Hogue making Benchmade clones?

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Benchmade is one of the few knife companies I won't buy anything from just on general principle. They have been "taking" (to put it mildly) from designers for as long as I can recall.

Look at what they did to Sal Glesser, twice (he forgives, I as a customer have the luxury of choosing not to). Look at what they did to Doug Ritter (and what the income they took away supported). Frankly I don't know how people feel proud of supporting that company.

Look into it, it's not pretty.
 
Knives&Lint said:
It has always occurred to me that more people would be up in arms about this were it two different companies. However Hogue being a darling of the hobby vs. the oft hated Benchmade, has created a situation where Hogue gets a pass. The timing of it all came into play as well with the Benchmade drama coming just before the expiration of the AXIS patent. There's also the fact the Hogue has a connection to the firearms industry, and BM pissed off alot of people in that regard. I personally don't really have a dog in this fight, I've just always felt like it would have drawn the ire of more people if it were not Hogue and not Benchmade involved.

With the Ritter grip, however, there's the fact that BM declined to continue the design, giving Mr. Ritter every right to go elsewhere. On that note, Benchmade's timing in relation to the release of the Freek, which has an eerily similar blade shape to the Ritter Grip, never quite sat well with me either.
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That's classic Benchmade business move. Look at their earlier designs and how much they "got" from Sal Glesser's company.
 
knarfeng said:
I think this goes beyond the axis lock. The blade shapes are very similar, as is the handle and overall layout.
I agree with the OP on this.
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knarfeng, you've been here almost as long as I have. You know how Benchmade works. You know how they treat the designs and intellectual property of others.
 
Both companies are in the USA and I believe both have lawyers. If there is any violation of IP or patent, they can work on it themselves or to the court. This is the same for Doug Ritter, Benchmade, and Hogue over Ritter Griptilian, Hogue Ritter RSK, and Benchmade Freek. The three parties seemed to be all happy with the solution. As a consumer and knife lover, I am happy to see the co-existance of the variety.
 
Black Oak Bladeworks said:
I could be wrong, but the story I have heard was the opposite. Doug Ritter made several knives for benchmade and they stole the designs from him. Not sure if that knife is one of them. Hopefully someone else has more answers.
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I heard it the other way around. Benchmade was already making he Griptilian models before Ritter had some "changes" he would prefer. Pretty sure I read it on Ritter's own page honestly. That he always thought the Grip was the best all around knife design but designed his own version which he partnered with BM to produce. Then in 2016 BM discontinued the Ritter design Ritter then shopped the design elsewhere and ended up with Hogue.
 
OrangeJoe said:
Benchmade is one of the few knife companies I won't buy anything from just on general principle. They have been "taking" (to put it mildly) from designers for as long as I can recall.

Look at what they did to Sal Glesser, twice (he forgives, I as a customer have the luxury of choosing not to). Look at what they did to Doug Ritter (and what the income they took away supported). Frankly I don't know how people feel proud of supporting that company.

Look into it, it's not pretty.
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Please do tell , about what happened
 
mmyron1 said:
I heard it the other way around. Benchmade was already making he Griptilian models before Ritter had some "changes" he would prefer. Pretty sure I read it on Ritter's own page honestly. That he always thought the Grip was the best all around knife design but designed his own version which he partnered with BM to produce. Then in 2016 BM discontinued the Ritter design Ritter then shopped the design elsewhere and ended up with Hogue.
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Sal Glesser and Doug Ritter are professionals and they will make it work. As a consumer I can be much more harsh in choosing not to support companies that -on my estimation- are not fair with the people who create value.


S S-3 ranch , I'm not going to unearth all that stuff, it's not about funny, ha-ha shenanigans, it's about people taking advantage of the sweat and effort of others.

Frankly, stories of abuse where the bully wins in the end piss me off. I'm not going to search for that as it will ruin my afternoon.
 
OrangeJoe said:
Benchmade is one of the few knife companies I won't buy anything from just on general principle. They have been "taking" (to put it mildly) from designers for as long as I can recall.

Look at what they did to Sal Glesser, twice (he forgives, I as a customer have the luxury of choosing not to). Look at what they did to Doug Ritter (and what the income they took away supported). Frankly I don't know how people feel proud of supporting that company.

Look into it, it's not pretty.
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I only got back into knives a few years ago. It's not that I wasn't using or carrying a knife. I just hadn't been shopping online or paying much attention to the industry. It wasn't long after I joined Blade Forums that Benchmade experienced a bit of controversy and some of their questionable "giving" made waves elsewhere in the EDC community.

I had only known Hogue for their excellent wood grips. I was happy to see them making that Ritter design because I still won't buy a Benchmade. Somehow though, I can't find any other scale choices for it.
 
elde66 said:
Hogue may well be a “well-liked US company” but this knife is made in China, unlike the Benchmade. (*According to the Knifeworks website.)
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Bad Rattle said:
This knife is made in the USA and I believe all of their knives are made in the USA
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GP Knives, BladeHQ and Knife Center all have it listed as USA-made. Pretty sure everything they make is made domestically.

