Rat RC-4 Video Destruction Test Completed

[Noss]

Rat RC-4 Video Destruction Test Completed. The videos are in Six parts. The knife was donated by taurn7. Thanks.


Enjoy the videos. They were made for you. :thumb:


Part 1
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Part 2
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Part 3
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Part 4
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Part 5
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Part 6
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[Man of Iron]

Seen the first and the last part... not bad.

Small step for Noss, giant step for Knut-kind... oops second one killed it:p

Good point:D

[will york]

Stout little knife--very nice test, Noss.

If you had a set of calipers, it might be interesting to get an accurate read on the spine thicknesses of these blades at the ricasso. It's a little hard to tell just how thick the blades are in the videos--this one didn't look too thick, but for example, the difference between 1/8" and 3/16" thick is huge in terms of strength added solely by the thickness of the steel.

Just a thought--thanks a million for the test, and to taurn7 for the blade.

will

edited to add: Cumberland shows the RC4 thickness at .188", which is 3/16", same as the Busse Skinny ASH1. Should make for an interesting comparison of lateral strength, although obviously the Busse is wider.

[Man of Iron]

... as expected, the folks "over there" are blabbing ab00t the notorious Clown Bounce at the end... :rockon:

[xxo]

Noss thanks for anoher very nice test!


Is there enough blade left to clamp in the vice for a handle side impact test?

[taurn7]

wooo, that tip is stronger than I thought! Thanks for testing!

[sharpshooter996]

Just finished watching this one. Noss you did this and the Glock same night. Nice work. Thanks for getting this one up so fast.

I was really impressed by the performance of this knife. I was comparing it in some regards to the RTAK-II. The Tip proved to be very strong. I was very surprised to see that it did not break with all it was put thru. Then the edge held up wonderfully to the concrete. No chips, or tearing of any kind. Again impressed.

I can see that the heat treat on the Rat Cutlery knives are much better that the Ontario Rat knives. Nice job Rat Cutlery.

I was not surprised to see the blade snap on the body weight test. This is a thin knife. If you saw in the video it did bend to a good degree before breaking. I would have liked to seen it in a vise to see just how far it would take it.

Also it was nice to see the handles did not fall off. Noss if you could would you be able to do a tang impact on this knife and may be a tip in vise bend. Thanks for all of your work. It is wonderful. And thanks to the donator who ever you are. :thumb:

[Thecarotidpulse]

Yeah, nice test for sure.

I would have been curious to see what sort of long term edge retention there would be - to answer the questions of "more ductile" blades not holding an edge as well...
On the other hand, if you have a stone with you to maintain the edge this seems like a good PSK knife - on the other hand i dont feel compelled by the design to go out of my way and buy one...



Oh the only thing I suggest for future tests is do a Vice lat strength test like you used to before going onto the body weight test... I like to see blades bend =D

So in summary of my post: Nice edge strength, nice versatility (batonned pretty decently too), nice tip for woods use but not for stabbing through stuff, and nice scales!


Oh and afterthought: Noss, after 2 tests there barely seems to be enough room for you in your basement! I was affraid you'd trip on concrete or something...

Anyway thanks Noss and taurn for an excellent test!

Man of Iron: can you PM me the links to the threads about the "clown"?

[Noss]

Your welcome men. Thanks for the suggestions they are noted.


There isn't enough blade left to perform the side tang impact test. Also I'm returning the
knife back to taurn7.


Thecarotidpulse: About doing the body weight test first. When I get to this area of the tests. Body weight test. Flex test, Hammer through steel. These tests are the ones more prone to breaking many of the knives.

Before I started doing the body weight test. I had a lot of people ask me Can I stand on this knife or use it as a hand hold ? So to answer this I started to do this test.

I like to do this test first before the flex test since it really can show the strength of the blade or not. And I see it more of a user test as well. If some one needs to use a knife in this way.

As for as edge Retention testing. This is going to change here at KT if everything works out on a project in the works. This is going to be very expensive to do. It will be hard for me to test every knife for edge retention because of the cost involved. So I will only be able to do this on select knives. I have more details about this later. It's still in the works.

[Thecarotidpulse]

OOoooo exciting!

[ktomes_340]

good test noss. i am impressed with the rat, except for the chopping part. do you think a longer rat might be a better chopper? i mean for gosh's sake, they cut off an alligators(crocodiles) head with the smaller ones and skinned it.

[Gman1128]

Thanks for the test Noss. I was very impressed with how the edge held up. Its a very tough little knife.

As for the order of the testing I was thinking that maybe you should do the first position of the body weight test and then the flex test and hammering through mild steel before returning to the second position of the bodyweight test. I say this because most knives survive the first position but only a very few make it past the second position. This always leaves me wondering how it would have handled the other tests.

