You've shown us so many beautiful knives, yet most of us will never own one of these. Nice to see you showing us these knives in their full beauty and so detailed. Keep it up, allways nice to watch that fine craftsmenship
Great review! I'm seriously stoked about Richard Woo and his designs. I havnt seen anything like it. And that anodizing is really amazing. Another cool thing in his designs is that since the handles have so many bevels and ridges in the machine work the anodizing picks up slightly different colors highlighting the angles shapes and bevels. Your favorite is definitely my favorite too. I have beg steal and borrow to get my hands on one.
Hey Jim, im an aspiring knife maker, i make my designs on paper, and solidworks, but never had a chance to make it by hand (which i would love to do) now another thing i want to try and design, is THE perfect pocket knife. design, practicality, and feel. so if i can plan it by getting ideas from some knife critics, it will help me along my aspirational dream for making perfect knives.
Great review! I'm really stoked about the designer. It's really great seeing a different take on machined handles and that anodizing! regardless of pink whatnot, I havnt been seeing anything else like it. Another good thing about all the bevels and ridges in the machining is that it takes those slightly different colors during anodizing which really set off the angles and shapes. Your favorite is my favorite.
Just seeing these for the first time. After taking a look at the entire line, I have to say Richard Wu might just be the hottest Chinese knife maker today. The designs are just gorgeous and jaw-dropping. The details are amazing. If they were sub-$100, I'd own every one of them. As priced, you have over $1000 in knives on the table.
What he also failed to do is create a website to give an overview over all of his models. He told me that all his effort is in creating good knives, but the lack of a website kept me from ordering anything - even though I really want to. If he had just 1 or two models it wouldn't be a prob, but as you're pointing out he's bringing me models all the time so it's just confusing. Great vid as always - thanks for delivering a much needed overview of some of his models! :)
Well, to be fair, many makers don't have a website at all, and those that do often don't keep them up to date. At least there are some US based dealers that you can buy from
+Jim Skelton Yup, good point. On the other hand I've tried to order one of his knives, he told me to send an email but I haven't heard back since. I'd order from the US-dealer you're pointing out, but as I'm based in Germany it doesn't make much sense - until I'm getting a knife ;) Still hoping to get an answer from Mr Wu somehow, though. Still couldn't decide which one to get yet (1505 and up, because of your review ;) ), so I was hoping his price could help me make a decision. Let's see how it goes.
Does the "Miami Vice" knife's blade fall closed on your sample after you start closing it like the other knives? I own a blue/purple 1507s, but mine doesn't fall closed and I have to give it a decent shake to close it on its own. And should I give it some graphite or oil on the blade where the detent rubs (being scared by the blade's own dust around the pivot), or just keep opening it and closing it? I'm a n00b to quality knives.
The 1507s Kwaiken was great...the 1503 is amazing! Highly utilitarian and functional. High performance materials (M390) and as close to perfection in machining in this range. Great review!
Hey Jim, I really like a few of these knives but the Blue one is probably my favorite. That may be because it really shares a lot in common looks wise to my favorite production knife from benchmade.the Osborne. I was wondering if you knew if the size and feel is similar in the two. thanks.
Jim, I really like your videos...the more i get into knives, the more i appreciate your take on fine blades. I'm going to try to hunt down the 1507s, dam nice look"n blade!
one thing I like is his knives look to be ground thinner than most knives which should make them really nice cutters. I evolved in my likes in knives as to what I look for now. Before it was about the coolest and fast flipper now I prefer lighter, thinner ground knives with good heat treats on the steel. Id love to know the hardness of Rikes m390, s35vn and cpm 154, if they're 60+hrc and ground thin they should cut for a long time.
I have the 1507s with the same ano colors, so far I love the knife. Fit and finish is excellent, flips great, all around awesome. One nit picking thing is the logo/text that he uses, I wish he would maybe change the font and make it smaller.
Where on earth am I going to be able to buy these (looked up darthblader on instagram and didn't see any mention of the knives or purchasing from that particular user).
+CurseOfBoggart bladehq is going to be getting in a shipment of the 1507s in M390 limited, i have one i bought off gpknives and cant recommend it enough
I think those choils were more of a sharpening notch so the grind doesn't interfere with the edge. glad you made a video about these because I didn't know what to think about them. I thought they were just another Kizer type knife.
