Boker RJ Martin Rampage Fixed Blade
Boker is a Brand of knife that I had long given up on when I had several very disappointing experiences with them 5-10 years ago. It seemed like every Boker that I had purchased was not even close to the quality that the price would have dictated. This RJ Martin Rampage is possibly the first Boker I have that actually pleases me.
This is one of Boker’s more affordable peices, being made in Asia, and costing approximately $70 online these days. This knife looks very much like the custom RJ Martin peices, which are very impressive in person. Of course at this price point, one would not expect the knife to be identical to the Original, and it isn’t.
The grinds are nowhere near as crisp and sharp as the ones on Martin’s original peices, but they are quite close and definately look fantastic and feel great in the hand. Blade steel is a respectable 440C, and the handle is made of Micarta. The somewhat cheap sheath is inject molded ABS, and comes with a nice Teklok as well as paracord.
Knife was okay-sharp out of the box, nothing like a Spyderco, but still quite respectable. The blade measures 4 3/4″ in length, and has that nightmare style RJ Martin grind on it, which is great for draw cuts, but also has a big tip that is great for penetration. The excessive hawk billed main edge makes the knife a mediocre performer for standard cutting chores such as slicing food, though you might be able to get by using the tip or a combination of the main edge and tip to do your slicing.
The style of the handle as well as the blade lends itself to self-defence application as the large choil and guard provide good retention as well as purchase in a potention situation.
Overall, given the modest price of the knife and the materials used it is a decent value. For a knife of this size to be in 440C and have micarta handles for around $70 is quite a good price. The finishing is not outstanding and is definately a notch below Benchmade and Spyderco, et al. I would put the finishing in the neighbourhood of CRKT. It is on the rougher side, but all in all an enjoyable knife.
Specs:
Blade Length: 4 3/4″
Overall Length: 9 1/2″
Weight: 5.8oz
Blade Steel: 440C
Handle Material: Micarta
September 6th, 2009 at 10:21 pm
I recently purchased one of these and for the price the quality is quite acceptable.Because of the unique blade design the knife fits loose in the holster and has to be secured with the holster loop snaps or else it will fall out of the molded holster,a bit disappointing!!! I think i will have to get a more secure custom made kydex holster for this knife.The blade is quite sharp and has a really menacing look to it.Just the right stuff for poking the bad guys with should you get into a situation where your blade is the only option at the time.Overall it will make a good companion for my Glock 20sf because they both mean looking and all business!!!
March 30th, 2011 at 2:28 am
I like the knife, both the odd look and sturdy quality, but “lost” the
knife when I put it into the sheat. I heard a loud “click” – and thereafter nobody managed to get it out again! I had read about loose
fit, but here we indeed had the opposite! After several days of “struggle”, we had to simply destroy the sheat to get the knife. Now I’m looking for a knifesmith who can make a decent sheat for this
fine knife. It will for certain cost me much more than the price of
the knife. Quite a mystery that brand new sheat!
April 6th, 2011 at 5:01 pm
That’s really odd about the sheath. Its quite likely a custom sheath would cost a lot, but perhaps you can get another one from Boker?