Well, I don't want to come off as a self-proclaimed expert or anything, but I do spend way more money and time in the knife world than the gun world. Even then, what you mainly get to see in my posts are my prejudices. I am pro-American manufacture. I don't care for stainless steel in a fixed blade knife over three inches long. I don't usually buy serrated knives. I don't like most "long" knives. My best folders are all Benchmade Axis locks of one flavor or another. I prefer going to the aftermarket for sheaths.
Here are the reasons I am prejudiced:
1) Buying an American knife means you usually have factory support. When you buy a Chinese import, usually if something is wrong, they ship you another Chinese import, not perhaps regrind the knife you already have or otherwise make it right at all. That is not to say that all American makers are great at customer service, but your odds are much higher that you will get it. Besides, I like seeing my money go to fellow Americans when I can help it.
2) Stainless steel has many merits as cutlery. None of those merits is in the realm of lateral strength or shock loading. Chromium in steel is an anti-corrosion element, but it also embrittles the steel to a degree. All serious steel "survival" knives are made from non-stainless steels (Strider being a notable exception), because care for the knife against corrosion is a survival assumption. Stainless is great in dive or marine environments, but everywhere else make mine out of 1095, 52100, A2, D2, INFI, or 3V before any stainlesses. The increased strength and toughness makes carbon worth the maintenance requirement.
D2 is often called semi-stainless. My opinion of it is that at six inches and below it is not too brittle for most tasks. D2 is not a good steel for "choppers," (knives that look more or less like machetes) and don't use a D2 blade as a prybar.
3) I don't like serrations. The "pro" argument for serrations is that they enable easier cutting through material like webbing, rope, and other straps because they "bite" that material. They also stay effectively cutting long after a plain edge is described as dull because serrations increase the overall cutting surface available. The "con" argument for me is that the serrations on most knives are placed so far back on the blade as to be awkward, they are tougher to field sharpen, they are more prone to corrosion if not carefully cleaned, and lastly, if you can sharpen a knife to be "scary" or "wicked" sharp, you can cut anything that can be cut and you can do it with the most logical part of the blade that presents itself, not just where your serrations are not. Serrations are great for the sharpening challenged however.
4) Most long knives, unless you are paying for the differentially tempered industructibility of Busse, are made from the "wrong" steel. Through hardened knife steel, the longer it gets, the more prone to catastrophic failure it is. So-called "spring" steels, i.e. 1084, 1070, 1060, 1050 are generally better for longer blades designed to take shock impacts. Unfortunately, most over 10" knives are not made from these grades of steel. Again, YMMV.
5) Sheaths are a matter of function and personal taste. Undoubtedly in leather the sky is the limit. In kydex, hand made beats most factory systems. I prefer kydex for hard use, though some people think it is too susceptible to extreme heat or cold. Again, and some disagree, the best of both worlds is nylon or leather with a kydex insert. Almost anyone with talent can make a kydex oriented sheath better than the mass produced ones that come in the box.
Some fine kydex or kydex/nylon combo sheaths are available from:
Dozier:
http://www.dozierknives.com/
On Scene Tactical:
http://www.mnsi.net/~nbtnoel/products.htm
Survival Sheath Systems:
http://www.survivalsheath.com/sheaths/index.htm
Of course, you will have to pay more than you might have wanted, but nothing is worse than unexpectedly losing a knife you are counting on being there.
I recommended the RAT-5, not the RAT-7. I have and love both, but the 5 is handier and will do all but the heaviest chopping jobs, for which I usually have something better than a knife in the first place. (axe v. knife v. saw, v. 'hawk is a very large debate in its own right). There is nothing wrong with the RAT-7, but I think I'd rather wear the 5 every day--in its OST aftermarket sheath of course.
I only recommend Ontario's RAT line for fixed blades from that company. The Randall Adventure Team offers no BS support for these "upscale" Ontarios. The higher quality control is there, the higher expectations are met, and if you ever have a problem, Mr. Randall and Mr. Perrin will figuratively come running to address the problem, no matter where you happen to find yourself. They are very accessible men who use and develop the product line in the jungles of South America, and they eagerly meet their goal of providing a tool that can be relied upon in almost any instance at a price everyone can afford.
That said, I think the rest of Ontario's non-RAT production is somewhat hit and miss, but at the prices paid, that is somewhat the expectation. There is a reason a Ka-Bar costs more than a run of the mill Ontario fixed blade. There is also a reason that the RAT line-up can command the prices it does over those Ka-Bars as well.
As far as pommels, again, that is a preference issue. I like the Ka-Bar pommel best if I know I have to hammer something. However, I have largely moved on from carrying a Ka-Bar just to have that one feature. In the military, some sort of Ka-Bar style knife is always around somewhere to be the beater on Uncle Sam's dime, so there is no need to carry your own flat pommel. Secondly, improvised hammers are almost everywhere you can look if rocks or green wood are available. Yet again, the flat near the handle of almost any knife with adequate striking weight can be used as an improvised hammer. All in all, it is not near my top priority in a combat utility knife. A so-called "skull crusher," like on the RAT-5, is a poor hammer, but it is a better glass breaker on vehicles at road blocks, or for escape from a vehicle, and is actually something of a backhand threat to jihadi health in any hand to hand combat.
If I were going to the Gulf again tomorrow, I'd take my Leatherman Surge, my Victorinox Spartanlite, my Benchmade 806D2 Axis, and my RAT-5 or a Swamprat Howling Rat I could get my hands on pretty quick for a Beretta Jetfire I'd trade it for.
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