Thoughts: Ryan Wilson - Wilson Tactical RRF

[amsquare]

This is a weirdly fascinating knife. It is smaller than I expected, but has a big presence. It is endlessly satisfying to handle and demands attention. Despite what could be an ominous appearance and dangerous demeanor, it is extraordinarily well behaved and draws ahs and admiration from my family and non knife collecting friends rather than fear or scorn.

Love your intelligent and articulate videos, Dave. Keep the coming.

[vcvaliantbmx]

99% sure I am gonna pick one of these up in the next week or so. Do you recommend this for an all round camping traveling knife? I will be going around the country soon and need a knife to carry on me pretty much everywhere I go. Would this be strong enough and suitable for cutting small sticks and rope etc? Great review, thanks.

[sluggoII]

Dude, your hands are creepy-looking...

[SIG551P]

What's with the cigar?

[SuperWolf36]

Alejandro I made that comment based on a pic I saw

on the Wilson combat site,I was wrong about the g10 and u are right about the ti---thanks for settinge str8 sird

[JohnWayneColt45]

what an absolutely awesome knife man.I just dig the looks of it.And the materials used are phenomenal!!

[EMacXL]

I agree that it's cool how many features and ideas are put into this one. The design aesthetics I'd have to say are subjective :) Basically given the price point, I'm really glad it doesn't appeal to me :)

I think they overdid it on the thumbstuds. Flipper + open assist is such an easy method of opening, that thumbstuds are not needed, and I'd gladly see them removed to get a clean uninterupted blade instead.

Thanks for the review.

[SuperWolf36]

Have you gotten a chance to get your hands on the new Wilson combat/Chris reeves collab?I would like to get one but I have yet to see enough pics for my taste--It has the starburst g-10 and ti framelock with s-30v steel--I am hoping to pick one up at the blade show in Atlanta.thank you sir

[nycdave212]

@SuperWolf36

Actually I haven't seen one in person yet. If you get a chance to see one at Blade, drop me a line latter letting me know what you think. It could be a winner!

Thanks for watching, Man! And enjoy Blade! Wish I could go.

[TheMrProtocol]

@nycdave212 Great review! thanks for doing a review of wilson tactical knives. i've never heard anything bad about this company. However, there website says that their knives are made by hand and yet you say their production. how is this possible?

[alejandrosantana1991]

@SuperWolf36 Where did you get the g10 idea it is made of titanium on both sides

[jvthatsme]

Is this the spring assisted version?

[nycdave212]

@jvthatsme

Yep, it's assisted. It uses a torsion bar.

Thanks for watching.

[jvthatsme]

@nycdave212 Torsion bar or spring? I notice that there's only a manual version and a spring assist version on wilson's site.

[survivaloutfitter]

How much did you pay for this, i found it on the website for 400, im just wondering if thats overpriced.....

[nycdave212]

@survivaloutfitter

Heya, Man... that price sounds just about right. Haven't seen 'em for sale for lower then that. Also, availability used to be an issue, so prices were often higher. Hope that helps!

Thanks for watching!

[jvthatsme]

Have you got a chance to get hands on with the Wilson Tactical Delta Spec Ops knife? Wondering if there are other options i should consider.

[nycdave212]

@jvthatsme

Hmm.. I have not had a chance to handle that one... Wilson Tactical makes some awesome knives... Lots of options to consider. Let me know if there's any specifics you have questions about.

Good luck!

[taazen74]

How will u compare the Wilson to Hinderer XM-18?

[nycdave212]

@taazen74

Heya, Man... I would say it compares very favorably. However, probably more so to the 3" XM-18 rather then the 3.5". The 3.5" XM-18 is a much larger knife overall.

Both knives are ridiculously overbuilt.... probably comes down to preference and availability. Also, the assisted opening may not be desired by everyone.

Thanks for watching!

[taazen74]

Also, have u seen the Izula Folder from RatCuterly now ESEE? If not, chech it out. Think i have to order one when they get it for sale.

[nycdave212]

@taazen74

Cool.... will keep a watch out for it! Thanks!

[taazen74]

Tnx man. Great knife. A new desire has awakened in me. Here in Norway that knife will cost me around 600 dollar.:( So i was thinking of Spyderco Military Titanium. U have some experience with that one?

[nycdave212]

@taazen74

Wow... hell of a mark up... Sorry to hear that, Man...

The Spyderco Military full Ti is definitely on my short list of knives to pick up soon. It looks to be just awesome. Hopefully get to one soon. I don't think you can go wrong with it.

Thanks for watching! Much appreciated!

[BeniGuma1337]

Haha, @6:08, unfortunately you were into the combo-edge. I'm happy that I went through that phase early on and before I got into trouble I watched a lot of videos about it.

I really like that blade shape, but I'm still iffy about the feel of titanium handles. I'm more partial to liners+G10 or micarta.

[nycdave212]

@BeniGuma1337

Haha! I really don't mind serrations, but really would have liked a plain edge AFCK ;) Did manage to pick one up recently, so, all's good now :) Serrations do have their place and functionality, no doubt.

I hear ya on the handles, but the G-10 inserts to provide some good purchase.

Thanks for watching, Man!

[austinguy23]

Oh yeah, I forgot to mention that they should inlay their gold colored Wilson emblem in one of the scales...the one you see in their handgun grips. Maybe...I'd have to see what it would look like...it's possible that it would look too gaudy.

