Brad
AL

Jul 03, 2025

Pros: Blade Material, Blade Sharpness, Ease of Opening, Handle Feel, Handle Material, Lock Ease of Use, Lock Type, Overall Quality, Pocket Clip, Weight

Cons: None

Love this magnacut RAT

Great EDC RAT with Magnacut. Great price too!!

Art
Hilton Head

Aug 07, 2025

Pros: Blade Material, Blade Sharpness, Ease of Opening, Handle Feel, Handle Material, Lock Ease of Use, Lock Type, Overall Quality, Pocket Clip, Weight

Cons: Sheath

Perfect for salt water living!

I live on the coast, and the humidity and salt exposure are constant.,wanted a Magnacut blade, but not the bright yellow of the Spyderco series. This is ideal, and priced vary reasonably.

Aaron
NY

Apr 17, 2025

Pros: Blade Material, Blade Sharpness, Ease of Opening, Handle Feel, Handle Material, Lock Ease of Use, Lock Type, Overall Quality, Pocket Clip, Weight

Cons: None

Would put this up against any…

I would put this up against any knife out there in the same blade range category of 3-4”. Coming from someone who owns Strider, Hinderer, Reeve, Medford, Microtech, Emerson, Spyderco…list goes on and on. I always thought highly of the RAT 1 and 2 but now this 1.5 model is a perfectly sized blade with beautiful Magnacut steel. Everything about this knife is excellent (new blade length, awesome steel, ergonomics, G10 handles, etc). I wouldn’t change a thing.

Kevin
Honolulu, Hi

Jun 17, 2026

Pros: Blade Material, Blade Sharpness, Ease of Opening, Handle Feel, Handle Material, Lock Ease of Use, Lock Type, Overall Quality, Pocket Clip, Weight

Cons: None

Excellent knife

I use the product as an EDC in rotation with other RAT series folding knives. I purchased it for the type of steel. The action is superb!

Jen
Ohio

Aug 08, 2025

Pros: None

Cons: None

Rat 1.5

I'm loving my rat 1.5

David
VA

Apr 16, 2026

Pros: Blade Material, Blade Sharpness, Ease of Opening, Handle Feel, Handle Material, Lock Ease of Use, Lock Type, Overall Quality, Sheath, Weight

Cons: Pocket Clip

Goldilocks

Razor sharp..perfect size .happy

Lamar
Inglewood, Ca

Jun 25, 2026

Pros: Blade Material, Blade Sharpness, Ease of Opening, Handle Feel, Handle Material, Lock Ease of Use, Lock Type, Overall Quality, Pocket Clip, Weight

Cons: None

Super Slicey

I am so happy with this knife! The knife came super sharp from the factory. I recommend breaking in the pivot, took me a week. The action is snappy and the lockup solid with no play. Highly recommend!

Tk
Orange county, ca

Oct 03, 2025

Pros: Blade Material, Blade Sharpness, Ease of Opening, Handle Feel, Handle Material, Lock Ease of Use, Lock Type, Overall Quality, Pocket Clip, Weight

Cons: None

A True Workhorse After a Little TLC

This is my first Ontario RAT, the Model 1.5 in MagnaCut, and I've been using it to whittle hiking sticks. Honestly, the factory edge out of the box was not very impressive. Inspired by a review on YouTube, I re-edged it to a 18-degree angle (went to a pro to do it). That one change completely transformed the knife from average to amazing. The performance is now outstanding, and after whittling with it for two weeks, it's still holding its edge incredibly well. Overall, I love the simple design and fantastic ergonomics. The combination of a great handle and the high-performance MagnaCut steel makes this a clear winner. I highly recommend it, as long as you're willing to put your own edge on it to unlock its true potential.

Don
CA

Dec 28, 2024

Pros: Blade Material, Ease of Opening, Handle Feel, Handle Material, Lock Type, Overall Quality, Pocket Clip, Weight

Cons: Blade Sharpness, Lock Ease of Use, Sheath

Great heat treatment

Unlike most production knives in MagnaCut that seem to be heat treated to an HRC of 61-62 or less, these knives are heat treated to about 64 HRC. The factory edge on these knives are not the best, but if one knows how to sharpen, it's a good knife with a great blade. I'd rather use this knife than a lower HRC big name brand.

