EDC gear review: Ontario Rat 1 folding knife for bushcraft and survival

Got another gear review for you today! This time, we take my new folding knife into the woods and make a quick fire, plus show a unique tip for fire starting. The Ontario Rat 1 is my latest piece of gear, but I am not sponsored by Ontario Knife Company in any way. Join me if you are interested in a new piece of my woods kit, or just like knife/gear reviews!
#knife #bushcraft #survival #camping #hiking #edc

[@juliegiannola4097]

I really liked that you did go slow. I was able to really get the steps down. Love the dogs in your videos!

[@mistersmith3986]

I just got my first Rat 1 ever in D2. I can't believe how much better this knife performs than many of my $200, $300 knives. Thanx for the video my Bladed Brother 👍 ⚔️ ✝️ 🇺🇲

[@pjcrabtree4456]

I love the RAT 1, they are great tough and work well for most of my needs.

[@JesusIsAlphaOmega001]

I have it in Aus8 and D2, its the best knife I own for sure

[@thehobohandliner]

Theyre great!

[@fabiogasperini4809]

My Rat 2 in D2 is better than most of my other knives which cost in excess of $100.

[@jaydenfondren2440]

I just got my rat one, and it's as good if not better than my delica 4

[@txrunroutdoors]

I share the same sentiment about beating up knives. It's nice knowing the knife is durable, but axes and saws exist for a reason. There is the idea of having a "survival" knife on you at all times that CAN handle batoning, but I always have an axe and saw close by anyway. Cool video, I like seeing the knife in use and not on a granite counter top.

[@thehobohandliner]

Amen!

[@ItIswhatitis26]

Totally agree, in the reality i live in.. bashing a fixed blade through a log isn’t something i will be doing. Id rather carry a hatchet for a few more ounces

[@thehobohandliner]

Amen!

[@markalbert4316]

You made a great point about fixed blades vs folders. I completely agree.

[@thehobohandliner]

Thank you for watching! I know each person is different, I used to be a fixed blade guy years ago. But from real use, I realized all I want in a knife is SHARPNESS, and enough durability to do realistic knife things. Also I consider sheaths to be another piece of gear, and I’m a minimalist 👍

[@majkon93]

I totally respect that. But I am completely on the opposite O.o Through the years I realized the best combo for me is a mini SAK on keys for EDC, a regular SAK (Climber) for hikes, barbecues etc. (guess who's always a corkscrew savior :D) and Mora Kansbol for real outdoor trips. If I find myself in a situation when I have to start a fire, I either carry an axe (as Hobo mentions) or a fixed blade (few times it actually happened to me that nobody had an axe so I used kansbol to split smaller pieces of wood, I wouldn't do it with a folder, despite i believe Rat would have handle it). Everything else can handle my SAK. I have multiple folders but I'm going to rid of them, I just don't use them. Just another perspective :) But hey, here I am, watching this excellent review of a Rat :D

[@thehobohandliner]

@michaelhora6679 believe it or not, now i pretty much solely rely on my Leatherman only! Still have the Rat, but i use my leatherman for everything now. Fire starting, fish cleaning, etc etc. so ive become even more minimal 😂

[@majkon93]

@@thehobohandliner Yeah I can imagine :D which one do you have?

[@thehobohandliner]

The Rebar!

[@michalurbanful]

Nice review! Thanks! :) Regards from the Czech Republic!

[@thehobohandliner]

Thanks, glad you liked it!

[@joedryden4220]

Hey, great review. Love the pups! Hitting the subscribe button now...

[@thehobohandliner]

Thanks! This was an older video, wish i had gone into more detail, might do a long term re-visit on the knife though!

[@kevola5739]

My big hands luv the Rat 1. The Mora Companion HD is my favourite fixed blade. In my opinion they compare in value but I really prefer the Mora handle for heavier or long term use. The sheath requires no maintenance. The spines on both knives require a filing for bushcraft use but are great otherwise. I have a striker attached to my ferro rod so it is highly unlikely that I would have one without the other. You will not regret the purchase of either of these knives and they are a great starting point to decide if you need anything more.

[@thehobohandliner]

100% agree! I don’t own the Mora, but the Rat 1 is still in my pocket daily

[@stephenkylecaballero6941]

cool hack for rat 1, you can restore your spine by using diamond file/sharpener. stroke it against the back spine and if you feel there were burr build up already it means it's done. enjoy your new 90 degree spine. Had mine for 1 yr now already, always being use in our home. best knife for those people on the budget. hoping to use it on camping in the future.

[@thehobohandliner]

Great comment! Yeah mines going on almost 3 years now with no issues!

[@stephenkylecaballero6941]

thas cool. i'm kinda planning to buy rat 2 but I'm kinda hesitating. maybe in December hopefully the website were I bought my rat 1 will have sales. I wish my knives lives for a many years too.@@thehobohandliner

[@arbitrarynightjar2788]

I bought the Aus 8 version and the D2 version. I wound up putting the aus8 handles on the d2 blade. I like the brown with the satin.

[@thehobohandliner]

Very nice!!

[@woodcraftczech9996]

I totally agree with you! I have a Rat 2 in AUS8 and it is pretty nice knife. I'm interested about Rat 1, so I'm thinking about buying one. But I don't know if Rat 2 is not enough for me. 🙂 Thank you for a nice review! Regards from Czech Republic too! 😉😁

[@thehobohandliner]

Ive had both, and prefer the larger model personally. But theyre both awesome budget knives! Thanks for watching!

[@KINGACE9]

My personal experience: The Rat 2 was too small for likings. I gave it away and I'm happy with the Rat 1 I purchased.

[@Badger77722]

I have pretty small hands, and the Rat 2 fits me great. I can use a Rat 1, but the bigger handle just isn't as comfortable for most tasks for me.

[@adammcguinness9950]

I laugh when I see people going hell for leather on their ferro rods. I light my fires with one strike, 99% of the time. You’d use your ferro rod 10 times quicker than me.

[@joshoconnor6684]

R u in iowa?

[@thehobohandliner]

Nope, Pennsylvania

[@ulary]

8 or D2?

[@thehobohandliner]

This is the AUS 8 model!

[@ulary]

@@thehobohandliner Thank you so much sir

[@martinhawrylkiewicz2025]

Too thick behind the edge..

[@thehobohandliner]

It’s been good to me, but I agree there are better slicers