RJ Rickter RED DOT from the flea !!

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button_man
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RJ Rickter RED DOT from the flea !!

Post by button_man »

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This knife was not any kind of incredible bargain.... I had to pay $200 for it, and unfortunately it has a small degree of blade peek.

Because of the price and condition, I was hesitant at first; but finally decided that the worst I could probably do was to come out
somewhere in the neighborhood of breaking even. I welcome the thoughts of others on whether this purchase was worthwhile.

'Rickter' is not mentioned in the 'Tang Stamps' chapter in "Switchblades of Italy", and a search of this site does not show that
the name has ever been mentioned here. These two data seem fairly significant; this cannot be a common stamping by any means.

(I thought it was interesting that "Italy" was referenced on both sides of the ricasso; and that the "in" contained inside the
marking "made in Italy" is noticeably smaller than the other two words. Also, if you compare the two "Italy" markings, it is
obvious that two entirely different stamps were used on each side of the ricasso.)

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hearandgone
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Re: RJ Rickter RED DOT from the flea !!

Post by hearandgone »

There is much information on this site for R J Richter.
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whippersnapper
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Re: RJ Rickter RED DOT from the flea !!

Post by whippersnapper »

Yep, it is Richter, not RicKter.
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Bill DeShivs
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Re: RJ Rickter RED DOT from the flea !!

Post by Bill DeShivs »

I would say it's a bargain at $200. It's even worth repairing/restoring.
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Mario
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Re: RJ Rickter RED DOT from the flea !!

Post by Mario »

Damn dude! You got some bitchin’ flea markets up there in Alaska! Never find anything like this at my fleas! It’s all cheap China stuff.
button_man
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Re: RJ Rickter RED DOT from the flea !!

Post by button_man »

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Geez, it LOOKED like a 'K' instead of an 'H'..... well, obviously this explains why I didn't find any info from the searches.
I just used a loupe and yes, I can see that it's an 'H' now. And thanks Bill; now I feel better about spending the money.

I was very lucky to score this knife today. Although the forecast was for showers overnight and clearing by 7 am, we were still getting drizzle and there were only about five sellers set up. The guy I bought this from literally had only bought it about 2 hours earlier and was reluctant to sell it even at two hundred dollars. I had almost turned around and went home halfway to the market..... but experience has taught me never to talk myself out of hitting every possible source, because that's when you can miss out on something good. Today was an excellent example of that!

Along with the weather issue, probably few vendors showed up because we lost three sellers recently to ravening wolf packs.....

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sammy the blade
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Re: RJ Rickter RED DOT from the flea !!

Post by sammy the blade »

Sounds like a nasty way to get out of the business.
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Fishtail Picklock
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Re: RJ Rickter RED DOT from the flea !!

Post by Fishtail Picklock »

button_man wrote: Sat Oct 16, 2021 9:51 pm .

Geez, it LOOKED like a 'K' instead of an 'H'..... well, obviously this explains why I didn't find any info from the searches.
I just used a loupe and yes, I can see that it's an 'H' now. And thanks Bill; now I feel better about spending the money.

I was very lucky to score this knife today. Although the forecast was for showers overnight and clearing by 7 am, we were still getting drizzle and there were only about five sellers set up. The guy I bought this from literally had only bought it about 2 hours earlier and was reluctant to sell it even at two hundred dollars. I had almost turned around and went home halfway to the market..... but experience has taught me never to talk myself out of hitting every possible source, because that's when you can miss out on something good. Today was an excellent example of that!

Along with the weather issue, probably a few vendors showed up because we lost three sellers recently to ravening wolf packs.....

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Sweet, merciful, CRAP! That's a nasty way to "depart the scene". Nice score. That's a great piece of Italian history.
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button_man
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Re: RJ Rickter RED DOT from the flea !!

Post by button_man »

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hearandgone wrote: Sat Oct 16, 2021 7:40 pm There is much information on this site for R J Richter.

Actually, there isn't...... I looked at every single result that came up from a search, and what I mostly found was people asking "I just got a knife
marked R.J. Richter - can anyone tell me anything about it?" But nobody actually seems to have any hard data to link up with the Richter name.
Nobody knows who the guy was, or what type of company he had, or which years he was in business, or where he was located.... nothing.

