- Joined
- Nov 23, 2013
- Messages
- 2,162
Over ten years ago, I became hooked by the Swamp. Camp Tramp. Howling Rat. Boom. Done.
The Howling Rat was perfect to me. Great blade size and shape in a package that weighs next to nothing. It was capable of all stages of fire craft and could even pry plugs out of wood. For under, what, six ounces? This knife could compete with anything twice its size.
I may have had a couple. And then a couple more... Then a few more may have passed through my mitts.
Then the Swamp started releasing "tactical" versions of their lineup. Ratweiler. Rat Mastiff. SAR Rat. I begged for their tactical howler, building a vision in my head for what I would want.
Ultimately the Swamp released the Howling Rat Little Mischief, a great knife in its own right, but something didn't quite work for me. The handle seemed larger than necessary to me. Why would a micarta handle need to be larger than a resiprene one? The knife had lost its focus as a moderate sized blade with a small, almost negligible handle attached, to a large, burly handle with a moderate blade. At this point, I knew that I was nitpicking, but then that is what happens in the search for the perfect knife. The grail.
My quest continued and my interests turned to INFI.
Many fantastic recommendations were made over the years... the Badger Attack III was an obvious first choice (not my pic, but from the actual sale thread where I bought it). It had a nearly identical blade shape and the fairly skinny handle was on the right path...but that handle is LOOOOOONG. (not my pic, but shows a good profile). Again, the handle seemed a bit overkill.
I was Cinderella. Maybe Princess and the Pea. Goldilocks. At any rate, it was all in the minutae. I picked up Groove Masters, Euro 4's, ABA and Tanker A's, Active and Heavy Duty's, custom drop point hunter, bought and sold more Howling Rat's, Vexilarius, apprentice knives and a Little Ugly, etc. How close was this one?! The more I bought and sold, and the more I nitpicked, the finer my tastes became. Now the tactical howler was a mythical creature.
I talked with the custom shop once. I don't recall which knife I asked to be modified, but something in the conversation made this attempt seem futile on both ends. Shop said they couldn't do the mod and satin I wanted done and I felt I was gambling with more money than I was comfortable with. Something like that, anyway. Had I spent the money, surely I would nitpick something about it. With that, I could do one of two things - change my standards or be patient. Instead, I continued to buy and sell knives...just in case!
I lucked back into one of my old tan howling rats a few years ago. I had spent a couple years without any Howling Rat at all! This return to my bussekin roots rekindled my love of the basic series - currently owning a handful of them. And then some.
Then it came along. A product of the custom shop. Done exactly as I would have had it done.
It started out as a BA3. Then it was satinized, trimmed in the handle by both length and width, donning both my favorite logo and snakeskin nukarta. This knife embodies everything I was hoping for in my early vision of the tactical howler and includes all the finer details that I would have added over the years.
Luckily for me, the previous owner used this knife as his daily carry for a few years, so there was no hesitation in setting it to task. It prys and batons just like its resiprene cousin. No doubt, more pics will follow.
Elated.
The Howling Rat was perfect to me. Great blade size and shape in a package that weighs next to nothing. It was capable of all stages of fire craft and could even pry plugs out of wood. For under, what, six ounces? This knife could compete with anything twice its size.
I may have had a couple. And then a couple more... Then a few more may have passed through my mitts.
Then the Swamp started releasing "tactical" versions of their lineup. Ratweiler. Rat Mastiff. SAR Rat. I begged for their tactical howler, building a vision in my head for what I would want.
Ultimately the Swamp released the Howling Rat Little Mischief, a great knife in its own right, but something didn't quite work for me. The handle seemed larger than necessary to me. Why would a micarta handle need to be larger than a resiprene one? The knife had lost its focus as a moderate sized blade with a small, almost negligible handle attached, to a large, burly handle with a moderate blade. At this point, I knew that I was nitpicking, but then that is what happens in the search for the perfect knife. The grail.
My quest continued and my interests turned to INFI.
Many fantastic recommendations were made over the years... the Badger Attack III was an obvious first choice (not my pic, but from the actual sale thread where I bought it). It had a nearly identical blade shape and the fairly skinny handle was on the right path...but that handle is LOOOOOONG. (not my pic, but shows a good profile). Again, the handle seemed a bit overkill.
I was Cinderella. Maybe Princess and the Pea. Goldilocks. At any rate, it was all in the minutae. I picked up Groove Masters, Euro 4's, ABA and Tanker A's, Active and Heavy Duty's, custom drop point hunter, bought and sold more Howling Rat's, Vexilarius, apprentice knives and a Little Ugly, etc. How close was this one?! The more I bought and sold, and the more I nitpicked, the finer my tastes became. Now the tactical howler was a mythical creature.
I talked with the custom shop once. I don't recall which knife I asked to be modified, but something in the conversation made this attempt seem futile on both ends. Shop said they couldn't do the mod and satin I wanted done and I felt I was gambling with more money than I was comfortable with. Something like that, anyway. Had I spent the money, surely I would nitpick something about it. With that, I could do one of two things - change my standards or be patient. Instead, I continued to buy and sell knives...just in case!
I lucked back into one of my old tan howling rats a few years ago. I had spent a couple years without any Howling Rat at all! This return to my bussekin roots rekindled my love of the basic series - currently owning a handful of them. And then some.
Then it came along. A product of the custom shop. Done exactly as I would have had it done.
It started out as a BA3. Then it was satinized, trimmed in the handle by both length and width, donning both my favorite logo and snakeskin nukarta. This knife embodies everything I was hoping for in my early vision of the tactical howler and includes all the finer details that I would have added over the years.
Luckily for me, the previous owner used this knife as his daily carry for a few years, so there was no hesitation in setting it to task. It prys and batons just like its resiprene cousin. No doubt, more pics will follow.
Elated.
).
