out to be a great American Knife company, have a great ethics about them and have become incredibly interactive with the knife community. When you buy a Rat knife it is about as close as buying a custom knife as you can get. Not quite the same, but there are a lot of similarities and you get that little pride kick of supporting the little big horn who are working the streets to make their name. Look at this thread - it is working. Search the same thread topic (almost identical) about a year ago and the gist of the topic was very different. Same knives for comparison, just different perspectives.

I'll admit that 65% of my vote for RC-products derives because I just like and almost feel as though I know the Mike and Jeff. Fallkniven is kind of a big swedish company out there. They make great, well reviewed products, but they are also kind of a faceless entity for me. Still, I want a falkniven product as I said before and I have so much carbon now, that the stainless fact is kind of calling to me for the salty water situations.

Foxyrick - thanks for the story. Take heart, that many types of knives will chip a bit under circumstances when you chop into rock or sand. Even carbon, which for the most part tends to roll will chip when you push it. It is a fact of life that our supersteels rarely live up to our expectations. Don't lose too much faith in your A1. While the edge might chip a bit, its that laminate that keeps the knife from really becoming damaged.
 
kgd said:
When I buy an F1 in the future, it will be one of the mircata versions which cost about double that of the RC-4.
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Ken, have you ever considered just buying the blank and putting your own handle on or having a maker put one on for you? I hear that's a more affordable option.



As for the RAT vs. the Falkie, the RAT wins by a small margin for me. I have an F1 and an RC4. Handles are a big deal for me, and I prefer the RC4's micarta (for feel and, arguably, durability) over the F1's thermorun handle. The F1 used to win in the edge/grind department, but I just got my RC4 back from Siguy and think the newly convexed edge will serve me very well. I am not good enough yet to detect a significant difference in real world performance between 1095 and VG-10, and the RC4's coating provides a good deal of protection from corrosion, so for me it's a wash in the steel department. I can get both shaving sharp too, so no issue there (though it does seem the 1095 gets there quicker, hard to judge because I previously use different sharpening methods on each). I haven't used both knives in the same time frame to get a relative sense of edge-holding, so still out there. The sheath on the RC4 stomps on that of the stock F1 in my opinion, and I value a good sheath with a knife. I've never had an issue with either knife yet, but it seems that the RAT folks are top-notch and take care of their customers. And I have to agree with KGD, I like buying RATs because they have a presence here and are really accessible. One last thing, the F1 throws incredible sparks out of the box, not so for the RC4 or any other knife I've had so far.

So I'd take the RAT over the F1. The F1 is a part of my car kit, and the RC4 is one of my woods blades.

ETA: But I'd take my Bravo-1 and maybe NWA Sierra Scout over either :)
 
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RAT please! :D I don't own any Fallknivens, but I've handled plenty. Great knives, but a bit pricey and the designs don't grab me as much. :)
 
Money no obstacle: Fällkniven – It's a more progressive company using superior materials.

Value for money: Fällkniven again.


I guess it depends on where you live but not so long ago the going rate here for an RC-3 was twice that of an F1. That's absurd. Not only do I think the RATs are priced silly against the Fällknivens here, but I think they fall flat against their own ancestors. One can often find very similar Ontario RATs here in D2 for less than the new RATs in 1095. It would take a big pile of something else to justify that to me. And every pile of justification I've heard so far amounts to not enough, even if it was piled up as a heap.


I see them both having great merit as platforms for modification. That said, fresh plain from the box the Fällknivens would have more user appeal to me. I also believe at the higher end of modifications more could be coaxed from the Fällknivens.

Fällkniven I regard as a kind of benchmark and I have to have very precise reasons why to look beyond what they can do for task X. By contrast although the RATs are clearly a neat looking design I can pass them by as easily as their factory siblings at TOPS or the new Ontario spec plus that also seem good.

Yup, easy one for me both in absolute terms and in value for money. Frankly, I think it's a bollox that I can pick up a gorgeous BRKT Rogue in A2 resplendent in curly maple for only 30 more than an RC-6 beater.

