Wondering about a RAT 1 in D2

[JAB]

I already have two RAT 1 folders in AUS 8.  One of them - which I got via Amazon - has the old Randall's Adventure Training triangle logo on the blade.  I have it in the box it came in stashed in a drawer.  The other - which came from Walmart - has the newer 'O' Ontario logo on the blade.  It has been carried but only a little.

The reason it has only been carried a little is that I also got my Spyderco Resilience at about the same time.  Some folks might think that the Resilience is too big for an EDC but for me - since the blade length restrictions in TN went away - it is just about the perfect size.  It fits my hand well and I like the larger folders (4 to 4.5 inch blade) better than medium or smaller ones, just in general.  I consider the RAT 1 to be a medium sized folder.

All that said, I have a soft spot for higher carbon steels over 'stainless'.  Don't get me wrong, I know that even some of the 'budget' stainless steels can be good.  I have only passed the carried RAT1 over a flat steel and stropped it on an old, leather belt and it will shave.  I reprofiled (convexed) the edge on the Resilience and now the 8Cr13MoV blade is literally as sharp as a razor blade.  Still, I remain a bit 'old school' in my opinions of stainless steels.  I also don't own anything in D2 (which I know is sometimes considered to be 'semi-stainless' because of the higher chromium content but does that just mean it is kind of like Case 'CV' steel or a 'crovan' steel?)  Strangely, while there are quite a few more traditional 'slipjoint' pocket knives in D2 and other, higher carbon steels there don't seem to be too many D2/carbon steel knives of the same type as the RAT 1 and Spyderco Resilience.  By that, I mean knives with pocket clips, one-hand opening features (Spidey hole, thumb studs, etc.), wider blade profiles and at a price point I would consider to be 'budget' or 'economical' lines.  In fact, at about $50 on Amazon - which is just a couple or three dollars more than the going rate for a regular 8Cr13MoV Resilience right now, the RAT 1 in D2 seems to be just about the only player on the field.

So, in considering ordering a RAT 1 in D2 I have decided to EDC one of my AUS 8 RAT 1 knives for a few days to see if I would be okay with a RAT 1 riding in my pocket instead of the Resilience in the first place.  This brings me to my question for y'all, though.  Does anyone here have a RAT 1 in AUS 8 and one in D2?  Is there really that much day to day difference under normal, moderate, general pocket knife type usage?  Is the D2 worth the extra twenty some-odd dollars in practical usage or is it really just kind of a 'cool factor' for this, particular type of knife?

Edited February 15, 2017 by JAB

[peejman]

Normal, moderate, general pocket knife type usage....?  You'll never know the difference. 

D2 is tougher and will likely hold an edge better, but will be correspondingly more difficult to get really sharp in the first place. 

[tbenedict]

I have really been enjoying my HK Patrol in D2, but I'm not a heavy user. From what I read, your best off to strop D2 regularly so you sharpen much less frequently. Of course my AUS8 knives dull quicker, but stropping works well on it too.

[JAB]

1 hour ago, tbenedict said:

I have really been enjoying my HK Patrol in D2, but I'm not a heavy user. From what I read, your best off to strop D2 regularly so you sharpen much less frequently. Of course my AUS8 knives dull quicker, but stropping works well on it too.

Yeah, I have to strop the 8Cr13MoV blade of the Resilience about once a week to bring it back to that 'razor blade' sharpness I mentioned earlier.  After about a week it is still pretty sharp but I recently went maybe three weeks between stropping and ended up having to do a little, light sharpening on a diamond stone and then honing on the flat steel and finally stropping to get the edge back where I wanted it.

Edited February 15, 2017 by JAB

[Capbyrd]

All of the customs that I have owned and carried and loved have been D2.  I'm a huge fan of D2.  And the Rat is my absolute favorite budget edc blade.  I don't think there is a knife that beats it at the price point.  So my favorite budget blade in my favorite steel is a no brainer for me. 

[JAB]

23 minutes ago, Capbyrd said:

All of the customs that I have owned and carried and loved have been D2.  I'm a huge fan of D2.  And the Rat is my absolute favorite budget edc blade.  I don't think there is a knife that beats it at the price point.  So my favorite budget blade in my favorite steel is a no brainer for me. 

I do really like the RAT 1 but have to say that I missed my Resilience when I carried the RAT yesterday.  I think I have found my favorite edc blade - at least of the type - in the Resilience.  It is still really tempting to get in on the D2 version of the RAT 1 at the price point if only to own a folder in D2 that won't break the bank.  I know how you feel about it being a 'no brainer', though - if Spyderco started offering the Resilience in D2 for fifteen or twenty dollars more than the standard my response would be, "Take my money.  Take my money, NOW!"

