Good evening all,

Enjoying the last evening before a wet spell that our local newspapers have predicted, I thought I would share some pictures and thoughts concerning a knife that I've been using for some time. The blade in questions is RAT Cutlery's RC-4, the wilderness variant of their flagship RC-3. RAT Cutlery, for those of you who aren't familiar with them, is the wilderness gear company of a jungle survival institute called Randall Adventure & Training (RAT). This group got their start selling their knife designs through Ontario Knife Company. A lot of great knives like the RTAK-II and TAK-1 were made through Ontario, but RAT eventually broke off their agreements with Ontario, but Ontario continued making knives without RAT's permission. Legal disputes are still ongoing.

History aside, the shift has resulted in a far superior product for the consumer. The RC-4 evidences that the knives now produced by RAT through Rowen cutlery (the makers of TOPS knives) have superior performance, quality control, and design features than their Ontario-made predecessors.

The knife measures 9" in its total length, with a cutting edge of about 4". The knife comes three color schemes: Black with tan handles, sage with tan handles, and green with blaze orange handles. Unlike its smaller cousin (the RC-3), the larger RC-4 has been made from brawnier 3/16" thick stock. This makes the blade plentifully robust for survival/bushcraft chores. The general design of the blade focuses solely on utility. Its full-height flat grind, micarta scales, and rounded pommel all show that its more practical and less tactical. The blade is razor sharp out of the box, and the relatively simple 1095 carbon tool steel sharpens much more easily than today's "super steels". Despite its rather mundane blade steel, the differential heat treatment on the blade means that it performs exceptionally. It holds an edge better that many 1095 blades I've used and its success at tasks like batoning and prying show that its edge-holding capabilities have not resulted in sacrificed toughness.

The knife has a traction coating typical of many military/outdoors knives, and the RC-4's performs as well as any. Normal wear and tear has little effect on it, but batoning will strip it pretty rapidly. I personally enjoy coatings on my hard-use blades because of area’s my wet climate, but I understand that coatings can be a turn-off for others.

The handles themselves reflect the knife's overall simplicity. Slightly over 1/2" thick, the handle consists of a pair of expertly machined linen micarta scales and mint-green liners bolted to the knife's full tang. RAT cutlery's improved fit and finish are particularly evident in the handle: the fit and finish here are meticulous. One of the common criticisms of this knife is that the handles are too small. It’s true that the front of the handle provides only about 4" of purchase. For my unusually small hands, the RC-4 fits like a glove. For others with larger hands, this might be more of an issue.

Between the handle and blade, the RC-4 features of finger-notch cut into the ricasso. Known as a choil, this area can either provide room a user to choke up on the blade for fine work or simply allow them to sharpen the entire length of the edge. Unfortunately, the RC-4's choil is too small for the first function and unnecessarily large for the second. With my small hands, the choil is still uncomfortably cramped; a person with larger mitts would probably find it impossible to use. This awkward size makes the choil nearly useless. Opposite the choil is a bit of texturing along the spine for added grip. I personally find this uncomfortable and unneeded, but some people like it. While neither of these issues should dissuade you from considering the RC-4, they are still worth noting.

The sheath system that ships with the knife represents the best of production kydex sheaths. The RC-4 sheath comes in two different models. The first consists of the kydex sheath, two MOLLE Clips (these are a pain), and a length of 550 paracord for belt attachment. The second option is identical, except that it also includes a heavy duty backing for the sheath that allows for drop-leg carry, easier MOLLE attachment, and features two more retention methods for jump-proofing and inverted carry (a Velcro handle strap and elastic pocket to secure the pommel). This sheath system works very well in any of its forms, although I've never tried the paracord/belt system. I have always preferred a Tek-Lok, which can attached to the RC-4 if you're creative about it.

After carrying this knife for about six months now and using extensively, I've come to like it a great deal. Its ruggedness, practicality, and compact size make it ideal as a "just in case" knife to slip into your pack, or as your primary bushcrafting knife. While the RC-4 simply cannot compete with some of the more expensive knives in its class, it still offers can incredible package for its price ($91 w/o MOLLE backing). This knife will not let you down, and will comfortably handle everything from simple chores to wilderness survival. As a final note, RAT Cutlery guarantees all of their knives 100%, no questions asked. In other words: if you or a subsequent owner breaks it, they'll replace it, for free, no matter what. If you need a study, dependable, and relatively inexpensive fixed blade, I highly recommend the Rat Cutlery RC-4

Thanks for reading,
Thomas

Links

RC Website: http://ratcutlery.com/rc-4.htm
RC-4 Page: http://ratcutlery.com/rc-4.htm
Recommended Dealer: http://www.cumberlandknifeworks.com/index.php?page=shop.browse&category_id=214&option=com_virtuemart&Itemid=28
RC Forum: http://www.bladeforums.com/forums/forumdisplay.php?f=816