Rodent 3 for EDC?

FettWillKill

Gold Member
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Oct 3, 2012
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I'm looking for a fixed blade EDC and I've gotten my choices narrowed down to a DPX Hest, an ESEE 3 and, as the title suggests, a Rodent 3. They all seem to be great as far as an EDC blade goes, but unlike the Hest and the ESEE, I've been unable to find any reviews of the Rodent 3. Out of all three brands, I only own a Swamp Rat (RMD:thumbup:) so I have no doubts as to the quality and build of their blades, I'm just curious as to people's opinions of and experiences with the Rodent 3 and if anyone can give me a comparison between the Rodent 3 and either the Hest, the ESEE 3, or both. Thanks for any and all feedback, I hope everyone is having a good winter!
 
I really liked the r3 for edc.
It was just big enough to do the tasks I wanted and just small enough to be edc able
That being said the esee 3 is a great blade as well and is quite a bit cheaper. You really can't go wrong with esee or swamp rat
 
I sold my rodent 3 because I don't like a 3 finger hold. I like the scrapyards 311 a lot. The 311 might be my favorite Busse or kin just out pacing my B10 LE.
 
The Rodent Solution is worth a look at as well. The SYKCO 311 is next on my list and I hope I get one from the Ganzaaa.
 
I have a 311, and for me, it's too big (long) and bulky (handle) for EDC. I tried for one of the custom shop Rodent 3's in the Ganzaaa last night for this reason. It's basically the same size as a Busse Game Warden, for which there are plenty of glowing EDC reviews.

ETA: The Rodent 3 is almost exactly the same size as the Swamp Warden with B. Piatt's handle scales, so it should be perfect for me. Somewhere I saw someone had posted a picture of that exact comparison awhile back, for which I am about to go searching for.

Here's a couple pics of the Warden with scales, next to a Rodent Solution:

Warden_Handles_11.jpg


Warden_Handles_10.jpg
 
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I don't have a Rodent 3 but I do have an Esee 3 and a Hest, and I like the Esee a lot better. I don't like the mini pry bar on the Hest. Otherwise both are nice. I wear large size gloves and the pry bar gets in the way of my pinky. My personal EDC is and Esee Izula with handles from Knife Connection. It is almost as long a blade as the Esee 3 but the rest is more pocket sized.
 
Well that didn't take me too long. Here is one of the pictures I was thinking of, courtesy of worldwood:

Left top to bottom-
rodent 3
swamp warden with optional scales
custom shop rodent 3
rodent solution

01jm.jpg


Will post any other good ones I find as well.

ETA: Boom, another one, with the 311 as well!!! Courtesy of elof_alv.

Bottom 3 knives, top to bottom-
rodent solution
SYKCO 311
rodent 3

DSC00268_zpsea009563-1_zps95635762.jpg
 
Another pic from elof_alv. Swamp Wardens and Rodent 3's.

272679B1-6E78-40F6-98E4-FDECCB32FA1D-6793-000006BD9EE6EE93_zpsdf1f9e14.jpg


ETA: More from Rat Chat. These thanks to Invinoveritas1911. Excellent in-hand shot, and includes Busse Game Warden too.

569d105dcefacfcc237c6dd283986f39_zpsf0bce61d.jpg


785c5d5c2f044bf9b1cf37512c4098ac_zpsea4a4e56.jpg


Looks like we have (top to bottom) Rodent Solution, SYKCO 311, Rodent 3, and Busse Game Warden spine shot:
09f8729a1a948c12381dd33e8d9ec467_zps5b7dbc91.jpg


3da6ebfedd382d7b5aa3a298dab769d5_zps6f305f9a.jpg


ac47fd9c00594a2c722d6aaf0cfb2011_zps4ac25aad.jpg


7191bd7cb3223b1a96c8cf7929f308fa_zps9b179329.jpg


d68b79605fcc818f2dc4fa71bef96b0a_zps2adf2649.jpg


dd6cba11a362e91b1a5d3b4737b000e6_zpsd919e227.jpg
 
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With EDC in mind I decided to strip, slightly thin out the blade and then stonewash one of my R3 (probably will even give it a ferric chloride bath too).
Aside from the rather uneven jimping on the spine (I swear I cold have done it faster and better with files than the crappy little 'power' tool) all the work has been done without powered tools and I'm rather happy with the outcome.
Just need to get the FeCl and bolts to put the handles back on to finish the project.
I was actually surprised to find out that Swamp Warden and R3 have longer cutting edge than Game Warden. For city EDC you might be a bit better off with SW with handles as it is noticeably lighter than R3.
Here is the pic of my project R3 after the stone washing
 
That is excellent Cesar! Turned out real nice! :cool: Good point about the weight difference between the scaled Swamp Warden versus the Rodent 3.

