sheath experience on Rat 3 - poor construction or fluke? - ESEE comparison

A

aaronrkelly

Joined
Aug 18, 2005
Messages
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Was in Arkansas over the weekend and bought a RAT 3, had been deciding between it and the ESEE for a month or so. Went back and forth, stopped at AG Russell and they had the RAT but no ESEE for comparison - seemed like a solid knife so I went ahead and got the RAT.

I probably carry a knife more than I use it....so for me the sheath is VERY important. My knife shelf is full of excellent knifes that never see the light of day because the sheath is poorly executed therefore I wont carry them.

The sheath on the RAT 3 seemed excellent. The Tek-Lok is a great attachment point (I use BladeTech holsters and mag holders so I was familiar with them). Retention is good, which is important as I intend to carry this in uniform and likely horizontal across my belt line when Im not using it for general camping.

I take my new knife and tuck it in the bottom of the saddlebags and ride off. After a couple days of vacation I get home, go to setup my sheath the way I want for daily carry and find the sheath is separated at one of the rivets. Retention is affected as you would expect.

I had to leave again for work - figured Id send an email and get it all squared away from the road (arent smart phones great these days).

Got ahold of the folks at Ontario and they requested pictures, reasonable enough but Im not with the knife so I cannot do that. When I get back Im going camping.....and that was the reason for purchase. I will not have time for pictures and hoop jumping to get the product squared away.

Im going to be real close to Smokey Mountain Knifeworks today and tomorrow - thinking Im going to grab the ESEE so Im good to go camping when I get home. I can compare there but anyone own both the RAT and the ESEE?

The knife itself seems well made, guessing for my uses I would have never seen any difference between it and the ESEE. I AM a big fan of the sheath design - seems well thought out. Albeit my RAT 3 will likely be returned unused as I see no reason to have two very similar knifes.
 
As I side note the nice folks at Ontario did point me to a place I could buy a new sheath but at $25+ dollars thats not a viable option for me as that puts me past the ESEE price difference. Although if I do not like the sheath that comes with the ESEE I may go that route.
 
Interesting. Any manufacture is destined to fail at in some regard at some point. Its just a numbers game.

Very odd to hear that a rivet popped loose.

I hope that you get it squared away!
 
I do like the knife itself. Going tomorrow to check out the ESEE. Cant imagine its a bad blade either, curious as to how their customer service would handle the same issue. I may message them, if I do I will report back.
 
From ESEEs warranty dept:

"Most of the time it is simply easier for us and the customer to replace a bad sheath or accessory quickly rather than deal with a lot of back and forth pictures and such over a $20 sheath"

Yeah, kinda helps sway my next knife purchase. Buy once, cry once.....applies here.
 
I cannot comment about the ESEE sheath, but my Rat 3's sheath is fine, and has been for the past couple years. That said, I have since made myself a kydex sheath that is sized such that it fits great the front pocket of my jeans, plus still has enough rivet holes that I could rig it to ride horizontal on my belt, as you prefer. Needless to say, I like my homemade jobbie much more than the stock option.

My suggestion: shell out some cash to set yourself up with the supplies to fabricate a handful of sheaths, then use what you like best! You'll find yourself carrying more of those knives that are currently filling your shelf, and have learned a new skill to boot. There are a handful of vendors that aren't hard to find (google "kydex knife sheath parts" for instance) -- plan on buying a couple sheets of the material itself, plus a bag of rivets, a plastic-specific drill bit (sized for the rivets), and a rivet anvil. The rest can be done with a hand drill, coping saw and sand paper. Bonus points for a belt sander (I have a cheap one from the local hardware outlet).

Watch a tutorial or two for inspiration (google "DIY kydex knife sheath" for some good ones); then make new sheaths for all your knives, axes and etc.

Good luck!
 
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