UC Rambo knives - quality or crap?

O

OutdoorWanderer

Joined
Jul 25, 2002
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6
Hi, I'm new to knives. I've done some searching and have come up with little on the quality of the Rambo United Cuttlery knives. I'm interested in getting the First Blood knife. If anyone knows, how good are these knives? Is the 420 J2 steel durable for actual use (although not for serious use)? Obviously they won't compare with the original Lile pieces. Any help would be appreciated. While the practicality of these knives may be limited, I just want one because I've always wanted the RamboI knife. I'd like to collect it but will use it occasionally when I go camping.
 
I was in the market for a hollow handled survival knife and I was consirering the UC first blood. I was able to skip around to a couple of stores and examine stuff as best I could without actuall taking it into the field. I was a bit disenchanted by the First blood knife, the stock of the steel wasnt very thinck and the saw on the back didnt seem to scare me even if I thought of myself as a helpless chunk o wood. The only rambo that seemed solid was Hibben's number 3 and I wasnt lookin fer a solid bowie, if I was I'd get a SOG. The First Blood didnt seem completely useless, I think it would certainly out-perform the BushMaster that UC makes. I havent had any 420j2 peices that I would trust to do hard work and be durable, but that doesnt stop me from using them even if they wear out.

To finish the story, It came down to a war between a small Cris Reeves knife and the Aitor Jungle King. I went with the Aitor because it was slightly cheaper, absolutely massive, solid construction for a hollow handle, the saw is wicked and usefull, and it comes with a very complete survival system. The Reeves was very nice but too small for the chopping and heavy-knife chores I want to do. I look at my JK1 now and think "Rambo wishes he had steel so hard", its a monster.

Short n sweet: I think if yer a fan, it aint a bad knife and it would be fun to own. You could oil yerself up, put on a red bandana and use it to stalk down yer neighborhood with an explosive tipped broadhead and a compound bow. But if yer looking fer a good hollow survival knife, do some more research into less-known blades.
 
Welcome to the forums.

The UC knives are faithful reproductions of the knives used in the Rambo movies. The knives will take an edge and will cut; but they will dull faster then many other knives offered at that price range. I would be cautious of the blade handle joint, and buy it primarilly for display.

n2s
 
I have used a couple of them. As N2S noted, the joint is a problem. The ones I had where just bolted on, and the bolts would loosen quickly and then you have a floppy blade. To make it usable you would want to weld it, or at least epoxy it tight. This isn't easy to do though because you can't get at it readily. On a curious note, the few UC blades I have used actually cut better than many high end tacticals as the edge profiles are usually slimmer and more acute. The steel is low end though so the strength isn't that great. You can bend the main body of the blades far easier than a high end cutlery grade knife, and you can put large dime shape dents in the edge on hard wood chopping for the same reason. Edge holding is rather low on all counts, except for corrosion resistance which is high.

-Cliff
 
Hm... those "survival" knives with hollow handles...
As many has stated, the joint seems to be the problem. However I've seen a Chris Reeves version of those - the aviator I believe - and it has no visible joint. I suppose it was a one piece construction, and should be much better than the UC Rambo knife. Of course you'd have to pay a lot more to get it... :(
 
The ones I had where just bolted on, and the bolts would loosen quickly and then you have a floppy blade.
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???? I can't tell how my example is held together. The handle seems to be an aluminum casting and there is no visible joint from within the handle; nor, are there any visible welds, or solder, at the base of the blade. Either the handle is cast in place (very unlikely), or the blade may be simply glued on.

It's funny though; I sometimes lay this knife out on a table next to a couple of real Lyle survival knives (no sheaths - that would be cheating) just to see which one gets picked up first, and this one always does. It looks good - now if we could only get it to perform.......

n2s
 
Thanks for the input so far. Well, as I've said, I won't be doing serious wood cutting. Perhaps use it for cutting small branches for firewood, cut ropes, fish, meat. So for this type of use, would the Rambo blade hold up? Can the blade be treated to harden it? I am not wishing to spend huge amounds of money for a knife that will only be used a few times in a year, and I absolutely love the Rambo1 design, with the green nylon. I had a chance to hold a real Lile once 10 years ago, and the nylon just feels natural in your hands. But if the metal is real bad, I'll skip it.
 
