For those who have pre-ordered, your Ritter/Becker slice (!) of heaven is shipping. I got mine today. For those who did not pre-order,go here.

To quote Ferris Bueller: "It is SO choice. If you have the means, I highly recommend picking one up."

Pictures when I when I get home.

Also, whipping it out at the office to show off what the UPS man just delivered is NOT a good idea. Trust me on this.


.....CLIFFORD
(like, who else)

Mine has arrived, too! Serial # 012.

It is a thing of beauty. Here's a picture with an SOG Seal Pup Elite to give a sense of the size:

It is a beast, but Lordy me it feels fine in the hand. And the sheath came out great.

I recommend selling a kidney if you have to to get one.

Mine showed up today, #020

Nice knife, just arrived by USPS -- #018. I like the balance as is, feels good.

+1. Mine is lucky #013!

Ken

Number 17 arrived today for me. A few impressions:

* Heavier than I expected. Love the balance, won't be removing the weights to change it.

* The black coating is absolutely flawless. In fact, the fit and finish of the rest of the knife are flawless. I've spent a lot of good money on knives that weren't this well made.

* Love the edge. Hair-popping sharp.

* The sheath came out very well, and the pocket fits my Mk5 tin perfectly.

It was worth the wait.

Thanks to everyone for your kind words. Please excuse me if I don't respond promptly to posts over the rest of the week. I am leaving tomorrow to meet up with Ethan and then attend Practice What You Preach in North Carolina. I will have to escape daily to deal with some urgent ongoing Knife Rights stuff, but don't know how good a net connection I will have.

So what IS the 'sharpened pry bar' school of thought? Why are people buying a knife the expert they respect says is too big for a survival knife? Am I missing something?
qjs

Looking at http://equipped.org/devices5.htm, Doug says "This leads to my recommendation that a survival knife should have a blade at least four inches long, but no longer than six inches, or there about." The RSK Mk2 is six inches long.

I haven't had a chance to do much with my Mk2, but it fits my hand well and has good ergonomics. It's probably about as big as I need a knife to be for camping or survival purposes. In the past I've used a full-size Mk1 folder as my primary knife while camping and hiking, and been well-pleased.

My mistake then. People talked about it like it was huge. So there's really not that much difference between it and Dougs other non-folder.
But certainly ooks a lot more serious!
qjs

Huge by DR's standards. It's ~3 inches shorter than a BK-9.

The RSK Mk3 weighs a lot less (5.7 oz vs. 13.2 oz), is significantly shorter (4.5" vs 6"), and is made with a high-end stainless steel. I don't have a Mk3 yet, although I'm saving my pennies.

If I'm going to be seriously abusing a knife, the Mk2 would be my choice -- but I hate to abuse tools, especially good knives. If I'm not going to be able to wipe my knife down with a Tuf-Cloth when it gets wet, or if weight is a significant factor, then the Mk3 might be my choice.

When my wife sees the Mk2 on our next camping trip and asks to use it, I will produce the Mora I bought for her :-).

I got to play with my RSK Mk2 a bit tonight (the last two nights I had no power due to a thunderstorm and some downed trees in the neighborhood - Princeton-Tec headlamp review coming!...).

Yes the Mk2 is heavy, but not uncomfortably so, and I like the balance as is. The weight comes from the blade being thick enough to pry the turret off a T-72 and not break. Sharpened pry bar, indeed. As far as it's size, here is a picture with several things familiar to all ETS regulars, that should give some perspective:

Nice. I totally have a stuffed dragon in my BOB too That knife is a monster, BTW.

Is that really Anheiser-Busch water?!? Or is it just another attempt at beer (zing!)

Sorry, I'm feeling a bit punch today - bad night of sleep.

Didn't Anheuser-Busch brew up drinking water for one of the hurricanes? Note the "Not for Sale" under Drinking Water on the can. That can would make a great alcohol stove.

Interesting.. The can would make a better collector's item than a stove

MDinana: What stuffed dragon? Does anybody else see a stuffed dragon?

Russ & Hikermoor: Yes, that is a can of drinking water, unopened, from post-Katrina. We had a couple of cases of the stuff (I don't remember if we got it from the National Guard or the Red Cross) which we used during cleanup. I kept that one as a memento, and it resides on my "well, that's interesting" shelf at home.

Interesting, indeed! I predict huge increase in value in the future, especially if unopened.

HI,

Mine arrived today. Ordered on Sunday, arrived via USPS Priority Mail in three days, not bad.

All I have to say is, WOW. A serious addition to anyone's equipment. Nice craftsmanship and I like the pocket on the sheath. Tonight I need to package up a spare sparklite, tinders and small rod to carry in there.

Great work Doug and Ethan.

buckeye

I've been thinking about getting one to use and keeping the one I have as a safe queen. Knifeworks is out of stock. Will more be made?

Yes