Ontario Rat 1 Linerlock Black

The Ontario RAT 1 is the perfect moderate-use beater knife that I can trust in outdoor settings (think beach hangout or camping) or to pass to a friend if they ask to a borrow a knife.Steel:The upgrade in steel from the original AUS-8 RAT 1 to this new D2 steel is considerable. The edge on the D2 steel blade will hold for an unquestionably longer time than budget steels like AUS-8 or 8Cr13Mov but perhaps not quite as long as steels like CPM S30V/S35VN. I've additionally observed D2 to be a bit prone to chipping so I advise new purchasers to be careful with hard chopping and stabbing tasks.Ergos/Carry:The ergonomics are great but the handle scales are not as grippy as they should be. I won't go as far as to say they are slippery, but they certainly feel so compared against some of my other knives.The clip works well and the closed blade fits snugly in the side of your pocket (albeit rather largely)Last little note on my personal knife: When I open the knife, the locking liner/tab will randomly engage deeper along the blade tang, making disengaging the lock feel difficult and "stickier" than usual. This happens about 1/20 times I open the knife, randomly. It doesn't bother me too much but I will admit it's always a bit of an unpleasant tactile surprise to feel the sticky disengagement whenever it happens (which I can't seem to predict). For the uninitiated knife nerd, this behavior shouldn't have popped up as early as it has (about 1 month of ownership), given that it's usually a sign of considerable wear (think multiple years) between the locking liner and the blade tang. This should be something to look out for in your knife when you get it: Lockup consistency.However with all that said, for the budget-conscious EDC'er looking for a new mid/large sized EDC knife, I think this might be among the best budget-friendly deals available. You can't commonly find knives with this steel, operating action, & fit/finish at this price, let alone for knives larger than 3.5". It certainly deserves all the high ratings it receives but I caution you not to abuse it TOO much because, again, the liner lock is not as robust as something like a well-crafted titanium frame lock, Spyderco's Compression & CBBL locks, and Cold Steel's Tri-ad lock (to name just a few popular options).Whew, long-winded, sorry. Either way, enjoy the knife ;)Edit: Adjusted to five stars since sticky lockup wore itself in nicely. Perfect centering and action. No blade play. It's really excellent.

I was looking for an economical EDC and compared the Ontario RAT1 with the ESEE BRK. Wanted to keep only one. Both are made in Taiwan, supposedly with D2 steel. Here are some random thoughts and observations. Pics show BRK on left, RAT1 on right.-Fit and finish: both are pretty good given their respective prices (BRK $38, RAT1 $42)-Both blades were centered despite pics (due to lens distortion) and are very sharp-RAT1 held together with 10 screws; BRK had eight screws and a nail-BRK frame lock was VERY stiff and difficult to operate; engages just over half of the tang which is more than satisfactory.-RAT1 liner lock Is centered on the tang, despite pics-BRK has scale on only one side—feels cheap and thin with liner being smaller than the scale; RAT1 is one scale thicker and the liner is flush on all sides-Weight: BRK 4.5 oz; RAT1 5.0 oz-Closed lengths are identical despite pics-Closed width of BRK is about 3/16 inch wider with more of the blade exposed-Blade lengths are the same with the RAT! having slightly longer exposed tang-Spine of RAT1 feels less finished i.e., feels stamped with sharper edges-RAT1 feels more finished in hand with no hotspots; BRK handle edges and clip feel “sharp” in comparisonBoth are excellent knives for the price, but in the end, I decided to keep the RAT1 because I just preferred the action, operation and feel, even though I had to pay for return shipping on the BRK (not Prime). Maybe this will save you some money. YRMV.

I have about 120 knives of various brands, quality and expense. About half of those are folders. IMO, the Rat 1 has got to be the very best value on the market. It's low price does not represent the high quality of design, materials, and build this knife provides. Even though the text description for this posting does not identify it, the image displays this Rat 1 selection comes with D2 steel. I can confirm the Rat 1 I received did arrive with D2 steel, a great upgrade over the basic Rat 1 with AUS 8 steel. That is an even better bang for the buck. You can't go wrong with a Rat1, and especially this Rat 1 model choice.

Big but carries nicely in pocket, especially the cargo pocket. Very sharp out of the box. I carry it as my main knife and a Spyderco Native LW as my back up knife. Ontario Rat 1 is excellent knife for the Money.

When a knife meets my hands...it knows it's time to work! I don't buy knives to look at them and just flip 'em open/closed. And I don't have $500+ to spend on a knife.This knife is a good value for the money. It feels real good in the hand with nice one handed action.I cut rope, braid, paracord, breakdown cardboard boxes, cut notches in wood, cut bait, process small game, open envelopes, anything that needs a blade when I'm working/playing and this knife steps up to the plate! It's a real EDC IMO.It little oil here and there; and some TL&C for the blade...this knife just keeps going and going for me.Real happy with it.

Haven't sharpened it since I bought it been months feels great releases quick feel quality looks great name it everything about this knife is great thumb stud well wish it wasn't as all of them in the way of a full deep cut and pocket clip I replaced with a deep pocket clip this knife is a must own knife I also own the smaller rat 2 in d2 grata as well but prefer the original larger size

I have the Rat2 and it's a great knife, I really like the D2 steel. I gambled on the Rat1, but it's at least an inch longer than the Rat2. I have smaller hands and it was hard to flip the knife open and then hard to close it.

It's an okay knife. I think for the money, you could probably find something better.