Swamprat, which should i choose

A

AndersP

Joined
Jan 5, 2005
Messages
127
Well, this is almost embarrassing cause i got two knives yesterday, but i guess i'm bitten by some kind of knifebug :D
Now i really NEED :cool: a Swamprat.

I'm going to use it when i go fishing and when i'm walking in the woods.

I'm thinking of an Howling Rat, anyone here have one? Would it be the right one?

/Anders
 
Their (appropriately named) Camp Tramp is probably the best production camp knife on the market: forward-heavy enough to be a great chopper while being short enough to handle delicate chores (especially when you use the finger choil) and maintaining a very efficient angle for effortless cutting.

But you won't go wrong with a Howling Rat either if you don't care for the extra size of the CT.
 
I do feel that the Camp Tramp might be a bit too big...
But do the HR feel like a SMALL knife?
 
I'm not sure exactly what you mean, but the HR feels very nice in the hand and is just a very handy size and shape. I've had mine for over 2 years and it is still my favorite SRKW knife. With it's deep belly it is very handy as a skinner or food prep or woods use. Mine pretty much lives in the kitchen now since my wife discovered it. She uses it for everything from meats to veggies to whatever needs cutting. I may need to get another one for me again.

By all means, get one. It was my first Rat and even though I have most of the line, the HR sees the most use of any of them. It also carries very nicely, you won't even notice it on long walks.

Rob
 
wetdog1911 said:
I'm not sure exactly what you mean, but the HR feels very nice in the hand and is just a very handy size and shape. I've had mine for over 2 years and it is still my favorite SRKW knife. With it's deep belly it is very handy as a skinner or food prep or woods use. Mine pretty much lives in the kitchen now since my wife discovered it. She uses it for everything from meats to veggies to whatever needs cutting. I may need to get another one for me again.

By all means, get one. It was my first Rat and even though I have most of the line, the HR sees the most use of any of them. It also carries very nicely, you won't even notice it on long walks.

Rob
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Thanks!, excatly what i wanted to know.
I've now ordered one HR :p
 
Congratulations, I just ordered the HR myself about a week ago. Now you get to the real fun part.....The Waiting! ;)
 
Save some money and get yourself a real Ka-Bar or a Becker C/U 7 (the one fixed blade that got me out of carrying a Ka-Bar). I have one of each, came REALLY close to buying a Howling Rat myself but after considering what I really use a knife for and already having the two mentioned I backed out. When it comes to fixed blades I just prefer military style 7in utility/fighters. SW are good knives no doubt by the fanaticsm expressed for them on the forums. But, the C/U 7 will literally cut like a razor but has a 7in blade and is very tough and no one needs to be reminded how tough a real (not some cheaper knockoff) Ka-Bar w/1095 is. Also these 7in blades could be handy fighters should the need arise :) If I were to buy another fixed blade however, I would either get a Rattweiler or a Chris Reeve Project. Both of which are around 7in hmmmmm.

Paraphrase: "you can do most anything with a big knife you can do with a small knife, but you can't do anything with a small knife you can do with a big knife."
 
I'm not big on small fixed blades myself. In a knife that size I prefer a quality folder, and generally like bigger fixed blades. Save some money and get yourself a real Ka-Bar or a Becker C/U 7 (the one fixed blade that got me out of carrying a Ka-Bar). I have one of each, came REALLY close to buying a Howling Rat myself but after considering what I really use a knife for and already having the two mentioned I backed out. When it comes to fixed blades I just prefer military style 7in utility/fighters. SW are good knives no doubt by the fanaticsm expressed for them on the forums. But, the C/U 7 will literally cut like a razor but has a 7in blade and is very tough and no one needs to be reminded how tough a real (not some cheaper knockoff) Ka-Bar w/1095 is. Also these 7in blades could be handy fighters should the need arise :) If I were to buy another fixed blade however, I would either get a Rattweiler or a Chris Reeve Project. Both of which are around 7in hmmmmm.

Paraphrase: "you can do most anything with a big knife you can do with a small knife, but you can't do anything with a small knife you can do with a big knife."
 
Well S4, to each his own. After breaking the SECOND Ka-Bar at work (1 Camillus, 1 WWII Navy MKII) doing nothing more strenuious than slicing open rolls of printing paper I gave up on the whole lot of them. The HR has performed the same task with no problems along with the CT and BR (whatever happens to be in my bag at the time).