US distributor is Chris Brennan AKA on Instagram as @Darth_Blader. He is also the customer support and warranty coordinator. Rike Knife is a production company that puts quality and customer support above all else. 100% product warranty against defect. At this time in order to maintain a high standard of quality and customer support we are making batches of each model within the 1504, 1507 and 1508 integral platforms. This means that quantities will be limited and your best source for purchasing on an individual level will be from major dealerships such as GPknives (immediate inventory) and BladeHQ (inventory inbound). The 1507s is currently available and the 1504 and 1508 will be coming off the production line within the next 10-20 days, then heading to dealers.
I am thinking about getting myself a knife for my birthday. The knives I have own currently are not too expensive, as one can tell by the blades (4034 and 440C, which is MUCH better). Anyways I am debating whether to get a Paragon Warlock or a Rike Knife 1507s. As far as blades go, that is CPM-S30V to CPM-S35VN, so they are similar in terms of performance. The machining work in the Rike knife and the liner lock are obviously superior, however, the Warlock has a 4.0 inch blade and is double edged. I really love the look of both and don't really know which way to go, so does anyone have an opinion on which one they would go with and why, or a knife at a comparable price range that exceeds either of these knives?
Of the two, I would go with the Rike. Double edged blades are impractical and often illegal. Rike and Reate seem to be some of the frontrunners in this price range.
If you flip those knives and those knives only for about a week.. It'll create a track on the blade pretty fast because of the large amounts of friction.. I had a reate d9 plus that had a super tough detent and i didnt give up on it and it became a super smooth flipper
when the 6 knives are displayed at the beginning, the blue one at top center looks like a grasshopper. Doesn't it? Wu should call it the grasshopper and market it with that name. Grasshopper is also a great Kung Fu reference.
After looking at the machining, im willing to bet that the shirogorov poluchetkiy knockoffs are coming from the same shop. the machining, the finishes, the same type of temperament on the lock.
Knivesandtools.co.uk has them now, ships from Holland but in my experience it only takes about two days for their stuff to too arrive. I know your comment is 9 months old, but just making sure you know ;)
And also he hand picked the knives out to send to you so I'm sure he went over them with a fine tooth comb before he sent them to you do you think he will do the same to all the others he sells...very much sought it!
Totally cheesy. But I'm tired of people bitching that there's no sound at the beginning. I don't have licensed music on my computer to edit into these videos, so I'm left with that lol
Not being rude but this is far from the best anodizing out there. Want to see some amazing anodizing, check out Esteban from TiSurvial. That guy does remarkable and awesome anodizing.
Wsteban does indeed do good work, but not very diverse. He kinda does the same thing over and over. Nothing wrong with that though. I do out this anodizing above his, it's subtle and the camera doesn't pick up all of it, but it is amazing work.
The anodizing done at Rike really is one of a kind. You should get your hands on one and see the quality in person. As a custom knife collector I can tell you in my honest opinion it is the best I've ever seen in any market.
Okay, serious comment time. These knives look good, but they seem off. Not in the quality, but they just seem soulless. Maybe it's because they're made too quickly and in too great of numbers?
As a matter of fact at Rike Knife we produce our models in "small batch" style in order to keep quality at a very high standard. Couple that with a 100% warranty against defect and direct customer support right here in the US you can't lose!
"Hey Richard, why do you want to make blades for a living?"
"Well, I rike knives."
+mrespman Oh no he di'nt. lol
Its funny cause asian preople confuse the sound for the letters L and R
Beautiful knives and an admirable design! I wouldn't be too bothered about the pink though Jim, at least it be a nice present to your wife :3
You've shown us so many beautiful knives, yet most of us will never own one of these. Nice to see you showing us these knives in their full beauty and so detailed. Keep it up, allways nice to watch that fine craftsmenship
Once again, a great temptation. Just like the reviews for Brous Blades. Thank you for taking the time to review new makers
Gp knives is also a distributor now
Good to know, love those guys over there
+Jim Skelton blade hq as well
+Jim Skelton Thanks for the love. Right back atcha!
Really loving the geometric styling and beautiful anodizing of the Rike stuff.
