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Updated 9/6: to add detail on handle design in light of precision cutting, please see "Ergos" section below..Thanks.
Hi, Hope you are doing well.
Here’s a review on the Swamp Rat Rodent 9 (best large camp knife I've used so far), I appreciate your comments and perspective.
Preface:
Been wanting to do a review on a chopper for a while now, and if you don’t like reading novels, I’ll sum up the review of the Swamp Rat, Rodent 9 (R9) with one word: Efficient.
Efficiency analysis is part of what I do for a living, and that type of critical thinking carries over to any edged tool I have..especially considering a 1lb chopper..I mean if I am going to carry a largish knife around, it has to be worth the effort right? it has to make the cut..(pardon the pun) with regard to a few core needs that I have, namely:
1) Is the Overall weight/length manageable?
2) Does it chop well?
3) Does it limb well?
4) Does it perform well when batonning, or does it wedge, because of the belly thickness behind the edge?
5) Is it full tang construction?
6) Is the Steel of good quality, and easy to maintain?
7) Is it comfortable to use for prolonged amounts of time, in various grips?
8) Can it perform reasonably well on finer tasks, (whittling/creating wood shavings/curls for fire prep), or does it feel “unnatural” if I choke up on it because it is not balanced for tasks like that?
9) Is it within my price range?
10) Does the manufacturer account for what I think a field blade is designed for, or am I stuck if I “abuse” it?
As you can imagine with criteria like that..it shuts the door on a lot of blades..because it has to have one heck of a design in order to have all those bases covered.
Background:
Have had my fair share of choppers/machetes/hatchets through the years, and up until now, have never found one that was really efficient in the combined areas mentioned above; I’ve bought/traded/participated in pass arounds for years, and every other chopper I’ve had is now in someone else’s home..just was disappointed..I see myself as a “wannabe” outdoorsman..meaning I cherish the time I have in the field to hunt/fish/hike/wander/camp..but I have a couple of jobs, a lovely wife and 4 kids..so I “wannabe” in the field a lot more than I actually get to. If I can get a walk in once a week, I’m doing great!!
Right tool for the job:
I’ll always be a strong believer in that approach, and that blade lengths have their niche..some better for some applications, but I will say this; if for some reason I left my pocket knife/small fixed blade at home, and I had the R9 in the field, I could still efficiently perform any task (other than splinter removal
) that I could normally see myself doing. That is a HUGE statement, and have never been able to say that previously about a large blade.
For those of you who have been in the field with a big knife, and were attempting smaller cutting chores, and have been stuck with a blade that wasn’t versatile, you know what I’m talking about...I think Scott Gossman said it best in a thread, that “Blade Geometry, is arguably the most important part of a knife’s design”..this blade is proof of that..it has crushed the stigma created by all the other largish blades I have used/held and worked with that left me thinking, “It’s good for this application, and I guess it’s ok for this application, but it either sucks, or really sucks in this one etc”…I’m not a blade smith, and don’t know for sure, but I really think the Convex Saber Bevel is what makes it (what I think) a chopper is supposed to be.
A picture is worth a thousand words, so in the below pics, just by way of comparison, I ran it through some general camp chores alongside a Martindale Golok #2 ..which has served me well for years in various capacities, and yes, I used the “sweet spot” on the Golok that matched best with the given task, and by the way..The Golok is a performer, and frankly, even though it is a Machete type tool..has out chopped a bunch of so called “choppers” through the years, and sent them packing..The Rat however, did not suffer such a fate.
Before we get into that, here’s some specs on both:
R9 MG
OAL: 15 1/4' 18'
Blade: 9 1/2' 13’
Steel: SR101 Carbon
Grind: RD Ultra Convex Saber bevel MG?
Weight: 1lb? 1lb?
Thickness: 1/4' 3-4mm
Handles Micarta Wood
Btw..I got this R9 new, and as you can tell, today is not the first time I had it out..the coating on this Swamp Rat is tough, it took batonning through 8-10’ diameter aged oak, for like 3 or 4 decent sized fires, before I broke through the coating..it has made a bunch since then..
.
Ergos:
Whether your chopping/limbing or choking up the handle it feels good in my hand without gloves..the double bevel design on the edges in the finger choil, make for decent comfort on choke ups, and the balance makes it easy to use this way for prolonged periods without hand fatigue.
I love the Talon holes on this knife, meaning if you are a tinkerer like me, and want to experiment with different types of handle options, you can try different lashings if you wish without permanently altering the handle design..a little bit of paracord wrap, really helped my medium sized mits, and has made much more comfortable for prolonged chopping, but again, to each their own :thumbup:.
