User mods on RAT Cutlery

R.A.T.

R.A.T.

Randall's Adventure & Training
Joined
Feb 4, 2004
Messages
10,400
We have been noticing an increasing amount of threads with people modding their knives, such as sharpening the jimping on the Izula. There are a certain amount of physics that go into creating a knife. Sometimes going against these laws of physics may cause your knife to become less reliable, weaken and/or break it. We simply ask for everyone to ask us before before modifying the physics behind one of our knives.

I would also like to address another issue that concerns the "Don't buy our knives" sticky. I have gotten several emails from members asking why we would post such a thing, and if we meant it. WE DO, IN FACT, MEAN IT!!!! Our knives are tools made to be used by people who have at least a basic understanding and respect for hand tools, their use, and the maintenance associated with them. We pride ourselves in the fact that our customer base probably has more common sense and survivability than 90 percent of the folks walking around. Maybe that sounds "elitist" but the common sense Invidualist is indeed our target market. We want customers who use knives and appreciate tools for what they are. If this hurts anyone's feelings, so be it - DONT BUY OUR STUFF!

RAT has always been about a no-bullshit philosophy of Individualism, Survivalism, Common Sense and Reason. We are NOT interested in catering to any other mindset. That does not mean that we don't welcome newcomers to this philosophy of common sense, Individualism and Survivalism. In fact, we love to see new folks come on board and learn. All we're saying is if you want to get out and run through the woods like an idiot, throw knives, beat on them with hammers or intentionally abuse shit just becasue you can, and then not understand how to maintain it after all of that, then buy someone else's stuff. We're not interested in you being a RAT customer. There are a lot of good knife companies out there producing better knives than RAT Cutlery - and they will tell you that as they welcome your $$$. Maybe they're the company for you. On the other hand, if you have a respect for the tools you purchase, enjoy using them as they are intended to be used, but feel you might some day need to abuse it to save a life or get you out of a jam, then RAT Cutlery may be the the company for you.

Never forget the fact that the knife industry is about 90 percent bullshit.

Jeff
 
I am both a collector and a user. But I have never chopped a concrete block, even with a Busse. I love trying out different knives and reviewing them. I do occasionally throw them, especially machetes. I like to see them vibrate in trees for some reason. I try to do real world tests, like cutting, slicing, notching and such. Yes, I'll use that little RC-3 to split wood using a baton, with some care and common sense. That's something an outdoorsman might need to do with one. And yes, the knife business is filled with bs. I appreciate the simple, rugged, funtional designs from RAT Cutlery and will continue to buy them and use them......if that's ok with you. :D
 
HD: If all of our customers were like you, then our job would be real easy. We appreciate you, your tests and how you use a knife. Please don't throw the Junglas or ESEE Lite machete though! :D
 
R.A.T. said:
HD: If all of our customers were like you, then our job would be real easy. We appreciate you, your tests and how you use a knife. Please don't throw the Junglas or ESEE Lite machete though! :D
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I'm not stupid. I throw the cheap ones!
 
I was about to type almost those exact words HD. :)

Adding that the knife is that persons property, its their business what they do with said property, but dont expect it to be replaced for free if its broken. No company will replace a modified knife.
 
Exactly, all we are asking for is personal repsonsibility. That's the philosophy we live our whole lives on. If we screw something up we accept the consequences.
 
I am a firm believer in using knives the way they are meant to be used. I may have a buttload of knives, but I had to work hard to afford every one of them. I'm a paycheck to paycheck guy, so every knife I own represents part of a paycheck that got spent on a tool I wanted more than eating or being warm. Therefor, I take great care of them. I know in some of my pictures, it looks like they are barely used. That's because I clean the crap out of them and polish them up as best I can as soon as I get home. I want them to last as long as possible. Even my EDC folders get cleaned, oiled and sharpened every other day.

Anyone who abuses these tools are, in my opinion, just wasting money and time. They are destroying a perfectly good tool for no reason. At the same time, the same goes for people who don't know how to care for their tools. A basic knowledge of how to care for and maintain your tools is NOT hard to learn. It takes no time to read and practice. If you don't have the time to learn how to maintain your tools, then you don't have the respect to own them. Buy some cheap shit that you can just throw away when it gets dull.

I have a lot of respect for people who get all the life out of a tool they possibly can. My grandfather has tools that he will pass along to me when he dies, that were passed onto him. That's something to respect. It's also nice to know that you are respected enough to have something like that passed on to you, and to know that someone trusts you to take care of those things. I can't say I have any respect for anyone who neglects or destroys tools for no reason.

Edit: There is one time when it is ok to abuse your tools and that is when an emergency calls for it. If that is the case, RAT Cutlery not only understands that it was necessary, but also replaces your damaged knife for free. They understand that you have to use what you have with you, and if your RC knife is what you have, then you should use it. No harm there.
 
R.A.T. said:
That's where RAT Cutlery is different. We will indeed replace a broken modded knife because that's our warranty.
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That's the only way you're getting my funky RC-4 recurve!
RC-5026.jpg
 
I tried to stand my RC 4 up against my tire an run it over to see if I could break it since you guys have such a good warrenty. I got a flat tire now and the knife didn't break, will rat cutlery pay for my tire?





































