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"Im on the Boker Rampage" (Review)
“I’m on the Boker Rampage”
Review by Sifu Dr. Jan L. Miller
Rampage BOK-02BO110
RJ Martin designed fixed blade.
Overall Length: 9 1/2"
Blade Length: 4 5/8"
440C plain edge blade.
Micarta handle.
Full tang construction.
Serialized.
The Boker Rampage, designed by famous knife maker R.J. Martin, is a purely tactical knife. The 4 5/8” of super-aggressive, deep hollow ground 440C stainless steel blade with an ergonomic handle is a real sight to behold. The grinds on this knife are simply exquisite. One might say that the blade shape is part Hawkbill part Kiridashi all rolled into one. You can certainly see a Japanese influence in this design. Eighty percent of the people I show this knife to immediately say it’s a “Klingon knife” right from the movies Star Trek. I know better though…but if a Klingon stood before us inspecting this knife he would shout the words, ‘majQa’ (which translates from the Klingon language to (“Well Done”). No I’m not a treky but I still can appreciate the notion of “Well Done”. Boker did a magnificent job of recreating the grinds found on one of those expensive R.J. Martin custom originals, without giving us a price tag that will send us to the poor house. The Micarta handle is handsomely crafted and is super comfortable as it just melts into the hand, regardless of the size of your hand. The knife comes with a nice inject molded ABS sheath with a nylon web attachment and large Teklok. First thing I did with my Rampage sheath was remove it from the nylon web attachment, toss the Teklok in a draw (I hate those things) and attached some Para cord to the sheath holes for belt carry. Now I was good to go.
The Rampage was hair popping sharp right out of the box. Be aware that this is not a general utility knife. Not for use in food preparation, or other cutting chores. This is a tactical knife built for self-defense and fighting. For that task you couldn’t ask for a better knife. The Rampage has a very deep index finger choil and guard which provides for good retention and the feel of a good sub-hilt fighting knife, even though it doesn’t have a sub-hilt.
When Boker sent me this knife for testing and review I didn’t really know what to expect from it in the performance department. I can now report that I was pleasantly surprised. To test for its ability to penetrate I took two pairs of denim jeans and folded them in half, back to back and stabbed through the rear pockets. This was a total of 8 layers of denim. The Rampage penetrated all the layers without any felt resistance. I repeat not an ounce of resistance. At first I thought I missed the pants completely with my thrust only to find the complete blade sticking out up to the hilt through the 8 layers….’majQa’… Well Done! I always test all of my EDC tactical knives by doing some meat tests. For the Rampage I used a 4.5” beef round wrapped in 4 layers of saran wrap (to simulate the resistance of skin) placed inside a denim pant leg. The meat tests proved that the Rampage had the ability to produce a consistent 4”-5” slash depth and complete penetration without any felt resistance while thrusting into the round roast. The roast also had a fair amount of thick fat on it, proving penetration ability for the Rampage was excellent. The same findings were confirmed by one of my knife fighting students (who purchased a Rampage) while doing his own independent meat tests. I have obtained similar results in my meat tests with much larger blades, like the CRKT “Hissatsu”, Spyderco “Rock Salt” and some Bowie style knives. All of these knives have much larger blades than the Rampage, so I was quite impressed with the results…..”majQa”…..Well Done!
