Doug Ritter Mini RSK MK1 Lemon?

K

KGNickl

Joined
Jun 19, 2016
Messages
21
Just picked one up from Knifeworks and I'm kinda amazed this knife made it through assembly and left the factory for sale. The first thing I noticed was the bottom of the grips were gouged, next I noticed the left and right side of the blade are not evenly sharpened, then last the axis lock is rough and sticks really bad when trying to close. I'm sure I could smooth out the axis lock or it might smooth out with time.

Not sure if I should call Benchmade or Knifeworks in the morning. I'm sure either way both companies would take care of me to make it right. Just a bummer that I finally get time to open up the box and I find all these issues when I'm expected an awesome really nice knife.







 
The bottoms of the plastic grips are all like that, it's from the molding process. As far as the grind goes, I've never been to impressed with BM. The axis may need to break in, try rubbing graphite on the blade tang.

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Never knew that about the bottom plastic. Then the axis lock is worse than any others I have had but is most likely workable. But the grind is totally different on both sides. I expect it to not be razor sharp or anything or look amazing but it looks like a kid did it. On one side they either went too far or not enough.

Not sure if I should send it to Benchmade where they would hopefully swap the blade and clean up the axis lock. But not sure if they would just send out a new knife instead. Or if I should just have Knifeworks send out a replacement.
 
Your first option is to call KnifeWorks and ask them what to do. Benchmade will fix the problem, looks like the team had a bad hair day, their QC has been good lately. For BKC's CS it's 800-800-7427. Good luck!
 
Yeah, every pair of plastic scales have that mark. Someone else posted recently that their grind was uneven on a Ritter they received. I'm sure either company will take care of you.


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I called Knifeworks 1st and they said they could exchange it but I would have to pay for shipping back to them out of my pocket and said I could have asked to have the knife inspected before it was shipped to avoid problems like this (strange comment....). They also mentioned I could call Benchmade and they might provide a free return label and repair it under warranty.

Benchmade provided a prepaid return label and is going to take care of it.
 
Not sure about the other two "issues" but the kind of uneven grind of the bevel is not abnormal I would say for a production knife, based on my experience with brand new folders of BM, ZT, and Spyderco.
 
Save money, go with Benchmade's offer. :thumbup: Let us know how it turns out please!
 
+1 Benchmade not so much Knifeworks. They should inspect their Riter Griptilians since they have an exclusive.
 
I like Knifeworks and have been happy with them, but it is poor form to blame the customer's inaction for a defective knife. The right thing to do would be to apologize and pay for the return with a prepaid shipping label or refund of the return shipping charges. They could have offered a gift card/certificate toward the next purchase in the amount of the return shipping to the customer. It is simply customer service. There are many knife retailers that people can patronize. But, Knifeworks is the only seller of the Ritter!

Ultimately, a defective knife is the responsibility of the manufacturer and Benchmade will take care of it. I will usually contact the manufacturer first.
 
Daniel said:
I like Knifeworks and have been happy with them, but it is poor form to blame the customer's inaction for a defective knife. The right thing to do would be to apologize and pay for the return with a prepaid shipping label or refund of the return shipping charges. They could have offered a gift card/certificate toward the next purchase in the amount of the return shipping to the customer. It is simply customer service. There are many knife retailers that people can patronize. But, Knifeworks is the only seller of the Ritter!

Ultimately, a defective knife is the responsibility of the manufacturer and Benchmade will take care of it. I will usually contact the manufacturer first.
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This .... this post completely. I always start with the maker too but still shame on Knifeworks for suggesting it is necessary for a customer to request the seller to inspect an item before delivery. I will remember this when choosing a vendor for future purchases. Too bad they have the Ritter exclusive. Oh well. I have one already and don't need another.
 
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Wow. That grind is bad. But the rest seems like every grip I've owned. About a dozen.

I'd start with the seller first. Good luck either way.
 
Those tits on the end of the handle.

At first I was looking at that first photo going . . . what ? I don't see the gouges . . .

Now that it has been pointed out . . . yes my Manix has those. T-'ed me off when I saw them. I used to build model cars as a little kid and I would cut those off with an exato or file or sand paper.

