New Rike Knife Models.

NG VI said:
That's pretty much a clone isn't it?

The Rike actually looks really nice, I'd buy that but not the hollow ground Quartermaster.
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quartermaster buys knives made in china, made by WE, rike and other manufactures.
 
Comeuppance said:
One of their older models is a spitting image of a Chaves Megalodon.

Rike:

a-728941.jpg


Megalodon:

IMG_1742_opt.jpg
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whoever said that those were anywhere close to being related has got something wrong with there eyes.
 
Rike is... I don't understand Rike.

They definitely haven't made the effort on the PR end that other high-end Chinese companies have (WE, Reate), who both are very easy to contact and communicate with. As far as I know, Rike doesn't have a US rep currently, the guy who used to do it (IG handle "Darth_Blader") doesn't seem to have anything to do with them anymore.

Richard endlessly teases knives that never seem to be released (1508p, for example) in the US, although it's very possible they're released in Russia, who seem to be their primary market. For example, they just released the 1508-2/1701 (it's called the 1508-2 on Aliexpress/DH Gate but the 1701 on their website) which seems squarely aimed at the Russian market, especially for the absurdly low price of $125. The advertising banner on Aliexpress for this knife specifically is actually in Russian.

The pricing brings up another issue - I just got my hands on said 1508-2/1701 and it's not substantially less complex than the other models offered in the US, but is less than half the price. They've done this before with the 1502 and 1505, both of which were sort of older models that never made it to the US. They have an incomprehensible business model where some knives are sold to US retailers at MAP, then some are sold on DH Gate or Aliexpress for incredibly cheap, yet there seems to be no difference in complexity/cost. On top of that, they're also doing OEM work for faceless companies that pop up on Aliexpress like "HX Outdoors", whom they've made a smaller, non integral version of the Thor 3 for.

Tinfoil Hat Alert - I'm also fairly confident Rike is still making clones. The Adai 95 with CF inlay and the "Kevin John" (scare quotes used because it appears to use the brand name of Kevin John, but isn't actually produced by the OEM who makes CKF's stuff, who we know as Kevin John) Icebreaker I would both identify as Rike made. I've handled both of these and they use the same blade finish and laser marking for the steels as other Rike knives that were once sold on Aliexpress (the non-US released 1505, for example), as well as having a very similar detent to other authentic Rike made knives (softer detent set up for light-switch style flipping, light lockbar tension).

If someone has some more inside information about the company, I would be curious. They are located in Yangjiang, which is where every Chinese knife company, legitimate or otherwise, is located (along with most of the big Aliexpress sellers). The relationship among these different OEM's, brands, and sellers is a total unknown right now.
 
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everyone said Reate was Adai who's still making clones.

either way both reate and rike both make some really amazing and intricate knives.
 
Mo2 said:
everyone said Reate was Adai who's still making clones.

either way both reate and rike both make some really amazing and intricate knives.
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The brand names are basically meaningless and get interchanged between factories. Reate may have used to produce under the Adai name, but the Adai 95 I've handled is very similar to my Rike knives and very different from my Reate. The "Kevin John" icebreaker feels nothing like any CKF knife of Kevin John branded knife. Richard Wu and David Deng are friends apparently (they both work in the same niche field in the same city so no surprise) so I wouldn't doubt that the brand names like Adai get switched around between factories whenever one is making the less reputable knives.
 
Misanthropia said:
The pricing brings up another issue - I just got my hands on said 1508-2/1701 and it's not substantially less complex than the other models offered in the US, but is less than half the price. They've done this before with the 1502 and 1505, both of which were sort of older models that never made it to the US. They have an incomprehensible business model where some knives are sold to US retailers at MAP, then some are sold on DH Gate or Aliexpress for incredibly cheap, yet there seems to be no difference in complexity/cost. On top of that, they're also doing OEM work for faceless companies that pop up on Aliexpress like "HX Outdoors", whom they've made a smaller, non integral version of the Thor 3 for.
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If this is true -- and I don't doubt you -- why would anyone buy a Rike from a U.S. dealer? Why not just buy one of their China/Russia-only models off of Ali?
 
