ONTARIO RAT MODEL 1 : MY TWO CENTS WORTH.

 

 
 
This review does not include a cut test because:

1. How sharp the knife comes from the factory have very little to do with how well it is designed. I could sharpen mild steel until it will slice paper.
2. Production variables (this includes heat-treat consistency) will null any singular test done on just one knife.
3. I believe every knife user must know how to bring a edge to his/her satisfaction.
4. The best place to hear about Ontario's AUS 8 steel's performance is from forums, from multiple people cutting a myriad of material, and their comparison to other steels. "..comes outta box raazorr sharp! I mean really..really sharp!..." another: "..this steel is crap..don't hold an edge..", "..in between 440A and VG10..IMHO..", you get the picture. Take the average feedback. You won't be far off.

Here I am, saying what I really think of this knife. Trying not to cover what was not already covered, which is...little. Very little.

In closed position, this knife is about as long as my iphone 5, and feels just a little lighter.

 

 

 







 Pocket Clip is the usual black coated 3-Torx affair, reaching half the football field. If you wear it on your jeans, people will know you attended the Randall's Adventure Training, and therefore will not screw with you. Personally, I have not attended, nor do I know what it's all about. I simply watched too much nutnfancy and cutlerylover and thelateboyscout on youtube and got carried away. (stay away from their channel after 2am) I ended up with 11 tactical folders. And if there's a size choice, I always ordered a "large". I suppose "minis" are for office people.Where on earth is a forty-something with a beer gut going to have his next mission? Barfight? I'll probably need a change of fresh underwear the moment that flush-faced dude whip out his mini texas toothpick.

On youtube, I always hear this when people review knives with open construction,"... and you can simply clean the knife with a burst from a can of air..." Yeah. We all bring canned air on our camping trips. But I'm sure he meant to say "..when I get back home, I can do that.." Well, when you're home, you can un-torx the whole assembly and time and tools are seldom an issue. It's only an issue when you're out there in the field, blood, gut, grit, sand, mud, lotion trapped in your knife.

 The stainless steel liner is held together by not one, not two, not three, not four, but.........wait for it....FIVE stand-offs.
(Please do not ask me why they call it a stand-off. The staring at a  pre-bar fight is a stand off to me. The pins are more like a spacer or pillar to me, if you will.)

 In opened position, the 4 saw tooth that makes the jimping slant towards the user. Little friction offered here, when compared to say, a Spyderco Tenacious's jimping.

Whenever someone says a knife sports ambidextrous thumbstuds, I always wonder if the knife is made for a person who can use a knife with both hands, interchangeably. For me, if a guy can use both his hands to write, he's ambidextrous, but I won't say the pencil is ambidextrous. Maybe dual or 2-way or L&R thumbstuds would sound more logical to me. But that's just me.

 

Still on thumbstuds:

 

If you are right-handed, the crescent shaped cut-out offers enough recess for the flesh of your thumb to engage the thumbstud.

For Left handed people, the gap is marginally narrower. Not a big deal, but worth a mention. Some south-paws have resorted to filing back the cut-out.

 

 

Close up of the liner lock-to-tang relation. Still young. The part where the liner lock bar touches the tang is sloped so that, with wear, the bar can compensate by moving to the right to take up any slop. Great design. Most liner locks works like this. 

Full Flat Ground. Thinner at the tip like a distal taper. Need I say more about the shape?

If I am to be very picky, my finger nails can catch the overlap of the scales on the s/steel liner. But for a sub $40 knife, who cares? This knife is about 5 oz and built like a tank. No play in/out (stabbing motion), up/down (chopping motion), or left/right (prying motion). Solid!

 

You can find this knife pitted against the Tenacious on youtube. I especially enjoyed the one by a Russian sounding guy. In it, the lock of the RAT bent and deformed (but stayed locked), while the Tenacious's lock unlocked from the impact and released the blade.

Tip-up, Tip-Down, Left or Right carry.
 

A close up look of the FRN handle. Looks rough, but feels rather smooth. Unlike G10, there's no assuring  feel like a chalkboard if you scrape your nails across the surface.

I keep hearing how fast and smooth this RAT 1 deploys, and how smooth it pops open. Well, My thumbnail lifted a little at the tip trying to pop it like the video shows. There is a sweet arc you must hit . Assuming you're holding right handed, the stud should be flipped at 10 o'clock position, making a slight arc. Flicking your wrist at the second stage just before the blade fully hits open helps, but it look amateurish. But man, this knife is 3 1/2" long! And the ball detent (when new and unbroken-in)
threaten to bust my thumb! All the inertia to make this RAT swing the arc.

All in all, if I do not find myself in a situation where my life depends on being able to flip the blade open with one hand, I feel this knife will stand up to most tasks.

Regards from the butcher.

Author's  post script and some food for thought:

While writing this review, I cut myself - twice- enough to bleed. There must be something I'm not doing right.
Sometime in 2014, Ontario released an assisted opening version of this knife...so not every one agrees that this knife exactly flies open at the slightest flick of your hitch hiking thumb...hmm...