Doug Ritter RSK Knife Announcement

[sharp_edge]

I like the scale pattern as well as screws on both sides of the handles The price is more than fair Will pick one up to pair with my Ritter Grip orange.

I see the ABLE lock is trade marked. Could someone explain how it is different from the Benchmade Axis lock?

 

[marcinek]

KnifeWorks.com has a dealer membership. You might also note that Spark fully supports Knife Rights

And does the sale of this knife support Knife Rights?

 

[Critter]

And does the sale of this knife support Knife Rights?

As noted on the product page, and reproduced above, no knife sales, no Knife Rights.

 

[glock1963]

Thank you Mr. Ritter for this knife and for all that you do. I have 8 of the various versions you have made over the years and I was happy that you gave collectors the opportunity to pre order their numbered ones. I look forward to receiving it and now I wish I had pre ordered all my numbered versions and not just the one that I did. Thanks again!

 

[BMCGear]

Just like the classic example of defining porn, I know a copied design when I see it. Sure, that version of the axis lock might indeed be fair game. The handle has a little hump. But let's be honest, if folks are fine with this copy, they should be fine with stuff that ganzo puts out.

Read the knife works blurb. There is no mention of the original designer of this knife. As it is presented now, it is an un credited stolen design.

I'm not arguing that it looks almost identical just that the blade shape is his own and that him and Pardue may have had some sort of agreement. Murray Carter allows makers to use his designs.

To answer those saying "why not a button lock?" I imagine it's because Doug loves the Axis lock.
http://www.dougritter.com/pop_up_axis_lock.htm

You guys have me interested in a button lock from Hogue now.

 

[jstrange]

You won’t be disappointed they are smooth. The only thing I don’t like about them is that although the button lock is a pretty ambidextrous design Hogue only puts the pocket clip on one side for most of their models.

 

[Critter]

Thank you Mr. Ritter for this knife and for all that you do. I have 8 of the various versions you have made over the years and I was happy that you gave collectors the opportunity to pre order their numbered ones. I look forward to receiving it and now I wish I had pre ordered all my numbered versions and not just the one that I did. Thanks again!

Thanks for your kind words. Check your PM.

 

[marcinek]

As noted on the product page, and reproduced above, no knife sales, no Knife Rights.

So no portion of the money made on the sale of this knife goes to support Knife Rights, correct?

 

[Critter]

So no portion of the money made on the sale of this knife goes to support Knife Rights, correct?

Not sure what you are asking. As noted, sales of these knives allow me to do Knife Rights. So, essentially, every single penny I receive from sales of these knives supports Knife Rights. As noted, I don't receive any income from my work for Knife Rights. No money is paid directly to Knife Rights from the sale of the knives as that gets very complicated from a tax perspective (BTDT!) and potentially affects the organization's non-profit status down the road and the impact in any case would certainly reduce the value of the sales that makes Knife Rights possible. Passing money through Knife Rights to me would be terribly inefficient and costly, which would be stupid and likely imperil the continued existence of the organization.

 

[craytab]

I wonder how @Benchmade and the pardue family feel.

 

[marcinek]

Not sure what you are asking. As noted, sales of these knives allow me to do Knife Rights. So, essentially, every single penny I receive from sales of these knives supports Knife Rights. As noted, I don't receive any income from my work for Knife Rights. No money is paid directly to Knife Rights from the sale of the knives as that gets very complicated from a tax perspective (BTDT!) and potentially affects the organization's non-profit status down the road and the impact in any case would certainly reduce the value of the sales that makes Knife Rights possible. Passing money through Knife Rights to me would be terribly inefficient and costly, which would be stupid and likely imperil the continued existence of the organization.

Complicated. No doubt you could see how one could interpret you as, essentially, promoting your business venture.

A release from the dealer or OK from Spark would have made all of this much more up front.

 

[jstrange]

I don’t have a dog in this fight, and have no knowledge of any agreements that predate the release of this knife, but I sure think a few more changes to the handle would have gone a long way to making a unique knife that would not have been questioned. Button lock instead of the “Axis” would have cemented the credibility of the knife. With that said I would still buy one if I were in the market, because with the circumstances as they are, I could justify it, but I wish I didn’t have to.

 

[Agith]

I am definitely interested in seeing what the differences between the "ABLE" lock and the "AXIS" lock are. It was able to be trademarked after all- with that being the case, there must be enough of a difference to allow for it to be trademarked, right?

I've personally decided to give Mr Ritter and Hogue my support here however, and will happily give some feedback when the new Hogue produced Ritter MK1-G2 arrives at my door.

 

[Dangerously]

.... edit. I’m staying out of this. I don’t want to turn this announcement thread into any more of a crap show.

Good luck all.

 

[myowngod]

No, they are not.

Thank you for clarifying. I don't know what your future plans are, but I for one would be willing to drop more coin on a full liner (maybe carbon scaled) premium version if it ever came up. I am getting one of these too though!

 

[ugaarguy]

First off, a tip of the hat to U ugaarguy who looks to have been the first to put the hints together and guess Hogue as the manufacturer!

Thanks for the hat tip, Doug, and congrats on finally getting the RSK Mk1 back into production

Doug Ritter and Hogue have basically put out a Griptilian clone, I’m sure it’ll be a great knife but doing this doesn’t feel or sit right.
Where is this knife made?

Doug worked with Benchmade to make the changes - his blade design and better standard steel - to the original grip and turn it into the RSK Mk1. Benchmade agreed to even mark the knives as RSK Mk1. Then Benchmade quit making the RSK Mk1 / Ritter Grip and then came out with the Freek, which cloned Doug's blade in an updated Grip handle. Who's copying whom?

Sad to see Doug putting his name on something like this, hogue as well. Could they not come up with their own handle and lock?

The patent on the AXIS lock as expired. It's fair game as long as you don't refer to it by the copyrighted name. Do you only buy liner locks from Michael Walker, frame locks from Chris Reeve, or examples of either only from makers like Spyderco who credit the original designers? Who was the first maker to put a hardened steel lock face into a frame lock? Is basically every knife maker copying them, in an unethical manner?

This isn’t my experience with Benchmade or the experience of anyone I know personally, I’m going to reserve judgment until I’ve held and used one but I expected more of Doug Ritter and Houge, simply ripping a design in this manner is the sort of thing I expect from Ganzo on a $20 knife.

How much differentiation do you need before a knife to become original? The blade shape is Doug's. Are the Benchmade 761 and 765 just Sebenza clones?

I'm curious as to where other knife knerds sit on the questions I've asked. I'm not even sure how I'd answer all of them.

 

[rexromic]

Nice looking knife.Hope the Mini Ritter will follow.

 

[jstrange]

U ugaarguy In this particular situation I am inclined to lean toward your line of thinking, but it is a thin line.

 

[SpySmasher]

I am definitely interested in seeing what the differences between the "ABLE" lock and the "AXIS" lock are. It was able to be trademarked after all- with that being the case, there must be enough of a difference to allow for it to be trademarked, right?

Trademarks and patents are two entirely different things. Now that the McHenry & Williams patent (which they licensed to Benchmade) has expired, the design is in the public domain and ANYONE can make or sell one.

What you call that lock is a separate matter. Benchmade owns the "AXIS Lock" trademark and only they can call it that. "ABLE Lock" is what Hogue calls it and, since that is also trademarked, only they can call it that.

 

[W. Anderson]

Is "ABLE" in this case an acronym for something? I'm curious to it's differences from the AXIS lock.