Real Steel Griffin E775

Insipid Moniker

Insipid Moniker

Joined
Feb 28, 2011
Messages
27,414
Anybody else pick one of these up? After reading the takes on these knives by Gary Graley and SamuraiStuart I chanced across this mid-sized folder. Buttonlock with a bearing pivot? Sounds like fun to me. Gotta say, first impressions this is a very, very nice knife for around $42. Fit and finish are good, lockup is tight, pivot is what you'd expect from a bearing pivot and the buttonlock lets the blade just drop free when you release it.

They also managed to make the thing pretty classy. It's slim, lightweight and has a nice aesthetic, a few curves and cuts to provide visual interest without appearing overly busy.

They definitely made a few choices for form over function, making the thumbhole a tad larger would make it a bit easier to open, but would add a hump to the spine of the blade and the pocket clip is shaped and finished perfectly to match the aluminum handle and nearly disappear against it, but that shape does create a very minor hotspot during harder cutting tasks.

It's not all show, either, the blade shape is a slim, practical drop point with a very useable finger choil, the grind is quite good, good cutting geometry, and 14c28n blade steel to get the work done.

Seriously, if you're on a budget and looking for a slim, classy work knife or a modern gent's folder that's on the larger side or even just a knife that's a blast to play with while you're watching TV take a good hard look at this one.

Link to a few pictures.

https://www.dropbox.com/sc/mfvscxyny4du673/AAAajrgKCvTKqjNyKOAE7xNxa

Forgot to mention, it's a nicely stonewashed FFG.
 
Last edited:
It's some kind of mystery as to why I don't own any realsteel products at this point. Their pricing is aggressive, their products are distinct and look good, and their quality is very high by all accounts.

I'll probably pick up an E771 and that larger sheepsfoot Linerlock they offer, and hope beyond hope that they'll continue to expand their selection of fixed blades.

The E775 reminds me very strongly of the Spartan Nymph. It's like the Pallas and the Nymph had a budget baby and forgot the flipper tab along the way.
 
Comeuppance said:
It's some kind of mystery as to why I don't own any realsteel products at this point. Their pricing is aggressive, their products are distinct and look good, and their quality is very high by all accounts.

I'll probably pick up an E771 and that larger sheepsfoot Linerlock they offer, and hope beyond hope that they'll continue to expand their selection of fixed blades.

The E775 reminds me very strongly of the Spartan Nymph. It's like the Pallas and the Nymph had a budget baby and forgot the flipper tab along the way.
Click to expand...

I can see that. They did choose to include a secondary lock on the spine to secure the buttonlock open, which I find unnecessary, but not annoying. If, however, they had replaced that with a flipper this knife would have just about the highest fidget factor of anything in my collection.

Actually, it might be good that it's not a flipper because hearing *click* *click* *click* all evening every evening might drive my fiancée to homicide.

It's still a hell of a lot of fun, though.
 
I don't own that one, but I have the Gerfalcon. Only time will tell about the lack of metal spacer on one side and stop pin wear, but for the money I absolutely adore this knife. Realsteel is a terrible name IMO, but holy crap they absolutely smoke anyone under $50 for materials and fit and finish. I love mine. I've never had a knife impress me so much value ratio wise actually, and I'll be buying their EDC fixed blade next.



I find myself having to actively limit how impressed with their work I am. *Cough* Better fit and finish than my ZT *Cough*
 
That looks nice! I have two RealSteel knives: the H6 (Blue Sheep) and H7 (Snow Leopard). I prefer the H6, but they are both nice.
 
o4tg said:
I don't own that one, but I have the Gerfalcon. Only time will tell about the lack of metal spacer on one side and stop pin wear, but for the money I absolutely adore this knife. Realsteel is a terrible name IMO, but holy crap they absolutely smoke anyone under $50 for materials and fit and finish. I love mine. I've never had a knife impress me so much value ratio wise actually, and I'll be buying their EDC fixed blade next.

Click to expand...

I love the blade shape on the Gerfalcon, but I have an unreasonable aversion to liner and framelocks, so I'd been intrigued by Real Steel, but the buttonlock sealed the deal.

And, yeah. I just don't see anyone who can compete with them in the $35-50 range right now. And their lineup is fairly eclectic, which I love. I'm hoping they continue to expand and I particularly hope to see more buttonlocks from them as this one seems really well done and is incredibly addictive.
 
rje58 said:
That looks nice! I have two RealSteel knives: the H6 (Blue Sheep) and H7 (Snow Leopard). I prefer the H6, but they are both nice.
Click to expand...

The Snow Leopard with the layered G10 nearly got me, but it took the E775 to pull me in.