I actually noticed that the Swamp Warden had a longer cutting edge than the Busse Game Warden way back when the Swamp Wardens were originally released. That's why I bought so many! ;) (I have 7, 4 from the original release)
 
Wow, thanks for all the feedback everyone! Spyder Phreak, thanks for the veritable mountain of pictures, they are a huge help. It's lookin like the Hest is out of the running, so it's down to the ESEE 3 and the Rodent 3 (and let's be honest, that means it's gonna wind out as both :p).

Elof_Alv, that stonewashed R3 looks incredible! I'm pretty unfamiliar with the process used for stonewashing, how did you go about it?
 
FWK, it's really easy to do!
One thing you need to do first though is sand down the blade to smooth. I've done some folder blades in the past and was quite unhappy with those that had 'satin' finish, the grooves from the grinder are brought up by stone washing.

After sanding the knife, quite a lot actually, it had some grooves from the CNC machines on the main bevel, I got to ~400 grit, and just a bit of 1200 to get the biggest scratches off, I just chucked it in a plastic container with the three abrasives in the pic, coarse and fine ceramic and some pebbles I picked up on a beach, generous quantity of WD40 and then just sat watching a movie and shaking the box in all directions for about half an hour.
I have mixed the abrasives because I wanted to have a varied finish rather than uniform pattern. I'd recommend using the ceramic ones, got them from jewellers' supply website, and mixing them up, they are working a lot faster than the pebbles on their own.
 
Wow, thanks for all the feedback everyone! Spyder Phreak, thanks for the veritable mountain of pictures, they are a huge help. It's lookin like the Hest is out of the running, so it's down to the ESEE 3 and the Rodent 3 (and let's be honest, that means it's gonna wind out as both :p).

Elof_Alv, that stonewashed R3 looks incredible! I'm pretty unfamiliar with the process used for stonewashing, how did you go about it?

No sweat! Like I mentioned, I was going to do this myself anyway, so you saved me the trouble of starting a thread. :)
 
This is my bone handled Custom Shop R3. It's slimmer than the combat grade. The knife carries really well in a front cross draw, and disappears in a pocket sheath. Nothing against the other brands, but I suggest finding something from Scrap Yard, Swamp Rat, or Busse that works for you. You will not be disappointed!
5765CF92-BFB0-4E60-98E8-CD37BA0CD90D-692-0000014E92F8758D_zps9b94c1d5.jpg
 
FWK, it's really easy to do!
One thing you need to do first though is sand down the blade to smooth. I've done some folder blades in the past and was quite unhappy with those that had 'satin' finish, the grooves from the grinder are brought up by stone washing.

After sanding the knife, quite a lot actually, it had some grooves from the CNC machines on the main bevel, I got to ~400 grit, and just a bit of 1200 to get the biggest scratches off, I just chucked it in a plastic container with the three abrasives in the pic, coarse and fine ceramic and some pebbles I picked up on a beach, generous quantity of WD40 and then just sat watching a movie and shaking the box in all directions for about half an hour.
I have mixed the abrasives because I wanted to have a varied finish rather than uniform pattern. I'd recommend using the ceramic ones, got them from jewellers' supply website, and mixing them up, they are working a lot faster than the pebbles on their own.

Awesome, thanks for the pointers, elof! Looks like Ive got a new project in the works :p


No sweat! Like I mentioned, I was going to do this myself anyway, so you saved me the trouble of starting a thread. :)

Right on, I aims to please!

This is my bone handled Custom Shop R3. It's slimmer than the combat grade. The knife carries really well in a front cross draw, and disappears in a pocket sheath. Nothing against the other brands, but I suggest finding something from Scrap Yard, Swamp Rat, or Busse that works for you. You will not be disappointed!
5765CF92-BFB0-4E60-98E8-CD37BA0CD90D-692-0000014E92F8758D_zps9b94c1d5.jpg

She's a beauty, I love seeing custom jobs. I have a few hogs, one dog and a rat, and you are absolutely right, there has never been anything close to disappointment. This is really just another one of my ill fated attempts to branch out my collection a little bit. Funny how once you cut something with INFI or SR-101, everything else seems kinda pointless :D:thumbup:
 
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