I wanted to share some images and stories of the Ontario Rat 1 folder, and how I tinkered with it to make it better for me. My first Rat 1 was from the very first batch. It had one thumb stud and a Torx screw to hold it on. I gave it to a friend in the German army. The next one I got was one of the first versions with dual thumb studs, and it's the subject of this thread. I was reluctant to post some of these stories in a public forum, but they're part of the knife's history.
This is the knife as it is today. Still a Rat 1. Has some texturing added to imrove grip. Has some areas sanded down on both the left and right side to help guide my thumb to the stud. Still a Rat 1...
The first thing I did was add some traction to the handles. I've used this knife to dress hogs and deer, and while the choil helps, the knife gets slippery when covered in blood and guts. So I broke out my woodburning pen (soldering iron with a flat tip) and took four minutes to make linear patterns on each side. It's not fancy - it's not even clean - but it works a lot better...
I was careful to leave the area under the pocket clip's contact undone, as this would cause snagging of the pocket. Since this was done, the handle doesn't really get affected (grip-wise) by oil, blood, or water. You'll also notice that all of the paint has come off of mine from use, so I just sanded it. The clip gets rotated between left and right hand, but it always stays tip-up. Since I'm a lefty, I added some valleys to help guide my thumb to the studs easier...
As I've mentioned before, this knife has been used on several continents. Four to be exact. It's been used a lot, from simple cutting of fruit to batoning, even by a Libyan soldier throwing it into a tree. One of the uses was in combat zones. The tip was broke off in Iraq while being used against a Mahdi militia member (I'll spare the details) and had to be reground. It was only about 1/8" of the tip, but I was really unhappy with it. So, this is the end result...
It looks pretty close to the factory tip, and I know I should be happy enough just to be alive after using it, but it really irked me. I had to wait until state-side to regrind it, but here's a better shot of it as it is now...
One of my jobs was to provide event security at professional wrestling shows. I still do it from time to time. The WWE was in town, and as part of the job, I got to meet the wrestlers and crew. Most of the non-performers (ring crew, janitors, concession crew, etc.) had box cutters as their only knives. I helped set up the ring and it was inevitably time to cut things. Several of my knives got loaned out. One of the wrestlers came to assist in ring set-up and take-down. Just one. He used my Rat 1 and commented on how nice it cut, but couldn't figure out how to close it. He was very nice, and the show went great. I met many other wrestlers, and I found out that several of them actually carry decent folding knives.
My old boss would like to bring in Smith & Wesson knives and some Maxams. He thought they were great. I never told him otherwise. He saw me using my Rat 1 a lot. By now, it was well-used and I was thinking about retiring it. He asked to see it. The linerlock still engages just fine, despite being thrown across a parking lot by my old boss. He wanted to compare it to his Smith & Wesson folder...
The blade centering is also pretty good. Better than some I've seen right out of the box. I only bring this up because this knife was taken apart once when it was new, and not since. It's been used more than any other folding knife I own. It's been thrown across concrete, stabbed into wood, taken deer and hogs apart, ran over several times, used against a human, pierced paint cans, thrown into trees, cut more rope than I care to count, and many other random cutting tasks. Yet all it needs is a little
Tuff Glide at the pivot, some touch-ups, and a small amount of tinkering with the pivot pin screw.
This photo was to show the bushings, but instead we see a lot of crap: some lint, a little bit of rust, and some dirt. I guess the Rat will have to come apart again...
Because I know people who know people, I've had some phone conversations with a NASA employee, who will remain nameless for now. He will go into space. I'm trying to get this knife to go with him and return to me. If that happens, all of this will definitely have to come out...
Oh yeah, buy a Rat 1. It's still a great folder and it still costs around $30.
This is the knife as it is today. Still a Rat 1. Has some texturing added to imrove grip. Has some areas sanded down on both the left and right side to help guide my thumb to the stud. Still a Rat 1...
The first thing I did was add some traction to the handles. I've used this knife to dress hogs and deer, and while the choil helps, the knife gets slippery when covered in blood and guts. So I broke out my woodburning pen (soldering iron with a flat tip) and took four minutes to make linear patterns on each side. It's not fancy - it's not even clean - but it works a lot better...
I was careful to leave the area under the pocket clip's contact undone, as this would cause snagging of the pocket. Since this was done, the handle doesn't really get affected (grip-wise) by oil, blood, or water. You'll also notice that all of the paint has come off of mine from use, so I just sanded it. The clip gets rotated between left and right hand, but it always stays tip-up. Since I'm a lefty, I added some valleys to help guide my thumb to the studs easier...
As I've mentioned before, this knife has been used on several continents. Four to be exact. It's been used a lot, from simple cutting of fruit to batoning, even by a Libyan soldier throwing it into a tree. One of the uses was in combat zones. The tip was broke off in Iraq while being used against a Mahdi militia member (I'll spare the details) and had to be reground. It was only about 1/8" of the tip, but I was really unhappy with it. So, this is the end result...
It looks pretty close to the factory tip, and I know I should be happy enough just to be alive after using it, but it really irked me. I had to wait until state-side to regrind it, but here's a better shot of it as it is now...
One of my jobs was to provide event security at professional wrestling shows. I still do it from time to time. The WWE was in town, and as part of the job, I got to meet the wrestlers and crew. Most of the non-performers (ring crew, janitors, concession crew, etc.) had box cutters as their only knives. I helped set up the ring and it was inevitably time to cut things. Several of my knives got loaned out. One of the wrestlers came to assist in ring set-up and take-down. Just one. He used my Rat 1 and commented on how nice it cut, but couldn't figure out how to close it. He was very nice, and the show went great. I met many other wrestlers, and I found out that several of them actually carry decent folding knives.
My old boss would like to bring in Smith & Wesson knives and some Maxams. He thought they were great. I never told him otherwise. He saw me using my Rat 1 a lot. By now, it was well-used and I was thinking about retiring it. He asked to see it. The linerlock still engages just fine, despite being thrown across a parking lot by my old boss. He wanted to compare it to his Smith & Wesson folder...
The blade centering is also pretty good. Better than some I've seen right out of the box. I only bring this up because this knife was taken apart once when it was new, and not since. It's been used more than any other folding knife I own. It's been thrown across concrete, stabbed into wood, taken deer and hogs apart, ran over several times, used against a human, pierced paint cans, thrown into trees, cut more rope than I care to count, and many other random cutting tasks. Yet all it needs is a little
Tuff Glide at the pivot, some touch-ups, and a small amount of tinkering with the pivot pin screw.
This photo was to show the bushings, but instead we see a lot of crap: some lint, a little bit of rust, and some dirt. I guess the Rat will have to come apart again...
Because I know people who know people, I've had some phone conversations with a NASA employee, who will remain nameless for now. He will go into space. I'm trying to get this knife to go with him and return to me. If that happens, all of this will definitely have to come out...
Oh yeah, buy a Rat 1. It's still a great folder and it still costs around $30.
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Thanks a lot powernoodle.