Ralph/Wilson Tactical Elite

R

razorhunter

Joined
Jan 27, 2002
Messages
470
Whose going to order one of these bad boys. Seem to be right up my alley. Many options to choose from too! Anybody seen them for sale anywhere besides bladeart?
 
Which version are you wanting to get?

I've got one of the base versions. Very smooth and locks up like a vault. I do not like blade coatings though. I wish they could have stayed D2 like originally planned. Still a nice knife though.
 
shootist,
I am not really sure which version, and I'm not quite clear on what ALL of the different versions are, and what they are called.
What blade coating are you referring to? I see on bladeart.com, they have two models shown. Both have black coated blades, but one appears to me more durable than the other and it's more expensive. I can't remember what exactly they called the coating.
 
Nevermind, I just checked, and I was wrong. They are both "armor tough" coated, but one has G-10 inserts in the handle. I've got to get one of these.
 
Personally I was pretty disappointed to see them make the change from a premium steel to 440C.

I have several knives in 440C and don't mind the steel but at this price tag the knife merits something a little better.

Why buy 440C when you can have S30V, D2 or even ATS-34/154-CM for the same or less?

I mean Benchmade gets ripped on for making the TSEK in 440C and it sells for under $100...
 
I agree in general...$400 for the SG Elite is a lot to pay for 440C. But lets evaluate the steel before we complain about it too much. I have some 440C from custom makers Barry and Lynn Dawson that performs quite well. I intend to evaluate my Wilson/Ralph up against my custom Ralph ALB in D-2. Darrel says the 440C performance will be similar. If so, great.

I can't get too excited about it either way, as I intend to go for an upgraded S30V blade from Darrel as soon as possible.
 
Don't upgrade too fast, I'd like to hear how the 440c performs first :)

Like I said, I'm not knocking 440c but most people would agree it's not the "cutting edge" steel you would expect from a maker like DDR, probably more like "cutting costs". 440C is about 1/3 the price of S30V.

Even if it is "OS" it's still 440c.
 
I see that AZCK has a basic on sale for $30 below the direct price. I haven't had a chance to try the knife, but tend to agree with Art about cost being a factor. I guess it isn't as easy to keep up with the Reeve's as they thought it would be...

I am also not crazy about the entire "buy one first and then we'll up-grade to your specs" idea. If you know what you want in the first place why shouldn't you be able to get it done before the knife arrives?
 
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