RC-5 Pass around review thread

Wow, I come home this afternoon to find a nice size box on my front porch. My first impression is I LOVE THIS KNIFE! I like big knives, and this one fits the bill just perfect. I usually carry a RAT TAK when I go hunting and I can see this one on my side when I'm out turkey or deer hunting. I'll get out tomorrow and play with the RC5 and try to get some good pics!

Thanks Whitty for getting this one to me.
 
Moshi Moshi

Sorry I did not get the mailing confirmation to you Shotgunner. If you still need it I will e-mail it over. Glad to know everything arrived, and arrived quickly. I mailed it on my way to the airport. The knife made it to your place faster than I made it out of the country.

Catch up with you guys when I get back.

Whitty
 
whitty said:
Moshi Moshi

Sorry I did not get the mailing confirmation to you Shotgunner. If you still need it I will e-mail it over. Glad to know everything arrived, and arrived quickly. I mailed it on my way to the airport. The knife made it to your place faster than I made it out of the country.

Catch up with you guys when I get back.

Whitty
Click to expand...

Were all good Bro, don't worry about it.
 
Well I was able to get out some yesterday and do a little chopping and playing with the RC5. I'm no hard core camper or hiker, I usually piddle around in the woods and hunt/play. I like to have a knife with a little heft to it to trim limbs and stuff around a deer stand or on the trail to a stand. When out turkey hunting I may need to add some cover blind and knock off a couple of limbs.

I really like this knife and will end up getting one soon. It will take over my Rat TAK as my hunting knife.
Handle is a great size and I really like the weight of this one. It will not just be in my truck under the seat! :D

The RC family hanging out in a tree for pics.

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Here is another where the black sheep cousin slipped into the picture.

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Just chopping a small tree and splitting it out did not need to baton any I was able to just push through nicely.

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Pretty easy to chop off to a point.
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Trimming a small sapling right off the trail to my stand.
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Perfect pocket to hold my RC3 in case I need a smaller knife.

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My helpers for the day...
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Well this one is for Jeff!!! :eek: :p

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NOTE-- NO BRICKS WERE HARMED DURING THIS PHOTO SHOOT (or RC5's)
 
I really like the Eagle sheath. GREAT quality. I agree with others that have said would be nice if the pocket had a flap that could close but I still like it. I have big legs so the strap was snug but would work.

I like the molle strap, I was able to strap it to the side on my Pygmy Falcon and let it ride in one of the pockets. Most of the time it would be on my side.
 
forgot to add the photo of my pygmy with the RC5 on the side.. Crappy photo but I was home by myself so I couldn't do much better. Still room for a couple of small items in that pocket on the side.

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OK Guys, the RC-5 was waiting for me when I got home from work today. Hopefully I can give it a good workout tomorrow. My first impression upon opening the box, favorable:D
 
I'll be shipping the RC-5 to aarong50 tomorrow. I hate to give it up, but thems the rules. Hopefully I can get a review up in a few days.
 
Family obligations kept me from roaming around the woods during my time with the RC-5 passaround. I figured since I was stuck around the house I’d go out to the fire pit and make a bow drill from scratch with the RC-5. This is certainly a task the RC-5 might be used for.

I had a limb from a willow that has been seasoning and was just right for the fire board and spindle. I batonned the willow into sections for fireboards, then whittled the ends of some smaller branches for spindles. Compared to a full flat grind blade, the saber grind on the RC-5 is just great for baton work. The limbs seemed to split almost as soon as the blade was driven in, making short and easy work. Also, the saber grind makes for a very strong tip. I just can’t see any harm beating this knife through wood. It could do it all day, everyday with nary a scratch. Some say it’s a tank, well it sure looks that way to me. I found the handle to be remarkably comfortable, the overall size and shape of the handle was spot on. The Micarta was just right. Not too smooth and not too rough, textured for all day comfort with plenty of grip. Overall fit and finish is excellent, production perfection.


The bow drill divot is a nice touch, I used it with my spindle to start a fire in the chiminea. It worked well although I feel the divot is a little too big, my pencil point spindle seemed to flatten prematurely. This is not where you want the friction, still. it did work and it’s nice to know you don’t need to spend time finding and making a bearing block in an a true survival situation.. The knife is heavy at 15.7 oz, but not overly so, and the weight does come in handy for light chopping, another task this knife would realistically be used for. The blade coating is durable and showed no serious wear after my time with it, but beware that trying to strike a fire steel using the spine isn’t going to get you anywhere. If you go this route, be sure to have a dedicated striker or you could file a flat portion of the spine or heaven forbid, use the serrated portion of the blade. Rat got it right with the length of serrations on this knife. I prefer a plain edge for just about everything, but the serrations never got in the way and they did make cutting the notches in my fire boards a little easier.


Too be continued.
 
The sheath is jump proof with redundant, reinforced, snap fastener retainer straps. Just a great quality sheath here folks, with plenty of carry options. I did notice signs of wear on one of the straps, the knife seems to be slowly cutting the lower strap every time it is removed and returned to the sheath. Perhaps some Velcro to lock the strap out of the way when using two straps is not required. The storage pocket in the sheath is generous in size although it lacks a flap, something could conceivably fall out when you’re free falling from 30,000 feet. Highly unlikely, but I just like a flap, that’s just me.
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The blade never really lost its edge, but a quick tune up on a Spyderco Sharpmaker made it that much better. I had a lot of fun with this knife. Rat did a great job with this one. They listen and it shows. Personally, the knife is a lot tougher than I need and I would be more inclined to pick up the thinner, lighter, RC-6 for general camp duty. Thanks to Shotgunner for running the passaround and to Derrick at knivesshipfree for providing the RC-5.
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