Carlos S
Tennessee

Jan 20, 2025

Pros: Blade Material, Blade Sharpness, Ease of Opening, Handle Feel, Handle Material, Lock Ease of Use, Lock Type, Overall Quality

Cons: Pocket Clip, Sheath, Weight

Ontario is outta their lane...

RAT 1.5 does a good job of what it intended to do, which is fill the void between the RAT 1 & 2. I have a mess of RAT 1's & 2's scattered about but always thought they missed the mark on sizing. So problem solved. The reason I have a mess of them is because they used to be reasonable priced and a great bargain. The RAT 2 in D2 was a big hit at like $45. But even though this knife is still under $100 its just not the bargain the other models were, in my opinion. Yeah, Magnacut is great. Yeah, the scales are better. But RATs corner of the market was a bargain knife. A backup, leave one in every vehicle and backpack kinda blade. At $90+ I wont be buying one for every vehicle. And lastly, why are knife makers still not making a deep carry clip the norm? After you buy a deep carry clip you are now over $100 on a Taiwan made blade. I can buy a Spyderco Para 3 in Magnacut for $140 and its made in USA! My overall opinion is Ontario has departed from their corner of the market and I wont be buying any more of these 1.5's unless they are in the $50 range, even if it means ditching Magnacut.

Ben Louw
China main land

May 24, 2025

Pros: Blade Material, Ease of Opening

Cons: Blade Sharpness

good enough

At this price, Magnacut has very limited options, especially since I have to pay an additional customs duty. It seems that Ontario has successfully implemented their heat treatment technology in Taiwan. The hardness and retention seem not much different from the Spyderco UK's S110V. However, the feeling when sharpening the knife is similar to my other 1095 carbon steel knives, and I can feel that the grain is very fine. The blade is cut in a mess, the angle is too large and not very uniform. Considering its relatively high price, I plan to give up the grinding wheel machine to prevent annealing, although hand sharpening will take more time. Regarding opening and closing, you won't be very satisfied when you get it, but after using it for two weeks, remove the oil from the main shaft, and everything will be completely different.

Daninboston
Boston, MA

Dec 25, 2024

Pros: Blade Material, Handle Feel, Handle Material, Overall Quality

Cons: Blade Sharpness, Ease of Opening, Lock Ease of Use, Lock Type, Pocket Clip, Weight

Good knife, could be better

Overall, I like the knife. The quality for price is good. But elements of the regular RAT are present in this pricier knife. The ball dent is a little too stiff for quick deployment. The lock up is very good and the blade is quite stable. The edge of the blade is too crudely executed for out of the box use. I've burnished the edge with a carbide rod, and it helps, but it really needs to be resharpened. The knife is a little heavy, and the pocket clip is very tight, you might need to adjust it so you don't kill your pants. Although MagnaCut is an extremely popular blade steel, I almost want the same knife, same size, with a bit more refinement and even a slightly less premium steel, for a lower price. But if you like to tinker with your knives and show it a little love, it is a good knife!

Jed
Arizona

Mar 17, 2026

Pros: Blade Material, Ease of Opening, Handle Feel, Pocket Clip, Weight

Cons: Handle Material

Very Good

Overall a very good knife. It's slimmer, and lighter than the RAT 1, but not so small that I can't get a strong grip on it (which is the case with the rat 2, for me). It also has the best steel option of the RAT folders. The texturing on the g10 is also nice, it's coarse, but doesn't have aggressive edges. The only flaw is the material used in the liners. It's NOT very corrosion resistant. I had been wearing this knife in my waistband and after a week or so the blade still looked brand new but the liners had some moderate rust spotting. Gunk can also get caught between the liners and the scales, which could be a long term problem. I am liking this knife, but the ultimate would be this, but with liners that have some skeletonization, and don't rust.

