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- Jan 26, 2012
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Hello BladeForums!
This is a review of the RUIKE Knives P127-B.
Full Disclosure: Ruike sent me this knife for review, along with the Hornet F-815 which I was really looking forward to and will be in a separate review.
So, for all I know this is a hand picked knife that represents the best knife ever made in human history. I highly doubt that is what happened since this came directly from a big distributor that sells to many knife shops but you all should know how this knife came to me. I did not have my eye on this knife before Ruike asked me to review it. I have reviewed a knife for them before and I really wanted to have them send me the Hornet. They asked if I would also review this knife, and while a tanto blade blade shape is not my normal cup of tea, I said why not?
Also, who makes this knife some might take issue with. I could not find concrete evidence of who the OEM of this knife is. The Ruike rep I am in contact couldn't even answer. Rumors are it is SRM. As many of you know SRM and its affiliates are linked to cloning and counterfeiting. I'm not going to get into all of that because there just aren't a lot of facts involved in that discussion. What I will say is that lots of quality companies use or have used SRM as their OEM, including big companies that most of us buy from and respect. This is no different.
Ruike is the knife division of Fenix Flashlights. They know how to manufacture quality and bring the same to their knife brand. The fact that Ruike is essentially Fenix is important because they are a well established and respected brand that has an established network infrastructure that most importantly includes customer service and dealers. Other start up Chinese companies cannot claim these things.
On to the review of the knife!
Here is a link with all the technical specs. I won't bore you with breaking them all down. Here's a link with all the details: http://ruikeknives.com/store/product/p127-b/
And a link to GP Knives:
https://www.gpknives.com/ruike-p127-b-tanto-14c28n-black-g10-tactical-liner-lock-flipper.html
How the knife came to me:
Overall impressions:
I am not usually a fan of tanto blades. The Americanized tanto especially, I find not so useful for what I do with knives as I like having belly on a blade and I enjoy sharpening with a single sweeping motion. With that said, I find this tanto blade to be extremely aesthetically pleasing. Unlike the chunky and wide Americanized tanto we often see from companies like Cold steel and others, this tanto is more sleek and attractive to my eye. The second edge is elongated in a way that makes it look less chunky and more elegant. Both the main edge and the tanto tip have a little curve to them that make them look great.
The handles are G-10 with well milled steel liners. You can get a version with Carbon fiber covered G-10 but in general I prefer G-10 over CF so this was the version I chose. The G-10 has a nicely milled zig-zag pattern and the texture is nice and gripy, not to the point that it will shred your pockets though. The knife nice and slim in pocket.
The steel is 14c28n which is a fine steel especially in this market segment. In my use, I found the steel to perform as well as the same steel from other companies (Kershaw), meaning the heat treat seems to be well done. I will also add that this 14c28n performs better than the 8cr you find in many other budget Chinese blades. Also, I prefer 14c28n to Chinese D2, which is a steel that has seemingly flooded the market in recent years. Others may not agree with that preference but I think most will agree it is nice to see something that isn't Chinese D2 in this market segment.
This knife runs on bearings which are well done and the action on my example is nice and snappy. The construction fit and finish seems spot on making for easy disassembly/maintenance and confidence that this will be a solid performer for years to come. Take a look at the internals below. BTW, the glass breaker is removable.
To be continued....
This is a review of the RUIKE Knives P127-B.
Full Disclosure: Ruike sent me this knife for review, along with the Hornet F-815 which I was really looking forward to and will be in a separate review.
So, for all I know this is a hand picked knife that represents the best knife ever made in human history. I highly doubt that is what happened since this came directly from a big distributor that sells to many knife shops but you all should know how this knife came to me. I did not have my eye on this knife before Ruike asked me to review it. I have reviewed a knife for them before and I really wanted to have them send me the Hornet. They asked if I would also review this knife, and while a tanto blade blade shape is not my normal cup of tea, I said why not?
Also, who makes this knife some might take issue with. I could not find concrete evidence of who the OEM of this knife is. The Ruike rep I am in contact couldn't even answer. Rumors are it is SRM. As many of you know SRM and its affiliates are linked to cloning and counterfeiting. I'm not going to get into all of that because there just aren't a lot of facts involved in that discussion. What I will say is that lots of quality companies use or have used SRM as their OEM, including big companies that most of us buy from and respect. This is no different.
Ruike is the knife division of Fenix Flashlights. They know how to manufacture quality and bring the same to their knife brand. The fact that Ruike is essentially Fenix is important because they are a well established and respected brand that has an established network infrastructure that most importantly includes customer service and dealers. Other start up Chinese companies cannot claim these things.
On to the review of the knife!
Here is a link with all the technical specs. I won't bore you with breaking them all down. Here's a link with all the details: http://ruikeknives.com/store/product/p127-b/
And a link to GP Knives:
https://www.gpknives.com/ruike-p127-b-tanto-14c28n-black-g10-tactical-liner-lock-flipper.html
How the knife came to me:
Overall impressions:
I am not usually a fan of tanto blades. The Americanized tanto especially, I find not so useful for what I do with knives as I like having belly on a blade and I enjoy sharpening with a single sweeping motion. With that said, I find this tanto blade to be extremely aesthetically pleasing. Unlike the chunky and wide Americanized tanto we often see from companies like Cold steel and others, this tanto is more sleek and attractive to my eye. The second edge is elongated in a way that makes it look less chunky and more elegant. Both the main edge and the tanto tip have a little curve to them that make them look great.
The handles are G-10 with well milled steel liners. You can get a version with Carbon fiber covered G-10 but in general I prefer G-10 over CF so this was the version I chose. The G-10 has a nicely milled zig-zag pattern and the texture is nice and gripy, not to the point that it will shred your pockets though. The knife nice and slim in pocket.
The steel is 14c28n which is a fine steel especially in this market segment. In my use, I found the steel to perform as well as the same steel from other companies (Kershaw), meaning the heat treat seems to be well done. I will also add that this 14c28n performs better than the 8cr you find in many other budget Chinese blades. Also, I prefer 14c28n to Chinese D2, which is a steel that has seemingly flooded the market in recent years. Others may not agree with that preference but I think most will agree it is nice to see something that isn't Chinese D2 in this market segment.
This knife runs on bearings which are well done and the action on my example is nice and snappy. The construction fit and finish seems spot on making for easy disassembly/maintenance and confidence that this will be a solid performer for years to come. Take a look at the internals below. BTW, the glass breaker is removable.
To be continued....
