2 nail nicks

Rover-Friskey

Rover-Friskey

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Oct 22, 2023
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Just got a Rough Ryder Coral Snake Trapper. Each blade has 2 nail nicks. 1 near the tang, the other near the point. What is the purpose for having 2?
Thanks!
 
Extra options? I’ve seen this on old hunter pattern knives before. Always seemed like the extra nick was an afterthought to the design to give the user a little more leverage.
 
You see this every once in a while, The Sunfish pictured below has a second nail nick near the point. It opens easily, so I don't know why it's there. It may be purely a style thing. Rough Ryder knives aren't known for faithfully reproducing any traditional pattern, so my vote would be for style points.

OouvGPw.png
 
I think it was originally for making it easy open, since the closer to the tip the nick is, the more leverage to open.

NOTE: I am probably mistaken.

I've seen them on the Rough Ryder 2 blade Folding Hunter. To me they are ugly and a deal murderer. Maybe if they didn't have the match strike pulls they would look better. Personally, I "wish" they would drop the tang end nick for looks.
All my RR except the stockman's, have a "5" pull. The stockman's are all a Buck 301-ish "4", whether a 3.75" closed Sowbelly, to a "XL" 4.25" closed model.
Taking that into consideration, the tang end nicks would probably be enough that it would not be necessary to fight with the knife to open it.

I have seen a few vintage single blade slipjoint folding hunters with twin nicks. "The Why" is beyond my pay grade; EVERY single blade slipjoint folding hunter I've seen was equipped with a pinchable blade ... even moreso than a Buck 110 and a Old Timer 6OT/7OT's blade. 🤨
 
Ease of opening is a relative thing. For some of us, a blade that we find to have moderate or even light pull might still be difficult for someone with aging hands, arthritis or sensitivity / numbness in the fingertips, or fingernails that become weak & brittle. I say this because, in having watched my own father begin to struggle with such things as he advanced into his late 80s, it became an eye-opener for me.

I remember A.G. Russell sold a few patterns (or maybe just one) with dual nail nicks some years ago, maybe in the '90s or a little later. One of them was a large Daddy/Granddaddy barlow, pictured below. He did mention in the catalog listing that it offers leverage options for those needing it.
KLC12582.jpg
 
Obsessed with Edges said:
Ease of opening is a relative thing. For some of us, a blade that we find to have moderate or even light pull might still be difficult for someone with aging hands, arthritis or sensitivity / numbness in the fingertips, or fingernails that become weak & brittle. I say this because, in having watched my own father begin to struggle with such things as he advanced into his late 80s, it became an eye-opener for me.

I remember A.G. Russell sold a few patterns (or maybe just one) with dual nail nicks some years ago, maybe in the '90s or a little later. One of them was a large Daddy/Granddaddy barlow, pictured below. He did mention in the catalog listing that it offers leverage options for those needing it.
KLC12582.jpg
Click to expand...
Love the "recursive shield" on your knife! :cool::thumbsup::cool:

- GT
 
5K Qs said:
Love the "recursive shield" on your knife! :cool::thumbsup::cool:

- GT
Click to expand...
Not actually mine, but a pic I found on the web in a 'sold' listing from years ago. Apparently A.G.R. had produced this one (via Camillus) in the 1970s, according to the listing. I'd also seen these advertised in A.G.R.'s catalogs back in the '90s or so, and was always tempted. Never pulled the trigger though.
 
Obsessed with Edges said:
Ease of opening is a relative thing. For some of us, a blade that we find to have moderate or even light pull might still be difficult for someone with aging hands, arthritis or sensitivity / numbness in the fingertips, or fingernails that become weak & brittle. I say this because, in having watched my own father begin to struggle with such things as he advanced into his late 80s, it became an eye-opener for me.

I remember A.G. Russell sold a few patterns (or maybe just one) with dual nail nicks some years ago, maybe in the '90s or a little later. One of them was a large Daddy/Granddaddy barlow, pictured below. He did mention in the catalog listing that it offers leverage options for those needing it.
KLC12582.jpg
Click to expand...
That’s like the flexible flyer with the logo of the flexible flyer on it, and presumably a logo somewhere on the flexible flyer on the one inside the logo.
 
afishhunter said:
I think it was originally for making it easy open, since the closer to the tip the nick is, the more leverage to open.

NOTE: I am probably mistaken.

I've seen them on the Rough Ryder 2 blade Folding Hunter. To me they are ugly and a deal murderer. Maybe if they didn't have the match strike pulls they would look better. Personally, I "wish" they would drop the tang end nick for looks.
All my RR except the stockman's, have a "5" pull. The stockman's are all a Buck 301-ish "4", whether a 3.75" closed Sowbelly, to a "XL" 4.25" closed model.
Taking that into consideration, the tang end nicks would probably be enough that it would not be necessary to fight with the knife to open it.

I have seen a few vintage single blade slipjoint folding hunters with twin nicks. "The Why" is beyond my pay grade; EVERY single blade slipjoint folding hunter I've seen was equipped with a pinchable blade ... even moreso than a Buck 110 and a Old Timer 6OT/7OT's blade. 🤨
Click to expand...
 
EngrSorenson said:
That’s like the flexible flyer with the logo of the flexible flyer on it, and presumably a logo somewhere on the flexible flyer on the one inside the logo.
Click to expand...
excellent point. I am 72 so i am not so far from when opening a slip joint will be a challenge maybe, if the good Lord lets me live so long.
 
I think it has to just be for looks, because if the other nail nick is in a better position to make the knife easier to open then it makes zero sense to spend the time on the other nick that's in a less ideal position.
If you've got a nail nick and a long pull that's a different story.
In that case you've got a nail nick and the edge of a pull to add grip when pinching the blade to pull it open.
I personally don't like the looks of two and since I'm a knife enthusiast who owns a bunch I don't really need the options on one knife.


There's a lot of companies offering inexpensive knives who really love to appeal to people who just collect their knives, and they offer tons of random features and cover materials just for the sake of being different and worthy of collecting.
 
Those long straight pulls once had a purpose, the meaning of which seemingly has been lost by makers looking to connect their product to traditional knives made long ago. Back in the day they were called matchstriker pulls, and had fine sharply cut teeth. Western did a lot of this, and many Sheffield made knives had them. Properly placed, you could strike an old style strike anywhere match on it. On new knives with large openly spaced teeth or no teeth at all they are just a cosmetic throwback.
 
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