Small FB for Portland

Those are great choices dougo83. In fact a great combo of RC-blades that can be used together or separately. I carry my Izula as a pocket knife regularly but in city and wilderness. The RC-4 is a great belt knife. A perfect size and plenty robust. The tip is very sharp and if you like to watch hockey masked figures destroying blades, this model had demonstrated an almost indestructible tip.
 
dougo83 said:
Ah well...the order is in. RAT RC-4 and RAT Izula...
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Personally, I would have spent the green on one of the new Bark River Gunny’s; the best of both worlds in one tidy package.

But that’s just me; and hindsight is 20-20.




"If you're not living on the edge, …you're taking up too much space."

Big Mike

Forest & Stream
 
Personally, I would have spent the green on one of the new Bark River Gunny’s; the best of both worlds in one tidy package.

But that’s just me; and hindsight is 20-20.
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Well...I am in college, so I do not have the luxury of dropping cash on most of the Barkies I have seen. Especially when I can probably get both of these for right around the same cost as the BR. Also, could ya post a link? One day I might have money, ya never know...
 
With all due respect, to those who said the Izula isnt a stand-alone knife, or "cant hack it", I disagree. It can, with ease, function as a sole knife. It is plenty tough enough to take batonning, it slices like a laser (even with the coated blade), and holds a great edge. If you cant get it done with the Izula, you are doing something wrong. :D:thumbup:
 
EMT_Lee said:
With all due respect, to those who said the Izula isnt a stand-alone knife, or "cant hack it", I disagree. It can, with ease, function as a sole knife. It is plenty tough enough to take batonning, it slices like a laser (even with the coated blade), and holds a great edge. If you cant get it done with the Izula, you are doing something wrong. :D:thumbup:
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It has nothing to do with how well it holds up. I have handled one and have used a similar type of knife for doign baton work. It sucked...alot...not comfortable at all. If I don't have to do it, I won't...
 
I'm afraid I'm going to have to go against the grain here.....the RC 4 has a handle which to me is too small for the knife, it just feels wrong and would be very uncomfy for me to use for extended peiods of time and my hands are only average !
I'd check out what JK knives, Koyote knives or Breeden knives etc have available and snap one of those up asap !


Check out this one which is a good example of what you could get....

http://www.bladeforums.com/forums/showthread.php?t=638213
 
pitdog said:
I'm afraid I'm going to have to go against the grain here.....the RC 4 has a handle which to me is too small for the knife, it just feels wrong and would be very uncomfy for me to use for extended peiods of time and my hands are only average !
I'd check out what JK knives, Koyote knives or Breeden knives etc have available and snap one of those up asap !


Check out this one which is a good example of what you could get....

http://www.bladeforums.com/forums/showthread.php?t=638213
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Not this time around...I already ordered from Two Wolves...
 
i know im late on this one but my falkniven f1 is an awesome knife. its stainless too and the grip is very good when wet. again i know im late just thought if someone else was in the market for a knife.

also all my custom knives are awesome. they arent stainless though. i really like 01 steel. there are a few that would meet your needs over there right now.
 
pitdog said:
I'm afraid I'm going to have to go against the grain here.....the RC 4 has a handle which to me is too small for the knife, it just feels wrong and would be very uncomfy for me to use for extended peiods of time and my hands are only average !
I'd check out what JK knives, Koyote knives or Breeden knives etc have available and snap one of those up asap !


Check out this one which is a good example of what you could get....

http://www.bladeforums.com/forums/showthread.php?t=638213
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exactly the knife i was looking at. ive had my eye on that one for a while. i just put an order in with jk though hehe. so no money right now. i also have to say i like rat knives but prefer a convex grind for my field knives. a lot easier for a newbie like me to sharpen.
 
if you plan on doing a lot of batoning maybe get a camp axe like a fiskars or estwing. make life a lot easier.
 
Bige610 said:
if you plan on doing a lot of batoning maybe get a camp axe like a fiskars or estwing. make life a lot easier.
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I don't plan on doing any batonning. I just like having a knife that can do it. If I was going to be around here I would pack an axe for sure.
 
brians said:
For beaters, I like Benchmade fixed blades and they are made in Oregon City (I think?), so may be readily available. I presume you're backpacking, so here's what I've used:

Benchmade Fixed Griptilian - modified to remove blister-inducing jimping and thumbramp - much improved, good 154CM stainless steel, but blade is 4.5 inches but light at 4.6 oz. Sheath can be worn horizontally or vertically or malice clipped to anything. ~$100

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I like the looks of the rampless Fixed Grip. How did you do it?
 