Now for a comparison pic of it and the Golok, before the games begin:
You'll have to trust me on this, but both blades could push shave hare off my arm before we started / no edge roll, or burr (that I could feel on a thumb scrape anyway)..here's a pic of the edges:
Here's round one with a good, steady swing.
Check out the penetration difference between them..
MG:
R9:
Going on to a little more chopping, here's some comparison pics of the first hit..
MG:
R9:
Btw..it took the R9 5 total hits before it snapped easily; MG took 13..
Now on to some light vegetation..think this is a willow that's growing beside our creek..
Here's the first hit:
MG:
R9:
Btw..it took 2 swings for the R9 & 3 swings for the MG to clear it.
As you can tell from the first pic, it's not a clear swing as other branches in the way, and poor footing on the side of a bank..probably only about 50% strength on the impact all considered.
Fire prep:
Just doing wood shavings here for a fire..20 slices each.
MG:
R9:
This has impressed me a lot with the R9..hard to tell from the pics, but the curls are fat, and really thin..it had been raining some, but based on the thickness of the curls, and using a LMF army model ferro rod, it took 9 scrape attempts before sustained flame for the R9 curls, and 21 for the MG.
Tip penetration (steady swing):
MG:
R9:
Again, no blade smith, but the "ultra convex saber bevel" is amazing..how they brought this down from 1/4' stock to such an edge is amazing to me!
Check out the weight on the back of the blade, before the taper begins..the force in chopping is apparent because of it (would love to know how much extra weight that adds to the spine compared to a flat ground of the same dimmensions
)..the balance is so nice..just can't say enough good things about the R9..Way to go Swamp Rat!! Glad I got one before you change your line up 
.
When you consider the overall size comparison between the blades, and that the Golok is made for light vegetation, it really proves the versatility of the R9..finally I have a chopper/machete/camp knife all rolled into one..never thought it would happen..
Ergos
Now onto why IMO this is one of the the most, if not (the) most efficient largish blade on the market for the $...the choke up options..
Grooved micrata, which your gripping fingers can naturally rest in:
Double beveled choil, so your fingers aren't tortured while doing finer tasks:
Perfect weight/balance on the handle, giving the blade forward weight in this grip, but not enough to cause fatigue over extended use:
Plenty usable handle, so you can find the grip right for you:
Well placed "hump" accented by contours that let your gripping fingers and palm rest in a "socket" while at the same time giving a natural rest for them so they don't slip:
In the realm of the large blades, this is the most versatile i've had the pleasure to use.
Hi, Hope you are doing well.
Here’s a review on the Swamp Rat Rodent 9 (best large camp knife I've used so far), I appreciate your comments and perspective.
Preface:
Been wanting to do a review on a chopper for a while now, and if you don’t like reading novels, I’ll sum up the review of the Swamp Rat, Rodent 9 (R9) with one word: Efficient.
Efficiency analysis is part of what I do for a living, and that type of critical thinking carries over to any edged tool I have..especially considering a 1lb chopper..I mean if I am going to carry a largish knife around, it has to be worth the effort right? it has to make the cut..(pardon the pun) with regard to a few core needs that I have, namely:
1) Is the Overall weight/length manageable?
2) Does it chop well?
3) Does it limb well?
4) Does it perform well when batonning, or does it wedge, because of the belly thickness behind the edge?
5) Is it full tang construction?
6) Is the Steel of good quality, and easy to maintain?
7) Is it comfortable to use for prolonged amounts of time, in various grips?
8) Can it perform reasonably well on finer tasks, (whittling/creating wood shavings/curls for fire prep), or does it feel “unnatural” if I choke up on it because it is not balanced for tasks like that?
9) Is it within my price range?
10) Does the manufacturer account for what I think a field blade is designed for, or am I stuck if I “abuse” it?
As you can imagine with criteria like that..it shuts the door on a lot of blades..because it has to have one heck of a design in order to have all those bases covered.
Background:
Have had my fair share of choppers/machetes/hatchets through the years, and up until now, have never found one that was really efficient in the combined areas mentioned above; I’ve bought/traded/participated in pass arounds for years, and every other chopper I’ve had is now in someone else’s home..just was disappointed..I see myself as a “wannabe” outdoorsman..meaning I cherish the time I have in the field to hunt/fish/hike/wander/camp..but I have a couple of jobs, a lovely wife and 4 kids..so I “wannabe” in the field a lot more than I actually get to. If I can get a walk in once a week, I’m doing great!!
