bld - duly noted on judging on appearance only. Its been a very very long time since I've bought equipment on that principle. <img src="/ubbthreads/images/graemlins/paperbag.gif" alt="" />

The RMDxLE looks generally traditional, but not in a bad way. I love the way my canvas RMD's balance, but my paper RMD's seem "grip heavy". I'm hoping the extra 1" of SR101 will balance it out a little better.

Glad to help <img src="/ubbthreads/images/graemlins/smile.gif" alt="" />

I really like it, but I would have absolutely no use for it being that it's pretty specialized as a fighter. If I were still in the service and going to a combat zone.....I still wouldn't get it because it's not coated and SR101 rusts too easily.

Would be great for the collector.

bld - I haven't weighed my canvas vs paper RMD's, but the paper feels significantly heavier. I like the heft of the paper, but I'd prefer a little more 'blade heft' to balance it. As a matter of fact, I'm EDC'g a black/black paper RMD right now, and after pulling it out of the sheath I remembered something else about the differences.

The recent run of RMD's had two blade thicknesses. The canvas blades were a little thinner than the paper. I have a pic of this somewhere on here. I'll try to find it.

I know my Black Canvas RMD from the recent run has a thicker blade than my Black G10 RMD from the first time around.

I've been trying to find the pic's, but can't. My two canvas shipped first, and when the black paper arrived (a goodly while later) I remember thinking "this thing is a lot heavier - I LIKE IT!". Afterward, I compared the thicknesses and the paper is easily identifiable as thicker.

I prefer sharpened crow bars so I'm EDC'g a paper now. Its not the one I ordered from the factory, but it was new when I bought it on the 2ndary. It too has a thicker blade.

Not a big deal at all, but interesting nonetheless.

I don't think of the Ratmandeux as a pure fighter, like a Gerber Mk II. It's more of a combat/utility, like the Ka-Bar. I am quite confident it can do a lot of camp and survival chores with that convex grind. The double guard doesn't bother me. Granted, it is a bit shiny for military use, but that could easily be corrected. 52100 takes to bluing and patina well.

When I placed my order I had planned on using the RMDxLE, but after thinking about it for a while it will probably be a Queen.

Had I used it, it would have been a "general purpose" camp/survival knife. As HD said, it could probably serve well in that role.

That full guard makes it a fighter in my book, same with the Ka-Bar. I like to rest my thumb or index finger on the spine of the blade when doing most of my cutting tasks. The only time I don't is when I'm doing heavy cutting, stabbing, slashing, and hammering.

I am confident the RMDx would be a sufficient survival knife, though. It just strikes me as more of a fighter.

I hadn't really considered the full guard, but I keep a full grip on the scales/handle anyway so outside of batoning (which I would keep away from the guard) this is a non-issue to me.

I do, however, see your point based on your style.

After I posted that I thought of something else I should have said:

I don't view any knife as a fighter, because I carry firearms <img src="/ubbthreads/images/graemlins/laugh.gif" alt="" />

I find I can wrap my thumb around the top guard and index the choil. This locks everything in and works well for me.