I found the knife to be comfortable in a few different grip positions. Pikal or Ice Pick Grip (blade facing out) Hammer, Saber and Filipino style grip proved to be the most comfortable. Rapid transitions between grip change positions were very smooth. The Rampage does not work in Pikal Grip (blade facing inwards), nor was it possible to use an underhand (blade facing upwards) grip. The finish on the Micarta handle is very smooth and some would say a bit slippery. The handle, though well designed felt heavy in the hand at first and many would think that the blade was too short for the weight of the handle. The balance point proved to be right on for a true fighter. The balance point was right where it should be a tad behind the index finger choil. When I first used the knife in some training drills comprised of quick cuts, slashes and thrusts I didn’t feel I had complete control over the knife. It was a bit wobbly and not as secure as I would have liked. The Rampage felt dead in my hand so to say. I have always found that for a solid grip and complete control the middle, ring and pinky finger grasp play the most important role in the felt stability of any knife in hand. This is why some knife handles like on the Spyderco “Ronin” and“Yojimbo” (both designed by Michael Janich) taper and slim down towards the pommel. Now please keeping mind that I have very small hands and I don’t think this stability/control issue will exist for persons with medium or large size hands, but for me this was indeed a problem. To correct it I applied a little bit of rubberize baseball bat grip wrap to the rear of the Rampage’s Micarta handle extending just behind the second finger choil wrapping back to the pommel. This gave me a real tacky grip feel for my last three fingers and like magic the Rampage became alive in my hands. The wobble was gone and security in grip position was no longer an issue. RJ’s custom models of the Rampage sport non-slippery G-10 handle slabs instead of the smooth Micarta, so I figure he knows exactly what I’m talking about. Mind you I did take a little something away from the beautiful look of the Micarta slabs, but for me I can live with that as I made the knife much more functional for myself. Though the Rampage has a very positive feel in the hand for many grip positions, I prefer to use this knife in the classical Filipino grip, where the thumb rests on the top spine jimping. This knife’s thumb rest jimping on the spine will probably be fine for most people, but I would have liked it better if it was elongated a slight bit more towards the pommel. I placed a bit (1/4”) of sticky grit tape (bought at Wal-Mart) at the rear of the jimping on the top of the handle. The Filipino grip improvement was remarkably better due to the placement of the grit tape and allows me to close my hand in proper Filipino grip position tighter around the handle. I could feel when running my hand on the underside of the handle a slightly raised sharp edge where the slab met the steel, but it was very minuscule. Overall fit and finish were acceptable but not perfect. Then again this is an affordable production knife and not a custom R.J. Martin Rampage. Even with these small complaints I still fell in love with the Rampage. And for me it is a fine example of a true fighting tactical knife.
I rated the Rampage from 0-10 in 10 different categories and my ratings are as follows:
Ease of Concealment and Comfort for EDC: 10 out of 10
Design: 10 out of 10
Retention Ability: 10 out of 10
Penetration Ability: 10 out of 10
Ease of Deployment: 9 out of 10
Slicing and Cutting: Ability 10 out of 10
Stability and Control: 8 out of 10
Out of Box Sharpness: 10 out of 10
Ergonomics: 9 out of 10
Finishing: 8 out of 10
The Boker Rampage received a total rating of 94 out of a possible 100.
On a side note I like the idea that the Boker Rampage is serialized. I have always felt that I received a little something special when a knife has a serial number on it. My Boker Rampage is # 0583, it has been my primary EDC for four weeks now, and I don’t see any reason why it should leave my strong side hip carry position anytime soon….It’s that good. If you are looking for an awesome defensive fighting tool the Rampage really fits the bill. For those who can appreciate the virtues of a Hawkbill designed blade combined with the Japanese Kiridashi cutting ability look no further, this knife has your name on it. Add the handsome ergonomic Micarta handles to the combination blade design, coupled with the magnificent grinds makes the Rampage not only beautiful to behold but ultra functional as well. Kudos to knife maker R.J. Martin, for putting the two blade shapes together, for that was pure genius. On a final note one of my students, a Law Enforcement Agent with NYPD’s ESU (Emergency Service Unit) commented to me as he was inspecting the knife, and I quote “If someone ever pulled this knife on me I would run!” Thinking that it was a strange response from a seasoned team leader of a highly trained Law Enforcement unit, I asked him why? His response was, “Anyone who pulled a knife like this obviously knows how to use it.” Two big thumbs up to Boker for making a superb tactical knife at a price point most people can afford. ‘majQa’ (Well Done!) You don’t have to be a Klingon, to appreciate just how good a tactical fighting knife this Boker Rampage really is!
Sifu Dr. Jan Miller is a Master Instructor of Shaolin Kung Fu, Tai Chi Chuan and Filipino Stick and Dagger Fighting at the Dragon Tiger Kung Fu Center in Smithtown, New York. Dr. Miller has an extensive background in many different forms of Martial Arts, including Boxing, Wrestling, Fencing, Judo, Karate, Several Styles of Chinese Kung Fu, Filipino Stick and Dagger Fighting, and the Western and Asian Forms of Knife Fighting. His colleagues across the United States know him best for his expertise with many different forms of bladed weapons. All rights reserved. Do not reproduce without permission of the author.