Oh no! I'm too late. I was going to say find a local maker here in Oregon. What better way to remember the trip with a blade from here! You can always pick one up while your out here, then sell the two you got... or keep them all!
 
peripatew said:
Oh no! I'm too late. I was going to say find a local maker here in Oregon. What better way to remember the trip with a blade from here! You can always pick one up while your out here, then sell the two you got... or keep them all!
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I really wish I was going to have that kind of time. I have done these field biology courses before and we have very little time to ourselves. Our prof constantly stresses that it is not a vacation. Maybe one day after college when I can have a life I will come back that way.
 
EMT_Lee said:
With all due respect, to those who said the Izula isnt a stand-alone knife, or "cant hack it", I disagree. It can, with ease, function as a sole knife. It is plenty tough enough to take batonning, it slices like a laser (even with the coated blade), and holds a great edge. If you cant get it done with the Izula, you are doing something wrong. :D:thumbup:
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That was me EMT_Lee. Trust me, I'm a big supporter of RC-cutlery and typically promote the heck out of their knives. I have all their knives except the RC-5. I never said it couldn't hack hard use. It is a tough little bugger. What I said was that it wasn't a particularly good stand alone outdoors knife. This is premised on the idea that you use your knife extensively while out and about. If you do use the knife extensively then the small blade and scaleless handle start to become problematic for comfort and utility.

The Izula was designed as a neck knife which like all neck knives fundamentally compromises comfort and utility of blade length for compactness and light weight. The Izula is excellent at its intended function and they've done a superior job on handle ergonomics despite its lack of scales compared to many other neck knives. However, it isn't a particularly good belt knife even if it is tough enough to take on a lot of jobs. I'm not worried about it ever breaking, just the blisters and curses forming when using it to try and take on too big of a job. Then again, 90% of all knife tasks are a simple slice or cut and for that it will work exceedingly well. I love the Izula as a pocket knife. For many it has replaced a folding pocket blade.

Hey Pitdog, I know you don't like the scales on the RC-4 and there are a few others in your boat on this topic. However, judging from your other preferred knives you clearly prefer a rather thicker grip. Personally, I find when scales are too wide that I get hand fatigue quicker and the RC-4 feels just right for me. I even had JK make thinner scales on the Kephart that I had ordered from him. Heck, my mora #1 was quickly shaved and sandpapered down to fit to my liking. I guess everybody is different but there are several folks like myself who wear a size large glove (I can't even fit my hand in a medium latex without ripping it to shreds) but still like the thinner profile handle offered on this model as well as the RC-3. Thankfully, God made us all a little different. For handle comfort it really helps to know what you like as an individual and that usually means trying things in person.

The falkniven F1 would be my second choice for a production knife. The RC-4 cost is right at $100 and the F1 is about $115-120 these days.
 
kgd said:
Hey Pitdog, I know you don't like the scales on the RC-4 and there are a few others in your boat on this topic. However, judging from your other preferred knives you clearly prefer a rather thicker grip. Personally, I find when scales are too wide that I get hand fatigue quicker and the RC-4 feels just right for me. I even had JK make thinner scales on the Kephart that I had ordered from him. Heck, my mora #1 was quickly shaved and sandpapered down to fit to my liking. I guess everybody is different but there are several folks like myself who wear a size large glove (I can't even fit my hand in a medium latex without ripping it to shreds) but still like the thinner profile handle offered on this model as well as the RC-3. Thankfully, God made us all a little different. For handle comfort it really helps to know what you like as an individual and that usually means trying things in person.

.
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You are quite right Kgd that no one knife will ever suit us all. If you had not been so good as to lend me the RC 4 I'm pretty sure that I would have been tempted to buy one and if the grip had been a little wider I'm sure I would have loved it. When I used it I kept thinking that I'm sure those grips would feel fine on the RC 3, it just felt wrong to me on the 4" bade !:confused:
 
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