However you decide to do the tests they are all awesome! :rockon:

[culpeper]

Thank you Noss for another fine test! My favorite line?

So, we had a catastrophic failure at that point. Test is over.

I really like 1095 steel. This is a very good knife. Nice job Noss and nice knife to the folks at RAT. Not bad at all.

[Thecarotidpulse]

I really like 1095 steel. .

Agreed with you: it's an excellent honest steel with a huge variety of applications... But with new technologies/steels out there don't you think we can do better than the 10 series? they seem a bit out dated...



IMO laminated is the way to go. Best of both worlds...

[culpeper]

Agreed with you: it's an excellent honest steel with a huge variety of applications... But with new technologies/steels out there don't you think we can do better than the 10 series? they seem a bit out dated...



IMO laminated is the way to go. Best of both worlds...

No argument there from me at all. But I'm a little old fashioned. Also, with all this newer better stuff coming out 1095 and 1085 is going down in price. I'm just one of those people that like 420, 440, and 10XX steels.

[miro44one]

Excellent test, Noss
I think it performed very good(except for the chopping but it' s obviously too small for that). Now I think i really have to get myself a RAT Cutlery knife, since i' ve been resisting them for so long:D

[Noss]

Your welcome everyone. Thanks.


ktomes_340: Sure a longer rat would be a much better chopper. The RC-4 is just not a chopper but I did it just to do it. It looks like I will be testing the Rat 5 and six when they come out. :thumb:


Gman1128: I'll consider this. I hate to change the order of the tests at this moment though. It is a series of tests so it just depends on how far the knife will go the distance if I'm able to get to the other tests or not.


miro44one: It's a sturdy little knife. I may buy one myself.

[Macgregor]

Looks like Jeff will be sending you a rc-6 and a rc-5 in the future to!

Jeff is a great guy, hope to meet him some day.

[Shaolin]

Finally got to check this test out. The RC-4 handled itself very well. I know it can chop (I can chop with the RC-3, but it's not a chopper). I was surprised with the other test's though, glad everything you dished out it could take. The standing/lateral test it could not take though, too bad, you need to lose some weight Noss, LOL I own a RC-3 and RC-6, so I know there both excellent knives. I'm waiting for an RC-4, too be had soon. Thanks for the test Noss, much appreciated.

[Noss]

Your welcome

[kurodrago]

Noss, nice test, Small strong knife indeed.:eek: That folder is a monster:eek:
Is not my intention to hijack this thread noss but I just finished to watch the video on the Extrema Ratio Rao and I was amazed.
Noss tell me you've already sharpened this knife any problem ?
I decided that I want one before Christmas.:D



Thanks:)

[lafayette]

Great test. That's funny, I almost bought it on friday. I was looking for a small knife, able to achieve some work and small enough to be carried in a haversack. I did not because I thought the blade was pretty small and thin, too light. Well, even if this knife is really good, well, your test shows me I was right.

[lafayette]

I mean that your tests are really inforative and help to make more effective choices.

[Noss]

kurodrago: Yes I have sharpened the RAO It's very easy to sharpen and hold it's edge very well. It's a great cutter also. ER did a fine job on this knife. It is a different original folder compared to others in it's design and build but it works.


lafayette: Glad your benefiting from the tests.

[xxo]

Great test. That's funny, I almost bought it on friday. I was looking for a small knife, able to achieve some work and small enough to be carried in a haversack. I did not because I thought the blade was pretty small and thin, too light. Well, even if this knife is really good, well, your test shows me I was right.



3/16" is kind of thick for a 4" blade, but as a rule 4" knives are not good choppers.....would be interesting to see how the new RC6 performs.

[338 Stalker]

Yeah sweet test man :thumb:

I just bought my daughter a RAT Izula based on what RAT steel is capable of. Though it's a little knife it looks like a small champ.
I bought the same knife(RC-4) for my dad about a year back so I'm glad how it fared, he seems to like it but hasn't used it that much as yet.
Excellent HT/steel combo around some very nice designs, all for a bargain IMO.

The RC-3 might be a good one for me to test on some gore ;) , yes I think I need one :D

[soapboxpreacher]

I am actually impressed with this little wonder. I am curious to see how the Bark River Bravo 1 stacks up. For a 4" blade you beat the crap out of this blade! 4" blades only go so far and considering the weight and length I am really digging this blade. I think the bravo might be stronger do to thickness but these RAT blades are starting to grow on me. When I first started venturing into knives and began my reading it seemed like Fallkniven and Busse ruled alot of categories with scrapyard really jumping in as well. Nice to see a small blade like this do so well. I would have given it a 4 1/2 maybe a 5 considering. But Noss you know best and have far more experience with this stuff then I do. Cant wait to see the Bravo 1 test. I think their are soooo many people who have been on the fence with those two as well as the F1. These are all the Best 4"er in that category...Hell I would love to see an F1 test too!! It would be the ultimate 4"er shoot out! How can we get you an F1? Anyone? Then again you also need the time to do the test. As always much appreciated the test. You really give us great insight to making a decision on a very crowded market. Thanks Dude! Drinks are on me for all the hardwork you do for all of us!

