Extrema Ratio

[Paul The Brit]

As they get so much hype for being a sharp pry bar I'd love to see if these ugly monsters are half as good as Extrema Ratio think they are!! :thumb:

[chainedpatriot]

well noss tested one of their folders and although the the test wasn't too extensive but it did very well

[Madnumforce]

Extrema Ratio are extremely expensive for what they are: sharepend pry bars, as you say. If been seeing almost the whole serie in a store in Paris (USMC Pro, for those who are interested). I don't doubt these are excellent pry bars, but for the price we would like a bit of knifes features. In my opinion, if you have money to spend, buy something else; Knifetest is precisely made to let you know on which blade. But what a shame, the french army got a contract with Extrema Ration to make the new bayonet for the FAMAS. 250EUR one piece, almost 400 bucks! Well, of course the older version was a lousy crap, but at least it was cheap!

Well, anyway, in fact it would be a good thing to put on the test a fixed Extrema Ratio. Certainly, we'll discover the ratio is extreme: 80% prybar, 20% knife. Mouahaha.

[lafayette]

ah, it is a debate here in Europe, to know if ER is whether crap or excellent. Well, in my opinion, it is not a bad brand (I had the fulcrum, a 7" blade), they cut well, they are well made, well balanced, clearly made for the military (or at least for those who get a hard one for anything a bit tactical). I agree with Madnumforce on one point : it is overrated, it is really too expensive for what it is....
I sold my fulcrum because after few weeks, well, I could not get along with such a "futuristic" design, I found it had no spirit. But I have nothing to say about its qualities.

[mp7]

I agree with lafayette, ER knives are exellent as qualities and utility, they look pretty strong and undistructable, as the company itself states ( since they have been built up for extreme uses as the military ones), so what better opportunity to find out if they are right ? even because ,alike many other brands , they present their own knives as professional tools, not as awsome blades, as a serious employment requires. Personally, however, i think they have their own charm, a military advanced one of course, i like them under every point of view !

[mp7]

........every except their esagereted cost of course, so another reason to prove if really they are worthy
their 'extreme ' price !!

[lafayette]

well, I think the price is part fo the marketing. If those knives were cheap, they would not be ER anymore....

[NervusNorvus]

Too often, I've been tempted by tactically packaged eye candy. I've been looking at Extrema Ratio for years. I love the tactical look and heft but find the tanto style points, sawbacks and double guards impractical for the field. But I also couldn't help but notice ER employs some quality materials and features like the respected N690 cobalt stainless, hardened to 58RC. (Used in the Hossum series Spyderco knives). And heat resistant, Forprene rubber handles; a step up from Kraton. The full, encapsulated tangs are also quality.

The other day I received a Shrapnel, my first ER. It has a gradually curving leaf shaped blade of 4+ inches and finger serrations instead of a guard on the back. The blade and encapsulated tang are 1/4" thick but the edge is quite fine with flat grind all the way to the spine. The ABS sheath is extremely secujre and practical providing excellent retention, yet instant acess http://www.xtremeknives.com/shrapnel.html. I will be using it in the field this year.

[lafayette]

NervusNorvus : glad you bought this knife. I found it very nice too (small, flat grind,well balanced). i agree with you about the saw teeth and the particular grinds they use. However, I did not find my fulcrum hard to sharpen.

[NervusNorvus]

Good to hear the grind and edge geometry of your Fulcrum made it easy to sharpen lafayette; But it's not surprising to me. It seems, despite obvious emphasis on style, ER makes a carefully designed product with excellent materials.

Hard to say how their N690 stainless will fare in destruction testing but they do not go overboard in hardening (58RC) which bodes well for durability as does the thickness of the stock. But the mere fact that N690 is a stainless steel (similar in composition to VG10) probably means it is more brittle than some of the more shock resistant non stainless steels like S7.

[dingyu1980]

http://www.extremaratioknivesdivision.eu/inglese/military/img/tanto_v.jpg
http://www.extremaratioknivesdivision.eu/inglese/military/img/tanto_geo.jpg
they looks so cool , ER knife has a good fame in china , it was said that knives were well made and high quality. i think they need a D-TEST !:D