Just FYI, the version of the RAT that Walmart sells in the few stores that stock the RAT 1 is still the AUS 8 model.  I had heard somewhere that Ontario was switching to only making the RAT 1 in D2 but have since read that the D2 is a 'special edition' and is not replacing the AUS 8 version.  Even on Amazon I think I have only found one seller that has the D2 version - all the rest seem to still be selling the AUS 8.

Edited February 16, 2017 by JAB

[JAB]

1 hour ago, Capbyrd said:

All of the customs that I have owned and carried and loved have been D2.  I'm a huge fan of D2.  And the Rat is my absolute favorite budget edc blade.  I don't think there is a knife that beats it at the price point.  So my favorite budget blade in my favorite steel is a no brainer for me. 

Just a heads up since you indicated interest:

I just now ordered a RAT 1 in D2 at Knife Center.  They have them on sale for $39.95 before S&H.  The standard (2-4 day) shipping was $2.99 so the grand total came to $42.94.  Even with shipping that is, what, something like $12 or $13 more than the in-store price + tax for the AUS 8 version at Walmart.  At ~$50 (before tax, S&H or whatever) give or take I was trying to decide if I wanted to get one as it would cost nearly double the price of the AUS 8 version.  At $39.95 plus nominal shipping the decision was just about made for me.   They have a few, different options for scale colors all at the same price.  I chose the coyote brown scales.  Just as I don't have anything in D2 I also don't have any folders in coyote brown and have kind of wanted one so that was a double bonus, for me.

I think I will force myself to put my Resilience aside for a few weeks, at least.  I want to carry the AUS 8 RAT 1 for a few days and then carry the D2 version so I can see for myself if I notice any difference.

Or maybe I will just carry the Resilience and rotate carrying the two models of RAT 1 alongside it.  That way I can compare the Resilience side by side with the RAT 1 and compare the AUS 8 and D2 versions of the RAT 1, as well.

Edited February 16, 2017 by JAB

[Moped]

I had a RAT 1 in AUS8.  It was built like a tank and for a folder, it was about as heavy as one too!  Still I think it was one of the toughest made folders on the market.  I gave to my son-in-law. Just didn't like all that weight in the pocket.  But the D2 version intrigues me.  I might have to get one of those.

[JAB]

14 hours ago, Moped said:

I had a RAT 1 in AUS8.  It was built like a tank and for a folder, it was about as heavy as one too!  Still I think it was one of the toughest made folders on the market.  I gave to my son-in-law. Just didn't like all that weight in the pocket.  But the D2 version intrigues me.  I might have to get one of those.

I used to carry fairly large (as large as was legal at the time) slipjoint knives with three and four blades.  I have also been known to carry Swiss Army knives that had what I would consider to be a 'medium' amount of tools (certainly not the large or huge ones but still fairly heavy) so I think I have a different 'standard' for what is heavy in a pocket knife than some.  Still, when I was holding both of them the other day I noticed that the RAT 1 felt (didn't weigh them, just going by feel) heavier than the Resilience even though the Resilience is quite a bit larger.  Maybe not a lot heavier but noticeably so in hand.  On the other hand, the RAT 1 was quite a bit less noticeable in my pocket - as in, having gotten used to the Resilience as my edc I had to check a couple of times to make sure the RAT 1 hadn't fallen out.  Either way, I really want to try out the D2.

Edited February 17, 2017 by JAB

[JAB]

Man, KnifeCenter is fast!  I placed my order on Thursday around lunch time, got an email from them on Thursday evening that the order had shipped and my new D2 RAT 1 showed up in my mail box on Saturday.

First impressions?  I think that D2 really is noticeably different from Aus 8, even just right out of the box.  My Aus 8 RAT 1 with the Ontario logo on the blade has barely - and I mean really, barely - been used, as in maybe peeling an apple or two and slicing some cheese, once.  It has also been stropped - not sharpened, just stropped the factory edge.  My Aus 8 RAT 1 with the Randall's Adventure Training logo on the blade has never been carried or used and hangs out in a drawer still in its original box and bubble wrap.  It has been out of the box, opened and closed a few times and then put back in the box so the edge on it is still exactly as it came unused from the factory.  Just feeling the edge with my finger tips the D2 is noticeably sharper, right from the factory.  Now, is this because the D2 version is a 'special edition' and they pay more attention to sharpening them?  I don't think so - the factory edges look identical so I really think that the D2 simply takes a better/sharper edge even at the factory.  Not that the AUS 8 versions are 'dull' just that the edge on the D2 version feels as sharp right out of the box as many knives feel after I have spent time sharpening, honing and stropping them.  The D2 RAT 1 is in my pocket, today, and probably will be for a few days, at least so I can see how it holds an edge with my usage over time.

Here is a group pic of all three.  Sorry the pic is a little blurry - I took several but my cell phone just didn't like the lighting, apparently.  I am really liking the coyote brown scales:

Edited February 20, 2017 by JAB