The Hogue/Doug Ritter RSK-MK3-G2 Fixed Blade: The Full Nick Shabazz Review

[@joelhansen7373]

A fixed blade is essentially a dedicated field knife & when your in the field you’re rarely cutting on a board like you’re in your kitchen at home. And in the field I’ve found that for me blades that angle slightly down just work better than blades that run parallel to the handle. In freehand tasks they just “bite” better. I’ll bet that you found it cut cardboard amazingly well because of it. And it makes many other tasks easier such as making feather sticks, sharpening a peg or cutting a notch. It helps when you’re gutting a trout or when you’re elbow deep in the chest cavity of an elk. And Nick, if you think it’s slippery in a Vaseline factory, try holding your knife in the correct orientation when you’re elbow deep in a deer!

[@knottheory79220]

Reminds me of Ed Schempp designs. He almost always has a deep (or negative, as some describe it) angle on the blade for just this reason. I don't think most people are used to it, but if you use some of his designs you begin to appreciate it. For a pocket knife it really makes a ton of sense.

[@_BLANK_BLANK]

Wait.... this isn't a kitchen knife?

[@Apex_grind562]

And this is why Nick is the best. Doug Ritter sent him this great blade and he didn't compromise his review! Great review. That sheath should have been kydex. Sheath and clips are so important!

[@iansclone]

"Nice knife! What do you do?" "I run tactical ops at the Vaseline factory."

[@NickShabazz]

Don't mock VasTac, they're hardcore. And slippery.

[@mikejurnak0324]

This man is a GEM

[@ernielabarr646]

I really like this knife. Being left handed that sheath is great since most knife companies seem to forget that not everyone is right handed.

[@keats27]

Hire the left-handed. It's fun to watch them write.

[@E.L.RipleyAtNostromo]

Nice knife. I have all 8 of the Ritter folding knife variants, but this is a nice addition to the collection at a pretty fair price.

[@Cadwallader38]

I'm enjoying fixed blades lately.

[@KruzerOak]

I have been carrying a fixed blade everyday for many years. Bark River is the way to go. A ultralight bushcrafter or gunny hunter or mountaineer or mini kephart is perfect for edc for hard use in the woods and around town.

[@maddienoble4340]

I have a bark river matterhorn that often finds it way onto my belt. They are fine blades indeed.

[@benturner8055]

nice! can you also review the RSK-MK5-G2?

[@imsteevin]

Nick, you should check out a bark river featherweight fox river in S45. I think you'd be blown away by the full convex edge sharpness and the size would be a good fit.

[@randallkelley3599]

I believe the Bradford 5 inch is approximately $230. I also believe it’s The same steel. Correct me if I am wrong!

[@Foxholeatheist]

About $260, and available in 3V or Elmax.

[@ScottieG59]

Bradford often changes their steel offerings and it is currently 3V on the Guardian 5 on available stock.

[@Foxholeatheist]

@@ScottieG59 The knife Nick pulled out is the G5.5, not the G5.

[@ScottieG59]

@@Foxholeatheist I noticed. I just wanted to correct the above post. The Guardian 5.5 is currently offered in 3V or Elmax, but, again, Bradford often changes steel choices for new production runs.

[@kerryrwac]

On the ugly side, there is a random flat head screw at the bottom of the sheath, yet Nick did not tell us what it's purpose is, hmmmm. If you sent this to the DBK boys, they'd put it through it's paces.

[@The4cp]

And do it with a killer soundtrack!

[@thepowerbill1]

I love that knife. I remember when I read about the new Benchmade Ritter in a knife magazine many years ago. Ritter’s concept was that the giant survival choppers are cool, but not likely to be with you if something happened unexpectedly. He wanted to design a capable folder that could handle harsher tasks that you could always have with you. After reading the article, I became an edc frantic ever since. Thanks and wish you the very best Nick!

[@larryrosen2984]

I like the Coldsteel master hunter 3v . When it came out $159. Thanks Nick..

[@alexanderbertallo1995]

Great offer from Hogue.

