Ontario RAT II

ESEE knives will be a familiar name to any of you involved in Bushcraft; the founders, Jeff Randall and Mike Perrin began working with the Peruvian Air Force’s Escuela De Supervivencia En La Selva (School of jungle survival), also known by the acronym ESEEL. Randall’s Adventure and Training schools began and then they formed ESEE knives to make the knives they wanted to use in their training schools, as the ones that were available were not suitable for their needs.

Here we have the RAT model II folder, the Randall’s Adventure Training knife. It is a small folding knife; being a locking one, it is not a full legal carry in the UK. The black scales are 2.5mm thick fibre reinforced nylon (FRN) with a fine dimpled grip pattern and is a very accomplished, ergonomic design. The RAT II’s 75mm long AUS-8 stainless steel blade can be opened either left or right handed, using the thumb studs. The steel itself is highly corrosion resistant, good when using it for food preparation etc. The liner lock has jimping to aid grip.

The RAT II only costs £39.95 and that’s a massive amount of knife for your money. Don’t be put off by the ‘odd’ shape; when you actually use the RAT, it is, in my humble opinion one of the most ergonomic folding knives out there. Many thanks again to Bruce and Richard at HH.