Meyerco Darrel Ralph Assisted Opening 45 Knife

[MITCH RAPP]

Meyerco just came out with these 45 themed AO Knives by Darrel Ralph. They look pretty Cool! Too bad they had to have them made in China!

[NYRich]

Maybe I just got a bad one, but I'd be interested in knowing if anyone else owning one of these has an issue with blade play? I received mine as a gift (which can't be returned for several reasons that I won't go into) and was surprised at how easily the blade can be moved from side to side when locked open.

I also find that the lock release is buried so deeply in the body of the knife that one-hand closing is next to impossible.

Chinese manufacturing aside, this is not a knife that I ever would have bought for myself simply due to it weighing 7oz. You would think that with that much weight the knife would be super-solid, but I don't find that to be the case.

Maybe I've gotten spoiled by Spyderco (even their Chinese stuff) and Benchmade quality, but if this is standard QC for Meyerco, they will never see a dollar of my money.

[garddogg56]

I have a set of handles like that but there isn't any wiggle on the barrel

[NYRich]

I have a set of handles like that but there isn't any wiggle on the barrel

Something tells me that Mr. Browning did a better job than Mr. Meyerco.

[garddogg56]

I know so NYRICH

[MITCH RAPP]

NYRICH, I also received one of these knives as a gift. The Black handled one. Mine locks up solid as a Rock with no blade play what so ever. Since these knives are made in China, the QC is probably real hit and miss. Your right about the one hand closing being difficult but it can be done with a little practice. What I found interesting is that Darrel Ralph, who by the way is one of my all time favorite Knife Makers put his name on these!

[NYRich]

NYRICH, I also received one of these knives as a gift. The Black handled one. Mine locks up solid as a Rock with no blade play what so ever. Since these knives are made in China, the QC is probably real hit and miss. Your right about the one hand closing being difficult but it can be done with a little practice. What I found interesting is that Darrel Ralph, who by the way is one of my all time favorite Knife Makers put his name on these!

Hi Mitch,

I have to agree about Darrel Ralph. Not that I own any of his customs, but I've admired his work for years. I guess it's hard to turn down a fat fee and he wouldn't be the first one to sell his name. I really feel bad that the person who gave it to me probably wasted $45-50. He's not a knife guy and wouldn't have known what to look for.

The only other Chinese-made knife that I own is a Spyderco Tenacious which is really excellent for a $30 knife. The lockup on that one is as good as any I've seen on their U.S. made models. Maybe their QC is just better than Meyerco's as I've never heard anyone complain about the Chinese-made Spyderco's.

Since I can't return it/exchange it (or have it repaired by Meyerco.....I live in NYC if you know what I mean), I might just take the .45 apart and see if I can figure out why there's so much lateral play. I'm thinking that thicker pivot bushings might do the trick. Anyway, I have nothing to lose as right now I won't even carry it.

[MITCH RAPP]

Rich, I have to agree! The Spyderco Tenacious, really is a Great Knife for the Money! I think Sal Glasser is really on top of the Quality of his out sourced products. If you can't return the Knife to Meyerco, then I would also take it apart to see if I could repair it. By the way what the Hell is going on in NYC with your Knife Rights? Geez I thought we had it Bad here on the Left Coast in California. I noticed a lot of the Knife Sellers I use for Taticals, say right on their web sites in Red Letters "Will Not Ship To NYC"

[NYRich]

Rich, I have to agree! The Spyderco Tenacious, really is a Great Knife for the Money! I think Sal Glasser is really on top of the Quality of his out sourced products. If you can't return the Knife to Meyerco, then I would also take it apart to see if I could repair it. By the way what the Hell is going on in NYC with your Knife Rights? Geez I thought we had it Bad here on the Left Coast in California. I noticed a lot of the Knife Sellers I use for Taticals, say right on their web sites in Red Letters "Will Not Ship To NYC"

Yeah, Sal earned Spyderco it's reputation the hard way. I have 5 or 6 Spydies and one is better than the next.

http://newyorkcriminaldefenseblawg.com/ ... york-city/

I don't know if the link will work or not, but you can just cut and paste it in your browser. This is about as good an explanation as I've ever seen of what our "crusading" D.A. is doing. While I can appreciate the need for certain limits, this guy is really over the top with his ideas. Next thing he's liable to do is require restaurants to pre-cut their steaks before serving them.

As I understand it, someone living in New York City cannot even send a locking knife for a repair as the manufacturers are afraid to ship them back to the owners. The whole thing is silly and much of what has gone on would be considered blackmail if it wasn't being done by people like Vance.

[NYRich]

For those of you interested, I took the knife apart over the weekend. The screw to adjust the pivot is hidden underneath a scale. It was quite loose and took nearly a full turn to get tight enough to eliminate most of the blade play. Tightening in fully defeats the assist mechanism and the blade stops about half way open. By partially tightening it, the whole knife seems to come into better alignment as I can now more easily close it with one hand.

[johnnierotten]

I spotted these the other day.....I'm also surprised Darrel put his name on them.

Heres a Ralph / Wilson auto that I own....I have heard that He is having this pattern reproduced overseas.
I'm not 100% positive...but that is what I heard.