Ratmandu

G

Guilo

Joined
Aug 30, 2007
Messages
181
So I'm thinking of getting myself a general purpose fixed blade, and I was wondering, does anyone know the average price of a Ratmandu? I can buy one for $290 new, but was a little hesitant because that's a lot of money.
 
I bought one new, but $290 seems a bit high. Does it come with a nice leather sheath or something?
 
in all honesty I would say 200-210 would be the most I would pay, 290 definitely seems high imo I will edit this to add there are RMDs on the exchange right now for 209.00
 
An original Ratweiler is very hard to beat for an all around knife. That said, Mid $200 would be more in line.
 
Yeah, I looked at the Ratweiler but it seems a little long for me. Right now I do some waterfowl hunting and a 7.5" long blade is a little big for butchering a duck. :D

I was thinking a 5-6" knife would be about right for most jobs.
 
If you do not have an aversion to Res-C you might check out the Scrapper 5 CG. It is basically the same knife with a different choil and grip and should be able to be found for much less.
 
Isn't the CG a lot thicker? I don't know too much about Busse/Swamp Rat/Scrap Yard but I remember reading somewhere that Combat Grade meant the blade was thicker.
 
The Scrapper 5 and the Ratmandu are very similar in thickness. The S5 Le is a touch thinner, likely the difference in the coating though there has been some variance reported.
 
I think I paid about $160 for mine when they came out. It would definitely be the last knife I would sell from my collection so I wouldn't be too surprised to see high resale prices. If Jerry releases an INFI version, I might consider selling mine for less than $300...but I won't hold my breath.
 
Guilo, make a post in the KNIVES WANTED forum and you might get lucky! There are some people on this forum that are just trying to make money...and then there are some that are truly generous in their dealings. I wish I could help, but I parted with my Ratmandus...regrettably:(
 
At the last Knob Creek (10/2009), I bought an outstanding Custom Shop Shadow Camo/Black G-10 RMD for $168.95 and standard Micarta-handled RMDs were selling for $138.95. Of course, that's retail before tax, not secondary market. A kydex sheath probably adds $50 or so to what they have in it. In my opinion, a markup of more than $50 on a knife that cost less than $150 only 2 months ago is unreasonable. Of course, my opinion doesn't matter -- the market value is as much as anyone will pay.
 
You might also consider a Boss Street; they went up on the Busse Combat Web site tonight for $227.00.
 
I'd certainly consider a BOSS Street if I didn't have so many knives in that category already (and wasn't trying to build my rainy-day fund balance -- I've seen too many folks have to sell off their collections when hit with a setback).

Another thing to mention, if you look a bit, you'll find better prices than $290 for a RMD -- I didn't look hard on the Exchange and saw someone selling several at $209, plus he's doing a $10 discount off that as of yesterday. No sheath, but there's no shortage of kydex benders and leather workers who own RMDs, so you wouldn't have to send yours in to have a sheath made.
 
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Did you make a buy Guilo? Whatcha going for? Looking at nice knives all!
 
I'm not sure a Scrapper 5, a RatManDu, or a BOSS Street would be ideal for processing waterfowl, Guilo. Seems to me a bird and trout knife may be more what you're looking for. If I'm correct, I'd suggest you try to track down a Scrap Yard Bird Dog Limited Edition (BDLE) in 154CM. I don't have one. But those who do swear by them. Here's some info and pics (including a review by Horn Dog and a comment by Dan Busse) if you're interested:

http://www.scrapyardknives.com/ubbthreads/showflat.php?Cat=0&Number=290687
 
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jnphares said:
At the last Knob Creek (10/2009), I bought an outstanding Custom Shop Shadow Camo/Black G-10 RMD for $168.95 and standard Micarta-handled RMDs were selling for $138.95. Of course, that's retail before tax, not secondary market. A kydex sheath probably adds $50 or so to what they have in it. In my opinion, a markup of more than $50 on a knife that cost less than $150 only 2 months ago is unreasonable. Of course, my opinion doesn't matter -- the market value is as much as anyone will pay.
Click to expand...

Now that sounds like a nice looking blade! :thumbup:
Got pics? :D

~tp
 
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