The Rothco Ramster -- A Buckmaster 184 Survival Knife Clone.

The Rothco Ramster Survival Kit Knife is a clone of the Buckmaster 184. The Buckmaster 184 has some pretty interesting history behind it that's worth looking into if you're interested, but the short version is that it was designed with the US Navy Seals and produced by Buck Knives. It was fielded and tested by the Navy Seals, but never formally adopted. However, the design shares a lineage with the M9 Bayonet, which was the ultimate result of feedback from the Navy after having tested both the Buckmaster 184 and later the 185 which was a full tang design.
The Buckmaster 184 consisted of a 7.5" clip point stainless steel blade with two separate types of saw teeth on the spine designed for cutting through rope and even sheet metal attached to a hollow stainless steel handle by a threaded bolt, held in place with a nut and a generous amount of epoxy. Although such designs are thought to be inherently weak, the Buck 184 is not known to have any issues regarding separation of the blade from the handle. In fact, those spikes on the hand guard were -- according to the patent -- designed to allow the knife to function as a Grappling Hook capable of supporting up to 600 pounds of weight. However, Buck themselves openly advised consumers against use of the Buck 184 as a Grappling Hook for obvious reasons, and has stated that they were ultimately intended to be used as anchors to help the Seals resist ocean currents while remaining in fixed positions. Regardless, the knife is obviously built strong.

I've wanted a Buckmaster 184 Survival Knife since I first laid eyes on one, but unfortunately they've been out of production since 1997, and they tend to be rather expensive on the used market. Some say that you can find one for cheap if you shop around long enough, but I'm not quite devoted enough to search as long as it takes to find one that's 100% complete that isn't $400+ and in decent condition.

The Rothco Ramster, while obviously not on the same level of the original Buckmaster 184, is a functional knife. Granted, I didn't buy it with any intensive or practical uses in mind to begin with, but if I'm going to buy a knife, then I want it to be able to function as one, not merely as a paperweight. The Ramster has an MSRP of $57.99, but generally goes for closer to $40, with my example costing a mere $41.99 on Amazon. For $50ish, my first impressions say that it's worth it. The knife is sharp right out of the box, feels sturdy, and the overall fit and finish is good. It's well machined, the bead-blasted finish is even, (although it appears to have worn a bit around the edges of the hand guard due to the loose packaging allowing the knife to shift around inside of the box) and everything is tight as it should be.

In addition, the sheath is of good quality as well, although it's all plastic and nylon, (just as it was for the genuine Buckmaster 184) so it's nothing spectacular to begin with. The accessories that make up the kit are also pretty good, but again, they're all just inexpensive odds and ends.

There are some videos on YouTube by a channel called Survival on Purpose which has tested both the Rothco Ramster and the original Buckmaster 184, and the Ramster appears to be a decent alternative to the Buckmaster 184 (for lack of anything better) based on those tests.

Some may think that this knife is silly, but I personally think that it's really cool. (Well, except for the name, that is silly -- sounds like a cross between Rambo and Hamster.) Of course, I grew up in the 90s and I'm a shameless fan of 80s/90s Action Movies and Video Games, so I have no issue admitting that I find it awesome. So if folks want to make fun of me for it, then have at it, I'm a grown man, I like what I like.

Here’s a great info source for the Buckmaster.

The Buck-184 Buckmaster - The peak of survival knives!

I too have wanted the real McCoy for a long time with no luck yet. Either poor condition or priced too high for my tastes.


I’m not a fan of the new Buckmaster 2.0

knifecenter.com

I have a Buck Master before the Buck 184 patent, I bought it more than 30 years ago and even then it was an expensive knife (I'm from Argentina and in my country guns cost double or triple the cost of the United States). I don't know how collectible it can be today, but I can assure you that it is a pleasure to have a quality Buck Master knife, I never regret what I paid for it.

Looks to be better than most 184 clones... I wonder what steel is used?

An RC hardness of 52-56 seems on the soft side for edge retention, but on the other hand, it should sharpen easily.

I lucked out and was able to get mine on ebay years ago before prices went completely gonzo.

Gunhacker said:

Looks to be better than most 184 clones... I wonder what steel is used?

An RC hardness of 52-56 seems on the soft side for edge retention, but on the other hand, it should sharpen easily.

I lucked out and was able to get mine on ebay years ago before prices went completely gonzo.

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Unfortunately, there are no exact details on what precise steel is used. Even Rothco's website just says it's Stainless Steel with no further elaboration.

Agreed on the hardness, but at least it will sharpen easily should I ever manage to dull the edge with whatever novelty purposes I may end up using it for.

Yep, prices are out of control right now. I took a peek on eBay before I ordered this just to see what they were going for and perhaps to find a deal if I was lucky, but I couldn't even find one in complete condition, much less for a good price.
It's a shame that Buck dropped it, I wish they'd bring it back because I would obviously be willing to pay for an official one in new condition with all the accessories included, and I can't imagine that it would cost them more than a few hundred dollars to produce.
At the very least, it would be nice if somebody would step up and produce a clone that's more comparable to the original. But for the time being, this should scratch the itch.