[nycdave212]

@austinguy23

Hmm... Maybe grey or silver to keep a more tactical look? ;)

[austinguy23]

Nice knife & review!

A few things I'd change:

The flipper would look better with fine checkering (as found on the grips of Wilson's handguns) and skeletonized as found on their hammers.

The jimping appears too mild.

The G10 inlay looks awkward and detracts from the aesthetics in my opinion.

I like the cutting surface of the blade but the rest of the blade would benefit greatly from some subtle styling in geometry.

The lanyard skull was a silly idea, along with the logo on the blade =/

[nycdave212]

@austinguy23

Thanks, Man! Definitely some merit to your suggestions... You will be happy to know that Wilson Tactical has changed it's logo ;) Not the skull bead though... heh ;)

[austinguy23]

I made a detailed post on Wilson's sub-forum on Bladeforums suggesting my changes. I haven't heard back though lol.

[zionburner]

its just needs a hitting pommel, a wave feature like Emersons and it will be the perfect tactical folder. Great review

[nycdave212]

@zionburner

Thanks for watching Man! I like the way you think! :)

[oromoto]

I am liking it!

[nycdave212]

@oromoto

Me too ;) Thanks for watching, Man!

I'm tempted to redo this vid, I don't know if I did this knife justice... we'll see...

[oromoto]

more comparisons of other knives to this one might be a good idea to show the details and differences.

[protreats]

I am in love with this knife. I am currently using a Kershaw ZT 0400 for EDC and enjoy it very much. After seeing this knife I have instantly fallen in love and am buying one straight away.

[nycdave212]

@protreats

Awesome, Man... you won't be disappointed!

[nate3993]

cool vid. been thinking about picking one up

[nycdave212]

Thanks for watching! Go for it, you won't be disappointed... I think it's one of the best knives I own.

[fiendslegacy]

ps, what are you smoking?

[nycdave212]

mmm... pretty sure that was Montecristo No. 2... yummy ;)

[fiendslegacy]

I have been eyeballing the Combat Elite and Extreme LIte Carry for a while. I would like to see more of anything with the name Wilson in my possession...

[nycdave212]

Cool choices, Man... If & when you pick one up, make sure you get a vid up quick.. would love to hear about it... Thanks for watching!

[knifefreak1995]

i wonder how fast the non assisted version of this knife would

[nycdave212]

Not sure... I've yet to come across one... Maybe another viewer can chime in on this one... Thanks for watching!

[BLUNTRUTH4U]

Nice! Really like this one. Lots of titanium (even the clip, wow), S30V, AO, frame-lock. Great! I want one.

Nice review! 5!

[nycdave212]

Thanks much! Ya... this one continues to be my favorite... just full of all kinds of goodness... Would love to see a bigger presence of Wilson Tacticals out there, maybe someday...

[LP18888]

Great knife and cigar, I like the way you roll.

[nycdave212]

Much thanks man! You've got some great vids going too!

[knifefreak1995]

its so many knives in one

[nycdave212]

Exactly man... Thanks for watching & commenting!

[CreativeOutletHobbie]

Yeah I like the looks of that knife

[nycdave212]

Cool man... thanks for watching!

[mrbeligos]

i have been eyeballing this knife for quite some time now. my benchmark for this size and price range is the sebenza. I was disappointed with the combat elite levil-3.

how does this carry in your pants pocket? is it easy to deploy?

[nycdave212]

Heya.. Thanks for watching.

As far as clip carry goes, it offers both right side tip up or tip down carry. In the tip down position, it rides very deep into the pocket, with minimal protrusion. Tip up exposes slightly more knife.

Deployment, or engagement of the blade, is among the best, solidly built and fastest I've handled in either assisted or manual knife.

It's different from a sebenza mainly in its intent and resulting ergonomics. Build quality, fit and finish is imho on par.

[QuietBearr]

That is a very beautiful knife! Has a beautiful price tag as well! lol :P

Nice cigar by the way!

[nycdave212]

Heh, thanks all around :)

Ya... they used to be a bit less pricey, but I since production has ceased on it, the market has adjusted accordingly... Maybe they'll re-issue it (not sure what's going on @ Wilson Tactical, they website is pretty sparse).... Howver, given all the components, it does price comparably to other offerings out there ;)

Thanks again, -D

[nycdave212]

Actually, I stand corrected, they have a new website up, with all the products listed... glad to see it :)

-D

[bcv001]

hi thanks again good vid....do u have the website of this knife and how much u got it for ?

[PMCMANIS]

they can be found on knifeart for about 400.

overall its really cool, I wish wilson would make a manual version without the combat elite stamp on the blade though. maybe replace that with "ryan wilson" or just "wilson".

[nycdave212]

I have to agree with you there... There is a pure manual version of the RRF, but it's made in Italy(?)... But it does sport the same "Combat Elite" branding... Would really be nice for them to drop it, or change it... maybe, a bit "over the top" for a logo, ya know?

Darrel Ralph has very comparable offerings, but being all customs, they come in at 2x-4x the price...

Thanks., -Dave

[mrbeligos]

as far as logo's go they need to do something besides paint the logo on (how cheap).

[nycdave212]

You can check out their website directly, (Wilson Tactical), they can also be found at a few dealers out there :) PMCManis listed one good site :) Shop around :)

[nycdave212]

PMCManis,

I actually just took a look at their new website, and they now offer the RRF in a full manual version... Check out the Tactical Level 1, 2, or 3 models... Also full manual.

However, all of them do sport the "Combat Elite" logo... oh well...

-D