Some Guy
Ohio

Jan 21, 2025

Pros: Blade Material, Handle Feel, Handle Material, Lock Ease of Use, Lock Type, Weight

Cons: Blade Sharpness, Overall Quality

Needs work for $100

Well built, smooth action. Should last a long time. But out of the box, needs work. Bevel grinds are not even. Mine was not very sharp. So needs reprofiled and sharpened. They shortened the blade and made the blade slimmer for this model-> magna cut... Ok.. But just because everything in the world is more expensive after the early 2020s doesn't mean people should have pay an arm and a leg for a good product. You can bye a $25 knife and get more refinement than what I got with this purchase. I have owned 3 rats now, this being the 3rd. I have lost 1 d2 model and broken another (didn't break until hit with hammer). Even for the price they sell at now I think they are still good for what they are. Basically a shovel/ crobar/ cutting tool that fits in your pocket, when it breaks or gets lost can just be replaced. If it gets chipped or bent, just buff out the bad spot. I bought this knife expecting the same thing just with magnacut and slightly smaller. If that is what you are looking for, I don't think they are comparable. For a nice pocket knife with premium steal, I think this falls a bit short, and it seems to come down to price. The sales departments for these companies have decided that to get a product that you will be really happy with, they want a couple days pay. Even though they know you already have a a good knife, and you don't really need what they are selling. I just think this knife should come out of the box the same as something from Italy or a nice American company. If not either cut the cost maybe make it full size for the same price, or just don't even bother people with it. I guess it's not as bad as spending $150 on USA knife and realizing oh this is just a little baby plastic toy that is going to either just break or cut me because it fails, but it was made in the USA so that's nice. The only reason I spent the money on this was for the steal. And I don't really think it's worth it here.

Fom
SW Wyoming

Jul 16, 2025

Pros: Blade Material, Blade Sharpness, Handle Feel, Handle Material, Lock Type, Overall Quality, Pocket Clip, Weight

Cons: Ease of Opening, Lock Ease of Use

The knife is good. The liner lock isn't.

I bought this knife because I liked the original so much. This knife is almost as good.My main complaint is the locking bar. It sits so low that you have to use both hands to operate it.

Dan&Nbsp;
Van Nuys, Ca

Jul 26, 2025

Pros: Blade Material, Blade Sharpness, Handle Feel, Handle Material

Cons: Ease of Opening, Lock Ease of Use, Overall Quality

Close but not as good....

This is my 4th Rat. Wish I could say it as wonderful as my other Rats, which I find amazing and recommend, particularly for their price point, but I can't on this latest version. Several issues. 1. First thing I noticed on arrival was it was very stiff to open. Can probably adjust it but should I have to on a brand new knife? 2. Probably my biggest complaint, the grind at the point was very uneven. Not sure how it got past QC but I suspect given the expensive steel / low price point it was more a profits over QC decision, since a regrind to even it out would result in a blade failing the dimensions specs. 3. As others have noted, I too found the liner lock buried a bit and hard to release. Overall the grind bothers me the most. Am trying to decide whether to return it for exchange..

Bob S
FL

Jun 19, 2025

Pros: Blade Material, Blade Sharpness, Handle Feel, Handle Material, Lock Type, Weight

Cons: Ease of Opening, Lock Ease of Use, Overall Quality, Pocket Clip

could be better

The blade steel and machine work on it are excellent. The action to open it and the frame lock is very stiff. I am not able to open this knife with one hand. The bearing surface for the blade pivot is two copper washers and two plastic washers. The stiffness of the action is due to the detent mechanism. This is a ball set in the frame lock that sets in a hole in the blade. In addition, the pants clip is very stiff. It does not slide easily over the edge of a gene pocket. The blade comes sharp and easily strops to maintain sharpness. This knife makes a better fixed blade rather than a folder.

Dan
Van Nuys, Ca

Sep 08, 2025

Pros: Blade Material, Blade Sharpness

Cons: Ease of Opening, Lock Ease of Use, Overall Quality, Pocket Clip

How did this get past design?

Addendum to my previous review. Just discovered while trying to change the pocket clip position. While there are holes for positioning the pocket clip on any of the 4 possible positions, only 2 positions are actually possible. The other 2 sets of holes are too large for the screws of the pocket clip to engage. Are you kidding? How does that get past design and QC?