Ritter Mk 3 Survival Knife Impressions

Horn Dog

Horn Dog

Joined
Sep 9, 2005
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Some time ago I bought a Ritter Mk3 knife. This is Doug Ritter's idea of a survival knife. It is made by Benchmade.
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The blade is 4.5" long, 1.4" wide, and .14" thick of S30V stainless steel. It has a "stonewashed" finish.

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The handle is textured G10 screwed to the full tang. There is a grooved thumb ramp on the blade.
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The tang is extended to allow beating on the pommel without damaging the scales (much).
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I did some notching and a little splitting with the blade. I couldn't find any good wood for fuzz sticks, but the knife will shave wood well enough.
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I was able to drive knife into oak without damaging the handle.
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Lateral strength seemed to be adequate for breaking off small chunks of oak, but I didn't try anything extreme.
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The handle fit my big hand well and it was comfortable to use.

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The broad blade allowed me to place my thumb on the flat of the blade and use it as a draw knife to skin this baton.
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Overall, it seems to be a good knife for a non-custom. I don't care much for the cordura sheath, but it seems to be well made. I'm having a kydex made for the knife soon.
 
Looks like it will fit the bill for most survival tasks.
It seems like it would fit the hand well, which has become a major criteria for me.
 
Great pics. You are doing some nice reviews! I owned one of these and I think it is a great design. I like the straight area for most of the blade toward the handle works great for wood carving. And I like the wide hump on the back too because you can pinch it while doing different cutting. If this same knife could be had in a carbon steel, I'd get another. It was a little hard to field sharpen.
 
Great review and pics Vic....they are not hands you have they are shovels. man I wouldn't like to have my neck between those !!!
 
Good review and pics. Other than steel,what's the difference between this knife and the Benchmade fixed-griptilian?
 
The knife had been out a while, so I am sure others have reviewed it. I think it's good to have several people review the same knife. My review was not extensive anyway, just an impression. I have never tried to field sharpen S30V. I hope it isn't as bad as ATS-34! Seems like a well-deigned knife, and unlike many it fits me.
 
I just checked the specs on the Griptilian. It's blade is a little shorter and a bit thinner of different steel. The handles are molded instead of G10. The knives appear to be quite similar.
 
The handle on the Ritter is WAY better. On the regular Fixed Grip, the tang sticks out a little all around the handle. It's very uncomfortable.
 
TWBryan said:
Good review and pics. Other than steel,what's the difference between this knife and the Benchmade fixed-griptilian?
Click to expand...

Different blade steel, shape, and length. Different handle material and texture - a tang that sticks out all around the handle (ugh). Different sheath.

The only thing in common is the basic handle shape ... and the manufacturer. Its really a completely different knife.

For a cheaper alternative I think I like the new Rant Drop-point better than the Fixed Griptilian, though I haven't handled either of them.

Doug says that he came up with the knife idea first, brought it to BM, and later BM created the Fixed Griptilian as a low-cost version.

I really like my Mk3. The sheath is OK. I'm not a big fan of leather sheaths, and I find Kydex sheaths too clunky. So far I haven't seen a better option.
 
Just to be technical, Doug once corrected me on this, so I will pass it along.

The Ritter MK3 is not a version of the fixed Griptilian, it actually came first.

Great knife, and VERY high on my "gonna get" list!! :D
 
The Last Confederate said:
Just to be technical, Doug once corrected me on this, so I will pass it along.

The Ritter MK3 is not a version of the fixed Griptilian, it actually came first.

Great knife, and VERY high on my "gonna get" list!! :D
Click to expand...

I didn't know that. Thanks. It seems to be a very well designed and well made knife. I love the handle, too. I have edited the review to correct my error. I knew Ritter designed the knife but I did not know his design came before the Griptilian.
 
The FB Grip is 154cm which is easier to field sharpen then the s30v IME. If you change the scales on the Grip to cover the tang it's as comfortable as an Mk3 for $100 less. The Grip blade is'nt as deep/high a blade, but handles like the Mk3 in most respects IME having owned them all.
 
Here is what mine looks like with Blaze Orange Scales and one with my kit. They are a nice knife.

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Take care,
Bryan
 
I like the knife but didn't care for MOLLE sheath it came with.
Heres mine with a kydex sheath that On/Scene Tactical made.
It’s a lot less bulky than the factory sheath and is much easier to drawn/re-sheath. I use mine as a necker with this rig.

This is a very well designed blade.
If you can’t survive with this knife, you don’t have a clue.
 
That knife is just crying out for a nice kydex sheath....

I like both of Doug's designs, the folder and this one.

Can't decide which one I like better actually....

Stonewashed is such a great finish, wish more people would use it.
 
Discovered last night that you can get a fixed griptilian in D2 from Cabela's,more expensive though. S30V vs 154CM vs D2? At least we got options here...
 
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