Freek vs Doug Ritter Griptilian

trackstar55

trackstar55

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I just noticed the new upcoming Freek M4 with red g10 liners. I kept looking at it and couldn’t help but think about the Ritter Griptilian. Is it the same blade? I also preordered the Hogue Ritter and read that benchmade dropped the Ritter Griptilian to Doug Ritters surprise according to the bio so Hogue picked up the model.

Is it just me or are the blades the same? Is there a difference. Why make the Freek if there is a Ritter Griptilian?

On a side note, Doug Ritter has a done a lot for knife rights.
 
The Ritter Griptilian is discontinued, I have both, the blades are different, I think the Freek is a replacement to the discontinued Ritter blade shape.
 
Yeah the similarities are obvious for sure. Doubt it’s a coincidence the Freek came out the year the Ritter was discontinued.

Get both!
 
michaelm466 said:
The Ritter Griptilian is discontinued, I have both, the blades are different, I think the Freek is a replacement to the discontinued Ritter blade shape.
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That’s my question. Why discontinue the Ritter Griptilian then just to make the Freek if the blade shape is similar or is it a royalty issue?
 
I’m not certain but I’d bet ya it wasn’t worth it for bm to produce after his cut it probably didn’t leave much meat on the bone. Just speculation
 
Benchmade has also kind of consolidated the brand in the last couple years, dropping Lone wolf Knives, Harley Davidson knives, and H&K knives- most of the H&K knives they brought back under the Benchmade brand with a hefty markup (I'm thinking the OTF blades) with some very subtle changes.
 
Benchmade reps have said straightforwardly that the Freek line is intended to replace that Ritter line. That's definitely what it's for. I think they wanted to differentiate it from the Griptilian line as well.
 
halden.doerge said:
Benchmade reps have said straightforwardly that the Freek line is intended to replace that Ritter line. That's definitely what it's for. I think they wanted to differentiate it from the Griptilian line as well.
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Well that sucks for Doug then. But at least Hogue picked him up. Just hope we continue expanding knife righte. I also thought it was neat that benchmade had his models due to his background in knife rights and sad they dropped him. But glad Hogue picked him up.
 
I prefer the freek blade to the Ritter, I’d prefer a stonewash but shape wise they nailed it, I’d have considered a Hogue Ritter if it didn’t look like a complete Grip rip.
 
godzilla78 said:
I prefer the freek blade to the Ritter, I’d prefer a stonewash but shape wise they nailed it, I’d have considered a Hogue Ritter if it didn’t look like a complete Grip rip.
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I like how benchmade made the Freek M4 with the colors and steel. But I am kinda curious how Hogue “ABLE” lock is. I heard they made some minor tweaks and also don’t mind helping a cause such as knife rights through doug Ritter.
 
I will be buying a Ritter Hogue. Love the design and it supports Dougs efforts. Sucks that BM dropped him. I know the Hogue will not fit into Griptilian scales but wonder if the Freek will. Watched a vid of it disassembled and the guts looked like it might.
 
Not sure about the Freak but Ritter grip M390 behind the edge is among the thinnest folders I have had, making it slice like no others business.
 
I prefer the Freek. The Ritter was just a different blade in a Pardue design.

Of course, nobody is entitled to have another entity produce a product in their name indefinitelty, but it was very fortunate for Ritter that Benchmade showcased his passion and politics for years. Good on Benchmade.

For anybody concerned with supporting Knife Rights, it is simple and easy to contribute directly via their website to this day. :thumbsup:
 
jazub said:
I prefer the Freek. The Ritter was just a different blade in a Pardue design.

Of course, nobody is entitled to have another entity produce a product in their name indefinitelty, but it was very fortunate for Ritter that Benchmade showcased his passion and politics for years. Good on Benchmade.

For anybody concerned with supporting Knife Rights, it is simple and easy to contribute directly via their website to this day. :thumbsup:
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I tend to agree with this. I liked the Ritter grips plenty, but I can see a number of reasons why Benchmade might have wanted to discontinue that line and maintain the Grips with the original Pardue design. Whatever one thinks about Ritter's work with the whole knife rights campaign, I can also see why a company might not want to functionally commit itself to being the main funding source for a specific lobbyist or political cause. The idea that Benchmade did some dirty underhanded thing by "dropping him" seems sensationalistic to me at best.
 
All good things do come to an end eventually. Even productive partnerships. Just glad Hogue picked him up. Even that partnership will end someday as well. Enjoy the knives (any knife you like) while you can. Life is too short and time fly’s by.
 
u812 said:
I know the Hogue will not fit into Griptilian scales but wonder if the Freek will. Watched a vid of it disassembled and the guts looked like it might.
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No, I tried.
Freek has slightly different geometry.
 
My personal opinion... I have two Ritter Grips and one Freek. IMO, the Freek blade with it's high grind and length was a great idea. In that sense I like it better than my Ritters. The finger bumps, however, favor a saber grip (again, my opinion), and is the reason I don't carry it... I do like the material, but the downside is that I can't easily modify the stock setup to a more neutral grip shape like the Griptilian has. Therefore, I always carry the Ritter Grips (or even the regular Grips) instead of my Freek.

As much as I like most of the ideas BM put into their knew knives, I haven't bought many of them because they force the hand further and further away from the cutting edge, specifically in a hammer grip. Additionally the Presidio 2 and new Turret put the thumb jimping on the handle for those saber grip fans. IMO, this favors a light duty grip onto a potentially hard use knife. I know many people here disagree, but it's my opinion.
 
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