Real Steel knives

They are a huge step below the likes of WE, Civivi, Reate and Kizer in terms of fit and finish, and overall quality. Their heat treatment is hit or miss.

I had a few Real Steel knives come and go over the years. Emphasis on the "go". Not a fan.
 
Picked up one of their "Bushcrafter" fixed blades a couple of years ago (supposedly in D2) - excellent fit and finish, very sharp. G10 handle on the slippery side, though.
 
I've had a bunch of Real Steel knives. As far as I can tell, they are made by Sanrenmu. They've done some work with designers such as Ostap Hel. They are a reputable brand and you don't have to worry whether the steel stamp is true. While I'm not sure it's "huge", shane45-1911 shane45-1911 is right that their overall quality tends to be a step down from Civivi or Kizer. Their heat treatment isn't always the best either. It's not usually terrible or anything but don't expect the best.

For instance, I sent in some of my knives in 9Cr18Mov for cut testing. The edge performance from Real Steel's 9Cr18Mov was average. That's not a bad thing. However, something to think about with this steel is that the stuff coming from WE (Civivi, Sencut, Ferrum Forge) gets a notably superior heat treatment. It's like the difference between average 420HC and Buck's 420HC with the Bos heat treatment, only from a better starting point. The average edge retention for 9Cr18Mov from companies like Real Steel or Schrade is still a significant step up from 8Cr13Mov.

Based on independent testing, a lot of their 14C28N runs closer to 56HRC. That might sound bad but lots of companies seem to run their Sandvik steels a little soft. For better options, Kershaw and TwoSun have averages closer to 58HRC. I haven't seen any of the Civivi models in 14C28N tested but they seem good.

The bottom line is that if you really like a design from Real Steel, and you have your expectations tempered for a budget knife anyway, don't worry about it. Give it a thorough inspection when you get it. If everything seems okay, go use it! I've had a lot of fun with my Real Steel knives.
 
I only own 1 Real Steel knife -- a Ti/M390 Megalodon 2017 -- but I like it very much and it's in my EDC rotation.

It only cost me about $200 but IMO it's competitive w/other Ti/M390 knives that cost much more in terms of fit/finish. For example, a Ti M390 Olamic Rainmaker cost me over 2x that price. It offers certain "embellishments" that the Megalodon does not for the extra cost but is it really "worth" 2x the price?

Probably not based only on functionality but, of course, that's not what collecting knifes is all about. ;)
 
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Here are my top three knives from Real Steel. From left to right:

Receptor - This wonderfully ergonomic little fixed blade is an Ostap Hel design. The exposed tang edges are rounded. The blade and hardware show what I consider to be a perfect example of "black wash". This is the knife with "average 9Cr18Mov" that I had tested. The sheath is excellent but this was somehow marketed as a "neck knife". 🤦‍♂️ This is definitely a belt knife. It's off now but will end up back on a Tek-Lok soon. The Receptor is sadly discontinued but seems to still show up occasionally.

H6 Elegance - There are a bunch of different versions of the H6. This is my favorite. I got this in my quest to find a good tip-down back-pocket beater. It runs 14C28N on washers. It flicks out nicely and is reasonably comfortable in hand.

Pointman - This is a handy fixed blade but the scale edges were a little crisp. I spent 5-10 minutes rounding them off with an emery board and it was good to go. This uses the same clip as the Ruike Jager and a few of the Sanrenmu fixed blades. The angle of orientation can be quickly changed by pressing a little button, rotating, and clicking into one of maybe eight different orientations. I thought it was gimmicky at first but I've come to love it.

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Ive had a H9 Takin, for few years ,solid, no blade play or lock slop, a bit thick behind the edge like Benchmade stuff, 1428cn steel is ,meh not great not bad.
For the price if you like the design, good users.
 
I love the designs from Real Steel but was never convinced to pull the trigger (too much AUS-10 available in the same price range right now).
 
I gave away a bunch because they're usually very cheap. Decently smooth thumbstud, flipper knives that are easy to operate, good for a beater/first knife.

I only kept one knife (well 2, different color), the luna lite in G10. Its incredibly light, slicey, thin, and has a surprisingly sexy walk and talk (halfstop). Great knife for the price, I got both at under 20$...

Other real steels are very "loose" feeling, the only "tight" feeling Chinese knives I've gotten are CiWEvi ones. Kizers are close, but not quite.
 
I have a few of the older folders they offered.

It has been a while since I really checked them out though.
 
I've owned one, the Metamorph, and my kiddo owns one (can't remember the model). They're solid knives for the price, although less refined than CIVIVI. I'd take them over budget offerings from Kizer, Artisan, or Bestech any day, though.
 
I’ve owned a few of their higher tier offerings, and I second Chronovore Chronovore ‘s general assessment.

The Indiana Knives Exclusive Megalodon is especially good.

M390, tan micarta, titanium lockside, once broken in take just a tiny shake to drop shut, very slicey grind. I can’t really say anything about the HT though.

Also, I love the styling personally.
 
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