Great review! I'm seriously stoked about Richard Woo and his designs. I havnt seen anything like it. And that anodizing is really amazing. Another cool thing in his designs is that since the handles have so many bevels and ridges in the machine work the anodizing picks up slightly different colors highlighting the angles shapes and bevels. Your favorite is definitely my favorite too. I have beg steal and borrow to get my hands on one.
Hey Jim, im an aspiring knife maker, i make my designs on paper, and solidworks, but never had a chance to make it by hand (which i would love to do) now another thing i want to try and design, is THE perfect pocket knife. design, practicality, and feel. so if i can plan it by getting ideas from some knife critics, it will help me along my aspirational dream for making perfect knives.
Stunning work!!! Nice to see that you don't discriminate against Chinese makers personally I think they offer great value!
Great review! I'm really stoked about the designer. It's really great seeing a different take on machined handles and that anodizing! regardless of pink whatnot, I havnt been seeing anything else like it. Another good thing about all the bevels and ridges in the machining is that it takes those slightly different colors during anodizing which really set off the angles and shapes. Your favorite is my favorite.
Is the rk1501 out of production now, I can't seem to find it anywhere
Just seeing these for the first time. After taking a look at the entire line, I have to say Richard Wu might just be the hottest Chinese knife maker today. The designs are just gorgeous and jaw-dropping. The details are amazing. If they were sub-$100, I'd own every one of them. As priced, you have over $1000 in knives on the table.
What he also failed to do is create a website to give an overview over all of his models. He told me that all his effort is in creating good knives, but the lack of a website kept me from ordering anything - even though I really want to. If he had just 1 or two models it wouldn't be a prob, but as you're pointing out he's bringing me models all the time so it's just confusing.
Great vid as always - thanks for delivering a much needed overview of some of his models! :)
Well, to be fair, many makers don't have a website at all, and those that do often don't keep them up to date. At least there are some US based dealers that you can buy from
+Jim Skelton Yup, good point. On the other hand I've tried to order one of his knives, he told me to send an email but I haven't heard back since. I'd order from the US-dealer you're pointing out, but as I'm based in Germany it doesn't make much sense - until I'm getting a knife ;) Still hoping to get an answer from Mr Wu somehow, though. Still couldn't decide which one to get yet (1505 and up, because of your review ;) ), so I was hoping his price could help me make a decision. Let's see how it goes.
Any chance of a review on the Bastinelli Creations, Or the ZT 0454?
Does the "Miami Vice" knife's blade fall closed on your sample after you start closing it like the other knives? I own a blue/purple 1507s, but mine doesn't fall closed and I have to give it a decent shake to close it on its own. And should I give it some graphite or oil on the blade where the detent rubs (being scared by the blade's own dust around the pivot), or just keep opening it and closing it?
I'm a n00b to quality knives.
The 1507s Kwaiken was great...the 1503 is amazing! Highly utilitarian and functional. High performance materials (M390) and as close to perfection in machining in this range. Great review!
You need to get the integral one! I'd love to see that one in depth
Beautiful knives for sure. I´m absolutely in love with the 1508 knife, too bad you dont have one to show Jim. I saw it on his instagram.
Thank you for your review of R. Wu flipper. Wu's craftsmanship is incredible. I opted for the acid etched model.
I have the same problem with one Kershaw with sub-frame lock and when you put
only one finger on the lock it's damn hard to flip it!
Hey Jim,
I really like a few of these knives but the Blue one is probably my favorite. That may be because it really shares a lot in common looks wise to my favorite production knife from benchmade.the Osborne. I was wondering if you knew if the size and feel is similar in the two. thanks.
stumbled into this company about a week ago, broke down and ordered the tanto run of his kwaiken
very excited for this knife
Jim, I really like your videos...the more i get into knives, the more i appreciate your take on fine blades. I'm going to try to hunt down the 1507s, dam nice look"n blade!
i don't mind pink, if you could just slide that 1501 over this way that would be appreciated thanks.
