Justin has "earned" a lot of credibility from not only die-hard knife advocates from multiple forums, but also from similarly respected knife makers.

I just saw Mike Stewart recommend Justin to somebody the other day. They guy wanted a 7" + fighter style knife and wanted to keep the price under $150.00 and closer to $125.00 if possible. Justin is probably about as good a choice as you can find to fit a large, tough, and dependable knife at a good price. <img src="/ubbthreads/images/graemlins/thumbup.gif" alt="" />

I have only had one Ranger knife. It was a satin RD-6 with cocobola scales. The general shape of the knife and comfort of the handle was good, but I felt even the satin version (in my case) was pretty rough in the finish area. My scales were out of alignment, the blade had many variations in flat grind, the spine wasn't smooth or uniform, etc.
From the pictures above, HD's RD looks cleaner than mine did. With nice cocobola scales, I felt my blade just looked a little too shabby.
I can't remember if mine was 5160 or not. It seems like Justin used to use 1095 pretty regularly (??????), but I don't remember. I do remember that whatever steel mine was started showing rust spots within a few days. I had to get on it, clean it up and put some heavy protection on it. I don't like rusty knives and for what it was, I just didn't want to hassle with the maintenance, so I sold it.
1095 and 5160 will both rust faster than SR-101 or SR-77. I have been able to maintain SR-101 and SR-77 both pretty easily. 1095, 5160 and O-1 give me trouble (* It is HUMID here in Houston!) <img src="/ubbthreads/images/graemlins/barf.gif" alt="" /> <img src="/ubbthreads/images/graemlins/barf.gif" alt="" />

I have some Gorgeous customs by Steve Voorhis that have a mirror finish. I had put them in my safe and didn't check on them for a few months and they developed horrible rust spots all over them. I am still trying to figure out how to fix the damage. I just have the damage on hold for now. Heart-break~! <img src="/ubbthreads/images/graemlins/sad.gif" alt="" />

However, back to Ranger knives, if a person just wanted a very tough knife to use and/or didn't mind spending just a little bit of time "cleaning up" the knife, Justin's knives are a great value and performance is up there with Bark River and right behind Busse (family) and such in toughness.
I will personally give multiple advantages to Busse (family) and Bark River in multiple catagories, but Justin still makes a tough knife at a good price.

For me, I like the Scrap Yard knives much more for the money.

In all fairness, Busse, Swamp Rat and Scrap Yard can be pretty rough under the coatings. I have seen some blades that were so rough under the coatings that you could see marks through the coatings!

.