Ontario RAT Model 2 Liner Lock Knife Black (3" Satin) 8860 SP

Superb ergonomics and build quality for a great price! Excellent detent as well. Could use a better blade steel so maybe the new D2 version is a better choice, but Aus-8 does take a pretty sick edge.

The Ontario Rat 2 is hands down the best budget knife on the market. I have had mine for 2 years now and have abused it heavily. You will not find a more sturdier knife of the market for anywhere near the price of The Rat 2.

That being said, I have had to sharpen the blade a few times. That's to be expected as Aus-8 can't compete with the more expensive steels. (however it is still a very good steel for a budget knife to have)

You can't go wrong with the Model 2.

This is the best action on a knife under the $100 price tag and it only costs a quarter of that. the full flat grind is awesome for every day tasks and came in perfect, no defects and dead on blade centering. It's easy to sharpen and to take apart to clean. The ergos are amazing, it's very organic and clean. You can beat this thing up and it will keep on going, easy to replace if it dies too. My only complaint is I wish Ontario would make this in D2 steel and with G10 handles, but this is still a 5 star knife with out them. Its just that good.

As it isn’t a robust knife, It does outstanding for small tasks. It does come very, very sharp out of the box and it essentially disappears in your pocket.

The steel can roll depending on the task since it is only AUS-8, but that being said, It’s very easy to bring it back to a razor sharp edge in a few minutes.

It would be awesome to see a sprint run or a new version of Rat Model - 2 with CPM S30V or higher.

If you’re thinking about it - Pull the trigger!

SF

I use this knife almost every day. I feel that it is the perfect size for EDC and it always comes in handy. The steel is somewhat soft and I have had quite a few nicks in the blade from heavy use, but it is very easy to resharpen. The lock up detent is perfect and always gives a snappy release when opened. I cannot recommend this knife enough to anyone!

The RAT folders are some of the go-to recommendations for high quality budget folders. Both have wonderful detents, are exceptionally smooth (running on teflon), and are purpose-built. The full flat grind slices wonderfully and the blade shape is perfectly utilitarian. My only complaint is the ergos: I have smallish hands (I wear a medium sized glove and I have thin fingers), and even the R2 is cramped feeling. This is made worse by the fact that the entire ricasso and handle portion between the choil and the plunge grind is essentially wasted space. You could choke up there with a finger if you wanted, but another proper choil would definitely do this knife good.

All in all, also consider the Pro Lite series from Cold Steel (I prefer these over the R2), some budget offerings from Kershaw and CRKT, and the Spyderco budget lines. Otherwise you can't go wrong with any of the RAT knives from Ontario.

This is probably the best value in the knife business. You might not be getting top of the line steel but this knife makes up for it in quality. The detent is amazing, the opening is buttery smooth and everything on this knife is finished very well. It's just unbeatable in this price range.

This is without a doubt my go to EDC knife. If I could be forced to carry just one knife I wouldn't be sad about having the RAT 2 in my pocket.The action is fantastic!. This thing is one par with some of my ZTs. It can drop shut, and was nice enough to drop shut on my finger not long after my purchase :). Also unlike it's big brother the RAT 1, the liner lock isn't stiff. Also like the RAT 1, why couldn't they just put G10 on it. I hate the smoothness of the grips. Another gripe is the clip. Ontario, please just make this satin. On the positive side, there is a captive pivot on one side of the RAT 2 unlike the RAT 1. I hear fairly soon, D2 will be the new steel. While that is great, it is not a rust resistant steel. I would much prefer CTS XHP, which is the stainless equivalent of D2. Because of the action and how great this bad boy carries, it fully deserves 5 stars.

I carried this blade for a while and it is a great value and an excellent beater knife. The liner lock area is a little small but it works fine.

It's going to be hard to find a better knife at this price! Slick deploy, nice feel in the hand. Nice lockup. Money well spent!

I have owned this knife for roughly 4 years now and it has had more carry time then almost any other knife I own. I used my RAT Model 2 exclusively for about 2 years while I worked in a retail job. I cut plastic straps and boxes all the time and it held up like a champ. I didn't have to sharpen it that often to keep a usable edge on it. The deployment is insanely fast, it feels almost like it is assisted, because of how quickly it flies out with hardly any pressure. I love flicking this knife all day, it drives my wife nuts.

I have two negatives. The first is after thousands of open and closes, the detent ball got incredibly rough. But that is an easy fix with maintenance and hasn't been an issue since. The second negative is the liner lock is pretty hard to push and due to the size puts a lot of pressure on my thumb and causes some discomfort if I close it often. But this is a minor issue and doesn't detract from my love of using it.

Overall the RAT Model 2 is the perfect size, with incredible speed of deployment and great looks. I love this knife.

The Rat 2 is a super comfortable EDC that is very easy to integrate into any system. Even though its small, it will get any realistic job that a knife should be used for, done. Amazing value for the great price.

If you are thinking of only carrying this knife as EDC/Last ditch tactical, I would argue it is too small and not ergonomic enough to be a reliable tactical knife. When I carry this, I pair it with a larger, dedicated tactical folder like a Cold Steel.