SpySmasher said:
If this is true -- and I don't doubt you -- why would anyone buy a Rike from a U.S. dealer? Why not just buy one of their China/Russia-only models off of Ali?
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Some of the Rike stuff you can get off Aliexpress is older designs - the 1502 is still for sale their from a ton of different sellers, but at one point there was also the 1505 (both with the contoured scales and with the weird L shaped pattern), and the predecessor to the 1503. There's also been a District 9 model they produced called the District 9 S, although the newest District 9 knife they made is available at one US retailer. The new HX Outdoors knife and the 1508-2/1701 are the only contemporary Rike designs on Aliexpress, so if you want a 1508/1507/1504/Thor you do have to get them from somewhere in the US.

So basically you're paying way more to get the newer designs.
 
Misanthropia said:
Rike is... I don't understand Rike.

They definitely haven't made the effort on the PR end that other high-end Chinese companies have (WE, Reate), who both are very easy to contact and communicate with. As far as I know, Rike doesn't have a US rep currently, the guy who used to do it (IG handle "Darth_Blader") doesn't seem to have anything to do with them anymore.

Richard endlessly teases knives that never seem to be released (1508p, for example) in the US, although it's very possible they're released in Russia, who seem to be their primary market. For example, they just released the 1508-2/1701 (it's called the 1508-2 on Aliexpress/DH Gate but the 1701 on their website) which seems squarely aimed at the Russian market, especially for the absurdly low price of $125. The advertising banner on Aliexpress for this knife specifically is actually in Russian.

The pricing brings up another issue - I just got my hands on said 1508-2/1701 and it's not substantially less complex than the other models offered in the US, but is less than half the price. They've done this before with the 1502 and 1505, both of which were sort of older models that never made it to the US. They have an incomprehensible business model where some knives are sold to US retailers at MAP, then some are sold on DH Gate or Aliexpress for incredibly cheap, yet there seems to be no difference in complexity/cost. On top of that, they're also doing OEM work for faceless companies that pop up on Aliexpress like "HX Outdoors", whom they've made a smaller, non integral version of the Thor 3 for.

Tinfoil Hat Alert - I'm also fairly confident Rike is still making clones. The Adai 95 with CF inlay and the "Kevin John" (scare quotes used because it appears to use the brand name of Kevin John, but isn't actually produced by the OEM who makes CKF's stuff, who we know as Kevin John) Icebreaker I would both identify as Rike made. I've handled both of these and they use the same blade finish and laser marking for the steels as other Rike knives that were once sold on Aliexpress (the non-US released 1505, for example), as well as having a very similar detent to other authentic Rike made knives (softer detent set up for light-switch style flipping, light lockbar tension).

If someone has some more inside information about the company, I would be curious. They are located in Yangjiang, which is where every Chinese knife company, legitimate or otherwise, is located (along with most of the big Aliexpress sellers). The relationship among these different OEM's, brands, and sellers is a total unknown right now.
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So you have a 1508-2. Do you notice any quality differences from the US Rike's? If not that's a really good deal and I don't understand why they would bother with the Russian market at all.
 
Atakdog said:
So you have a 1508-2. Do you notice any quality differences from the US Rike's? If not that's a really good deal and I don't understand why they would bother with the Russian market at all.
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The detent doesn't have a very explosive breakaway, but fit and finish wise it's really nice. The detent could just be mine specifically, but it's not super strong like a ZT or a Reate is. The machining is just as impressive as any of their US models. The lockbar tension is much higher than expected though, and the lockup is super early.

Edit: photo, for reference:

16908217_258979227861630_9216603679497388032_n.jpg
 
Misanthropia said:
The detent doesn't have a very explosive breakaway, but fit and finish wise it's really nice. The detent could just be mine specifically, but it's not super strong like a ZT or a Reate is. The machining is just as impressive as any of their US models. The lockbar tension is much higher than expected though, and the lockup is super early.

Edit: photo, for reference:
Click to expand...
Thanks. I would guess the softer detent is just yours. You say this is primarily for the Russian market, and they seem to like their strong detents.
 
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