Personally, for camping, you can just take a Camillus "Ka-bar" pattern and it should hold up well. I personally don't think you can really use it for chopping. If you want to use some decent chopping, then get the Becker Combat/Utility 7 or the Combat/Bowie 9 for that. They're not stainless, so they'll rust, but it's much better than the 420J2 crap used on the Rambo knife.
If you need to store something into the survival knife, and don't mind a thick handle, I think inside the scales of the Becker, you could put small things in there (like matches, some small fishing line and hook etc...) Use the search function and you might pull some "survival kits" that would fit in the Becker handle.
Ethan: If you're reading this, I think I deserve some commission for all the recommendation that I've been doing online & off.
 
Perhaps use it for cutting small branches for firewood, cut ropes, fish, meat.
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You are not going to be happy with this knife. Try to buy quality over hype. It doesn't have to be expensive, knives like the Camillus BK7 or BK9, or even custom camp knives by John Greco and others can be had for less money than your UC Rambo knife. You will be getting better materials, a solid design, a better sheath (the BK have great big pockets (for all those survival items), and a good warranty.

n2s
 
There are many knives out there right now that are much better quality than UC "knives".
Have you looked at Ontario's Spec-Plus line yet? These are very decent quality and most are under $50.00.
Ka-Bar also makes good knives that are not gonna rupture your wallet. They will do the chores you have in mind and will hold up far better than that POS UC Rambo knife.
As others have already stated, Camillus/Becker Knife and Tool knives are mucho bang for the buck. I have several models and can attest to the their quality. I need to do some heavy knife work, I'll reach for a Becker more often than not.
Good luck and please avoid those crappy United Cutlery Rambo knife shaped butter knives.
 
No, there is nothing that you can treat the blade with to harden it. that is a manufacturing issue, and there's not much they could do with 420J2 anyway.

how much are you itching to pay for this tent peg? We can probably come up with a nice list of quality pieces for whatever you're planning to pay for junk.
 
crapity crap crap...get a Chris Reeve fixed blade....i dont have one, but i have handled them and seen them put through some hard use...it seems like they are great knives for the money.
 
I have the rambo2 for display and shure its sharp but it wont hold the edge for long. the blade seems too thin and overall the blade is too unpractical. I have a ka-bar for everything else
 
If my life depended on it, I would rather go for the Aitor Jungle King I...I personally have the older version, the Aitor Bucanero with a recurved drop point saw-back blade. It has seen some HEAVY work and it is none the worse for wear..tough as nails...marvellous for the price too, difficult to sharpen though. The Chris Reeve one piece hollow handle knives are merely expensive toys by comparison. Just my opinion:D

If you don't have to have a hollow handle then the Ontario RTAK is the best bang for your buck in a wilderness blade as per my own research. If price is no object then the Busse Battle Mistress or the Becker.
 
OutdoorWanderer :

Perhaps use it for cutting small branches for firewood, cut ropes, fish, meat. So for this type of use, would the Rambo blade hold up?
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AISI-420 isn't a high grade of steel when compared to production knives like Spyderco and such, however it still is steel and is far harder than ropes and meat. Outside of cutlery circles it is labeled as a high strength stainless. Yes, the blade can take cutting those materials. Even mild steel could do that. I would recommend that you leave the finish very aggressive so as to increase the edge holding. You could try a file, or a very coarse hone. I have used a UC Highlander Bowie to do all of the above and more, I just avoid any knots in the wood, and don't do any heavy tip work.

Can the blade be treated to harden it?
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Probably, but it requires getting it very hot so it might break the join, and the cost of getting a maker to do this would probably be more than the knife. There are better knives out there for the price of course as others have noted. As the UC knives are mainly selling on name recognition.

-Cliff
 
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