S30V Ritter Griptilian chipped

C_Claycomb

C_Claycomb

Joined
Dec 11, 2000
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1,099
Thought this photo might be of interest.
RitterGripChip.jpg


This Benchmade / Ritter RSKMK1 belongs to a friend of mine. He does a great deal of wilderness travel all over the world and while he himself is not particularly hard on tools he is someone who really needs gear that is 100% reliable. Now you can take it any way you like, but the pictured knife is the replacement which he was sent after the first Ritter be had failed in exactly the same manner.

The first chipped out while he was trimming up a thumb thick sapling in Borneo. After that failure he didn't feel like taking the replacement anywhere that he might want to rely on it, so only used it while at home. This second blade chipped while carving the notch in a finger thick red cedar hand drill hearth board.

Neither cutting job was something that I would have considered outside the scope of a knife like this. In fact, I wouldn't have thought twice about using my own RSKMK1 for either job if it was the knife I had to hand.

Maybe my friend has a peculiar way of using a knife which puts undue stress on this part of the blade, maybe he has just been really unlucky and had two successive blades that slipped through quality control, or maybe the steel/cross section combination isn't quite up to the job? :confused: Maybe a combination.

Anyone else had anything like this happen with a Ritter, or any other S30V Benchmades?

I have ground the chip out now and maybe the thickened up edge will fix it for the future. My friend said he didn't want another replacement and isn't even all that bothered if he doesn't get this one back. I can kinda see where he is coming from. Personally I don't plan on leaving my own Ritter at home when I go on expeditions, but I reckon it is going to take a while for me to look at that little skinny edge again without a few misgivings. :(
 
That's a pretty major chip there. It shouldn't have chipped by the way you described it being used. He should get it replaced. It was probably just bad luck that he got 2 that way. I've used my CS XL Voyager pretty hard and even battoned with it without any damage. It has a very thin hollow ground edge too.
 
My first thoughts are that this picture looks Photochopped :cool:

Please don't take that the wrong way.

My second thoughts are that the chip DIDN'T happen in exactly the same manner (re. your description). Perhaps, if the knife was genuinely not used to do something 'beyond its means' (e.g batoning), then there must be a certain 'twisting' action to the users cut that is putting unnecessary stress on the blade, as you mention. Does he gutter the ball a lot too? :D

I don't suppose you have a picture of the first failure do you?

I must say though; not only would I like to hear what Benchmade say about the failure, but I wish I had the resources to shrug off the cost and replacement of this folder!!
 
LOL.

I wish I was that good an artist in Photoshop :D

Perhaps I did phrase things badly. My friend said that the chip was very similar in size and in the same identical place as on the earlier knife. When he told me he chipped it cutting a green stick my first thought was that he had been doing something brutal and was candy coating it. On the other hand, I have watched him work and he is both careful and skilled, more so than I am at any rate, and he uniformly eschews beefy blades, prefering scandi grinds and thin stock/edges.

Sorry, I can't find the pictures he posted of the first failure, but it was some time ago.
 
Wow, I've never seen a chip in a tool that bad since the time I worked offshore and my journeyman's rabbit ear pliers bit a hot wire. It shot some sparks, he was okay, but there was a hole burnt clean through the ears. Maybe he was wiring his house instead of carving wood :o

My ritter grip has been batoned as well, and it never did anything like that, aside from a few cosmetic scraches, it is still in pristine looking condition. I would get that one replaced and at least have him take it as a backup.

Hope for the best, J.

Ps. My cold steel recon 1 has taken abuse very well, perhaps a recommendation for him?
 
C_Claycomb said:
he uniformly eschews beefy blades, prefering scandi grinds and thin stock/edges.

Sorry, I can't find the pictures he posted of the first failure, but it was some time ago.
Click to expand...

Sounds like he needs to get himself a convex folder then! :D

Only blade I've ever had chip this bad (and it can't have been half the size of this chip) it was in a scandi made from a leaf spring. I was old it was some inclusion in the blade. Can't see that being the case here though mind....unless the factory got their S30V stock mixed up with their 'GLF' steel ;):D
 
When he cuts the notch does he then twist the knife to "pry" the wood out? The blade on the Ritter is extremely thin and I can see it chipping if it were used to pry instead of just cut. Never had a problem with my ritter grip but I never used any kind of prying motion with it.
 
Very sad Chris,i must say :yawn: not sucking up another manufacturers arse are we,and dissing other manufacturers,after the shambles with your bushcrafter :yawn:

Only ever heard good things about Doug Ritter knives

Bernie
 
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I must say I'm not too suprised to see that,I can also remember seeing a Benchmade RANT fixed blade that had huge chip and that was made from 440C.
This is the kinda thing that converted me to good old high carbon steels like 1095 etc.

For a stainless knife Aus 8 seems to be one of the most durable as regards not chipping but people seem to turn their nose up at that one now !
 
Stuck for words Christopher ??????????? The cartels in the UK Forums, have been Sussed ;):yawn:

Bernie
 
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Bernie, do you have nothing better to do?

Forgive me if I hadn't realised that you and I were on such terms. Way back when we had anything to do with one another you merely made my job of moderating more difficult, so I wasn't sorry to see you go. Anything for a quiet life ;) you understand.

Since then I have mostly succeeded in not paying much attention to you or your business. I certainly haven't been going out of my way to run down your character, or your wares, either on UK or US forums.

Since you can't seem to repay that and even pretend to be civil, I am going to ignore you; since you have nothing useful to say regarding the original topic.
 
C_Claycomb said:
Bernie, do you have nothing better to do?

Forgive me if I hadn't realised that you and I were on such terms. Way back when we had anything to do with one another you merely made my job of moderating more difficult, so I wasn't sorry to see you go. Anything for a quiet life ;) you understand.

Since then I have mostly succeeded in not paying much attention to you or your business. I certainly haven't been going out of my way to run down your character, or your wares, either on UK or US forums.

Since you can't seem to repay that and even pretend to be civil, I am going to ignore you; since you have nothing useful to say regarding the original topic.
Click to expand...

Thing about Me Christopher is ;) i don't suck Arse,Make a top Quality knife,and don't need Forums to Pimp them,where as you,like a bit of power Modding forums,along with other MUPPETS,Trying to pimp certain makers crap:jerkit:

The Game is nearly up ;)

Bernie
 
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Bernie Garland said:
Does Mummy know your up this late Christopher ???????

Bernie
Click to expand...

Bernie, I don't know you or what your issue with Chris is, but I've reported your posts. I think I speak for many members of this forum in saying I am more interested in learning more about how this knife failed than your personal misgivings with another forum member.

Chris, I too would like to know if your friend used any sort of twisting or prying motion when making the board for the firebow set. If not the break is pretty odd. Even with some twisting and prying that break would surprise me.
 
That chipping really sucks, but i must question the use. It shouldn't have happened during "normal" use, but then you have to define what is normal. I can partly understand such chipping, if a twisting motion had been used, as others before me has described. But i still think one would not see such deep chipping, even with that.
I've read certain accounts in the past, stating that S30V can be prone to brittleness. This would explain things like this, but i have a few knives in this steel, and have had no such experiences. It is quite a puzzle.

As for the other arguments, i say merely this. Don't bring personal arguments onto a public board, period.
 
Moved from W&SS to Knife Reviews, which I think is a better match for discussing the blade's failure.

* ****** **** ****** *

Thanks to everyone for keeping cool and not taking the bait.
 
Shouldn't have failed like that - stating the obvious.

Looks/sounds like twisting was involved.

No matter, if your friend did this twice to the same model of knife, he should move on as fate has indicated the model is not for him.
 
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