Senator was kind enough to allow a few of us to use his new Ritter Grip for a week and I was lucky enough to get in on it, thanks Senator!
My initial thoughts when I pulled it out of the box was, man this thing looks "cheap". Then I clipped it in my pocket for the whole week and when I finally shipped it off I could care less what it looked like as it was a joy to use.
On to what I liked about it,
The fact that it is so light. I mean it a knife this large with stainless liners disappeared in my pocket.
The action: Very smooth to the point of being almost "slick". I class the Al Mar SERE or Shrike as being slick, the blade almost flies open. Definitely alot smoother than I expected on a folder in this price range.
The axis lock: smooth to operate and very strong. The only other axis that I have owned was a 710 which didn't disengage all that well, the Ritter was really smooth to disengage and the was NO blade play at all.
The blade: The high grind lent itself to cutting chore extremely well. I had to be careful cutting open boxes as the first couple of times I almost hit my leg. This is the first knife I have used that has been both S30V and stonewashed, I have had problems with S30V showing spots of rust when it has a bead blasted finish so I was curious how this finish would hold up. I first put some spots of water on it and let is sit overnight, no spots at all. The other thing I did to test it's resistance was carried while reshingling my porch and sweat all over it. I mean a shook the knife to get the sweat out, and again no spots at all. I was impressed given my experience with bead blasted S30V.
The fact it is tip up carry is always a plus with me and this knife was great. The clip carried the knife well and secure.
The handle wasn't the most comfortable to use but definitely adequate. The plastic handle is actually nice on a true EDC as it is scratch and chemical resistant. Both are bonuses for me at my job.
Now what I thought could have used improvement:
The handle: It both looked and felt cheap. It was also misaligned along the back of the knife, could just need the screws loosened and it shifted back? I did not try to correct this. I also didn't care for the raised points on the sides of the handle, definitely there for traction which they did give you that, but after using the knife for awhile they started to irritate me. Definitely a personal preference issue and very easily corrected. The handle is made out of some form of plastic, how could it not look cheap compared to G10 or Micarta?
The lock: While the axis is a great locking system it is not for me. I for some reason do not transition well from a liner lock to this lock. Simple cure would be to only carry axis locks but I really love some of my liners. Again personal choice not a functional problem
That is the only things I would have liked different on it. I really did like it and would buy one if I didn't have a Harsey T2 already. I must say for slightly over a $100 I have not handled a more useful folder. The blade design is quite similar to the Sebenza and I can't say it enough, extremely useful for cutting.
I haven't handled any of the other Grip models but this example was stellar and I would definitely reccommend it as an EDC for anyone. Whether or not the S30V blade is worth the premium price difference is up to you to decide, but for me it is a no brainer and would be on my buy list for an EDC knife.
My initial thoughts when I pulled it out of the box was, man this thing looks "cheap". Then I clipped it in my pocket for the whole week and when I finally shipped it off I could care less what it looked like as it was a joy to use.
On to what I liked about it,
The fact that it is so light. I mean it a knife this large with stainless liners disappeared in my pocket.
The action: Very smooth to the point of being almost "slick". I class the Al Mar SERE or Shrike as being slick, the blade almost flies open. Definitely alot smoother than I expected on a folder in this price range.
The axis lock: smooth to operate and very strong. The only other axis that I have owned was a 710 which didn't disengage all that well, the Ritter was really smooth to disengage and the was NO blade play at all.
The blade: The high grind lent itself to cutting chore extremely well. I had to be careful cutting open boxes as the first couple of times I almost hit my leg. This is the first knife I have used that has been both S30V and stonewashed, I have had problems with S30V showing spots of rust when it has a bead blasted finish so I was curious how this finish would hold up. I first put some spots of water on it and let is sit overnight, no spots at all. The other thing I did to test it's resistance was carried while reshingling my porch and sweat all over it. I mean a shook the knife to get the sweat out, and again no spots at all. I was impressed given my experience with bead blasted S30V.
The fact it is tip up carry is always a plus with me and this knife was great. The clip carried the knife well and secure.
The handle wasn't the most comfortable to use but definitely adequate. The plastic handle is actually nice on a true EDC as it is scratch and chemical resistant. Both are bonuses for me at my job.
Now what I thought could have used improvement:
The handle: It both looked and felt cheap. It was also misaligned along the back of the knife, could just need the screws loosened and it shifted back? I did not try to correct this. I also didn't care for the raised points on the sides of the handle, definitely there for traction which they did give you that, but after using the knife for awhile they started to irritate me. Definitely a personal preference issue and very easily corrected. The handle is made out of some form of plastic, how could it not look cheap compared to G10 or Micarta?
The lock: While the axis is a great locking system it is not for me. I for some reason do not transition well from a liner lock to this lock. Simple cure would be to only carry axis locks but I really love some of my liners. Again personal choice not a functional problem
That is the only things I would have liked different on it. I really did like it and would buy one if I didn't have a Harsey T2 already. I must say for slightly over a $100 I have not handled a more useful folder. The blade design is quite similar to the Sebenza and I can't say it enough, extremely useful for cutting.
I haven't handled any of the other Grip models but this example was stellar and I would definitely reccommend it as an EDC for anyone. Whether or not the S30V blade is worth the premium price difference is up to you to decide, but for me it is a no brainer and would be on my buy list for an EDC knife.
