Doug Ritter RSK MK1 problems.

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baja820

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Oct 10, 2012
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So I'm getting ready to order a Doug Ritter rsk mk1 but I got cold feet due to some bad reviews. One guy said the blade would chip under light use. Some others have indicated that the steel used for the blade (s30v) is prone to chipping.

Yay or nay?.... will I regret dropping $112 for this knife?
 
S30V is a fine steel and BM has their heat treat for this steel down very well. If you use the knife as it's intended to be used you shouldn't have any problems. The old "chipping" issues were from the early days of ths steel years ago when knife makers were still trying to figure out the best heat treatments for the steel. I haven't experienced any chipping myself in my Ritters, or any other S30V, and I haven't read of any lately that weren't user caused.

If you tend to be rough with your knives and use them as "multitools" for whatever comes along, I'd suggest a fixed blade rather than a folder.
 
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I personally don't see the steel or the grind to be enough of an upgrade to justify the price increase over a 550 or 555. I know it's old news but to me the logical upgrade from a standard Grip is a Spyderco Para 2. I do have some unique biases though. In the same price range I can't think of a single other knife from BM, Spyderco or Kershaw that floats my boat.
 
Love me some Ritters! I've had many pass through my hands (all mini's) but never had a chipping light use issue. Someone once might have had a bad one, it happens. Many times people do not so intelligent things with knives as well. My experience has been 100% great. I love the stone washing, love the blade shape and love the size.
 
I've had a mini-Ritter in my EDC rotation for a little while now and haven't experienced any chipping. The hardest regular use mine sees is probably nylon zip ties, plastic packing straps, and heavy cardboard. When breaking down boxes, I've run the blade into the occasional blob of dried glue or metal staple, and no chips there either. I've done a little whittling (not sure which types of woods), and sometimes (though infrequently) stripping and cutting copper wire (stranded and solid core, from 24 gauge telecom wire to 12 gauge speaker wire) with no issue.
 
Buy it, you'll love it. I personally think the ritters, both large and small, are some of the best edc, general utility knives out there. The griptilian platform on which they are based has proven itself over the years, and the Ritter blade shape makes it a better slicer but at the expense of the pointier tip of the standard version. I personally much prefer the Ritter blade shape over the standard grip. As for s30v,don't sweat it. S30v was thought to be chippy when it first hit the cutlery scene because makers had not yet perfected the heat treatment yet. The makers have since nailed down the proper heat treat, so chipping isn't really an issue anymore. With that said, I have found that s30v will chip before it rolls if abused, but it definitely does not chip easily. S30v is one of the most common and popular blade steels found in mid to high end knives, that wouldn't be the case if it were chippy...
 
This tread needs some pictures...

As you can see I love the Ritter Mini Grip! Get one or two!

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Depending on what you want to do with it the Spydie Native FRN might be a good alternative. FFG model is coming out soon supposedly. You pay about a 90% premium for the axis lock and some liners with the Ritter Grip.

Funny thing with S30V is the manufacturers should have known better than to use customers as R&D. It's somewhat acceptable in the knife world it seems. Repeated itself with S35VN.
 
A few M4s, I have 2 Ritter with Wilkins in S30V as well. Post them when I get a chance.
 

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archieblue said:
I personally don't see the steel or the grind to be enough of an upgrade to justify the price increase over a 550 or 555. I know it's old news but to me the logical upgrade from a standard Grip is a Spyderco Para 2. I do have some unique biases though. In the same price range I can't think of a single other knife from BM, Spyderco or Kershaw that floats my boat.
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A think the Manix is a better comparison. It's especially a better value now that it's S30v and it's G10 and not much more expensive. The locks are a lot more similar to.
 
Congrats! Ritters are great EDC blades, they slice better than Para 2's or UKPKs even, and that is saying something! Only my Slippies and CRKT Eros outslice it, and their blades are super thin. ImageUploadedByTapatalk1351564510.719595.jpg
 
archieblue said:
I personally don't see the steel or the grind to be enough of an upgrade to justify the price increase over a 550 or 555. I know it's old news but to me the logical upgrade from a standard Grip is a Spyderco Para 2. I do have some unique biases though. In the same price range I can't think of a single other knife from BM, Spyderco or Kershaw that floats my boat.
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the manix 2 would be more of a logical upgrade imo and it wouldn't be a difficult transition due to the similar lock mechanisms...

bm grip and the para 2 = apples and oranges.

although, there's a good reason griptilians are popular (despite the cost).

the only downside is the noryl gtx scales..
 
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