Is rostfrei good material for a knife
I know they have a super thin flipper available at US dealers, but did you get any word on when the others will be available
Availability within the next month for the 1504 and 1508
really nice review, do you know something about the sirius made by jean pierre sucheras ?regards
these knives are like a dmt trip
Choil, or a really wide sharpening notch?
one thing I like is his knives look to be ground thinner than most knives which should make them really nice cutters. I evolved in my likes in knives as to what I look for now. Before it was about the coolest and fast flipper now I prefer lighter, thinner ground knives with good heat treats on the steel. Id love to know the hardness of Rikes m390, s35vn and cpm 154, if they're 60+hrc and ground thin they should cut for a long time.
January 2016 - I am only finding $300 from US retailers. Are they a whole $100 cheaper from another source?
+Robert Jordan $300 is the average selling price from a dealer, you're correct.
I have the 1507s with the same ano colors, so far I love the knife. Fit and finish is excellent, flips great, all around awesome. One nit picking thing is the logo/text that he uses, I wish he would maybe change the font and make it smaller.
great overviews. I wouldn't really call those choils but they appear to be more of a sharpening relief
+mactheknife801 Yeah, we've discussed that a lot in the comments down below... too large for a sharpening notch IMO and too small for a real choil.
Where on earth am I going to be able to buy these (looked up darthblader on instagram and didn't see any mention of the knives or purchasing from that particular user).
@darth_blader
+CurseOfBoggart bladehq is going to be getting in a shipment of the 1507s in M390 limited, i have one i bought off gpknives and cant recommend it enough
where is the 1501 for sale?
I think those choils were more of a sharpening notch so the grind doesn't interfere with the edge. glad you made a video about these because I didn't know what to think about them. I thought they were just another Kizer type knife.
Initially I bought so too, but it's really large for a sharpening notch
+Jim Skelton yeah if it's that large they should just go ahead and grind out a little bit more for a functioning choil
To me these are custom knives that almost anyone can afford. Just awesome, and he is going to make quite a name out of his great work.
Very nice, I really like that little blue Miami Vice
BladeHQ had a 1507 for $300, but it sadly sold. These knives look really great for the price, considering the materials.
Are most of these knives spring assisted or do they just flick that nice
I don't own any spring assisted openers
+Jim Skelton what would be the best flipper for 2-300$
+Dixon Cider boker plus kwaiken
+Jim Skelton truth, but then again tonight's Instagram knife is. 😏
Look for ZT, I think they are bang on lately. or a Spyderco Domino.
can i pick up the 1505 from you?
How much would the 1505 model cost, anybody know
US distributor is Chris Brennan AKA on Instagram as @Darth_Blader. He is also the customer support and warranty coordinator.
Rike Knife is a production company that puts quality and customer support above all else. 100% product warranty against defect.
At this time in order to maintain a high standard of quality and customer support we are making batches of each model within the 1504, 1507 and 1508 integral platforms. This means that quantities will be limited and your best source for purchasing on an individual level will be from major dealerships such as GPknives (immediate inventory) and BladeHQ (inventory inbound).
The 1507s is currently available and the 1504 and 1508 will be coming off the production line within the next 10-20 days, then heading to dealers.
I liked all of those. This is someone I'm going to keep an eye on.
I am thinking about getting myself a knife for my birthday. The knives I have own currently are not too expensive, as one can tell by the blades (4034 and 440C, which is MUCH better). Anyways I am debating whether to get a Paragon Warlock or a Rike Knife 1507s. As far as blades go, that is CPM-S30V to CPM-S35VN, so they are similar in terms of performance. The machining work in the Rike knife and the liner lock are obviously superior, however, the Warlock has a 4.0 inch blade and is double edged. I really love the look of both and don't really know which way to go, so does anyone have an opinion on which one they would go with and why, or a knife at a comparable price range that exceeds either of these knives?
Of the two, I would go with the Rike. Double edged blades are impractical and often illegal. Rike and Reate seem to be some of the frontrunners in this price range.
+97Genderbender thank you! I'll go with the Rike Knife.
Passing this along, " some of my favorites things in life are pink"
BladeHQ has a few Rike Knives up for sale right now.
Reminds me of the Daboia from Custom Knife Factory. love that knife.
If you flip those knives and those knives only for about a week.. It'll create a track on the blade pretty fast because of the large amounts of friction.. I had a reate d9 plus that had a super tough detent and i didnt give up on it and it became a super smooth flipper
You'd think so. Especially after all the knives I've broken in. But the flat faced detent doesn't break in as easily.
