^ That's a beauty there. Do you know what wood that handle is made of?
Not sure, but it looks like some kind of birch.
I have a clone also, they are very good, oh and the Brous reloader
How does the blade on the Brous Reloader Clone compare to the Tunnel Ratt Clone?
I got the Tunnel Ratt some time ago and I just can can't get the blade to take a good edge yet. Is the blade as thick and heavy as the Tunnel Ratt all the way to the end?
I'm seriously considering tapering the blade down more and going back further to lighten it up. The blade seems a bit much for the frame anyway. Well, I will only do that if I can get the blade to take and hold a good edge. I guess I'm wondering if the Brous will satisfy my wish for a big chunky folder that actually is useful.
I think the reloader is better, mines still shaving sharp. Check my post 144 & 147 for my description. I didn’t get the rat because of the handle - i need the material to be equal and the same or it would annoy my ocd. lol
^ Thanks CRX. Good info. Post 144 & 147 are very helpful too. I just noticed a typo in my post above yours, but you seem to have understood what I was trying to say. Yes, the handle is much lighter doesn't appear to match the blade strength on the Ratt. I worry also about the blade stop (not sure of the name). That big heavy blade chunks hard against it and it doesn't look up for the job long term.
I too have reprofiled to a slighter angle (but on the Ratt), but it just won't take a serious edge. The fact that you reprofiled to 15 degrees and it's holding up tells me what I wanted to know. Hopefully, I luck out if there is a lottery factor and get a properly hardened blade.
Ordered one. Thank you. :)
Which Decepticon is that?
I bought the budget version with steel handle.
It’s a very impressive folder:
Yeah, it’s great with the bearing pivot. Just looks awesome, people either love it or hate it. I got the all steel version. I took out the black backspacer and replaced it with polycarbonate tubing to more enhance the design. I was really surprised by the size - it is a big knife. Love it.
Did you mod the flipper too? I see jimpings on it and on the blade spine too.
Keen eye you’ve got there, yeah i took a dremmel to it to add the extra lines, looks great and the flipper is much more grippy. Also coloured in the grooves black.
My next mod will be placing a tritium vial into the cut-out in the flipper as a fellow BLF member did.
I’ve got a 1.5 x 6mm in mine as it was all i had to hand but it would look better with a larger vial as Bribo did.
What would be the optimum size trit for decepticon? Or should I say decepticlon 
Thx CRX.
EDIT: Cant seem to find that size vial for sale anywhere though. Any info on a source? Europe if possible.
While this thread seems to be on the topic of huge budget knives, does anyone have one of these and what do you think of it? It appears to be slightly lighter than the similar Tunnel Rat earlier in this thread. Which is a little strange considering it says the handle is stainless steel while the Rat’s is G10. Maybe it’s actually aluminum?
Pieman,…no personal experience with the Vulcan…although I did look very closely at it a couple of years ago when it first came out. In my opinion, it does not do any justice to the original design. Something about the fit and finish that looks cheaply done to me. I hate the clip. And the cut out area…maybe meant for rope cutting looks too close to a finger choil to me. I have other knives with that cut out for choking up and doing close work….whew that would be an unpleasant mistake to put your index finger in there. ha.
I did see some nice tributes to the great knife maker Direware that looks to deliver a closer custom knife experience at a low price point…imo. The blade shape may not suit all…but you can see there are some nice details included on the design.
THanks KaiserSosa, for the helpful info. That would be a rude awakening to mistaken that rope cutter for a finger choil! Those Direwares look nice too. Too many goodies, not enough $$$!
One of the great things about cheap clones is that you can mod them like below without worrying about ruining the knife and loosing a bunch of money. I reshaped the blade edge because I just didn't see the stock profile really fitting my needs. The blade may not look as bad ass now, but it is much more useful (for me at least). It needs a tad more work, but I'll finish the next time I sharpen it.
Got the Brous Reloader Clone. Really nice knife. Every thing is solid. Quite light and well balanced for it's size. Even better with the below mod. Feels great in hand. Even when doing the below blade mod (while assembled), the handle does not slip even if you having oily, wet, or soapy hands. I don't have experience with high quality stainless steel blade, but I think the blade is made out of something better than all my other stainless steel blades. You can feel and hear the difference when sharping it. It is quite abrasion resistant. It has distinct solid knock when it taps a dense Arkansas Whetstone. My diamond sharpening "stones" that go down to 200 grit don't tear up the blade like they do my other stainless steal knives. It feels more like a carbon blade of a Mora or Opinel. The blade can take a very keen edge as CRX has noted earlier.
Even if I'm not right about the blade material being something more special, the knife is a real bargain at $20.
The only compliant I have is that the edge when the knife arrived was in real bad shape. It even had a hump in the inward curved part of the blade. How they look stock (borrowed from 8steve88) post.