[@terrencesingleton7846]

10/10 on those puns. I absolutely love them.

[@domeromer]

Mmmm steak tenderizer feature.

[@edsaunders1897]

Haha! I was thinking this too! Don't pound it into the ground, pound it into submission. Delicious delicious submission.

[@ninemimesleft]

I'd love to see this thing upgraded to magnacut.

[@marksd5650]

Thank you Nick. I have a number of Toor fixed blades (veteran owned in San Diego CA) and like them very much. Some day they will learn to put a razor edge on them before shipping, but other than that they’re great. I’ve owned many fixed blades in 66 years, and this just looks meh. I think, So what. Nothing that grabs you, nothing special. On the other hand consider the Toor JANK SHANK. They are recently making folders. I’m not sponsored by them

[@mikejurnak0324]

I don't understand the back extension

[@GuillotineStare]

Its a beautiful thang.

[@disgrace69600]

I wear a fixed blade every day. I would not pick this piece up because of the nylon sheath. Nylon to me is like a tip down folder with no way to switch the clip. With leather or a kydex sheath I would consider it.

[@Jezus42]

Boker accomplice $80, comes with an adjustable kydex sheath.

[@alexanderbertallo1995]

You compair the sheath of a knife priced 80$ of a 3.125" blade out of 14C28N without cnc textured handles with the sheath of a knife priced 190$ which have an almost 50% longer blade out of CPM s45vn with an outstanding cnc textured handle. Ok I get it. But for better understanding you may consider how much of the 80$ for the Accomplice you've paid for the sheath and how much of the 190$ was charged for that sheath. They clearly had to go over the 200$ price range to deliver a premium sheath for that knife, and as they know most people wouldn't be satified with no matter which one they would offer so they advice their customers to the aftermarket... I mean this sheath is really ugly but the decision made behind is quite smart IMHO.

[@stephenbarone4053]

@@alexanderbertallo1995 not to mention the lack of quality that comes with Boker.

[@Jezus42]

@@alexanderbertallo1995 straight over yo head how many cheaper knives come with better sheaths? How many comparable knives come with better sheaths? Many many! As nick alluded to and I'm out right saying....what the fuck is that garbage 🗑 ?

[@Jezus42]

@@alexanderbertallo1995 a fuckig $20 mora has a nicer sheath! That a $20 s&w knife sheath, a $200 knife with the carry of $20 junk!

[@jayr526]

I'm wondering how and where and when I can work the phrase gription in the vaseline factory into polite conversation.

[@Jezus42]

Not sure how much that costs, but it doesn't matter it is an expensive knife. I fully expect kydex.

[@StuninRub]

If this is an expensive knife then stick to the mall ninja shit. This knife is dirt cheap.

[@DrLawyer284]

with this knife you can say “good ritterance!” to bushes that need crafting! ah?👈ah?👆ahh?👉

[@wupwop]

👏👏

[@NickShabazz]

That was excellent.

[@karl-oskarsjostrand5173]

Hahaha

[@RobBernhard]

Brilliant!

[@The4cp]

You win!

[@artemkanarchist]

Well, as a steel nerd and a vegan I’m pretty happy about the sheath - all the money goes into the knife itself, which I prefer, and the stock sheath is functional and, somewhat more importantly for me, not leather

[@bradleyh8044]

I wonder if some of the GOOD vegan leather options would work for a sheath. I have a Franklin Christoph pen case in natural wood fiber that is quite sturdy and looks great.

[@pmo071122]

Vegan here, I prefer Armatus Carry sheaths. See if he'll do a custom

[@deanmayberry9713]

Mora literally makes a plastic sheath on a $13 knife that's more functional than this.

[@JohnFrumFromAmerica]

S45vn is 10 better than s35vn and 15 better than s30v. Although it's 45 less than s90v

[@_BLANK_BLANK]

Finally someone speak the truth! But it's not just 15 better than s30v, its 15n better.

[@GuyonaMoose]

Woah ya that sheath is a real turn off. A kydex sheath like an esse would be perfect. I don’t like their knives but they have one of the best sheaths available on the market.

