TOPS or RAT???

both are really well designed knives, same steel and similar warranty and quality. You will pay more for tops. One of the owners of rat has stated he carried a tops for years.
Can't go wrong with either, pick the design right for you and your budget.
 
To me those two are a push, TOPS has a ton of models to suit any number needs, a great warranty, great customer service and the price is the only slight drawback on some models. RAT is what it is and does the job well of making great knives that work backed by superior customer service.

If your torn on these two, throw in Rangers and Beckers then you'll have the Quadfecta of great, non custom, do-it-all working knives.
 
I've had some form both, still have my RAT's.

I have found that RAT knives are little better "fit" and their sheaths are about 200% better than any TOPS sheath I have had.
 
I keep reading about Rowan Manufacturing as either "making" or "heat treating" both Tops and Rat knives.

Do Tops or Rat have knife making facilities of their own or are they essentially design and distribution businesses contracting Rowan Manufacturing to make their products?
 
Ramm9 said:
I keep reading about Rowan Manufacturing as either "making" or "heat treating" both Tops and Rat knives.

Do Tops or Rat have knife making facilities of their own or are they essentially design and distribution businesses contracting Rowan Manufacturing to make their products?
Click to expand...

I don't know about TOPS but RAT are the designers and ROWEN the manufacturer. Similar to when they were with Ontario. RAT designed and Ontario manufactured.
 
Ramm9 said:
I keep reading about Rowan Manufacturing as either "making" or "heat treating" both Tops and Rat knives.

Do Tops or Rat have knife making facilities of their own or are they essentially design and distribution businesses contracting Rowan Manufacturing to make their products?
Click to expand...

Rowan is now doing the RAT products full time. From what I've heard, TOPS no longer has any connections to Rowan, though they did at one time do work for them. :)
 
Either way, fit-n'-finish-wise, both TOPS and RAT are very similar. The steel, coating, handle material, screws etc. When I received my RC-6 I immediately thought of my Tracker, yet I had no idea of the relationship between the two brands at the time.
 
I'd go with the Rat only because of the way Tops treated the maker of the Tracker knife when the movie came out. To me it was petty.
 
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