JK
 
As funny as that is, there are lawyers who would take your case. Then Jeff will have to print all kinds of legal disclaimers on his knives like they do on gun barrels nowadays.
 
As corny as it may sound, every RAT Cutlery knife that goes out of Rowen's shop has a piece of RAT (Mike, Shon, myself and even the members here) in it and we take it very personally even though we no longer "own" it. We love to see them used hard. Hell, we don't even mind the occassional abuse when it needs to be absued, but there seems to be a few people who have gotten on the RAT bandwagon simply because they feel they can abuse our knives with no consequence to themselves if they tear it up. They are not really interested in learning to use a knife correctly. They simply want it for the cool factor and nothing more. I'm not talkign about anyone who has posted a thread here (except one that is no longer here) but we do get some dumbass emails and we just wished those type of people were spending their money elsewhere. I can honestly say that every forum member we have here is someone we want as a customer. They are honorable. But there are a few people that we would rather pay them to buy somewhere else.
 
Dylside said:
I am a firm believer in using knives the way they are meant to be used. I may have a buttload of knives, but I had to work hard to afford every one of them. I'm a paycheck to paycheck guy, so every knife I own represents part of a paycheck that got spent on a tool I wanted more than eating or being warm. Therefor, I take great care of them. I know in some of my pictures, it looks like they are barely used. That's because I clean the crap out of them and polish them up as best I can as soon as I get home. I want them to last as long as possible. Even my EDC folders get cleaned, oiled and sharpened every other day.

Anyone who abuses these tools are, in my opinion, just wasting money and time. They are destroying a perfectly good tool for no reason. At the same time, the same goes for people who don't know how to care for their tools. A basic knowledge of how to care for and maintain your tools is NOT hard to learn. It takes no time to read and practice. If you don't have the time to learn how to maintain your tools, then you don't have the respect to own them. Buy some cheap shit that you can just throw away when it gets dull.

I have a lot of respect for people who get all the life out of a tool they possibly can. My grandfather has tools that he will pass along to me when he dies, that were passed onto him. That's something to respect. It's also nice to know that you are respected enough to have something like that passed on to you, and to know that someone trusts you to take care of those things. I can't say I have any respect for anyone who neglects or destroys tools for no reason.

Edit: There is one time when it is ok to abuse your tools and that is when an emergency calls for it. If that is the case, RAT Cutlery not only understands that it was necessary, but also replaces your damaged knife for free. They understand that you have to use what you have with you, and if your RC knife is what you have, then you should use it. No harm there.
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I was thinking that the other day when I saw the post by the kid that got banned, he said "I can't" sharpen my knife, and I think that's fast becoming the attitude of most people, once you say I can't then it becomes the truth.


Common sense with a lot of people I believe is fast becoming part of the past because there are no consequenses to bear from the lack of it. Jlstas and me deal with it every day at the plant, people who don't even try because someone will hold there hand and wipe their noses.

Cody Lundon said it best when he said you have to Rock On no matter what.

What do I know though I'm just a poor dumb farmer.;)
 
The jimping on the RC models is less aggressive than my other blades which have jimping (spyderco mini manex, brkt) I do prefer the aggressive jimping more so when im geared up with thick gloves on.
Why did you guys design it to have a more layed back feel to the jimping?
 
mechtec said:
What do I know though I'm just a poor dumb farmer.;)
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Me too! That's the way I was raised. But there's a helluva lot of Individualism, survivalism and common sense amongst us poor dumbass farming hicks.
 
I remember the first time I heard someone mention on youtube that they sent their knives off to be sharpened...well lets just say I sat there in total disbelief for a few minutes. I then stopped listening to any more youtube reviews. Being able to sharpen a knife is just such a basic thing.
 
I think you started this thread after reading mine? http://www.bladeforums.com/forums/showthread.php?t=698077

Over here in the Netherlands we don't have any RAT dealers so i couldn't see my Izula in real life before ordering it from the internet.
When I got it the jimping was the only downside so I had 2 options.
1. Sell the knife and get something else.
2. Fix the problem and use it as it should be.

Since I like everything else about the Izula i chose option 2 and I am going to use it for a long time, I'm a normal user and am not going to baton it, smash it or destroy it, just normal EDC tasks like opening boxes and foodprep so even if I would loose my warranty that not a problem to me, for others it might be.
If I ever manage to break the knife it is a lot cheaper to get a new one over here then send it in for warranty.

And I'm not a knife noob or a mall ninja, I have a nice collection of blade's and use the right tool for the right job.
 
R.A.T. said:
Me too! That's the way I was raised. But there's a helluva lot of Individualism, survivalism and common sense amongst us poor dumbass farming hicks.
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For me, a lot of it stems from, "I can't afford another one of these." and "I can't afford to pay someone to do it for me." That has kept every vehicle running, every tool clean and sharp, hell, that sense of taking care of your stuff should branch out to all things in life. Think about tools of the olden days. Do you think there was a revolutionary soldier ANYWHERE who didn't keep his rifle up or sharpen his knives? HELL NO. Was there a frontiersman or a mountain man that didn't learn how to take care of their gear? NOPE! People in our society are always counting on someone else to do the things that they don't want to take the time to learn, most of them are simply tasks. It drives me nuts. When the guy at Sears says, "you want us to come out and install it for you?" I say, "No thanks son. I can read."
 
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