Richartz - German version of the Swiss Army Knife?

[Sid Post]

I rencently picked up a Richartz SAK while looking for a more durable 'upscale' knife. SAK's in general seem to offer a lot of value at a relatively low pricepoint. It seemed natural that with a modest increase in spending, a person should be able to get an even better knife that offered a lot of value and performance within its class. My intial impressions with Richartz seem support this thought- a lot of style (no more plain red scales) options, good fit and finish, and a look that would fit in well with the suit and tie crowd.

Anyone else looked at or own one of these? What were/are your impressions? Care to make any comparisons against similar Victorinox or Wenger models? Thanks!

Stay Sharp,
Sid

 

[Sid Post]

And the link

Richartz

 

[UglyJim]

A few months ago I got one of their Hobo-style knives (I think they call it a "Picnic"?) that separates into two halves; one with a knife blade and one with a fork/ cap lifter. I just wanted something to keep in the glovebox of my car for emergency snacking

. It's a pretty nice little package and seems to have a slightly better fit and finish than similar tools I've seen (mostly from Case and Ka-Bar). It's one of the few non-SAKs that I've seen that includes a corkscrew, which is actually a pretty logical choice for this kind of implement. I've never tried to sharpen it, but I suspect that the blade's made from a generic 420 series stainless steel...again, probably quite appropriate for this application. My only complaint is that there's a little more play in the open blade than I would like, but it's not really enough to be a major concern for this type of knife. The knife has a clean, elegant appearance that I think is a welcome change from the traditional plastic-scaled SAK. I've been pretty pleased with it...

 

[HJK]

I have a few, including two "hobos" that split into knife and fork. There are two basic types: one with raised dots on the scales and one with nonslip inserts. The dotted versions seem to be a bit more expensive. These are very good knives and I got them because they are a little different and look pretty elegent. I've seen versions with wood inlay in New York and they crop up in unlikely places like Men's clothing stores and tobacco stores.

 

[Bart student]

They are fairly good quality, but in my opinion victorinox is better.
Here's a pic :
http://albums.photopoint.com/j/View?u=488545&a=11322145&p=40137620&Sequence=0&res=high

Greetz, Bart.


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[Cosmic Superchunk]

I have a German Army folder made by Sturm in Germany with OD green scales and a shoe string lanyard. It has a saw balde with a bottle opener/screwdriver tip, a main blade, and a corkscrew. I am aware the several other companies make them or have made them for the German army (Kissing Crane) and (Aitor of Spain). I's a good knife, but I would say that Victorinox and Wenger are of better quality.