Hard to say more 'cos I don't want to pillory the RAT people 'cos they strike me as good folk, but I think they're up against it if you put them against Fällkniven. I like VW but they're no Porsche.
 
Merost said:
I still haven't made my personal choice which knife is the "do all" survival knife so I was just asking to see what you opinions were.
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Now I gotta throw out my fav...Swamp Rat Camp Tramp...last knife I'd ever sell, does it all with in a light package!
 
What really surprises me is that nobody has mentioned the added advantage of buying American-made in this less-than-ideal economy. That would be a plus for me. I have an RC-3 and really like it. I have never handled or owned a Fallkniven.

Doc
 
Fallkniven

Steel is Stainless, and while a great stainless, it will be strong not tough, and if you are in a position to need to abuse your knife, it will respond less favorably than a simple carbon steel.

Handle is Elastomer(Rubber) this is good for Sweden and far north areas where you will hold the knife with a bare hand in the winter. This elastomer will also cushion your hand against shock. But, this elastomer is going to be less resistant to abrasion. For instance, I have a friend for whom I will be making a new Concealex sheath, because the one he bought did not have a flared opening, and the edge of the Kydex was abrading the handle of his F1.

Edge is Convex, which is good, because a well sharpened convex cuts quite well. But, convex edges are difficult to sharpen, unless one can learn the skill, which over the bell curve, most do not. And if you wanted to un-convex it, that would be a real pain, which is why I have never bought one. I don't convex to this point.

Warranty is good with Fallkniven, but do they have a US representative? If not, you will be doing business with them over the pond, and at international long distance rates.


Rat Cutlery

Steel is Simple Carbon Steel, it will require maintenance, but it will take abuse better, and will sharpen easier.

Handle is Micarta, very durable which is good, good abrasion resistance. And Micarta is tough. But, I would think that it would be more dense, thus more mass, therefore weigh more.

Edge is common type, micro bevel on edge bevel. Easy to learn to maintain. Easily converted to convex, if you so choose, upon acquiring the skill.

Warranty is in US.


Both knives are quality products. I prefer the RAT stuff, and reason that logic bears that out, but then again, it takes all kinds.

If you are a US citizen, it is worth your time to encourage and support a company that produces goods in the US of A, that's not isolationism, that's just survival. But, then again, people are hurting all over, and people in Japan and Sweden need jobs too.

Marion
 
I'd go with Rat Cutlery myself. Their products are designed for hard use with some abuse. Great overall design!

I had a black micarta F1 that cut like nothing else i've ever had but those Swedes must have tiny hands. I also had the IDUN which really could have beeen my "One blade" but again the small handle killed it.
I think Fallkniven is unaware (or doesn't care) how many more knives they could sell by just adding 1/2" to the handles on their fixed blades.
 
the only part of the the Falks I did not like was the handles and it seems from reading through these posts is the common issue / complaint. funny thing is its very easy to fix...buy the blank and slap a few micarcta / g10 slabs on there and make a handle to your liking. You can buy any of them easy enough.

Hell - the F1 blank, micarta slabs and bolts only cost me $10 more than a RC4 would have cost me. I want to do a S1 or H1 next.

My issues with the RAT knives:
- Overly tall blade
- Poor edge geometry (requires reprofiling)
- Coating will never be as durable as the laminate
 
RAT Cutlery hands down. Just about anyone who owns or has held and RC-5 knows what this knife is capable of. Designed by SERE instructors, .25 in THICK, micarta handles, unbeatable customer service and warranty makes this knife above all the rest in my opinion. If you were in a survival situation, the RC-5 will not fail you. I promise you will break before the RC-5 does lol.
 
My own preference would be an F1. Nothing against the RAT line, just my own personal preference. Sounds like either would serve you well.
 
Fallkniven for me too, I have, and have had, lots of other makes/modles, the only thing in the same league cutting wise is BRKT. RAT really reminds me of TOPS, which, if you knew my opinion of TOPS as cutting tools, you would then know its somewhat unprintable ;)
 
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