[Noss]

No problem. Rats are some of the better knives out there for the asking price. I'll always more than likely choose a Busse kin blade first but rats would probably be my second choice. I like the designs and the rough appearance. Their made for working not looking. :thumb:

[cziv]

I think it performed very good (except for the chopping but it' s obviously too small for that). Now I think i really have to get myself a RAT Cutlery knife, since i' ve been resisting them for so long :thumb:

I finally have both brands. I have 3 Izulas, RC-3 Mil, RC-4 and a Junglas 10" blade on pre-order.

BUT, I got my 1st Busse, a BWM, last week. I got the tanker gray with black G-10 handle like on the home page and I'm loving it.

If the smaller Busse models are as nice as the BWM, then I'd say I like them 1st and RAT Cutlery 2nd. for fixed blades. :D

[soapboxpreacher]

Bought an RC4 and a Bravo 1. The Bravo 1 is a beast compared to the RC4. It lacks a choil and the grip is a little more slick but the convex grind is far better. It is nearly the same weight and blade length but the Bravo is a thicker more solid knife. The sheath is weak compared to RC4 but I really like the grind and thickness. Oh and the palm swells are nice. The grip on the Bravo 1 is bigger and will fit some one with a large on up hand size. so if you have small - medium the RC4 will fit better. raised thumb serration I am not a huge fan of on the Bravo...like them on the RC4 better. But strength wise the Bravo is really better. Blade and grind seem like a tank!! And the grind gives this baby ability out the butt! I am torn if I should keep both or get rid of the RC4 and do a more reasonable 5" like an S1...I have an A1 and like it. I also have an RC5 but it is a beater, chopper...heavy 1lbs! So I dont tend to use it at all. Plus the grip is HUGE in it. Let me know whar you guys think. Noss I will be more curious of your Bravo 1 review than anything else.

[xxo]

I don't see the need for than about 3/16" thickness for a 4" blade. 4" knives are not good choppers or pry bars, so why do they need extra thick blades?


The edge on the RC4 is way too thick as it comes from the factory, they need to be thinned down to cut well.

[cziv]

I don't see the need for than about 3/16" thickness for a 4" blade. 4" knives are not good choppers or pry bars, so why do they need extra thick blades?


The edge on the RC4 is way too thick as it comes from the factory, they need to be thinned down to cut well.

I'm not saying there aren't better 4" fixed blades out there, but I have my RC-4 right between my arms and it feels a bit flat and not very thick at all. Mine is arm shaving sharp from Randall Adventure. A nice solid 4 incher. Also, at a good price point for a knife with a "no questions asked replacement" warranty. :)

[michaeljames]

Okay--this ruled.

Let me just say that I stumbled upon this forum completely randomly and, after reading a few threads, came here... All of you guys are mind-blowing-ly well versed when it comes to knives... I've never owned, needed, or even THOUGHT about a real "knife" knife... I'm a suburban kid who never does any menial labor and hasn't seen a real forest in his entire life. But this is so awesome, you guys know so much about this, and polish/sharpen/test these things and then actually USE them. Batonning (if I spelled that right) is insane, I've never seen that before and it seems so useful. Or using a knife as a hand-hold/step if you need to climb or something? Crazy. I love it, I love you guys, I love it all... I actually registered just to tell you how fascinating I think this is, and I thought maybe you'd get a kick out of some skinny-ass musician-type kid enjoying this so much.

P.S. even though I have no use for one, I really want a knife now...

[cziv]

Welcome to the forum!

I'm sure you'll learn a lot and get some ideas for a good knife to buy. :)

[Noss]

michaeljames: Welcome to the forum. :thumb: There are plenty of knives to choose from today at a wide range of prices. It's endless really. Careful though it's an addictive hobby and can cost a fortune if your not careful. :headbang::D

[smitty]

I didn't know which I should get, the ranger or ESSE. Dame that ranger fell a part. Im thinking about getting a rc6, production should be the same. That rc4 I thought really held it's own. But still confused about which knife I'm going to get, but it wont be a ranger :)
Noss nice work brother!!

[Falcor]

Matt: You will not wrong with any ESEE, they really are value for money - you want to look over the Fallkniven range too - good luck and let us know what you end up buying.

[Falcor]

Michael James: Welcome to the forum.