Leaving out the 1/4" thick CT and BR, the 3/16" HR did not flex (or break) like the 2 Ka-Bars, felt better in the hand and did not show any signs of weakness that the Ka-Bars did. I can't comment on the Becker, I've never held one, nor am I likely to.

You only need to buy quality once.

Rob
 
I have the bandicoot and one of the reasons that I decided to get that one was because I do alot of fishing. The Howling rat is a great skinning blade but I wanted a slimmer profile for trout. I have used mine for cleaning trout and other fish and I think it is perfect! I say go with the Bandicoot!
 
The Guarantee help to make the choice of ordering a Swamp Rat

I qoute from http://www.swampratknifeworks.com/guarantee.html

"We regret to inform you that due to our low prices and high cost of manufacturing that we are unable to offer you a conventional guarantee like so many others found in the cutlery industry today. To be quite honest... we simply cannot afford it. Legalese, doublespeak, and smoke and mirror loopholes cost way too much nowadays. It is for these reasons that individual warranty issues are to be handled solely by you. That's right... YOU decide whether or not your knife should be covered by warranty. Do you want to give yourself a five year warranty... a ten year warranty... a lifetime warranty? Do you want to guarantee your knife against normal use... or do you want to guarantee your knife against insanely stupid over-the-top extreme abuse? Don't ask us... it's your decision. We will honor any guarantee that you give your knife against major damage. Makes sense doesn't it? It is your knife. We're telling you to trust your life with our knife. Shouldn't we trust you with being the warranty claims specialist?"
 
Yeah, they do sorta put their money where their mouth is don't they? LOL I really like the no BS approach to their products. They have that much faith in their knives, so do I. Same guarantee as a Busse but less than 1/2 the price? Best thing since sliced bread.

Rob
 
Hey wetdog, I've always used Ka-Bars (from the brand name Ka-Bar) and never had any trouble, it's a great design (just not the best chopper) and as many as there are out there from diff manufacturers and as many as are made I don't doubt that there are some real lemons out there. I like the Becker better though it is more similiar to a Busse design but has a thinner stock .188 vs the .25 usually on busses and swamp rats of that size and is an incredible slicer and I've used it to do some fairly heavy prying with no trouble. I just wish Busse made a knife exactly Identical to it with INFI steel, I'd buy one in a minute I do more cutting/slicing than chopping/prying and prefer a thinner stock, just not too thin.
 
Ditto on the warranty comments. I think that was one of the primary points that sold me on an HR. I think the stand-by 7in blade has it's place, but for most applications a 4 1/2in blade of similar thickness has less fled for prying and is alot better for skinning and detail work. The Ka-bars are a pretty good quality blade but I think it has some pretty obvious weaknesses that are corrected in other designs of similar price....most notably IMO the CS SRK. Everybody has their go-to blades for different reasons I guess.
 
Spydiefan04, Busse does occasionally make blades of thinner stock, most notably the Zero Tolerance series. The two downsides to these blades in my eyes are the lack of a full flat grind (it's a 2/3 sabre grind- I'd just prefer full flat) and the cost. I've seen the Natural Outlaw, Steel Heart, and Battle Mistress versions for sale fairly regularly here, and they tend to go for between $350-$400. I have a coated ZT Steel Heart that is about the ideal camp knife. The recent Terror Monkey blades were similarly thin (they were made with the remaining Zero Tolerance blanks IIRC), have the epoxy coating, and may be less expensive. I've only seen a handful for sale on the secondary market so far, though I'm sure more will surface.

Jeremy

Jeremy
 
AndersP,

Though the wait is excruciating, you'll love the Howling Rat. It's small enough for front-pocket carry and yet it can chop (not to the extent of some larger knives, but it's a chopper nonetheless).
 
thombrogan said:
AndersP,

Though the wait is excruciating, you'll love the Howling Rat. It's small enough for front-pocket carry and yet it can chop (not to the extent of some larger knives, but it's a chopper nonetheless).
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The WAIT is AWFUL i agree to that :(

Small enough for frontpocket? But it is 23 cm, that's a bit big for that i think. Or if one have large frontpockets :)
 
I ordered a new general purpose utility knife, the Fehrman Peace Maker, over the weekend. From what I have been reading the Fehrman knives are as good as they get, although considerably more expensive than the Swamp Rat line.

Compared to some other highly reputable makes, the Fehrman has a sustantial lower guard. I ruled out buying a Dozier due to the small guards on the Doziers.

The only negative about the Fehrman is that I will have to wait three months to get it, according to what they say on their website.
 
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