That's one of the things that I'm enjoying about their lineup. Most modern folders under $100 are pure function, with style left largely by the wayside. Real Steel is delivering the function, but they've got some very handsome models out as well. MUCH more so than you'd expect from a $40 Chinese knife.
 
I'm going to order the E775 Griffin, it looks too good to not check out.

I've been picking up RealSteel knives since they first started selling in the US, most through the Bay. I'm glad now that BladeHQ and KC carry them.
The E77 and E963 are unremarkable ports from the SanRenMu line...
Then I got an H6 Blue Sheep and it opened my eyes. This was a really nicely made, inexpensive knife with fit, finish and materials that bettered the Chinese offerings from Kershaw, Spyderco or CRKT. I was really impressed.
Then I picked up the Stinger in the now discontinued gold color (for 1/3 of MSRP) and was once again impressed. Titanium with CF inlay, smooth flipper and a nicely satin finished blade. Way short of being worth MSRP however, but at $125 it was pretty impressive.
Then I got my favorite RealSteel, and H6-S1. All the functionality of the H6 but in a smaller, lighter package. If you want to see how much quality and design can be packed into a $35 knife, by all means check out an H6-S1.
My last RealSteel was an E551 and I was a little underwhelmed with it. Maybe my expectations were too high, but it just felt a little SanRenMu'ish.

I'm really looking forward to the Griffin and what RealSteel does next.
 
I'm really wanting to try one of the Gerfalcon's. It looks like a new version is coming with a deep clip based on my searching.... so I'm waiting.
 
tbenedict said:
I'm really wanting to try one of the Gerfalcon's. It looks like a new version is coming with a deep clip based on my searching.... so I'm waiting.
Click to expand...

I don't know when they transitioned, but mine has the deep clip. The other visible diffiference is the new ones have the pivot adjustment on the lock side and they switched the hardware from flat head to torx, which in my opinion was a bad move.

 
RealSteel just announced a "luxury" H6 on Facebook. They've ?upgraded? the steel from 14C28N to VG10, its now a frame lock with a titanium lockside, steel lock face insert and a sculpted pocket clip. Depending on price, I might try to pick one up. The H6 is such a good, basic design in a folding knife its nice to see them give it some love.
 
Please don't let this derail, but is VG10 an upgrade? Just got a Gerfalcon in to try out.

Sent from my XT1585 using Tapatalk
 
tbenedict said:
Please don't let this derail, but is VG10 an upgrade? Just got a Gerfalcon in to try out.

Sent from my XT1585 using Tapatalk
Click to expand...

I'd say it's a lateral move, really. I honestly prefer 14c28n, but they may be pushing the VG10 as it's been more widely used and probably has more name recognition, for lack of a better term.
 
VG10 should be better for tougher cutting. 14C28N will stay sharper longer for lighter cutting. Fine edge versus working edge.

If you cut 100 sheets of cardboard, the Sandvik should theoretically be sharper.
If you cut up 100 pop cans, the VG10 should theoretically be sharper.
 
Hackenslash said:
They've ?upgraded? the steel from 14C28N to VG10
Click to expand...
I'm not sure about the steel upgrade, that's why I bracketed my comment with question marks. I think Spyderco has given VG10 more cred than Kershaw has given 14C28N, so that might be the perceived difference.

Back to the E775, I'm discouraged to see Blade HQ has been out of stock since this thread posted and now Knife Center, whom I ordered from, is listing it as "delayed by manufacturer". Does anyone know where the Griffin is currently available?
 
Hackenslash said:
I'm not sure about the upgrade, that's why I bracketed my comment with question marks. I think Spyderco has given VG10 more cred than Kershaw has given 14C28N, so that might be the perceived difference.

Back to the E775, I'm discouraged to see Blade HQ has been out of stock since this thread posted and now Knife Center, whom I ordered from, is listing it as "delayed by manufacturer". Does anyone know where the Griffin is currently available?
Click to expand...

I got mine from Perry Knife Works. They're a Bladeforums dealer and I've ordered twice from them with no issues. Not sure if they still have any in stock, though.
 
Resurrecting this thread from a couple of weeks ago with an FYI that Knifecenter appears to have the E775 and other Realsteel knives (Sea Eagle) back in stock (not the best prices, but that's typical for them, unfortunately). Or, at least, it says IN STOCK instead of DELAYED and they took my money--hopefully no whammies via email to tell me that my instant gratification won't be so instant . . .

EDIT: Got a shipment notification as well, so I guess it's for, uh, Real
 
Last edited:
I just ordered a Sea Eagle from knifecenter I've been waiting for them to get it back in stock. I'm also considering the Gerfalcon after seeing those pictures!
 
You must log in or register to reply here.
Back
Top