RTAK II vs. HI 15" AK?

M

minipyro556

Joined
Mar 22, 2008
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Mmmm, I have a HI AK which I had for about a year or so, great knife for a great price. I got my Rat-5 in the mail today and like it a lot. I did a brief test with it in the woods today and like almost everything about it. For a 5" blade it sure has some heft, much different than my moras and puuko. I heard that Ontario is stopping production of the Rat line, not sure if this is true. Since I like my rat-5 so much, I was thinking about getting a RTAK II as I don't really have a use for a rat-3 or a rat-7 but would still like another rat. Then I thinking of how the RTAK II would do compared to my 15" HI AK. I figure that the RTAK II will be a better all around user but I'm not so sure of it's chopping abilities.So my question is which knife will out chop the other?
 
I have both the original RTAK and the RTAK II. My kukri is a Cold Steel Gurkha in Carbon V. The HI Kukris are even heavier, but the CS will out chop the RTAKs. The RTAKs are fairly good choppers. They are like a cross between a bowie and a machete, light enough to use for clearing and slashing through the jungle, but heavy and thick enough for chopping (they are 3/16" thick and most machetes are 1/8" thick or less). They are good knives, but I doubt that they will out chop your HI.
 
I own a RTAK 2 and love it!! I have a gerber hatchet for my serious chopping, and use the RTAK 2 for more machete style chopping. I have abused the hell out of it and it surprisingly only requires a touch up on the stone now and then.
 
I do not own any kukri ,not to keen on them I owned a BK&T one and was not overall impressed with it so I traded it to langston...I love my RTAKII,1/4" chopping fool...so it is your call + the RTAKII matches all my RATS and I love the Green powder coating....
 
A 15" kukri has about the same blade length as the RTAK II, but is heavier and shaped better for chopping.

Like other guys said, the RTAK compares better to a machete that also makes a good knife. If you're primarily going to chop soft vegetation and/or small diameter wood, the RTAK will serve very well, and its performance on soft vegetatino will exceed that of the kukri.

If, however, you mostly want to chop wood, i.e. do mostly hatchet type work, the kukri will leave the RTAK whimpering in the corner.
 
Wow, thanks for all the comments. I think I could use a RTAK, I'll probably order one soon. One question though, is the pouch that comes on the sheath the same size or bigger than the one on the rat-5?
 
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