I think I found the one

[FPW823]

While at my LGS today I happened to stumble into the knife section and thats where I found the RAT-3. I held it and it felt like THE knife, I found myself wondering why I dont already carry it but I decided to hold out before taking it home. It was $125. I have already found it online for $85. Does anyone have it already? If so what do you think?

[DefensiveCarry.com]

[sigs]

You may want to check out the original maker under their new name and manufacturer ESEE-R3. Online dealer The Knife Connection Discount Cutlery/Knives - Tactical, Collector, Hunting, Bushcraft, Pocket Knife has good pricing and free shipping on orders over $40. I ordered last week and they shipped the same day. They also have a build your own where you pick the blade finish and custom scales.

[Rangel]

Didn't a much lower end company buy out Rat? I agree ESEE is worth a look (I'm more into carbon steel like ESEE's 1095 lately) and look at Busse's affiliates--Scrapyard & Swamp Rat Knives--I think they're a bit more expensive than the ESEE, which has a good rep., but look at the reviews and forums on these knives and make a choice then. Scrapyard uses some of the blade blanks that Busse uses--pretty incredible steel, for hundreds of dollars less. Might have a look at Fallkniven, (sharpest knife I've ever seen out of the box)-the Swedish Army uses them and perhaps the best brute for the buck--the Gerber LMF II--$60 to $70 on Amazon---there's almost no task I'm afraid to throw at that LMF II knife, including some I wouldn't touch with my SOG Seals or old KA-BAR Marine knife...

[tokerblue]

Didn't a much lower end company buy out Rat? I agree ESEE is worth a look (I'm more into carbon steel like ESEE's 1095 lately)

- RAT is still the same company. They simply changed their name to ESEE Knives.

[sigs]

- RAT is still the same company. They simply changed their name to ESEE Knives.

More or less. Randall Adventure and Training designed the original knife named R.A.T. Cutlery and used Ontario to make the knives. The ESEE web site gives a great explanation under the "About Us" link. Without going into the legalities Ontario was able to continue to use RAT in the making of their knives. ESEE does not now call any of their knives RAT they go by ESEE. If a knife is listed as RAT, it probably ain't an ESEE by Jeff Randall and Mike Perrin. Many think that ESEE now manufactures a much higher quality knife at a very similar price point to the Ontario RAT.

[Rangel]

From what I gather, the 1095 carbon steel used in the ESEE is a very different steel than what they use on the knives made by the current owner of RAT. I think some knife steels have become too hard and that high carbon 1095 has been improved to the point where it's very attractive. You still need to be careful about not letting it stay wet for very long, but I'm that way by habit with knives and guns. Sometimes they're going to get wet no doubt, but leaving them wet opens you up to problems, including accidents.

I am leaning towards going back to fixed blades made of higher carbon steel, without serrations. I want a knife that if necessary, I can resharpen using a rock--that's what I call a 'survival knife'. I'd be hard pressed to resharpen a knife made of D2, VG 10 or ATS-34 steel on some rock I find in the middle of nowhere. Think about it......