Kudos to Hogue

A

appliepie123

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Jul 12, 2020
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I recently purchased a Hogue Mini RSK expecting it to be similar to the benchmade Mini Griptilains. But when I received it, boy was I wrong. The blade came razor sharp. I had never seen a knife come with a factory edge that was as sharp. But beyond just the edge, the action on the blade was incredible. It was the smoothest bar lock I have ever felt and this was the first time I truly felt a "drop shut" bar lock where it would swing close freely without any blade play. All the benchmades I've owned and handled before (around 10) have never been as smooth. They always felt slightly gritty or it would have parts of the pivot tighter than others. But with the Hogue, there was absolutely no blade play yet extremely free dropping. And of course, the blade was perfectly centered as well.

I just wanted to share my experience with Hogue knives as I feel like they do not have as much publicity as they deserve for the quality of knives that they have. I haven't been in the knife world for too long but it took a while before I learned about Hogue so I feel like it would be great for others who are new to consider Hogue if they are looking for a knife that is similar to a Benchmade Griptilian.


Disclaimer 1: Of course as of now I have only owned one Hogue knife and I may just be lucky on the knife that I received, however, I still wanted to share my great experience.

Disclaimer 2: Also, in no way is this to bash on Benchmade, it was just what I used to compare to the Hogue since the lock style is so similar.
 
I have the full sized Hogue/Ritter. I love it. I have had problems with every Benchmade I have owned. This Hogue is damn near perfect. It displaced my ProTech Rockeye which has been my primary carry for more than a year now. The build quality is so impressive. It’s honestly renewed my faith in Axis-type lock mechanisms. The ABLE lock is done to perfection.
 
I'm hoping Hogue comes out with a Mini RSK in orange G10 with a black blade. I have the full-size model in FDE, and I really like it. My one nitpick is that the jimping on top near the pivot can get uncomfortable for my thumb after prolonged use.

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Hogue Ritter is a great knife that is priced reasonably well. I have two full size: one with black scales and the other red. However, both needed tweaks and break-in to get to the action that I want. In that regard I honestly do not see a QC difference between them and my benchmade Axis folders.
 
sharp_edge said:
Hogue Ritter is a great knife that is priced reasonably well. I have two full size: one with black scales and the other red. However, both needed tweaks and break-in to get to the action that I want. In that regard I honestly do not see a QC difference between them and my benchmade Axis folders.
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Did you dye the one with red scales or are they custom made? I have never seen a Hogue Ritter with that scale color, and I'm curious to see how it looks.
 
sharp_edge said:
Hogue Ritter is a great knife that is priced reasonably well. I have two full size: one with black scales and the other red. However, both needed tweaks and break-in to get to the action that I want. In that regard I honestly do not see a QC difference between them and my benchmade Axis folders.
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This is also my experience. I love my Ritter, but it has a tiny amount of lock stick (not a big deal really) and is off center and no amount of fiddling can fix it. Doesn't rub, and functions perfectly, so I don't worry about it. However, it is no smoother or better than any of my Benchmades, and comparing it to my G10 Griptillians, they are about equal. Except the Grips are centered. As is my Super Freek, and that thing is smoother than all of them! Does have a touch of vertical play though. Still love it though!
 
soc_monki said:
This is also my experience. I love my Ritter, but it has a tiny amount of lock stick (not a big deal really) and is off center and no amount of fiddling can fix it. Doesn't rub, and functions perfectly, so I don't worry about it. However, it is no smoother or better than any of my Benchmades, and comparing it to my G10 Griptillians, they are about equal. Except the Grips are centered. As is my Super Freek, and that thing is smoother than all of them! Does have a touch of vertical play though. Still love it though!
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Wow I must have been really unlucky then! For some reason all of my Benchmades had one or more of stick/rough pivot/off centered blade, that's why when I got the Mini RSK I was so surprised.

I also have a G10 Griptilian, the mini grip, and when I first got it, there would be a tight spot in the pivot near the closing of the blade that would result in the detent of the axis lock to not be able to force the blade closed, even though it is in the area where the detent would usually close the blade entirely. I knew it wasn't the pivot being too tight because if I loosened it any more, there would be lots of blade play.

Great to hear that youv'e had good experiences with Benchmades!
 
appliepie123 said:
Wow I must have been really unlucky then! For some reason all of my Benchmades had one or more of stick/rough pivot/off centered blade, that's why when I got the Mini RSK I was so surprised.

I also have a G10 Griptilian, the mini grip, and when I first got it, there would be a tight spot in the pivot near the closing of the blade that would result in the detent of the axis lock to not be able to force the blade closed, even though it is in the area where the detent would usually close the blade entirely. I knew it wasn't the pivot being too tight because if I loosened it any more, there would be lots of blade play.

Great to hear that youv'e had good experiences with Benchmades!
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Both my Grips have a slight catch right before they close, but nothing to keep the detent from closing them, or preventing them from closing on their own. I figure that will go away sooner or later on their own. I did flatten my Super Freek's washers a bit even though action was good, I was just curious as to why people "polish" their washers. It made a difference for sure! Not necessary at all, but it was a fun experiment!

The only benchmade I've had a problem with was my Crooked River. I bought it on Ebay, knowing it could be a fake. No box, so it was very cheap. It was authentic though, but the blade was in bad shape and the handle was cracked. Benchmade fixed it up for me no charge. Can't fault the customer service at all!
 
I just got the full size and I have to say Hogue makes a darn nice Benchmade knife o_O... I look forward to trying one of Hogue's other bar lock knives.
My RSK came nice and sharp, perfect action and centering, well done grind. Now I just need to break down and use it for real, still in the "don't want to scratch it" phase.
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Hogue makes an excellent knife. I really hope that they return to their button lock style knife as I like it much more than the Able lock.
 
JBC6650 said:
I just got the full size and I have to say Hogue makes a darn nice Benchmade knife o_O... I look forward to trying one of Hogue's other bar lock knives.
My RSK came nice and sharp, perfect action and centering, well done grind. Now I just need to break down and use it for real, still in the "don't want to scratch it" phase.
EHh1VuP.jpg
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The RSK is made to do work. I used mine in the yard recently when we were tearing out trees. Trimmed some branches to fit into the bucket on the backhoe, and it passed with flying colors! Stayed sharp all day, cut through the wood like a hot knife through butter. I imagine it could stand up to some real abuse as well, but I'm not about to baton it through anything. That's what I have my BK2 for!
 
I love my Exploit. The Deka I gave my cousin was better than any axis lock I've handled. They make excellent products.
I've had the Exploit for almost a year and not a single failure.
 
I have both the full sized and mini Hogue Ritter. They both came with a controlled drop shut action. Lifetime warranty is great to boot. Been highly impressed by them so far.
 
The only thing I dont like about my hogue Ritter is that there aren’t any custom scales for it. Well, that and the g10 is a bit sharp and has worn my pocket.
 
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