Right tool for the job:
I’ll always be a strong believer in that approach, and that blade lengths have their niche..some better for some applications, but I will say this; if for some reason I left my pocket knife/small fixed blade at home, and I had the R9 in the field, I could still efficiently perform any task (other than splinter removal
) that I could normally see myself doing. That is a HUGE statement, and have never been able to say that previously about a large blade. For those of you who have been in the field with a big knife, and were attempting smaller cutting chores, and have been stuck with a blade that wasn’t versatile, you know what I’m talking about...I think Scott Gossman said it best in a thread, that “Blade Geometry, is arguably the most important part of a knife’s design”..this blade is proof of that..it has crushed the stigma created by all the other largish blades I have used/held and worked with that left me thinking, “It’s good for this application, and I guess it’s ok for this application, but it either sucks, or really sucks in this one etc”…I’m not a blade smith, and don’t know for sure, but I really think the Convex Saber Bevel is what makes it (what I think) a chopper is supposed to be.
A picture is worth a thousand words, so in the below pics, just by way of comparison, I ran it through some general camp chores alongside a Martindale Golok #2 ..which has served me well for years in various capacities, and yes, I used the “sweet spot” on the Golok that matched best with the given task, and by the way..The Golok is a performer, and frankly, even though it is a Machete type tool..has out chopped a bunch of so called “choppers” through the years, and sent them packing..The Rat however, did not suffer such a fate.
Before we get into that, here’s some specs on both:
R9 MG
OAL: 15 1/4' 18'
Blade: 9 1/2' 13’
Steel: SR101 Carbon
Grind: RD Ultra Convex Saber bevel MG?
Weight: 1lb? 1lb?
Thickness: 1/4' 3-4mm
Handles Micarta Wood
Btw..I got this R9 new, and as you can tell, today is not the first time I had it out..the coating on this Swamp Rat is tough, it took batonning through 8-10’ diameter aged oak, for like 3 or 4 decent sized fires, before I broke through the coating..it has made a bunch since then..
.Ergos:
Whether your chopping/limbing or choking up the handle it feels good in my hand without gloves..the double bevel design on the edges in the finger choil, make for decent comfort on choke ups, and the balance makes it easy to use this way for prolonged periods without hand fatigue.
I love the Talon holes on this knife, meaning if you are a tinkerer like me, and want to experiment with different types of handle options, you can try different lashings if you wish without permanently altering the handle design..a little bit of paracord wrap, really helped my medium sized mits, and has made much more comfortable for prolonged chopping, but again, to each their own :thumbup:.
Now for a comparison pic of it and the Golok, before the games begin:
You'll have to trust me on this, but both blades could push shave hare off my arm before we started / no edge roll, or burr (that I could feel on a thumb scrape anyway)..here's a pic of the edges:
Here's round one with a good, steady swing.
Check out the penetration difference between them..
MG:
R9:
Going on to a little more chopping, here's some comparison pics of the first hit..
MG:
R9:
Btw..it took the R9 5 total hits before it snapped easily; MG took 13..
Now on to some light vegetation..think this is a willow that's growing beside our creek..
Here's the first hit:
MG:
R9:
Btw..it took 2 swings for the R9 & 3 swings for the MG to clear it.
As you can tell from the first pic, it's not a clear swing as other branches in the way, and poor footing on the side of a bank..probably only about 50% strength on the impact all considered.
Fire prep:
Just doing wood shavings here for a fire..20 slices each.
MG:
R9:
This has impressed me a lot with the R9..hard to tell from the pics, but the curls are fat, and really thin..it had been raining some, but based on the thickness of the curls, and using a LMF army model ferro rod, it took 9 scrape attempts before sustained flame for the R9 curls, and 21 for the MG.
Tip penetration (steady swing):
MG:
R9:
Again, no blade smith, but the "ultra convex saber bevel" is amazing..how they brought this down from 1/4' stock to such an edge is amazing to me!
Check out the weight on the back of the blade, before the taper begins..the force in chopping is apparent because of it (would love to know how much extra weight that adds to the spine compared to a flat ground of the same dimmensions
)..the balance is so nice..just can't say enough good things about the R9..Way to go Swamp Rat!! Glad I got one before you change your line up .
When you consider the overall size comparison between the blades, and that the Golok is made for light vegetation, it really proves the versatility of the R9..finally I have a chopper/machete/camp knife all rolled into one..never thought it would happen..
Ergos
Now onto why IMO this is one of the the most, if not (the) most efficient largish blade on the market for the $...the choke up options..
Grooved micrata, which your gripping fingers can naturally rest in:
Double beveled choil, so your fingers aren't tortured while doing finer tasks:
Perfect weight/balance on the handle, giving the blade forward weight in this grip, but not enough to cause fatigue over extended use:
Plenty usable handle, so you can find the grip right for you:
Well placed "hump" accented by contours that let your gripping fingers and palm rest in a "socket" while at the same time giving a natural rest for them so they don't slip:
In the realm of the large blades, this is the most versatile i've had the pleasure to use.
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