Recommendations for outdoor knife to replace Swamp Rat Ratmandu LE

Jestersinthemoon

Jestersinthemoon

Joined
Apr 6, 2008
Messages
252
Good day gents, and ladies,

I'm looking for a new "outdoor" knife and I'm hoping that I can get some unique suggestions from the folks on the board. I'm pretty darn specific with regard to what I'm looking for, and haven't been able to find something that fits my exact specs just yet, but I'm sure there is someone out there who can help.

Here goes:

I live in Louisiana and spend a lot of time outdoors. I hunt, I fish. My dad and I will go out to a lake or river to fish all day and then find a little wooded island to sleep on for the night. I like bushcraft and woodcraft, but as a general rule, I don't like most "traditional" bushcraft style knives. Weight is not really a concern, as I am not hiking long distances and this knife is comfortably piggybacked on a larger sheath.

I generally carry 3 knives when I'm going to be out in the woods for any period of time. I have a Buck/Hood Hoodlum in a custom piggyback sheath. Piggybacked on the Hoodlum, I have a Swamp Rat Ratmandu LE. Lastly, I carry a Skookum Bush Tool. Some may consider 3 knives overkill, but I find that with these three knives, I can cover any task that may come up. The RMD is essentially the "go-to" knife for most all around cutting chores.

The problem is, as much as I want to be, I'm not really happy with the Ratmandu. I like the feel of the handle. The SR-101 steel takes and holds a good edge. It just doesn't suit my needs in the "perfect" way that the Hoodlum and SBT do. I reground the RMD LE, thinning it out a good bit, taking out the huge belly and straightening the edge somewhat, and gave it a bit of a clip point. So, now, its a little bit closer to what I'm looking for, but still just not quite there.

I have heard that Swamp Rat makes an FFG Ratmandu and I also know that they make a Bowie point RMD, so if I can't find something else that jumps out at me, then I'll probably end up checking to see if Swamp Rat will do a FFG Bowie-tip Ratmandu. That might be the exact knife I'm looking for, but I'm willing to do a bit of searching before I jump on that option.

So, here's what I'm looking for:

Blade length: 5" - 7"
High quality steel -- carbon or stainless are both fine ( The Hoodlum is 5160 and the SBT is O1 so I've got to take care of them as Carbon steels already )
Full flat ground, or shallow hollow ground primary bevel.........would even consider full height convex if the stock is not too thick
An ergonomically comfortable grip
micarta or G10 handle slabs-- no rubber, santoprene, foam, etc
A good sharp point. That was my biggest complaint about the RMD was that it was very broad toward the tip. A Clip Point or pointy wharncliff would suit my needs better. ( I do love wharncliff blades, but I don't think I've ever seen anything that would fit these requirements )

Things I prefer, but not necessities:

Finger choil for choking up
Removable handle slabs
Preferably uncoated ( satin, bead blast, double-cut ) finish

Custom or Production is fine. I'm not interested in any Becker, Kabar, or Bark River models, or any form of pukko, leuko or Scandinavian style knives.

So, any suggestions?

Thanks!

W
 
Take a look at the Fehrman lineup - Peacemaker or Last Chance (the blade is so wide by the edge the 1/4" is surprisingly thin, and the tip is very sharp) maybe? 3v steel, sharp point, flat ground, finger choil, ergonomic grip, removable micarta slabs, available in stain
 
I recently sent in my RMD to the Swamp for a rehandling job and regrinding to... guess what? FFG & Bowie clip. Also requested the G10 scales and deepened the choil for skinning/quartering game. I would recommend you send yours in as well.
 
I'd just go custom, you can get exactly what you want for around the same price as a custom shop RMD, I've gotten 3 from Big Chris on this forum and they are excellent
 
Take a look at Survive! Knives. Sounds like something like the 6.0or the 7/7 might be right up your alley. Just an idea.
 
Swamprat Custom Shop or Fehrman Shadow Scout. Or Swamp Rat Desert Jack .

Louisiana has some great hunting and fishing opportunities!
 
Gravelface said:
Swamprat Custom Shop or Fehrman Shadow Scout.

Louisiana has some great hunting and fishing opportunities!
Click to expand...

Thanks for all the replies. I do like the looks of that Fiddleback. I may go for one of those.

I have decided, though, that I'm going to just bite the bullet and contact Swamp Rat to order a new custom RMD. Full flat ground ( probably even ask them to go 0.05 thinner than usual ), Bowie tip, double-cut blade, with rough black canvas micarta slabs. I really don't think I an go wrong with that.

I will say that I got the Fehrman big about 2 years ago and I REALLY wanted his version on the Hood Hunter, which he no longer sells. I also really wanted a Final Judgement. I should have gotten one back then, because his prices have gone up since then. I've seen a couple of Extreme judgements show up on the sale forums, but never a Final. I really do like the Shadow Scout and may get one just to have as a backup for the RMD or just to throw in a BOB. As much as I like Swamp Rat's SR-101, there no doubt that 3V is hard to beat for an outdoor beater.

Thanks again for the help!
 
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