New Doug Ritter folder

Critter said:
Life and business are complicated and often opaque for good reason. There are many, many perfectly good reasons that folks don't want others to know what transpired to reach a particular point, decision or effect. Why and how things occur in life and business are often not completely or even minimally clear or evidenced by what we see publicly as a result of that opaqueness.

As a journalist I am often privy to back stories about some business activity that was told to me "off the record" in confidence. I am often amazed, humored, and sometimes shocked, at the conclusions good folks draw about things that they see occur which have no basis in reality, because I know the back story and they don't. Being way too involved in political issues with Knife Rights, I know firsthand that the public result is often a product of things that occur behind the scenes which the public will never know. Because, that's how things get done in the real world.

My grandfather, a pretty wise man I think, used to have a number of sayings that were imprinted upon me as I grew up. He'd remind me often that I "didn't know what I didn't know." He also liked to say that "ignorance is bliss" and I should be careful about "making assumptions from a position of 'bliss'" because "assumptions too often result in making you an ass."

When I made assumptions or jumped to unwarranted conclusions he'd caution me to not assign maliciousness, or stupidity, to actions about which I was ignorant, because I didn't know what I didn't know. He'd say, "don't be an 'ass,' Doug," to remind me of his admonitions.

I see all too much of that online these days, to say nothing of seeing it in the news on a daily basis. Many of the assumptions made in this discussion are clearly the result of not knowing the whole story. Some are actually pretty close to the truth, others are just bizarre. Some folks apparently have vivid imaginations. Some evidently have no idea how things work in the knife business or maybe even in business in general, and certainly not in this particular instance. And, for good reason, those involved choose to keep their business affairs confidential. Because, that's how the real world works.

In any case, folks here should know that Mel Pardue and I have known each other for about 20 years. I have a tremendous amount of respect for Mel who is a gentleman of the highest order. Just a few weeks ago Mel and I spoke and caught up on our families, our various ailments, our ongoing knifemaking projects, business affairs and life in general. As always, it was a pleasure to spend time with him.

As has been noted, everyone has opinions. It is said that everyone has a right to their opinion, but that doesn't mean every opinion is grounded in actual knowledge, because they often cannot be. I try to remember what my grandfather taught me and try hard to make sure my own opinions are based on facts I know, not assumptions made on what I don't know, and what often cannot, for good reason, be revealed or discussed publicly.

I am reminded of an apocryphal tale that's been around for some time: The Wedding Ceremony

The wedding ceremony came to the point where the Minister asked those attending had any objection to the union of the bride and groom to speak now or forever hold your peace.

After a brief moment of utter silence, just as the Minister was prepared to move on a young woman carrying a child stood up and starts walking down the aisle towards the wedding party.

The congregation was aghast - you could have heard a pin drop.

The groom's jaw dropped as he stared at the approaching young woman and child.

Chaos ensued. The bride threw the bouquet in the air and burst out crying. Then the groom's mother fainted. The best men started giving each other looks and wondering how to save the situation.

As she approached the wedding party the Minister asked the woman, "Why have you come forward? What do you have to say?"

There was absolute silence in the church.

The woman replied, "we can't hear you in the back."

And that, my dears, illustrates what happens when people make the wrong assumptions and jump to the wrong conclusions!
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So just out of curiosity for those of us who are making an ass out of ourselves, is there an agreement with Pardue that it is ok to use his handle design or not?

I know you wrote about how you guys are good friends but some of us are slow and need it spelled out in plain english.
 
Lapedog said:
So just out of curiosity for those of us who are making an ass out of ourselves, is there an agreement with Pardue that it is ok to use his handle design or not?

I know you wrote about how you guys are good friends but some of us are slow and need it spelled out in plain english.
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I am pretty sure his entire post was a nice way of saying his agreements aren't any of the public's concern. This thread has made me realize we have way too many people trying to stick their noses deep into the business of other people, either buy the knife or don't.
 
I like the look of it and prefer the flat grind. It is a better value than the Benchmade 551-1 with better grind. It is at least as robust. Ritter provides a significant service to the knife industry and I have no problem helping him out a little bit, too!

It is easier dealing with Benchmade on warranty issues than Hogue, in my experience, though.
 
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The knife was quite nice in person. Handles were nicely machined and contoured, actions was smooth and without play. The lockbar also felt very secure when disengaging. I think Hogue did a great job on executing the knife. And to be honest, it's my favorite Hogue yet (even though it's more OEM work than an actual Hogue line knife). Anyone who preordered will be happy. Now, it is a large hand filling knife; I'm sure they'll do a smaller version down the line if this one sells well, but Doug wouldn't comment on any future runs or different versions.
 
Critter said:
In any case, folks here should know that Mel Pardue and I have known each other for about 20 years. I have a tremendous amount of respect for Mel who is a gentleman of the highest order. Just a few weeks ago Mel and I spoke and caught up on our families, our various ailments, our ongoing knifemaking projects, business affairs and life in general. As always, it was a pleasure to spend time with him.
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So that clears up things for those worried that Mr. Pardue might be upset. Time to double down on defending Benchmade I guess.
 
austonh said:
The knife was quite nice in person. Handles were nicely machined and contoured, actions was smooth and without play. The lockbar also felt very secure when disengaging. I think Hogue did a great job on executing the knife. And to be honest, it's my favorite Hogue yet (even though it's more OEM work than an actual Hogue line knife). Anyone who preordered will be happy. Now, it is a large hand filling knife; I'm sure they'll do a smaller version down the line if this one sells well, but Doug wouldn't comment on any future runs or different versions.
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Any chance to get your personal take on this handle Vs. a standard Grip handle?
 
It looks cool and it looks smooth.


But as far as I can see it's nothing more than a Ritter grip. They canceled and he picked up where they left off. Pretty simple. It's been a few years but I owned a few m390 Ritter grips. Call me crazy but I love the hollow handle GTX that Benchmade provides.

Looks great. This may be an improvement and I love to see what it looks like taken down.

Mix Ritter, Grip and Hogue.

You have a Rogue Grip.
 
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BellaBlades said:
It looks cool and it looks smooth.


But as far as I can see it's nothing more than a Ritter grip. They canceled and he picked up where they left off. Pretty simple.

Looks great.

Mix Ritter, Grip and Hogue.

You have a Rogue Grip.
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It looks more like a grip than it feels like a grip. Ive handled both the FRN and G10 grips and this honestly tops them both easily and has a very different hand feel than either of the benchmade models.
 
We should also keep in mind this new partnership may open Mr. Ritter to more advanced or different designs down the road and this is just his way of starting things off with a relatively safe "if it ain't broke don't fix it" design. I'm hoping he brings a more traditional line out of hogue because most of their designs don't appeal to me.
 
Hackenslash said:
Any chance to get your personal take on this handle Vs. a standard Grip handle?
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I handled it at blade west and really they feel very different. FRN vs G10 after all. Overall feel is heavier yet sleeker than a griptilian while staying nice and hand filling. This is certainly a heavy use capable knife while being easy enough to EDC etc.
 
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