As far as the RSK Gen2, Ritter changed the size and shape of the handle when Hogue took over, so it's not just a copy of the Ritter Griptillian.
 
OrangeJoe said:
Sal Glesser and Doug Ritter are professionals and they will make it work. As a consumer I can be much more harsh in choosing not to support companies that -on my estimation- are not fair with the people who create value.


S S-3 ranch , I'm not going to unearth all that stuff, it's not about funny, ha-ha shenanigans, it's about people taking advantage of the sweat and effort of others.

Frankly, stories of abuse where the bully wins in the end piss me off. I'm not going to search for that as it will ruin my afternoon.
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It’s ok I found my answer about spyderco and the axis lock and spydie hole
being absconded by benchmade, seems this is not uncommon in the knife design/ manufacturer world

””
Might the possibly longer story involve something called Functionality Doctrine (look it up)? You know, the concept that (in the USA) prevents manufacturers from protecting utility or features of a product by trademark that should be protected by patent instead.

Oddly, in spite of "Functionality Doctrine", the USPTO did allow Spyderco to register "a circular through hole formed in the body of a knife blade" as a trademark (serial# 74624039).

I'm guessing that Spyderco realizes that it would be very difficult to attempt to use trademark protections to prohibit another determined manufacturer from making a folding knife with a round hole that was placed in the in the blade for the unique utility the round hole offers to the user in opening the knife.””
 
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Please don't think I'm trying to stir up some crap but I too only recently got back into buying good knives. What was the controversy with Sal Glesser and Benchmade? I know BM has used the "Spydie" hole on models like the Pika and the Griptilian before but have no knowledge about the locks other than the caged ball and axis being similar. Genuinely curious just so I know what people are talking about really.
 
S-3 ranch said:
It’s ok I found my answer about spyderco and the axis lock and spydie hole
being absconded by benchmade, seems this is not uncommon in the knife design/ manufacturer world

””
Might the possibly longer story involve something called Functionality Doctrine (look it up)? You know, the concept that (in the USA) prevents manufacturers from protecting utility or features of a product by trademark that should be protected by patent instead.

Oddly, in spite of "Functionality Doctrine", the USPTO did allow Spyderco to register "a circular through hole formed in the body of a knife blade" as a trademark (serial# 74624039).

I'm guessing that Spyderco realizes that it would be very difficult to attempt to use trademark protections to prohibit another determined manufacturer from making a folding knife with a round hole that was placed in the in the blade for the unique utility the round hole offers to the user in opening the knife.””
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While I personally think the "Round Hole" trademark is specious, Spyderco says the trademark refers only to the shape of the hole, rather than the function, which may well cut it too thin to survive a challenge in court. As it stands, nobody seems willing to front the money or incur industry scorn to challenge them on it, when they can just use any shape that isn't a circle.
 
I don't have a dog in this hunt; I enjoy both Hogue and Benchmade knives. Let's roll this back a bit and approach it rationally.

Both the Hogue and Benchmade knives in question are in the family of "rescue" knives. Before we attribute the Triage as an original concept to Benchmade, I'd like someone to show me that the combination of glass breaker, belt cutter and suppressed point/snipped point blade are a Benchmade creation. For years I've seen many iterations of the "rescue" knife and the burden lays upon the Benchmade camp to show that they created this concept of knife. I don't think that can be proven.

This incidence is nowhere near the flagrancy of a Gonzo copy. There are clear differences in the handle and blade profile, not a simple matter of re-sizing. Anyone who equated Hogue to Ganzo needs to read more and post less. Also, I closely followed the conversation regarding the Hogue Ritter vs. the Benchmade Ritter and I was satisfied to the point that I bought the Hogue. Once I had a Benchmade Ritter and a Hogue Ritter in hand, I realized that they're different knives. Photographs don't always tell the entire story.

Long story, short: is this knife an example of a copied design or an iteration of a common knife style?
 
The folks from Hogue could go smear dog poo on the door handles at BM's office and I'd still buy em.

I'm just now coming around to buying a Ruger and Bill has been dead for how long? Yea, I hold grudges lol
 
The issue with the Ritter is more complex and, like I said, I'm fine giving Hogue the benefit of doubt on that one. But this is just a plain copy of a knife BM still makes.

Regardlesss of your opinion on Benchmade, I don't see how that excuses Hogue in this case. I think we should hold all manufacturers to a higher standard than copying others' designs.
 
Forget about Hogue.

Apparently Benchmade is making Benchmade clones...
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I did a little research before buying my Hogue Deka on the able lock. I was happy with what I read and bought one. So far I don't see any real facts in this thread that sway my purchases ideas.

Axis lock patent expired, open game! Compression lock patent is also expired so that to is free game. Time for whoever makes a better product to win!

Facts: Spyderco is a good company with respectable ownership, Benchmade helped destroy guns, Hogue makes good knives in THE USA,

Please feel free to post some facts!
 
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