Best Crappy Knife Brand for appearances

[BradleySmall]

These had shields?
Got any pictures?
Are these real imperial knives made in Prov RI, or recent Chinese taylor brands imperial/schrade knives ?
If that's the case it would just be poor CC and a bad glue job.

I don't know off the top of my head if the imperial frontier knives had shields, but beyond maybe those and the modern imports you'd be looking at the pretty early pre 50's imperial knives that used standard knife construction.

I assume these are Taylor since they don't say RI or USA or anything good on the tangs. The main blade has "Imperial Schrade" either painted or electro'ed on it. The tang simply says Imperial with the crown, and the model number on the opposite side. IMP16T IMP19PRT IMP40. Some people don't like short knives so the joke goes "You know what the best thing about twenty five inch knives is? ... There's 25 of them " I got them as a bunch, and judging by a picture with nothing to scale, I was not aware they were mostly < 3" knives. Live and learn. The dark one is a reasonable 3.5". The one with the shield is all around pretty good shape, and the one without needs some work. And the one with the bale probably should be on a keychain. But there was also a 4.5" lockback that someone stole the thumb stud out of as well and I have less than $20 including shipping in the whole lot. So, some cleanup and maybe even rehanding the one and a good sharpening perhaps I can have at least one I want to keep, and the rest can be gifts or quick and easy $10 turnovers if I can feel good about them.

I guess the point is, one can't really make decisions simply based on the brand name. Especially with out any CoO stamp at all.

 

[Hickory n steel]

I assume these are Taylor since they don't say RI or USA or anything good on the tangs. The main blade has "Imperial Schrade" either painted or electro'ed on it. The tang simply says Imperial with the crown, and the model number on the opposite side. IMP16T IMP19PRT IMP40. Some people don't like short knives so the joke goes "You know what the best thing about twenty five inch knives is? ... There's 25 of them " I got them as a bunch, and judging by a picture with nothing to scale, I was not aware they were mostly < 3" knives. Live and learn. The dark one is a reasonable 3.5". The one with the shield is all around pretty good shape, and the one without needs some work. And the one with the bale probably should be on a keychain. But there was also a 4.5" lockback that someone stole the thumb stud out of as well and I have less than $20 including shipping in the whole lot. So, some cleanup and maybe even rehanding the one and a good sharpening perhaps I can have at least one I want to keep, and the rest can be gifts or quick and easy $10 turnovers if I can feel good about them.

I guess the point is, one can't really make decisions simply based on the brand name. Especially with out any CoO stamp at all.

Yeah those are moden Chinese taylor brands.
Missing shields because they were just glued and not very well.

 

[afishhunter]

Extra points if it is also of reasonably usable quality.

Rough Rider/Ryder (name change a couple years ago) exceeds this qualification ... at least the post 2013/2014 manufacture do. I've heard the earliest knives were not as good as the current production.
Sharp out of the box, good and proper heat treated 440A (or T10 carbon steel, depending on the series), no glaring gaps, no wiggly wobbly blades, have even grinds (at least my 60 odd did/do).
You don't even have to take just my word for it. The 290 or so page Rough Rider & Related thread is worth reading. Be aware a lot of the pre- Photo Bucket greed debacle photos are gone.
There is also a thread dedicated to the Rough Ryder Reserve knives.

 

[Rhinofly]

In my experience, Rough Rider knives are generally of decent quality and excellent value (I must have dozens of them). They are a good way to try out a pattern without breaking the bank. I like to give them away to kids on our camping trips, for example.

However, these days I prefer my budget knives to be pre-WW2, American made, carbon steel knives made by Imperial. Typically they have the Hammer Brand or Imperial stamp and have hollow-bolster construction. That, like Schrade's swinden key construction, is an alternative to the traditional 3-pin slipjoint construction. But, that does not keep them from being excellent users. As mentioned above, they can take a razor edge. Some of the 1945-1955 (just post-war) knives can also be really good too, but I generally avoid the ones made after about 1955. The best part is they can often be had in good condition for the cost of a new Rough Rider.