Some folks were supposedly working on a new Buckmaster Knife, but it was closer to the 185 than the 184, and there hasn't been a peep about it since SHOT Show 2020 anyway, so it's probably vaporware.

One of my buddies (now deceased) bought one of the Buck knives that looked like the Ramster. Has the two pins that screwed onto the handle guard,hollow handle and had the swivel ring. Unfortunaltley his widow wouldn't sell it to me. Basically just forgot about the whole thing for many years. Then one day about two years ago Sportsmens Guide was selling both the M16 bayonet in better than average condition and the M9 bayonet. When I received both bayos,I checked the M9 first. First of all,this is a heavy knife. Comes with an onboard pouch that holds a sharpening stone. Belt hanger is almost identical to the billions of attachments put on web belts used by our armed forces. Won't fit on the various M4 semi auto carbines out there, but will fit the M16a2 easily. Think I paid about $125 for the M9 bayonet and about $56 for the M16 bayonet. Frank

I don't remember when I bought it or what I paid, but here's an original.

Forte Smitten Wesson said:

Unfortunately, there are no exact details on what precise steel is used. Even Rothco's website just says it's Stainless Steel with no further elaboration.

Agreed on the hardness, but at least it will sharpen easily should I ever manage to dull the edge with whatever novelty purposes I may end up using it for.

Yep, prices are out of control right now. I took a peek on eBay before I ordered this just to see what they were going for and perhaps to find a deal if I was lucky, but I couldn't even find one in complete condition, much less for a good price.
It's a shame that Buck dropped it, I wish they'd bring it back because I would obviously be willing to pay for an official one in new condition with all the accessories included, and I can't imagine that it would cost them more than a few hundred dollars to produce.
At the very least, it would be nice if somebody would step up and produce a clone that's more comparable to the original. But for the time being, this should scratch the itch.

Some folks were supposedly working on a new Buckmaster Knife, but it was closer to the 185 than the 184, and there hasn't been a peep about it since SHOT Show 2020 anyway, so it's probably vaporware.

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If you look at my first post there is a link to an article on the new “Buckmaster 2.0”. I’m not a fan of the new one. At least not the anchors they put on it. The spikes on the original look better.

I think the Bushmaster 2.0 is DOA... Buck has seemingly lost interest in that style of knife, and has been steadily eliminating their "survival/tactical" line of knives, with the 891 GCK being the latest victim dropped from their catalog, and now the 106 Compadre has now disappeared from Buck's website.

I agree with your asessment of the looks of the Bushmaster 2.0, I think Buck would be better served by re-releasing the 639 fieldmate (which is similar in size to the iconic 119 Special), with a different handle.

639:

I too have been bitten by the clone knife bug. If you can't afford the real thing a working replica comes into play. But, the operative word is working. And who knows if the replica is usable. But if it's cheap enough, I'm willing to take a chance. These are knives I got from Amazon. Are they as good as the original? Good God, no. But they are usable. Sharp out of the box. I did replace the sheaths, because they come with some pretty cheap ones. The top 2 came with the knives. I got the replacements off fleabay. They appear well built, if not up to the original, and actually look pretty good. Especially if you don't get close. But for $50 for each knife and another $35 for each sheath, I can take these into the woods and beat the ever loving hell out of them. Not like the original.

Funny

Nice knives gents!

What's funny.... When I saw this thread title in my mind it read "The Roto Hamster...."

Richard Simmons said:

If you look at my first post there is a link to an article on the new “Buckmaster 2.0”. I’m not a fan of the new one. At least not the anchors they put on it. The spikes on the original look better.

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That's what I was referring to. I don't like it because it honestly looks nothing like the 184, it's closer to the 185, yet still manages to lose all of the aesthetics that would make me interested. Those gaudy green grips and the anchor make it look like something Raphael from Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles would carry. (Hmm... Maybe I should be interested after all?)

Regardless, it seems like vaporware at this point because it was announced over a year ago, nobody has mentioned it since, and sadly Buck seems to have lost Interest in the Combat Knives market because they've phased out the Ground Combat Knives a mere year after they were introduced.

Gunhacker said:

I think the Bushmaster 2.0 is DOA... Buck has seemingly lost interest in that style of knife, and has been steadily eliminating their "survival/tactical" line of knives, with the 891 GCK being the latest victim dropped from their catalog, and now the 106 Compadre has now disappeared from Buck's website.

I agree with your asessment of the looks of the Bushmaster 2.0, I think Buck would be better served by re-releasing the 639 fieldmate (which is similar in size to the iconic 119 Special), with a different handle.

639:

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Agreed, if they would reintroduce the 639 Fieldmate, especially with a Customize option on their website which allows you to give it a wooden handle in the same style as the 119 Special, then I think it would be a huge hit.