Post by Lobster on Feb 12, 2016 11:29:42 GMT 3
RUI is a brand that is distributed by the Spanish company Albainox but most certainly made in China. Although there are a few shops in the US offering the brand, it seems RUI is primarily sold in Europe. I was looking for a heavy chopper for garden work and camping, I have a number of machetes that do the job nicely but due to their size they are cumbersome to carry. I had been looking at the RUI Rhino for a while but the retail price of over 60$ had always put me off. In 2015 I saw the Rhino for a discounted 49$ from a German eBay store and pulled the trigger.
The knife’s 7mm thick full tang has 2 SFL handles bolted to it. These handles feel almost like rubber without the softness, the handle is very thick. A small thumb ramp with jimping helps blade control when cutting or for more delicate work. A lanyard can be attached through a generously sized hole.
The straight back blade is either made of 8Cr13MoV, 3CR13MoV, 420 or 440 steel, depending on who you ask, the distributer doesn’t provide the information. Whatever it is, it came razor sharp out of the box and it has retained the edge very well. It has a 46mm long serration and a nice, deep 94mm long belly that is hollow ground. The spine has a false edge on its full length. The entire knife stock is titanium coated. While I’m usually not a fan of combo edges, for this purpose it works well. The serration on this knife is crazy sharp and very useful for removing the bark off logs and branches and to cur notches and grooves into wood, the belly cuts nicely and the thick stock helps splitting the wood when batoning.
The knife comes with a well-made black Nylon sheath that allows for horizontal or vertical carry. The actual sheath that holds the blade is some kind of ABS material sandwiched in a heavy duty nylon webbing, fastened with torx screws. Everything can be disassembled for maintenance and cleaning. The sheath also has a small extra pocket that contains a pretty useless diamond sharpener.
I wanted a solid, heavy blade for working in the garden and clearing bush that is easier to carry than a machete. There is much to like about this knife, but it just doesn’t work for me. My hands are average sized but despite of the rubbery feel of the handles I struggle to maintain a grip when hacking wood, even with gloves. With every swing the knife slips forward and the edge of the butt starts to dig into the palm. Lighter work is fine but for that I don’t need such a heavy knife in the first place. The lesson learned is, if you want a knife for a specific task, buy one you have actually handled!
The knife’s 7mm thick full tang has 2 SFL handles bolted to it. These handles feel almost like rubber without the softness, the handle is very thick. A small thumb ramp with jimping helps blade control when cutting or for more delicate work. A lanyard can be attached through a generously sized hole.
The straight back blade is either made of 8Cr13MoV, 3CR13MoV, 420 or 440 steel, depending on who you ask, the distributer doesn’t provide the information. Whatever it is, it came razor sharp out of the box and it has retained the edge very well. It has a 46mm long serration and a nice, deep 94mm long belly that is hollow ground. The spine has a false edge on its full length. The entire knife stock is titanium coated. While I’m usually not a fan of combo edges, for this purpose it works well. The serration on this knife is crazy sharp and very useful for removing the bark off logs and branches and to cur notches and grooves into wood, the belly cuts nicely and the thick stock helps splitting the wood when batoning.
The knife comes with a well-made black Nylon sheath that allows for horizontal or vertical carry. The actual sheath that holds the blade is some kind of ABS material sandwiched in a heavy duty nylon webbing, fastened with torx screws. Everything can be disassembled for maintenance and cleaning. The sheath also has a small extra pocket that contains a pretty useless diamond sharpener.
I wanted a solid, heavy blade for working in the garden and clearing bush that is easier to carry than a machete. There is much to like about this knife, but it just doesn’t work for me. My hands are average sized but despite of the rubbery feel of the handles I struggle to maintain a grip when hacking wood, even with gloves. With every swing the knife slips forward and the edge of the butt starts to dig into the palm. Lighter work is fine but for that I don’t need such a heavy knife in the first place. The lesson learned is, if you want a knife for a specific task, buy one you have actually handled!