Case VS Rough Rider Slip Joints

C

Camerman

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Sep 15, 2015
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After Watching a ton of U tube Videos, claiming RR are near as Well Made as Case, I bought a Few RR's and was surprised at the Quality Vs Price, However I just received a Case 042 Stockman in Amber Jigged Bone, and WOW! it was Flawless...I can only say the Case showed Blade Rub where the Same Model RR did Not, there the difference Lies...RR's are not as Polished but as with Many things you get what you Pay for..anyone else on the RR's Band Wagon?
 
I have several Rough Riders and I have even more Case knives. I like Case a little more for a couple of reasons. 1) Their rich history. 2) The bolsters on the Rough Rider knives that I've carried have all tarnished to an almost copper or brass color.

The tarnish isn't a big deal but I prefer it not to happen and it doesn't on my Case users. Rough Riders are very good knives for the price and I haven't had to sharpen any of mine out of the box. I do prefer Case but I'm a fan of RR too.
 
I bought a Rough Rider last year to give one a try. Did the same thing with Frosts. Rough Riders are consistently better. Whether they are equal to a Case, I can't say. Believe it or not, I really don't want to know. Make sense of that?
 
W.R. Case & Sons Cutlery Company sounds like a venerable knife maker you'd be proud to own a blade from.

Rough Rider sounds like an off brand condom product.
 
Boats said:
W.R. Case & Sons Cutlery Company sounds like a venerable knife maker you'd be proud to own a blade from.

Rough Rider sounds like an off brand condom product.
Click to expand...

Yep. For me, if I need a knife to cut some stuff or toss into a tackle box, either would do. If I want a knife to carry for years and years and feel pride when I use it, I'd go with Case over RR every time.
 
I don't like Rough Rider steel as much as I like Case. I don't know why, it just seems Rough Rider takes forever to get a razor edge and then loses it quickly.

I like Case CV quite a bit. Case stainless seems a bit soft but it will take a good edge and hold it for a reasonable time.

My guess, and I may be all wrong on this is that Rough Rider 440A *may* have larger carbides or a coarser grain or sumpin' like that. 12C27 is another favorite steel of mine.

There were rumors of Rough Rider starting a carbon steel line which never happened. One could hope.

The Colt carbon steel line of knives are on the large side for me.

I've bought a number of Rough Riders as gifts, own one.

Some good stuff on steel microstructure.

http://smt.sandvik.com/en/products/...l-knowledge/important-factors/microstructure/

Boats said:
Rough Rider sounds like an off brand condom product.
Click to expand...

:p
 
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Case all the way : american patterns made by a long established american company. They had their "up an'downs" but they still hold their own and are very, very reasonably priced. The CV steel AND the "surgical stainless" (420 HC) they use are both great to use. I wish they would focus more on quality than diversity and I agree it's better to buy over the counter, if one wants to play sure hit.
 
I have a lot of Case knives. I have two Rough Rider knives. The Rough Rider knives seem to be quite well made and have no particular fit or finish issues. Springs were flush open and closed. No liner gaps. Blades centered. Some minor blade rub on the Baby Copperhead, which is a 2-blade single spring pen configuration so to be expected. Good walk and talk, crisp half-stops on the one that has square joints.

They were both acceptably sharp out of the box with no immediate need to sharpen before use. I did sharpen them anyway to refine and smooth out the edge bevel and they are now about as sharp as anything else I own.

The RR blades were a little thicker near the edge than the Case hollow ground blades. In general I prefer the Case blade grind, but it may have just been the specific models (RR Small Coke Bottle and Baby Copperhead). Still, they sharpened up to razor edges and are fine for pretty much any of my daily needs.

So in general, not a thing wrong with RR from what I can tell. I don't use a pocket knife hard enough to really tell how well the steel holds up before it needs resharpening.
 
Case I can carry and share with pride I like the rich history.I've seen the results of RR on a few of my job sites.I've also heard of some knife guys using RR for nasty jobs I use whatever is in my pockets and that what gives knive character..
 
Case has a few patterns that they really own. IMO, nobody makes a slimline trapper like Case.

But Case has had some ups and downs. Sadly, it's not entirely unthinkable to get a dog.

Rough Rider has been fairly consistent with their traditional models, they offer a wide array of patterns that aren't readily available elsewhere, and are inexpensive. They use decent steel. Some of their jigging patters are remarkably well done and unique. Their F&F seems to equal Case more or less. Personally, I like the RR sodbuster patterns better than those from Case.

It's little details where I get really critical of both Case and RR.

This isn't a matter of getting what you pay for, IMO. Quality-wise, traditional knife making is very mature technology, and Case doesn't hold any magical knowledge. So I buy based on those little details, functional and/or aesthetic factors that help me decide my purchases. I recently bought a small RR lockback Barlow. Didn't keep me from also buying a Case single blade mini Trapper.
 
I have had several Case knives though the years and I still have a couple. Just recently bought a few Rough Riders. They are very sharp out the box etc. etc. But I do feel better when I carry one of the Case knives. Maybe because I paid more for it or because it's made in the U.S. But I really can't tell the difference in the quality. But that's just me. What do I know?
 
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