Hogue knives

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wicat3

Joined
May 24, 2014
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Hey everyone. I was wondering what the consensus was on hogue knives? I’ve been looking at a few of them but it seems like the information I can find is on the fence. People either love them or they just claim there benchmade knockoffs.
 
Owning 2 of them, I can't complain. Quality seems pretty good to me, but then again I didn't abuse them.

The Hogue Ritter and Benchmade Griptillian are VERY similar, but that's only a single case I know of.
 
Really? I could've sworn the concensus was they make really good quality FF knives that are sometimes better than benchmades, such as the deka and hogue ritter...I could be wrong.

Either way, I think most of their knives are pretty ugly but the quality is there. I've had 2 Dekas and both have been great quality knives with a very smooth deployment and lockup.
 
Almost 3 years owning my Hogue Exploit OTF. No misfires, only complaint is the weak clip.

One of the things they are known for is a hand honed edge, and it is fantastic. Best example of CPM-S30V I've experienced.

As far as the Benchmade copy, when the patent on the axis lock expired, they hopped on making their own. I gave my cousin a deka, and found f&f superior to BM. I also know Wolff provides the springs for the locks, which may be an improvement.

Unlike most axis lock Benchmade I've owned, no play, and was perfectly centered.
 
They are pretty good knives and still a good value being USA made (as far as I am aware). My experience with them has been with the mini and fullsize Hogue ritter blades in 20cv. From what I can tell, much of the "benchmade knockoffs" conversation is unwarranted. First, everyone is producing axis style locks or sliding bar locks now since the benchmade patent has run out. TRM has their shadow, James brand has at least one sliding bar lock now, Asher knives is making the Nomad 3.0, even SOG has gotten into the game with their version called the XR lock. This is totally legal and not a knock off.

The second thing that people are conflating is the Ritter lineage. Doug Ritter did at one time produce a Ritter Griptillian for benchmade but that contract either ran out or they stopped producing it. So he took it to hogue and they are now producing it under the name of the RSK (of which I have the mini and fullsize). This is likewise not a copy since it is Doug's own design and he took it with him when he left BM
 
This is some good info. I asked because all the info I had found was mostly reviews on YouTube. A good majority were knife reviewers who had things that they compared to benchmade. The two that I have been looking at was the hogue trauma and the deka. The trauma is always being related back to benchmades triage and the deka is related to the bugout by benchmade. The only time I’ve really heard of hogue was in firearm accessories so I wasn’t sure if it was like smith and Wesson where they primarily make firearms but for budget make knives but aren’t taken to seriously.

I’ve liked the hogue line for the few I’ve looked at and want to look into the Ritter as well.
 
wicat3 said:
Hey everyone. I was wondering what the consensus was on hogue knives? I’ve been looking at a few of them but it seems like the information I can find is on the fence. People either love them or they just claim there benchmade knockoffs.
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I love them. They are somewhat Benchmade knock-offs but the patent on the Axis lock is expired (just like the Spydie hole). They are at least as good as Benchmade.

I have a Magnacut Deka preordered and can’t wait to get it.
 
c7m2p3 said:
They are pretty good knives and still a good value being USA made (as far as I am aware). My experience with them has been with the mini and fullsize Hogue ritter blades in 20cv. From what I can tell, much of the "benchmade knockoffs" conversation is unwarranted. First, everyone is producing axis style locks or sliding bar locks now since the benchmade patent has run out. TRM has their shadow, James brand has at least one sliding bar lock now, Asher knives is making the Nomad 3.0, even SOG has gotten into the game with their version called the XR lock. This is totally legal and not a knock off.

The second thing that people are conflating is the Ritter lineage. Doug Ritter did at one time produce a Ritter Griptillian for benchmade but that contract either ran out or they stopped producing it. So he took it to hogue and they are now producing it under the name of the RSK (of which I have the mini and fullsize). This is likewise not a copy since it is Doug's own design and he took it with him when he left BM
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In 2018 or 19 I believe is when Benchmade decided to go "woke" and discontinued the Doug Ritter and HK lines as well as melted down guns for the Oregon police that were turned in under the gun buy back thing. This pissed a lot of people off, myself included. They are supposed to be an outdoors company, but the above actions as well as supporting politicians who want to limit our rights is something that I cannot support.

I digress, but that is why Ritter now works with Hogue, as well as why HK went with them. Hogue, specializing in gun grips, is not going to do what BM did.
 
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wicat3 said:
A good majority were knife reviewers who had things that they compared to benchmade. The two that I have been looking at was the hogue trauma and the deka. The trauma is always being related back to benchmades triage and the deka is related to the bugout by benchmade.
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I think Benchmade is such a well-known company, it just makes sense to compare it to, especially if it's got a crossbar lock. On top of that, there are definitely similarities in design choices, but then again, you can only do so much different in a knife meant for a specific task.
 
The Hogues that I've handled have all been really well-done. The Allen Elishewitz designs can be polarizing though.. they won't appeal to everybody. I find them to be sneakily ergonomic.. the EX-01, 03, 04 especially, all fit my very well and are comfortable to use, due in no small part to the goofy XL spoon clips that people seem to love to hate.

I have two EX-01s, an EX-02, 03, 04, X1-MF, Deka, full-size & mini Hogue Ritter, Sig K320.. all are really solid to straight-up excellent knives, imo. I'd say if Hogue appeals to you at all, it's a brand that is definitely worth trying..
 
K.O.D. said:
In 2018 or 19 I believe is when Benchmade decided to go "woke" and discontinued the Doug Ritter and HK lines as well as melted down guns for the Oregon police that were turned in under the gun buy back thing. This pissed a lot of people off, myself included. They are supposed to be an outdoors company, but the above actions as well as supporting politicians who want to limit our rights is something that I cannot support.

I digress, but that is why Ritter now works with Hogue, as well as why HK went with them. Hogue, specializing in gun grips, is not going to do what BM did.
Click to expand...

I thought supporting the local police was a good thing?
 
This guy is the only Hogue I've got and I have zero complaints after almost a year of carry. Fires fast, locks up tight, carries easily. I'm happy :)
JEcL2NF.jpg
 
The only Hogues I own are these three Microswitches and I've been very impressed with the quality. I really want to get another Hogue but the only reason I haven't is because I have to keep the blade 3 inches or less. If it were not for that, I would own several more. I like the brand a lot.
Hogues.jpg
 
I've got 4 Hogue's at the moment. I pretty much like the Hogues more than the comparable Benchmade, and I have plenty of BM..

Hogue Exploit, like it better than my BM Phaeton.

Hogue Ritter RSK, better materials and fit then any of my BM Griptillians.

Hogue Deka G-mascus, like it more than my Bugout.

And a Hogue EX-A01, nothing to compare to but just a cool knife.

I like BM, got 7 or 8 at the moment, but overall I feel like Hogue makes just as good of a knife, and sometimes better. Usually for a more reasonable price. Oh, and they have excellent US based customer service 👌 👏
 
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