Ritter Grip or the REAL Griptilian?

batosai117

batosai117

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I hope this counts as "wilderness," but here goes, which one is supposed to be better for outdoor puposes, the Ritter Grip or the Griptilian? I know the ritter grip is made of S30V, but does that make it THAT much better as a survival knife than the regular mel pardue griptilian which is made of 154CM? I have always liked my mel pardue griptilian plain edge, but I started hearing a lot of people say "I like my ritter grip for outdoor use," so I began to wonder, is it that much better? Let me know what you think, J.

(( Identical threads merged here. ))
 
Is the Ritter Grip 552 THAT much better than the Mel Pardue Griptilian 551? A lot of people in the wilderness section keep bringing up the RSK Mk-1 (ritter grip) and it makes me wonder, "what is wrong with the normal griptilian?" I know the ritter grip is made of S30V, but that simple change couldn't really make the griptilian from a "nice knife" to a "survival knife" just like that. The griptilian is a great knife all on it's own with either 154CM or the D-2 steel versions. In my opinion I'd choose the D-2 anyday, but I am very happy with my 154CM plain edge version.

http://www.benchmade.com/products/product_list.aspx?page=2&class=Blue

The Griptilian is the 551 model, and the RSK Mk-1 is right bellow it, 552.

So just to clarify the question, is the ritter grip really that much better as a survival knife, or is it just a matter of opinion due to the blade steel? Let me know what you think and any real time use would be helpful as well. Thanks ahead of time, J.
 
You really shouldn't be posting duplicate threads.

But to answer the question, I think the blade shape is a big factor. From what I've read (I've owned both), it's both the steel and the blade shape that people are looking at.
 
It's not so much the steel type that separate the two knives as the blade geometry. The Ritter version is closer to a drop point hunter profile. It has a much higher grind making it a great slicer, has a nicer belly for skinning, and lacks the false top edge of the Pardue, all of which suit the outdoors. It is a great choice as an outdoors folder, but it's still a folder so personally I'd never put it into the "survival knife" catagory.
 
Kaizen1 said:
You really shouldn't be posting duplicate threads.

But to answer the question, I think the blade shape is a big factor. From what I've read (I've owned both), it's both the steel and the blade shape that people are looking at.
Click to expand...

I know, but I couldn't figure out how to delete this one and keep the one in the Knife Reviews. Tell me how and I'll gladly do it, J.
 
The Ritter Grip blade was deliberately designed to copy the Sebenza blade in shape and steel. The regular Griptilian has a "modified sheepsfoot" blade (which has no false edge) and 154 is an excellent steel in its own right. I found the original Grip blade fine for a wide variety of utility tasks.

The Ritter Grip wasn't available through Benchmade when it first came out and was pretty expensive. That all seems to have changed for the better.

I'd say you'd be OK with the regular Griptilian, even though the Ritter Grip probably has a slight edge for outdoor survival use.
 
Triplicate threads: General Discussion, Reviews, and Wilderness Survival. Give it a chance on one forum before you do that. The Reviews thread is gone, there were no answers anyway.

I would rather keep Knife Reviews for people coming to that forum with a review of a knife, not asking for information on one.
 
Thanks for your prompt help and useful responses, The ritter grip does look different now that you mention it, but I still like the looks of the regular griptilian, just my opinon.
 
Thank you, I couldn't figure out how to delete the threads, and I read the lines above stating the purposes of each forum, so once I posted in the general area I tried to move to the Knife review area, but I couldn't delete the other posts.
 
As a Registered User, you cannot move or delete posts. You can ask a moderator to move a thread. Post the request in Service & Support or email one of us or use the Report Post function (the triangle-exclamation point).
 
Its also available in D2 steel from Cabelas. Just to make things a bit more complicated :p .
 
as best as I can tell, if you have money to throw away, get the ritter. it can't be that much better. even if it is, get the regular grip and a spyderco native.
 
In the end it's going to come down to your personal preference.

I had a regular 551 and it just never grew on me, I took awhile for me to drop the extra money on a Ritter RSK and am very glad I did. The larger blade makes a world of difference to me, (it may not to others though), they do not even feel like the same knife.

I haven't had mine long enough to really determine if s30v is that much greater than 154cm, but the different blade profile I do like a lot better.

Enough that I added a Mini-RSK to the pack! :D
Ritter-RSK-Group-1.jpg
 
Esav Benyamin said:
The Ritter Grip wasn't available through Benchmade when it first came out and was pretty expensive. That all seems to have changed for the better.
Click to expand...

It still isn't available through Benchmade, they list it among the Griptilian models, but direct you to Aeromedix to purchase one.
 
Esav Benyamin said:
The Ritter Grip blade was deliberately designed to copy the Sebenza blade in shape and steel.
Click to expand...

I have both and never really noticed the similarity until I read your post. They are really different knives. The Ritter has a high saber grind where the Sebenza has a deep hollow grind.

I've had the regular 154cm griptilian also. I prefer the Ritter because of the improved blade geometry. It really is a great slicer

Stephen
 
The Griptilian 550HG (hollow grind) is also a great slicer. Still, for wilderness use, the Ritter Grip (RSK) is a better choice IMO.
 
i have EDC'd a mini-griptillian for about 5 years now... i love it.. it's a perfect knife for most everyday tasks and then some....:thumbup:

though, i really like the design of the ritter griptillian and have been wanting one for a long time now.....:D
 
Well, I prefer the good old 550 Griptilian. I love the blade shape and the opening hole (I'm not a big fan of thumbstuds).

154CM is certainly a good enough steel for my use, I don't see the need to upgrade it, certainly not when the upgrade will cost me an extra $40.

I'm not saying the Ritter grip is a bad knife, it's just that I like the regular 550 one well enough (the price tag being another one of it's virtues) and I don't care for the upgrades the Ritter knife offers.
 
I've got the Grip in the 553 trim and it's a great knife but not quite what I'm looking for. I like my D'allara for the blade, my Lahar for it's smoothness, and the Grip for, well, the grip.
I ordered the RSK-1 because I think it will be the best combination of everything that I have and it will be my "one" knife. I'm looking to consolidate my collection a bit so the sale of a bunch of other knives (not including the D'allara or Lahar) will hopefully help fund the Ritter.
 
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