Pleasantly Surprised... CRKT Ripple Aluminum

AF said:
I recently got one at Walmart. I don't like it. The liner is very flimsy. When it's engaged it easily moves when I press inward, in the direction of the blade spine. Also the handle is either flimsy or the screw holes are inexact because when I'm cutting something, if I apply a lot of pressure, the liner moves all the way over to the right side. I've seen that behavior before on low quality liner locks.
I paid $30 for the folder and at that price I think it's a bad deal.
We are living in an age of low priced and decent quality Chinese-made folders. I bought a couple Enlan knives and an Inron direct from China for about $20 each including shipping. They are far better quality.
The Spyderco Tenacious, Persistence and the rest are better quality.
Kershaw makes a bunch of folders in China that are better than the CRKT Ripple.
Also about a year ago I bought a Buck Vantage Paperstone at Walmart - made in USA - for $20. Much better quality. Not sure if that's still available.
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Thanks for alerting us to these issues -- I hope you are contacting CRKT for a replacement.

And please keep us updated on the results.

As to CRKT being hit or miss, that's true, sadly. My "hits" are my Drifters and Ripples.

As to the Buck Vantage Paperstone, I rate the entire Vantage series highly. Good design and materials at a very decent price.

But when I tried to buy several of the small Paperstones as gifts at a show, the Buck rep couldn't find any without a blade that was hitting the liner.

The lesson is that production models aren't perfect, unfortunately. That said, I'd still rate both the Ripples and the Vantages as tops for the $$.

BTW: About half of my Sanrenmu, Enlans and other Chinese imports have issues. I try to buy two of each, in hopes of getting one good one.

Buck, Kershaw, Spyderco and CRKT stand behind their products. Try getting any kind of service when you buy a bad Enlan or Inron.
 
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The one I handled felt a little narrow, but I have rather gigantic mitts. I'm sticking with the Sage1 for "light" EDC.
Nice flipper, however.
Don't look now, but BHQ, BP and KP are showing blue steel 3.125 inchers in stock.
Possibly not for long, though, after this.
 
tjswarbrick said:
The one I handled felt a little narrow, but I have rather gigantic mitts. I'm sticking with the Sage1 for "light" EDC.
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The SS is even thiner, so you probably would not like that one either.
Sage1 is an excellent choice, love mine, but I'm a sucker for CF.

Don't look now, but BHQ, BP and KP are showing blue steel 3.125 inchers in stock.
Possibly not for long, though, after this.
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BladeHQ and BladePlay are the same folks, and dang if they don't have the large blue listed as in stock.
Definitely think it is by far the nicest looking of the lot.
Thanks for letting everyone know.:thumbup:
 
Hmm.. I might have to pick up one of the "real" ones based on how much I am enjoying the aluminum version...
 
Geektechnica said:
Hmm.. I might have to pick up one of the "real" ones based on how much I am enjoying the aluminum version...
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Grab one of the blue ones while you can. Like I keep saying (too often?) its the nicest looking of the bunch.

Since you are enjoying the AL, I doubt you will be disappointed.
 
I'm getting way too involved with this knife.

Just ordered the Blade 2012 Commenerative. Regular black AL Ripple with the 2012 Blade Show logo on the blade.
At least they had dropped the price to $50.:eek:
Yeah, I know thats still kinda high, but what can I say, collecters buy odd stuff.:cool:

At least I'll have another AL version to compare to the one I got from Wallyworld.

Maybe I'll run into Ken Onion and get him to autograph the box.:D
 
I have the steel Ripple 2, and other than having a super sharp flipper (I sanded it down, but now the jimping at the top of the blade is what rubs my finger raw when I flip it), it is a great knife. I just ordered this AL Ripple 1, and am very much looking forward to it. I am a big fan of my Eros, but the super pointy blade makes me a little nervous when doing more than light duty tasks. An inexpensive full size Ripple should fit that ticket perfectly. The fact that it is livhter than the already light Ripple is a big plus too.
 
Alann45 said:
At least I'll have another AL version to compare to the one I got from Wally world.
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The 2012 Blade version showed up today.

While it's basically the same as the Wally world version, there are some interesting differences.

The Blade comm em version has a much more consistent "pocket worn" finish than the one I got from Wilmar.
The JIBS action seems smoother.
And the liner lock is polished rather than the black on the Walmart.

And of course, the Blade 2012 logo.

All in all, I'm fairly glad I ordered it, even it was $50.
 
I've passed this by in the store a few times and haven't gave in to the temptation, but just looking over the specs, the "real" version isn't even worth the extra cost... as least, that was my impression. Looks like impressions are mixed, but I see a lot of happy owners here.
 
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hayes31 said:
I've passed this buy in the store a few times and haven't gave in to the temptation, but just looking over the specs, the "real" version isn't even worth the extra cost... as least, that was my impression. Looks like impressions are mixed, but I see a lot of happy owners here.
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Its personal taste of course. Depends on if you have any use for a "gentleman's folder", or "gentleman's tactical"...I think thats what Ken called it. :D
I think the aluminum is priced reasonably at ~$30.
I sure won't argue that the "real" SS version is worth twice that. Except maybe the SS blue, which I think is very nice looking.

You are correct, impressions are mixed. I think part of that is due to there being a lot of variation in the f&f on the Ripple.
 
Alann45 said:
Its personal taste of course. Depends on if you have any use for a "gentleman's folder", or "gentleman's tactical"...I think thats what Ken called it. :D
I think the aluminum is priced reasonably at ~$30.
I sure won't argue that the "real" SS version is worth twice that. Except maybe the SS blue, which I think is very nice looking.

You are correct, impressions are mixed. I think part of that is due to there being a lot of variation in the f&f on the Ripple.
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Well, you sure were right about the blue :D

I'm not sure I'm ready to buy (alright, used the right buy/by there, can't believe I did that...) another folder just yet, but these look nice, and at 30 bucks, I think the F&F issue is worth the risk.
 
When I saw a knife with real IKBS and did not cost a fortune, I bought this knife, it is a great knife especially for the price, and the deign makes it look much more expensive then it actually is.
 
Just posted most of this in another Ripple thread, but since it seems relevant, I'll add something here too.

After looking for him for two days, late Saturday I did manage to track down Ken Onion and he was nice enough to sign my Blade Commemorative Ripple box.
I was hot and tired and I rather rudely interrupted Ken while he was greeting an old friend. Being the gracious gentleman he is, Ken was nice enough to ignore my rudeness, shake hands and sign my little box. Thanks Ken!

Was told by one of the CRKT senior staff that orders from dealers for the original stainless steel Ripple would continue to be filled for the remainder of the year, so production on those has not ended.

Also there will be a revised Ripple (Ripple 2?) probably in 2013. Design/redesign will be done by Ken Onion!

I also mentioned the rather inconsistent f&f issues with the Ripple and he said they were already working to eliminate those problems and would continue efforts to improve.
 
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