[@keats27]

window breaker...on that back-end extension...tactical value too... Nick, Nick, Nick, there is no such thing as an overbuilt fixed blade =D 190 is high, imho--must be the steel. Man that folder version is sweet. This is not a cardboard cutter or a kitchen knife. It's an outdoor blade--survival/hunting/camping/hiking/bushcraft/military. Competition is the Marine Ka-bar survival knife (90 bucks), maybe a Morakniv (20 bucks and up)....you're basically paying for 2 things here, the steel (really nice for a fixed blade) and the names Hogue and Ritter. Still a very nice knife, just, so many options in that category that the price seems kinda steep.

[@philthy8150]

Love fixed blades

[@Bezstopy]

Handle looks amazing (pattern and shape), lovely blade shape (ignoring flipper) reasonable steel for a cost. .. Sheath, omg what is that .. just a shame. If you listen to Bark River, they use to say we dont care about sheath .. but now they say its almost funny in customer decision almost 50/50 decision maker if they buy knife or not.

[@DuckcuD]

That is gorgeous

[@ajhoward8888]

This is freaking hilarious. Looks almost EXACTLY like the Benchmade Griptilian fixed blade I picked up from like 10+ years back. Even the sheath looks the same. Guess the DNA holds pretty true. Or maybe it's just a case of convergent evolution. 🦖= 🦕

[@The4cp]

I really like the shape. The last time I was in a room with 15 marks I was at a bad wrestling show.....ba dum dum.....wrong room?

[@jasonlotz8246]

Looks like a nice knife. I have been carrying a Esee 4 and a Hogue x1 micro flip with the warncliffe blade ever since I broke the omega spring in my 940-1. I don't worry about breaking my fixed blade, and I find people are nicer to me when I have knife on my hip.

[@jabertone4971]

It sounds like you have a cold or are not feeling well Nick , are you feeling well ?

[@bani_niba]

I'm surprised you didn't do a comparison to the MBK Fieldtrekker. They seem like direct competitors.

[@wupwop]

Heck yeah

[@ncsEsper]

Nick: Please review the R-GC-MXP-YRC-5.7853-M. Sincerely, The Doug Ritter Marketing Department.

[@dionysus6892]

I… like

[@Lireoec]

Anything can be a folding knife if you're strong enough.

[@RileySantiago]

Nice knife. The logic for that sheath sounds like, "everyone wants something different so we'll make one no one wants." I don't get it.

[@ssunfish]

Not putting money in the sheath. Saving me cost on buying it. Great for lestherwirjers and sheath hobby buyers. Reasonable good decision for others. Pretty good for ones who want ballistic cloth sheath. I like that Nick showed it was two different length drops. To me, I'm jaded and black knife handles and sheaths are just too generic/ ubiquitous. I just found out about this model today and after my Benchmade fixed Griptillian was stolen in November 2016 I blocked out the memory of the knife till I ran across it on the internet and was unable to get a handle on the loss. This wouldn't replace that unreplaceable knife, but it goes the furthest in doing so. I'd have already bought it if it was in S35VN or CPM Magnacut. I'm slowly considering it, but it's not a no-brainer buy.

[@alpine1600s]

If you thought the folders were ugly!🤦‍♂️🤣

[@jamesgoodlet7557]

Yeah when I first seen that knife I knew it would be a good knife to pound a sirloin steak into the ground! 😂

[@clintonlewis1261]

Pass, review 😃👍

[@WD-41469]

Fixed.

[@WilliamWallis]

Nice knife. The sheath? Meh.

[@jamesBGgarner]

First ....great knife

[@stick9078]

Do you actually say that stuff with a straight face or are you just that good at hiding it in your voice? 😂 Fold it just once....

[@Sugardaddy501]

Only part i do not like is that tiny guard tab thing; kinda awkward.

[@Misterpaulwood]

that sheath is a piece of shit, ten dollar knifes have a great deal better, that would be a no go for me...... and at that price it should have a full kydex sheath...