Swamp Rat Ratmandu ongoing review.

Deadbox, do you need a sheath? I have a leather one I was about to list on the exchange, you want me to send you pics?

Thanks for the ongoing review :thumbup: really enjoy the updates
 
Thank you, and I really appreciate the offer.

But I'm obsessed with trying out different knives currently and all knife funds go towards my burning curiosity.

Its a madness really hahahaha
 
DeadboxHero said:
Thank you, and I really appreciate the offer.

But I'm obsessed with trying out different knives currently and all knife funds go towards my burning curiosity.

Its a madness really hahahaha
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Ah, I see, all funds toward other knives, makes sense. If you DID have the funds to spend, you might try a nylon sheath like the Spec-Ops combat master (short) or similar, as that could be used for a wide variety of different knives. Just a thought. Again, thanks for sharing your thoughts and pics with us!
 
I'm really enjoying your review. It reads like a series of journal entries. Keep it coming, brother.
 
DeadboxHero said:
It's a rainy and cold night. 40°f with a steady down pour of rain.
Time to play in the woods for a brief moment.

I figured it was time to test the all weather capabilities of this awesome blade before a real trip in the mountains.

I hiked into a sweet area by my house, I was completly soaked when I got there. Luckily I have a good layered clothing system.

It's a riparian forest area, very mucky and wet even without the downpour.

Once in the thick underbrush the rain was less intense.

I found a small area that could use some forest management as there were several small tree crowding a small area.



I picked a tree about the size of my wrists put together.




I'm always surprised at the power this Ratmandu packs for its size. It's not that big, heavy or thick but deals an amazing amount of destruction for what it is.

The handle is incredibly comfortable when chopping.
Even with wet, frozen bare hands.

I was able to deliver a great amount of power to the tree.

I'm sure a lanyard would benefit by adding my grip at the end of the handle for more leverage and power.

I would have shared more but the camera died.

In the future, I'd love to used this knife as a one tool option and make shelter and fire for a night.

Next time friends.

Carbon vs Stainless,
I've always been a proponent of stainless knives for my environment. Especially since I do more camping in bad weather to beat the crowds, practice my skills and enjoy the peace as well as the elements.

Carbon steel simply takes more maintance. Not only does it require a bottle of oil, but time.

When hiking long distances the last thing on my mind is checking my blade for rust.

I'm usually exhausted from making shelter,gathering fuel, Firecrafting, food prep, and other camp tasks.

When I got back from my little excursion my Ratmandu was completly soaked. Just like me.


No rust to be found. Even without oil. It seems a highly polished edge on carbon steel inst just for looks. I'm impressed.
I guess its time to reevaluate my opinions.

As mush as I love stainless for its insane wear and corrison resistance, carbon steel just shapes a better edge in the least amount of time.



The Micarta was soaked and cold to touch, but remained grippy without blister forming friction.








The handles dried fast in a warm dry area.
Overall the Ratmandu is a sweet package.

The steel is still razor sharp.

I get giddy just thinking about it.

Lastly it time to share with you all what I've been using as a sheath,
Duct tape and cardboard.

Just thought everyone could use a good laugh hahaha.
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Reserved for my sheath :)
 
It's a good thing that Busse's proprietary steel/s gets so sharp; without that property it would be extraordinarily difficult to cut anything given the average stock thickness of their lineup.
 
Great pics and review,, love that knife.
Mine's in INFI, but I've really gotten to love the performance of SR101 lately..
 
How smooth is the micarta? Mine has that brown micarta and it is very slick. I wonder if I need to rough it up a little bit.
 
bdmicarta said:
How smooth is the micarta? Mine has that brown micarta and it is very slick. I wonder if I need to rough it up a little bit.
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Put some rubbing alcohol on it, rub it down, let it dry. The handle is probably slick from oils adhered to the exposed fabric, even dishsoap should be able to cut through the oils, but alcohol works quickly and dries quickly as well.
 
Mine has a very subtle tactile feel but not super grippy.

That's why I like it though.

I feel like people get obsessed about traction while fonding a knife during use though, moisture plus friction equals blisters.

The texture is perfect for use.
 
This knife is Sold.

If I buy another in the future I'd totally go custom shop.

Sr101 with no coating and no finger choil.

I've made up my mind about finger choils

I don't like them on knives under10 inches

Why?




Holy wall of text incoming!

The same reason I don't like serrations

It removes an important part of the knife.

The area closest to the handle is were the most powerful yet, controlled cuts are made.

For instance, the most powerful cutting technique is the chest lever cut.

When doing this cut in a finger choil knife it can be awkward and uncomfortable.
When doing a chest lever cut behind the guard it puts more strain on the user with the edge being so far away.

The true advantage of the finger choil is it allows the knife to literally transform. Its two knives in one package.
blade length for batoning and chopping yet can choked up on for more control.
It also goes from a knife with a guard to a guardless knife for unrestricted access to the edge.

For a larger knife this advantage is magnified also chest lever cuts aren't used on big knives.

For the Swamp RAT RMD it is my personal opinion that it is more advantatous to have the blade with only a sharpening choil
for those power cuts this also would really take advantage of how comfortable the handle is.

The coating is durable but at the end of the day, its a coating.
Given enough use it will wear off (especially with batoning)
It also creates cutting drag.

I'd prefer the uncoated blade even though there is no corrosion protection. But, now that I found Flitz metal polish, my fear of carbon steel rusting is gone.

And love shinny things.

These opinions are my own and come from a man that is truly obsessed and puts too much free time into knifes

If I was a normal dude. I'd appreciate the coating more.

Final thoughts.


What's interesting about the RMD is how its jack of all trades knife.

It doesn't have the size and power of big blade or the fine control of a smaller blade.

Its really a bridge between worlds.

It can be defined by its use and not its design.

What I mean is it can be used as a one tool option or as a smaller knife in a system. It's indestructible and very robust yet transforms to the users use and chosen edge geometry.

Fantastic knife.

Problem is my name is Shawn, and I have a knife problem.

On to the next!
 
Wow. I'll likely read this at some point, but......

Anyway, yes the uncoated is the way to go. Sold my first normal one. Scored an uncoated one. Well worth the small price difference IMO
 
craytab said:
Wow. I'll likely read this at some point, but......

Anyway, yes the uncoated is the way to go. Sold my first normal one. Scored an uncoated one. Well worth the small price difference IMO
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Haha yea, TLDR (Too Long, Don't Read)

Agreed, I've come to the same conclusion that uncoated is the way I like my knives, since I love to give them the extra TLC ;)
 
Now, when it comes to a big thick carbon steel blade I am fine with a coating. I've likely posted these before in this thread but they are worth another look:

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