- Joined
- Jun 12, 2006
- Messages
- 956
I have several, of what I'll call "medium sized", fixed blades. Two my favorites are the Randall Rat-3 and Spyderco Temperance. These are wonderful knives and most all of you have similar sized knives that you think are great and that’s the way it should be. But I would like to plug a fairly new FB that I just received. It doesn't get much air time on the forum, which is the main reason for this post. It is quickly moving it's way to the top of my list. It's the very reasonably priced Benchmade Griptilian fixed blade.
I've had my eye on the Ritter Grip FB for quit awhile but just could justify the price. The BM Grip is 154CM and can be had for about $62. The Ritter Grip is S30V, has the now famous "Ritter blade design", but it out there at $165. The BM Grip's handle is Zytel with very large soft rubber inserts (Kryton?) for a great grip under any condition. The Ritter handle is G-10 and we all know that G-10 is a wonderful handle material. Handle thickness looks to be about the same but I'm guessing the BM Grip is more comfortable because of the rubber inserts (just a guess).
A good sheath is always a very important part of any FB. The BM sheath is nothing short of fantastic for a Cordura sheath. What makes it so good was the ingenious idea of not only creating a plastic pocket for the blade, but also stiffening the entire sheath with the same plastic. The belt loop is a really tough plastic material with a release clip so one can attach it to things that don't come apart, like a pack strap. It's quit "smart" looking with the added stitching and webbing. Again, I have not seen a Ritter sheath either but it looks soft and possibly might "flop" around while walking, etc. (my apology if I'm incorrect). This knife is also worthy of a custom Kydex sheath if one wished to have a different carrying option.
Blade shape of the BM Grip FB is similar to the Griptilian folder only larger. It also has a "taller" profile then the folder. I'd like to seem BM change the folder drop point blade to be more like the fixed blade. It's a great knife for hunting, food preparation, and would also make a great self defense knife. The knife is "full tang" so is very strong. The tang adds some weight to it could even do some light chopping. I wouldn't hesitate to grab this knife and sheath to use for any kind of survival.
While it may sound as if I am putting down the Ritter FB, I am not. I have the large Ritter Grip folder and think it was worth every penny. It's my EDC about half the time. It just happened to be the only knife to which I could compare the BM Grip FB. And also for those that really like the Ritter Grip FB but can't afford one, the BM Grip is a very good alternative (and maybe even an equal) to the Ritter knife.
If anyone is interested, New Graham has a great picture of the sheath and Benchmade Corp the best picture of the knife (click knife for a larger pic).
That's all. Just some rambling about a knife and sheath package that turned out to be much more than I expected, IMHO.
Regards
I've had my eye on the Ritter Grip FB for quit awhile but just could justify the price. The BM Grip is 154CM and can be had for about $62. The Ritter Grip is S30V, has the now famous "Ritter blade design", but it out there at $165. The BM Grip's handle is Zytel with very large soft rubber inserts (Kryton?) for a great grip under any condition. The Ritter handle is G-10 and we all know that G-10 is a wonderful handle material. Handle thickness looks to be about the same but I'm guessing the BM Grip is more comfortable because of the rubber inserts (just a guess).
A good sheath is always a very important part of any FB. The BM sheath is nothing short of fantastic for a Cordura sheath. What makes it so good was the ingenious idea of not only creating a plastic pocket for the blade, but also stiffening the entire sheath with the same plastic. The belt loop is a really tough plastic material with a release clip so one can attach it to things that don't come apart, like a pack strap. It's quit "smart" looking with the added stitching and webbing. Again, I have not seen a Ritter sheath either but it looks soft and possibly might "flop" around while walking, etc. (my apology if I'm incorrect). This knife is also worthy of a custom Kydex sheath if one wished to have a different carrying option.
Blade shape of the BM Grip FB is similar to the Griptilian folder only larger. It also has a "taller" profile then the folder. I'd like to seem BM change the folder drop point blade to be more like the fixed blade. It's a great knife for hunting, food preparation, and would also make a great self defense knife. The knife is "full tang" so is very strong. The tang adds some weight to it could even do some light chopping. I wouldn't hesitate to grab this knife and sheath to use for any kind of survival.
While it may sound as if I am putting down the Ritter FB, I am not. I have the large Ritter Grip folder and think it was worth every penny. It's my EDC about half the time. It just happened to be the only knife to which I could compare the BM Grip FB. And also for those that really like the Ritter Grip FB but can't afford one, the BM Grip is a very good alternative (and maybe even an equal) to the Ritter knife.
If anyone is interested, New Graham has a great picture of the sheath and Benchmade Corp the best picture of the knife (click knife for a larger pic).
That's all. Just some rambling about a knife and sheath package that turned out to be much more than I expected, IMHO.
Regards