My Marfione Anax does that track thing. Not a flipper. Doesn't other me but I hope the action gets smoother over time.
These are beautiful, like my Reate Torrent. These high end Chinese knives in the $2-300 range puts my emersons in the same price range to shame.
We are attempting to become the leader in the sub $450 production knife market 👍🏽👍🏽👍🏽
+chris brennan who is we? Rike or US makers?
+baddinner yes Rike 👍🏽👍🏽👍🏽
A knife company with a a lot of potential, agree with you on a lot of things
The texturing on those frames my god
Sense you don't like the pink could I buy the 1505 from you
Loving that 1507s!!
Beautiful knives
The 1504B reminds me of the GTC Airborn
when the 6 knives are displayed at the beginning, the blue one at top center looks like a grasshopper. Doesn't it? Wu should call it the grasshopper and market it with that name. Grasshopper is also a great Kung Fu reference.
After looking at the machining, im willing to bet that the shirogorov poluchetkiy knockoffs are coming from the same shop. the machining, the finishes, the same type of temperament on the lock.
If the detent is too strong for you to edc them, maybe I could try them heheh. I'll pay the shipping. Please? ='D
I need some RIGHT NOW
Thor 6 ?
Jim you should give the pink ones to your wife, keep the two you like and do a subscriber giveaway with the other two to me lol
If anyone ever sees the Miami Vice knife for sale in the UK please let me know, that thing is beautiful.
+balfemotor I have one identical to it, and I'm willing to sell
I appreciate it but I don't purchase anything from a stranger, especially for the amount you likely want for it.
Knivesandtools.co.uk has them now, ships from Holland but in my experience it only takes about two days for their stuff to too arrive. I know your comment is 9 months old, but just making sure you know ;)
They're not exactly studs, but when I talked to David Broadwell about what he calls his sculpted "studs" just calls them "Thumbers"
My daughter loves the color lol
Yep I'm with u on the pink lol
And also he hand picked the knives out to send to you so I'm sure he went over them with a fine tooth comb before he sent them to you do you think he will do the same to all the others he sells...very much sought it!
Скупая мужская слеза. Уважение таким мастерам.
$200?! What a deal!
At an average of £300-£400 a blade I think I’ll stick with my current range. Beautiful blades though
Ahaha great video jim, thanks for sharing. Good on you for getting your editing skills up, but that drum roll at the beginning was cheesy as fuck.
Totally cheesy. But I'm tired of people bitching that there's no sound at the beginning. I don't have licensed music on my computer to edit into these videos, so I'm left with that lol
+Jim Skelton Tell me again, how much the moaning bitches are paying you, to watch your videos? Keep up the good work Jim.
SWEEEET !!!
Love the reviews, not digging the intro though.
Just subscribed those are some sick fucking knives
I'll take that pink one of your hands.. lol in my dreams
fuck
Fuck
FUUUUUUUUCK!!!!
Why didn't I think of the name Darth Blader?
One day I'll find someone who sells them to England
That's more of a purple though
Not being rude but this is far from the best anodizing out there. Want to see some amazing anodizing, check out Esteban from TiSurvial. That guy does remarkable and awesome anodizing.
Wsteban does indeed do good work, but not very diverse. He kinda does the same thing over and over. Nothing wrong with that though. I do out this anodizing above his, it's subtle and the camera doesn't pick up all of it, but it is amazing work.
+Jim Skelton damn phone. Esteban not Wsteban. How the hell does autocorrect not catch shit like that.
The anodizing done at Rike really is one of a kind. You should get your hands on one and see the quality in person. As a custom knife collector I can tell you in my honest opinion it is the best I've ever seen in any market.
His knives are sexy. I like all of them!
gosh they´re so expensive
that's not a thumbstud, it's a Thumthing! now try and pronounce that :D
Okay, serious comment time. These knives look good, but they seem off. Not in the quality, but they just seem soulless. Maybe it's because they're made too quickly and in too great of numbers?
As a matter of fact at Rike Knife we produce our models in "small batch" style in order to keep quality at a very high standard. Couple that with a 100% warranty against defect and direct customer support right here in the US you can't lose!
Whoa! I'm first?!
Look another titanium knife
I rike these knives a rot