UPDATE: I changed my search configuration slightly, and hit the jackpot!
I am writing an email to Mr. Richter even as we speak.....
Of course, I will share any results here on this thread.

https://www.allaboutpocketknives.com/kn ... hp?t=43294

R J Richter (Rudolph J Richter) was my Grandfather who worked with my Father Rudolph C Richter as an importer and wholesaler of cutlery in Arlington MA, I would like to share my limited knowledge of this business and hear from anyone who may be able to add to my knowledge of this business.

Robert J Richter
283 Elm Street
North Reading, MA 01864
rjr@bobscomp.com


ANOTHER UPDATE: I have kept reading the AAPK thread and in Mr. Richter's post of Nov. 19, 2014 he recounts what he knows of his family business; unfortunately a lot of it seems to have been lost to history. There are also some interesting photos of RJR knives (including autos)

====================================================================================================================

Would my knife be classified as a flat-guard? The guards do seem fairly flat; yet there is a slight bit of curve.
I'm not quite sure how flat they have to be in order to be designated as "flat-guard". Here's a photo:

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rock-n-roll$$$$$$
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Re: RJ Rickter RED DOT from the flea !!

Post by rock-n-roll$$$$$$ »

I have seen that stamp only 2x, I think it may be a flat guard, I also see that it has a top brass bolster, and for only $ 200 bucks, you got a very good deal, if it was mine I would send it out for a small tune up, btw, you are having very good luck at the flea.
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fastr19
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Re: RJ Rickter RED DOT from the flea !!

Post by fastr19 »

I have a couple. A member on SD asked if I knew anything about the stamp. Here is my answer.
Thanks guys.
Ulf here is what I have read: Rudolph J Richter was a knife producer in Solingen Germany with a branch in Arlington 74 Mass. who sold Helle, Brusletto, and other quality products. He imported knives made in Scandanavia, Germany, and Italy. The source said he distributed quality picklocks in the 70's. (I wonder where he distributed them?).
I guess the negative is that he imported the first fantasy Nazi pen knives , made by Olbertz of Solingen. the tang stamps on these were his name and Germany. I read he also designed these fake Nazi knives.
This info came from Levine and ebay guides pretty much quoted word for word.
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Bill DeShivs
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Re: RJ Rickter RED DOT from the flea !!

Post by Bill DeShivs »

But, this knife was made n the 1950s.
It's not a flat guard.
Bill DeShivs, Master Cutler
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Factory authorized repairs for:
Latama, Mauro Mario, LePre, Colonial, Kabar, Flylock, Schrade Cut Co., Presto, Press Button, Hubertus, Grafrath, Kuno Ritter knives, Puma, Burrell Cutlery.
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JulesVane
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Re: RJ Rickter RED DOT from the flea !!

Post by JulesVane »

Great score!
Image

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button_man
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Re: RJ Rickter RED DOT from the flea !!

Post by button_man »

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Mr. Richter was kind enough to respond promptly; unfortunately he doesn't have much more than is posted on AAPK.

Thanks to everyone for their information! (Sadly, there was no good cutlery to be had at the flea this morning.....)

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button_man
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Re: RJ Rickter RED DOT from the flea !!

Post by button_man »

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fastr19 wrote: Sun Oct 17, 2021 3:12 pm ....here is what I have read: Rudolph J Richter was a knife producer in Solingen Germany with a branch in Arlington 74 Mass. who sold Helle, Brusletto, and other quality products. He imported knives made in Scandanavia, Germany, and Italy. The source said he distributed quality picklocks in the 70's.
(I wonder where he distributed them?).

This info came from Levine and ebay guides pretty much quoted word for word.
--------------------------------

I emailed this info to Mr. Richter and here is his response:

"After about 1963 my father was a managing director for Bulova watches in Germany, so no further imports by him, and my grandfather was deceased
Don’t know where he thinks he got his information, but it seems wrong to me. My understanding is that my grandfather was a salesman for Solingen knives traveling in eastern Europe, he may have been the owner of a Solingen Knife factory but I have no proof, only that he did travel to sell."

So, according to Mr. Richter, it is very unlikely that any knives were imported with the family name after 1963.

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