“I’m on the Boker Rampage”
Review by Sifu Dr. Jan L. Miller
Rampage BOK-02BO110
RJ Martin designed fixed blade.
Overall Length: 9 1/2"
Blade Length: 4 5/8"
440C plain edge blade.
Micarta handle.
Full tang construction.
Serialized.
The Boker Rampage, designed by famous knife maker R.J. Martin, is a purely tactical knife. The 4 5/8” of super-aggressive, deep hollow ground 440C stainless steel blade with an ergonomic handle is a real sight to behold. The grinds on this knife are simply exquisite. One might say that the blade shape is part Hawkbill part Kiridashi all rolled into one. You can certainly see a Japanese influence in this design. Eighty percent of the people I show this knife to immediately say it’s a “Klingon knife” right from the movies Star Trek. I know better though…but if a Klingon stood before us inspecting this knife he would shout the words, ‘majQa’ (which translates from the Klingon language to (“Well Done”). No I’m not a treky but I still can appreciate the notion of “Well Done”. Boker did a magnificent job of recreating the grinds found on one of those expensive R.J. Martin custom originals, without giving us a price tag that will send us to the poor house. The Micarta handle is handsomely crafted and is super comfortable as it just melts into the hand, regardless of the size of your hand. The knife comes with a nice inject molded ABS sheath with a nylon web attachment and large Teklok. First thing I did with my Rampage sheath was remove it from the nylon web attachment, toss the Teklok in a draw (I hate those things) and attached some Para cord to the sheath holes for belt carry. Now I was good to go.
The Rampage was hair popping sharp right out of the box. Be aware that this is not a general utility knife. Not for use in food preparation, or other cutting chores. This is a tactical knife built for self-defense and fighting. For that task you couldn’t ask for a better knife. The Rampage has a very deep index finger choil and guard which provides for good retention and the feel of a good sub-hilt fighting knife, even though it doesn’t have a sub-hilt.
When Boker sent me this knife for testing and review I didn’t really know what to expect from it in the performance department. I can now report that I was pleasantly surprised. To test for its ability to penetrate I took two pairs of denim jeans and folded them in half, back to back and stabbed through the rear pockets. This was a total of 8 layers of denim. The Rampage penetrated all the layers without any felt resistance. I repeat not an ounce of resistance. At first I thought I missed the pants completely with my thrust only to find the complete blade sticking out up to the hilt through the 8 layers….’majQa’… Well Done! I always test all of my EDC tactical knives by doing some meat tests. For the Rampage I used a 4.5” beef round wrapped in 4 layers of saran wrap (to simulate the resistance of skin) placed inside a denim pant leg. The meat tests proved that the Rampage had the ability to produce a consistent 4”-5” slash depth and complete penetration without any felt resistance while thrusting into the round roast. The roast also had a fair amount of thick fat on it, proving penetration ability for the Rampage was excellent. The same findings were confirmed by one of my knife fighting students (who purchased a Rampage) while doing his own independent meat tests. I have obtained similar results in my meat tests with much larger blades, like the CRKT “Hissatsu”, Spyderco “Rock Salt” and some Bowie style knives. All of these knives have much larger blades than the Rampage, so I was quite impressed with the results…..”majQa”…..Well Done!
