Pros: Weight, Ease of Opening, Handle Material, Pocket Clip, Blade Material, Overall Quality, Blade Sharpness
Cons: None
A real deal for a REAL knife
I'm a knife guy. Have many brands and many levels of "quality". I have a small construction business doing mainly home remodeling. The knife I carry daily at work gets put thru the ringer each and every day. Cutting shingles, trimming shims, H2O line cuts and PVC prepping, fixing nail guns, strap cutting, shaving down 2x4's edges, and all things under the hood of my vehicles....my daily carry gets its ass kicked all the time. This RAT 1 takes it and smiles, asking when the next round begins. I have carried the Griptillian for a few years (15 actually and it's little brother) and still love that knife system. One day in Academy I saw this RAT on the store shelf and thought it looked like a good daily carry but had my doubts. This thing was $38 and I figured what the hell. Got her home and spent the next few days playing with it. Snapped it open and shut a hundred times while watching tv. For those unfamiliar with this model you have to HOLD it. The dynamic between forefinger and thumb on this knife is like none other. There is an incredible balance and feel. If you silhouette the opened knife the shadow reveals a very sexy shape. Looks like an Italian sports car maker designed it. The curves of the handle blend into the blade in a way I've not seen on ANY other knife, no matter the price...and you can feel that Ferrari look in your hand. Trust me on this. I went back to Academy a few days later and got another with a smaller RAT 2 and another "special edition" RAT 1.The special edition had the D2, combo blade and carbon fiber scales. Those scales are way too slick so I swapped them out with my OD greens. Perfection now. I've been shopping KC for a little while now (civivi. we, spyderco. etc) and purchased two more of these AUS-8's and just got three more coming. At $22 and change there is NO BETTER deal anywhere at any price. It IS a workhorse of a knife. Some bitch about the size or weight....get one and carry it, use it...those issues will never enter your mind. As I mentioned earlier about my griptillian. Yep a good/great knife and a workhorse as well. But you can get 8 RAT 1's for a single griptillian. Will that one Benchmade outlast 8 RAT 1's ?? No way in hell !! I hate that the Ontario RAT 1's and 2's aren't made in the USA but damn....$22 ?? Just try one and work the hell out of it and report back your results. That feel and balance in the hand and the confidence to use it for ANYTHING (forgot to mention I used it to baton stakes and firewood while camping for the past 3 years) will have you wondering about real VALUE in a knife. Honestly I'm afraid to put my high end stuff through all this knife has been through. Of course I only figured out the hard nosed work this one takes by saying, what the hell, if it breaks I'm only out a few bucks. RAT 1 says move aside to every other folding knife you need for a daily carry. $22 is an ASTONISHING deal....and that's from a knife guy!!