To play the devil's advocate it is hard to get them to blend in and disappear though without resurfacing the whole surface area.

I have an RSK on order, full size. Originally I was going to grind the blade thinner like I did the Ti Lite. Then I learned the blade was stone washed and decided since they put all that effort into conditioning the surface that I would refrain from ruining it and just use it as intended.

Now that I have seen this grind problem I may do two things if mine comes like that : 1. Grind it thinner. 2. Not waste money on BM. I mean $30 knives come perfect looking. $140 coming all woppyjawed ? That's nuts. But I am getting all excited for no reason; haven't got one yet.
 
Yeah uneven blade grinds notorious for Benchmade in my experience. I ordered a custom shop mini grip with blade grinds worse than yours. I also had several other fit and finish issues. They do however have excellent customer service. They sent an overnight return label and I had a brand new knife in less than a week. So they will take care of you. The unfortunate thing is you shouldn't need customer service work on a brand new knife. Especially at the price of their knives. Honestly a good percentage of my Benchmades have had fit and finish issues.
 
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Just to even it out I ordered the exact same knife from KW for my wife and it was perfect in every way, so much so that I wanted to steal it from her.

I am sure the vast majority of knives made by BM have no issues. I have bought many and never had a prob other than some grittiness at first which worked itself out.

I also bought two of the REI limited release Grips new and they were damn near as perfect as any knife I have ever bought, both of them.
 
I just unboxed my full size RSK . . .

Knife Works got it in the mail right quick and it came a day early.
Blade grind looks totally great.
Stone wash great.
Edge plenty sharp; slight wire edge in a small area but I'm just ecstatic that it is sharp.
Big O' thick Griptillian handle; JUST WHAT I WANTED.
A drop of Starrett instrument oil on the pivot washers and on the axis lock along with a micro tweak looser on the pivot screw . . . and . . . she flips open and closed like greased lightning.
PS: after an evening of use : Axis lock smooth, works perfectly, no sticking or grittiness . Was great right out of the box.

LOVE THE PARKERIZED POCKET CLIP ! I am so thankful they put that on instead of the painted one . . .
Thank you Ritter, Knife Works and Benchmade ! Thank you ! Thank you!

So . . . in short . . .

Happy Dog :) :p :)
 
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Wowbagger said:
I just unboxed my full size RSK . . .

Knife Works got it in the mail right quick and it came a day early.
Blade grind looks totally great.
Stone wash great.
Edge plenty sharp; slight wire edge in a small area but I'm just ecstatic that it is sharp.
Big O' thick Griptillian handle; JUST WHAT I WANTED.
A drop of Starrett instrument oil on the pivot washers and on the axis lock along with a micro tweak looser on the pivot screw . . . and . . . she flips open and closed like greased lightning.

LOVE THE PARKERIZED POCKET CLIP ! I am so thankful they put that on instead of the painted one . . .
Thank you Ritter, Knife Works and Benchmade ! Thank you ! Thank you!

So . . . in short . . .

Happy Dog :) :p :)
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The angles on my 550 Grip are pretty different, noticed it right off the bat. I don't exactly prefer it that way, but not gonna be totally surprised when a production doesn't fit qualities outside the realm of possibility. Glad everyone came through that should've and you're happy with the knife! Knife Works has always been good to me, although things have never gone past the order and delivery process.
 
Received the knife back. I requested a new blade that would be concentrick & properly sharpened and the axis lock checked. They replaced most of the hardware & blade & cleaned up the axis lock. The knife is now back in my hands and as I expected it to be. Also, had them swap the normal clip for deep carry. Benchmade is a really great company to deal with and really stand by there product and go the extra legnth to make sure customers are taken care of.
 
KGNickl said:
Received the knife back. I requested a new blade that would be concentrick & properly sharpened and the axis lock checked. They replaced most of the hardware & blade & cleaned up the axis lock. The knife is now back in my hands and as I expected it to be. Also, had them swap the normal clip for deep carry. Benchmade is a really great company to deal with and really stand by there product and go the extra legnth to make sure customers are taken care of.
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That's great to hear and I'm glad it worked out.
 
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