It's blown out of proportion. I have a number of Benchmade S30V knives (RSK Mk1, RSK mini and three Benchmade 940's) with no issues. If you get a knife with edge issues send it back to Benchmade. They all come with Lifesharp service.

BTW, if it had a Wave hook I'd pass it by without a second thought.

I've had no problems with my four S30V Rittergrips.

Smash,

Fascinating, you come onto a web forum hosted by someone at zero cost to it's users, filled with information that anyone is free to use, pass around, claim as their own, etc. and you toss in "your opinion" that people who post here exaggerate their comments in an effort to gain praise from the forum owner.

You really, really, really, need to read more if you think that people here are hoping to get some sort of acknowledgment from Doug Ritter for praising a knife that he helped design.

All "smileys" aside, you owe the folks on this forum an apology, and since you have the misguided notion that being nice to him will gain you something, you oughta throw in an apology to Doug Ritter as well.

I find your comments offensive, don't care if it's your opinion or not.

JohnE

Ditto.

It does not matter who owns the forum or who made (or designed) the knife. All that matters is if the guy that bought the knife is happy.
I've tried more knives than I can count and will say that I've come across a lot that I wasn't happy with. I can't say that about Doug's Benchmade knives. For me, they are worth every cent and are a great value. I will admit that I prefer the fixed blade over the folder but I'm just a "fixed blade kind of guy". In fact when my uncle asked what knife he should get, I gave him one of Doug's. With all of the knives I get each year, that is saying something.
Are Doug's knives the best? To some yes, to others no. It depends on what you want in a knife and I am not going to tell anyone that "this is the best!" At the same time, I also have knives from other companies that I am thrilled with and a couple may even have my name on them as the designer. But owning one knife does not make another knife better or worst.
I will say that such threads are really a waste of time because you will never get everyone to give you one answer. They also seem to be a perfect magnet to draw in every guy on the web that wants to voice his opinion as "an expert". The only expert on what knife YOU will be happy with is YOU!

The problem with the "which is the best" kind of threads is that most of us only know the limited types/models that we ourselves have used, though there are some lucky exceptions out there, and many have us have certainly read the opinions of others.

Example 1:

Question: What is the best 2-person tent?

Answer: I use the <Brand A> <Model> and find it to be a great tent. If you waste your money on <Brand B> tents they will certainly fail in high winds and ruin your trip.


Example 2:

Question: What is the best LED headlamp?

Answer: I like the <Brand A> <Model A> and have used it for a year now. It is very bright and easy to use. People say that <Brand B> <Model B> is not very good.

The answers are genuine honest well-intentioned opinions of what matches the user's needs.

Oh, another interesting phenominon is that I find different forums have specific "favored" products. One knife formum almost always recommend brand X, while another almost always recommends brand Y. I see the same thing with tents. I happy to say that this forum seems to be less "brand biased".

Back to the Ritter knives ... I have to say that I spent a long time looking for a fixed blade that matched what I wanted. I just didn't see anything that made me buy - beyond a low cost Mora. The Buck Vanguad was kind of close, as was the Benchmade Rant. Finally Doug brought out his fixed blade. I'll admit I was suprized to see it having a handle as similar to the Mk1, but it worked. That is one sweet knife.

Would I be wrong to say that there is a much broader range of folders available to choose from than fixed blade knives? At least it seems that way to me.

Ken K.

I'm not a knife expert. The impression I got when I researched it is that you can't get better for the same money, but you can get roughly equivalent for cheaper.

I own an MK1, a Mk1 mini, and the fixed blade Mk3. They are all good knives. As a non-expert I was willing to pay a premium to be sure what I got was good.

Brangdon,

Not to hijack, but did you by chance need to tighten the Mk1's pivot to meet what I understand is the UK's law about knives that can be opened by flipping??

Ken K.

It seems that currently, HMRC are allegedly confiscating certain knives that can open in a certain manner from individual purchasers, but not from companies i.e. Hennies.
The future is indeed uncertain as can be seen here
http://www.britishblades.com/forums/showthread.php?t=70460
and it would be a shame if we end up with more restrictions applied when the knife crime is predominantly committed with normal kitchen utensils, work tools and a host of other pointy objects. Objects used tend to be low value items that the perpetrator dont really want to keep, whereas this situation tends to affect mid to high value items that would tend to be kept in drawers, used in the woods for feathersticks, skinning, whittling (insert many other skilled knifey/sharpey skills here) or used some other manner that would not entail plunging it into someone else at dark o clock for spilling pint/ dissin' mi/ lookin at mi funny/ insert other half as5ed reason here.
Its sad really that a sensible law was interpreted in a way not intended and a precedent was set, but whats worse is that laws already passed are not enforced when a knife crime/ injury/ murder is committed. Stab someone and you should get the 5 years.
It would stop, overnight probably.

Terrill,
Fancy meeting you here. Just because you write for Tactical Knives, SWAT magazine and others, you must think you know knives???
You are right though, what is the right folder for me may not be the right folder for another.
I'm doing to have to try one of the RSK's one of these days, but for now I'm happy with my current folder (far more costly than a RSK). Perhaps in April I'll get to borrow yours for a day or two.
Stu