New Doug Ritter Gentleman's Folder

K

kenk

Joined
Oct 5, 2004
Messages
530
Doug Ritter has announced a new "Doug Ritter RSK Mk4 Gentleman's Folder" developed in collaboration with Paul W. Poehlmann and Lone Wolf Knives:

2.4" S30V "Ritter-shaped" blade, but with a slight "swoop"
(a bit shorter and thinner than the mini-Rittergrip blade)
Axial Lock (not an axis lock)
Stonewashed Stainless Steel frame
Beautiful Silver Tweed G10 Composite handle

I'll upload a picture later, but here is a link for more information:

http://www.dougritter.com/dr_rsk_mk4.htm

I was thinking of calling this a "GlitterGrip", but it isn't a grip at all, so maybe its a "GlitterRitter"? :D
 
looks cool, expensive though.

What is the deal with the "axial lock" or "Paul" knives like that. How come they are so expensive? All the Lone Wolf Paul knives always seamed awfully expensive to me for what they are too.

I mean this knife, aside from the axial lock is a small folder with a S30V blade, a stainless steel handle and G10 scales. There are a lot of very nice knives that fit that basic description for a lot less than $182.

I understand that precision manufacturing costs money (I just bought a Mnandi), but is that all it is, or is there something special about these "Paul" folders that I am missing?
 
I like a lot of the Paul-design axial folders, but not that one. I'm just not crazy on the blade shape and the stonewash finish/silver G10 combo is not what I'd want on a Paul folder.

Also, the clip position bugs me on the newer Paul folders. Aside from there being too much knife sticking up above the pocket, it's exposing the pivot and lock mechanism to being scuffed up and banged around. I'd rather have it set for tip up. All you'd really have to worry about then is pocket lint and hitting it with compressed air every so often. The frame is perhaps not compatible to using an end mounted clip like the WH Gentac models, but I'm kinda puzzled that they felt mounting it 1/4 of the way down from the pivot was the way to go.
 
Bungwrench said:
For $182 I think it's a bit steep.
Click to expand...

The pricing issue is one that is often brought up when discussing Doug Ritter's designs. The "problem" (if you want to call it that) is that these knives are being sold exclusively at essentially full retail pricing via a single vendor. Compare the price of this new MK4 to the retail price of similar Lone Wolf knives from which it is derived, and you'll note that the pricing is quite similar. The same is true for Mr. Ritter's other knives when compared with the Benchmade products that they're based off of. If the Ritter knives were being sold through more traditional multiple channels, I am relatively certain the "street" pricing would be lower. As such, I wouldn't necessarily say that the pricing is excessive, it's just a matter of how the knives are being distributed. Many individuals find that the unique attributes the Ritter knives offer in terms of blade shape, materials, etc., justify the price premium, though there are others who disagree. In the end, it's a matter of personal preference. In my case, picking up a Ritter Mini-RSK MK1 in M2 was a very easy decision, and I'm extremely fond of it.
 
More interested in seeing what Doug will do with Becker for his chopper, and with Benchmade for a small fixed blade, smaller than the Ritter fixed Grip.
 
silenthunterstudios said:
More interested in seeing what Doug will do with Becker for his chopper, and with Benchmade for a small fixed blade, smaller than the Ritter fixed Grip.
Click to expand...

I'd also like to see a collaboration with Spyderco. Knowing how receptive Sal is to input from designers, enthusiasts, and the ELU in general, I suspect Mr. Ritter would have a great deal of freedom in terms of materials and design.
 
I bought one of these knives. I really liked it, very handsome and had a nice blade design for such a small knife. The 'Paul' lock mechanism took some getting used to, [I prefer Axis locks], but I got used to it. HOWEVER, after a couple of days[!], I noticed the blade developing play in the lockup stage.This play occured both vertically and horizontally. From other posts I found out that this has been somewhat of a problem for this type of locking mechanism. I was really bummed, as everything else about this knife was excellent. I ended up returning it. The vendor for this knife,[Aeromedix], is top notch. I have ordered a couple other Doug Ritter knives from them and their customer service is really great.
Maybe I just got a bad knife, I don't know. I do know that I've never had a 'bad' Benchmade Axis lock. They always lock up smooth, tight and fast.
Dang it! The Ritter RSK Mk4 was a really cool knife, the push button lock was very slick, I wish it would have held up better. Maybe the 'Paul Axial lock' mechanism is just flawed. Maybe I got a bad one, I don't know. Anybody else out there had experience with Paul Axial lock knives?
 
I had bought a Lone Wolf Panther over the internet when I got the knife I really liked it butttt it had play in the closed position. And then It developed play in the open position side to side. And this from only being opened several times. I returned to the vendor and he very kindly refunded my cc. I later had a chance to handle several of the Lone Wold Paul knives and they all had the same problems. I mentioned in an early post that I contacted Lone Wolf and asked them about the play in the knives and they said they had experienced some pre-production problems but it was not anything they would fix. I like the Paul design but not with these kind of problems. If you have play like this in a new knife it will get worse as you use the knife.
RKH
 
You must log in or register to reply here.
Back
Top