Ruike Readies 2019 Budget Knife Plans

Ruike Knives is planning to bolster its growing lineup in 2019, with a particular emphasis on a new batch of budget knives.  We spoke to the company about two of their most recent designs and what Ruike’s class of 2019 will eventually look like. The company has had a relatively quite beginning of the year, but two of its most recent releases are the P671 and the P155. Debuting during fall of last year, the two knives reflect Ruike’s desire to experiment with blade shapes and opening methods.

The P155 is a mid-size slicer, with a 14C28N steel trailing point blade that is ready to work through just about any material. In particular, Ruike posits the P155 as a useful – if unconventional – hunter’s tool. “[It] is perfect for slicing and skinning,” says company representative Eva Xiao. She tells us that Ruike’s Thumb-Up secondary lock, a sliding tab on the spine of the knife that reinforces the liner lock, optimizes the P155 for these rugged cutting chores. “Hunters can completely concentrate their minds on cutting, slicing or skinning tasks without worrying about even the theoretical possibility of locking disengagement.”

The P671 marks the very first in-house flipper design from Ruike, but the company is quite familiar with the form. “[It] is the first front flipper bearing the name of Ruike, but it is not the first time we’ve designed and produced knives of this category for other brands,” Xiao explains. She tells us that the mechanical issues of tuning a front flipper were easy compared to settling on a style of knife with a unique visual identity. “The exterior design, which had to be distinct from any existing front flippers, was time-consuming.” The P671 comes ready for EDC, with a 2.75-inch modified drop point blade, also made from 14C28N. Users can open the knife with the front flipper or a G-10-embellished thumb stud.

Xiao also told us a bit more about the in-house team at Ruike. Both of these recent releases where drawn up by Liang Xiaoxuan, who Xiao describes as “a young yet sophisticated knife designer.” Xiaoxuan will help spearhead the company’s 2019 lineup, which will capitalize on Ruike’s focus on budget knives with a line of knives made, for the first time in Ruike’s lineup, with 8Cr130MoV. “We are going to release more good yet more affordable knives, whose blades are made of 8Cr13MoV and that generally utilize G-10 or Micarta as handle materials,” Xiao tells us. Some other companies that got their start in budget offerings have branched out into higher echelons of product, but Ruike wants to continue to drive the affordable offerings. “Better serving the person of action is the thing we always keep in our mind, and we will further practice the concept in 2019,” Xiao confirms. She says to expect some more announcements next month.

Knife in Featured image: Ruike Knives P671