I found the knife to be comfortable in a few different grip positions. Pikal or Ice Pick Grip (blade facing out) Hammer, Saber and Filipino style grip proved to be the most comfortable. Rapid transitions between grip change positions were very smooth. The Rampage does not work in Pikal Grip (blade facing inwards), nor was it possible to use an underhand (blade facing upwards) grip. The finish on the Micarta handle is very smooth and some would say a bit slippery. The handle, though well designed felt heavy in the hand at first and many would think that the blade was too short for the weight of the handle. The balance point proved to be right on for a true fighter. The balance point was right where it should be a tad behind the index finger choil. When I first used the knife in some training drills comprised of quick cuts, slashes and thrusts I didn’t feel I had complete control over the knife. It was a bit wobbly and not as secure as I would have liked. The Rampage felt dead in my hand so to say. I have always found that for a solid grip and complete control the middle, ring and pinky finger grasp play the most important role in the felt stability of any knife in hand. This is why some knife handles like on the Spyderco “Ronin” and“Yojimbo” (both designed by Michael Janich) taper and slim down towards the pommel. Now please keeping mind that I have very small hands and I don’t think this stability/control issue will exist for persons with medium or large size hands, but for me this was indeed a problem. To correct it I applied a little bit of rubberize baseball bat grip wrap to the rear of the Rampage’s Micarta handle extending just behind the second finger choil wrapping back to the pommel. This gave me a real tacky grip feel for my last three fingers and like magic the Rampage became alive in my hands. The wobble was gone and security in grip position was no longer an issue. RJ’s custom models of the Rampage sport non-slippery G-10 handle slabs instead of the smooth Micarta, so I figure he knows exactly what I’m talking about. Mind you I did take a little something away from the beautiful look of the Micarta slabs, but for me I can live with that as I made the knife much more functional for myself. Though the Rampage has a very positive feel in the hand for many grip positions, I prefer to use this knife in the classical Filipino grip, where the thumb rests on the top spine jimping. This knife’s thumb rest jimping on the spine will probably be fine for most people, but I would have liked it better if it was elongated a slight bit more towards the pommel. I placed a bit (1/4”) of sticky grit tape (bought at Wal-Mart) at the rear of the jimping on the top of the handle. The Filipino grip improvement was remarkably better due to the placement of the grit tape and allows me to close my hand in proper Filipino grip position tighter around the handle. I could feel when running my hand on the underside of the handle a slightly raised sharp edge where the slab met the steel, but it was very minuscule. Overall fit and finish were acceptable but not perfect. Then again this is an affordable production knife and not a custom R.J. Martin Rampage. Even with these small complaints I still fell in love with the Rampage. And for me it is a fine example of a true fighting tactical knife.
I rated the Rampage from 0-10 in 10 different categories and my ratings are as follows:
Ease of Concealment and Comfort for EDC: 10 out of 10
Design: 10 out of 10
Retention Ability: 10 out of 10
Penetration Ability: 10 out of 10
Ease of Deployment: 9 out of 10
Slicing and Cutting: Ability 10 out of 10
Stability and Control: 8 out of 10
Out of Box Sharpness: 10 out of 10
Ergonomics: 9 out of 10
Finishing: 8 out of 10
The Boker Rampage received a total rating of 94 out of a possible 100.
On a side note I like the idea that the Boker Rampage is serialized. I have always felt that I received a little something special when a knife has a serial number on it. My Boker Rampage is # 0583, it has been my primary EDC for four weeks now, and I don’t see any reason why it should leave my strong side hip carry position anytime soon….It’s that good. If you are looking for an awesome defensive fighting tool the Rampage really fits the bill. For those who can appreciate the virtues of a Hawkbill designed blade combined with the Japanese Kiridashi cutting ability look no further, this knife has your name on it. Add the handsome ergonomic Micarta handles to the combination blade design, coupled with the magnificent grinds makes the Rampage not only beautiful to behold but ultra functional as well. Kudos to knife maker R.J. Martin, for putting the two blade shapes together, for that was pure genius. On a final note one of my students, a Law Enforcement Agent with NYPD’s ESU (Emergency Service Unit) commented to me as he was inspecting the knife, and I quote “If someone ever pulled this knife on me I would run!” Thinking that it was a strange response from a seasoned team leader of a highly trained Law Enforcement unit, I asked him why? His response was, “Anyone who pulled a knife like this obviously knows how to use it.” Two big thumbs up to Boker for making a superb tactical knife at a price point most people can afford. ‘majQa’ (Well Done!) You don’t have to be a Klingon, to appreciate just how good a tactical fighting knife this Boker Rampage really is!
Sifu Dr. Jan Miller is a Master Instructor of Shaolin Kung Fu, Tai Chi Chuan and Filipino Stick and Dagger Fighting at the Dragon Tiger Kung Fu Center in Smithtown, New York. Dr. Miller has an extensive background in many different forms of Martial Arts, including Boxing, Wrestling, Fencing, Judo, Karate, Several Styles of Chinese Kung Fu, Filipino Stick and Dagger Fighting, and the Western and Asian Forms of Knife Fighting. His colleagues across the United States know him best for his expertise with many different forms of bladed weapons. All rights reserved. Do not reproduce without permission of the author.
