Just wanted to share my personal review of my Ontario Rat1 Folder.
Ontario RAT Model 1 Specifications:
Overall Length: 8.625"
Blade Length: 3.625"
Cutting Edge: 3.375"
Blade Steel: AUS-8
Blade Color: Satin
Handle Material: Nylon 6
Closed Length: 5.00"
Weight: 5oz.
Today I am reviewing a Ontario Rat Model 1. I feel the Rat1 is a good knife for the person who is on a very limited budget, or in my case, someone who wants a second knife to use on stuff that I normally wouldn't use my nicer knives on. Some other knives in this price range would be the Kershaw Skyline, Kershaw Cryo and the Spyderco Tenacious. I haven't used or handled any of the Kershaw's or Spyderco's yet so I cannot comment on them unfortunately. But the Rat1 is a good bang for the buck knife.
Things I Like:
Size: The overall size of Rat1 is great. The thickness of the handle in my opinion is just right at 0.52". I can get all four fingers securely around the handle and my thumb on the blade jimping for a solid grip. I would have liked to see G10 used but would have raised the price a substantial amount.
Blade: The cutting edge is 3.375" AUS8 flat grind blade which I think is good for EDC duties. The AUS8 holds a good edge and fairly easy to sharpen. Out of the box this knife was SHARP. It cut through cardboard and plastic like a hot knife through butter.
Action: The Rat1 comes with phosphor bronze washers which means out of the box this knife opens and closes smooth and FAST! You can also adjust the pivot screw to adjust how fast it opens and closes. If you do this I would suggest using loctite on the pivot screws.
Lock up: Out of the box this knife locked up TIGHT. There was absolutely no side-side or front-back movement.
Jimping: The jimping on this knife is really nice for being a budget knife. It's not overkill or discomforting on the thumb.
Construction: I really like the open post construction because it allows you to thoroughly clean this knife without pulling it apart.
Things I Dislike:
Weight: It's about 1oz more than I like to see a EDC knife at. What I actually did was drilled out the liners on my drill press and brought it down around 4.5oz. I think if Ontario would revise their design and go a little thinner on the thick stainless liners and drill them out, they could achieve 4oz and still be a durable quality knife.
Black Finish: Becareful when ordering the black finish blade model. It is a very glossy paint. It's nothing like the black coating you see on the Benchmade, Spyderco or Kershaw knives.
Pocket Clip: The pocket clip itself is made nice. I just feel that on TIP UP the pocket clip could have been positioned a little higher on the knife to give a better "deep carry" fitment.
Origin: Made in Taiwan. I would have liked to see Made in U.S.A.
Ontario RAT Model 1 Specifications:
Overall Length: 8.625"
Blade Length: 3.625"
Cutting Edge: 3.375"
Blade Steel: AUS-8
Blade Color: Satin
Handle Material: Nylon 6
Closed Length: 5.00"
Weight: 5oz.
Today I am reviewing a Ontario Rat Model 1. I feel the Rat1 is a good knife for the person who is on a very limited budget, or in my case, someone who wants a second knife to use on stuff that I normally wouldn't use my nicer knives on. Some other knives in this price range would be the Kershaw Skyline, Kershaw Cryo and the Spyderco Tenacious. I haven't used or handled any of the Kershaw's or Spyderco's yet so I cannot comment on them unfortunately. But the Rat1 is a good bang for the buck knife.
Things I Like:
Size: The overall size of Rat1 is great. The thickness of the handle in my opinion is just right at 0.52". I can get all four fingers securely around the handle and my thumb on the blade jimping for a solid grip. I would have liked to see G10 used but would have raised the price a substantial amount.
Blade: The cutting edge is 3.375" AUS8 flat grind blade which I think is good for EDC duties. The AUS8 holds a good edge and fairly easy to sharpen. Out of the box this knife was SHARP. It cut through cardboard and plastic like a hot knife through butter.
Action: The Rat1 comes with phosphor bronze washers which means out of the box this knife opens and closes smooth and FAST! You can also adjust the pivot screw to adjust how fast it opens and closes. If you do this I would suggest using loctite on the pivot screws.
Lock up: Out of the box this knife locked up TIGHT. There was absolutely no side-side or front-back movement.
Jimping: The jimping on this knife is really nice for being a budget knife. It's not overkill or discomforting on the thumb.
Construction: I really like the open post construction because it allows you to thoroughly clean this knife without pulling it apart.
Things I Dislike:
Weight: It's about 1oz more than I like to see a EDC knife at. What I actually did was drilled out the liners on my drill press and brought it down around 4.5oz. I think if Ontario would revise their design and go a little thinner on the thick stainless liners and drill them out, they could achieve 4oz and still be a durable quality knife.
Black Finish: Becareful when ordering the black finish blade model. It is a very glossy paint. It's nothing like the black coating you see on the Benchmade, Spyderco or Kershaw knives.
Pocket Clip: The pocket clip itself is made nice. I just feel that on TIP UP the pocket clip could have been positioned a little higher on the knife to give a better "deep carry" fitment.
Origin: Made in Taiwan. I would have liked to see Made in U.S.A.
For the price point it is simply hard to beat, even better than the vaunted Tenacious in my opinion. Good review!
