Cheap knives ok to try ne patterns?

S

SPHayes

Joined
Nov 8, 2002
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I've been thinking about trying some new patterns. My Spydies and Benchmades are getting old. Smokey Mtn. has a lot of cheap knives in cool looking patterns like the Sunfish or Elephant toe. I don't want to drop a lot of cash on patterns I'm not sure I'll like. Do any of you have experiance with the Frost, Poorman Rough Rider and Westmark brands they carry. I was thinking if the knives are at all OK I could buy them try the pattern and if I like it buy a nicer one. I currently have a OT Stockman w/ carbon blades and a Case baby peanut and a DR Cash stockman that's about it as far as tradtional knives go so I'm just getting started on these knives.
Patrick
 
You may find that even owning knives such as Spydies and Benchmades will cause your hands to reject handling of even top of the line Frosts.....not familiar with the other two brands. Such allergies have been documented on several of the forums!

Larry S.
 
Of course it's OK! Check those cheapies in the traditional patterns out and discover what a pleasure it is to carry and use them. You can always spend more on a nice one by Queen if you get to liking them. And I bet you will. And check out the large Lady's Legs by that China maker, 'Rough Rider'.

Phil
 
I have several of those Rough Riders and they are not bad knives for the money. Much better made than the price would leave you to expect. Try the large coke bottle hunter, very cool pattern. They are made in China and if the quality level is any indicator, they will be giving Japenese and Tiawanese producers a run for their money in about 5 years. I bought mine for the same reasons you mentioned, to check out old patterns not in common production anymore.
 
More on this subject: I was at a gun & knife show a couple of months ago, and as I stood talking to a dealer (mostly great old patterns- No 'Black knives') he sold several of those Rough Rider traditionals (LadyLeg, Sunfish, Coke bottle hunter) to people that had no idea that these were old patterns. There were more people looking at those cheapies than at some of the really collectible old ones the dealer was offering at very fair prices. At only $10 a hit, they were being exposed (purposely, the dealer told me) to the oldies.
 
SPHayes said:
I've been thinking about trying some new patterns. My Spydies and Benchmades are getting old. Smokey Mtn. has a lot of cheap knives in cool looking patterns like the Sunfish or Elephant toe.
Click to expand...
Is it just me or has anyone else noticed that more and more of the liner lock/tactical collectors are getting more interested in traditional slip joint knives?
 
FE,

I am noticing it too and it is a good thing. (I am just not looking forward to the days when getting a custom multiblade will be impossible.) :D. (actually I am encouraged by a few younger multiblade makers that have been helped along by many of our long time favorites. (Dwayne Dushane, Tony Huffman and Ryuichi Kawamura come to mind at the moment.)

As far as the thread topic. Most of the Frost stuff is shall we say not so well made, but they do provide a cheap entry point to the many patterns and blade configurations that are out there especially for folks who have not delved into the multiblade arena.

Nothing wrong at all with having a couple or three cheap users around. Just don't start collecting the "whole set" for the low price of 200.00 until midnight only. ;). Once you find "your" patterns it will be a pleasent experience picking up stuff that is made to higher quality standards.
 
Bastid said:
I am noticing it too and it is a good thing. (I am just not looking forward to the days when getting a custom multiblade will be impossible.) :D. (actually I am encouraged by a few younger multiblade makers that have been helped along by many of our long time favorites. (Dwayne Dushane, Tony Huffman and Ryuichi Kawamura come to mind at the moment.)
Click to expand...
Sorry to go off topic again, but Reese Bose is a youngster too. Sometimes we forget there are two Boses, and one is still a kid. Someday, will we talk about the good old days when it was merely next-to-impossible to get a great custom multiblade? ;)
 
Well I do own only one RoughRider knife .....a medium stockman pattern in peacock bone.......its a great little knife for the coin.
I was very impressed with the fit and finish for that kind of money.....
I too have bought a bunch of them in different patterns just to see what I do like. Too bad I haven't received them yet!
Ten years ago the Chinese product would have been a waste of money but this line of knives offer great value.
Tryem you will be surprised!

Kap
 
This thread got us into Rough Riders, We bought several dozen to put in our display case at a shop up the road. I am very impressed witht he quality for the price. The check out the pattern idea is great too! Befoer someone buys a $100+ Puma sunfish, they can get one of these for well under $20 and see how they like it. We will be putting many more on our site. Paul
 
Good to see some of the e-tailers getting these knives in!
Is Gerber the distributor behind Rough Rider?
I have bought quite a number of these knives for fun and have been happily suprised at the quality and depth of choice in the old patterns.
I think it s a good way to find out which patterns you like and to explore the world of slipjoints......then you can start buying the Case's and Queens etc.


Kap :D
 
Got to love it. Decent introductions at a decent price and we hooked a dealer too :D.


Nice thread Patrick.
 
I'm waiting on mine to come in. I got a Canoe, Doctor's knife and an Elephant Toe. The Congress where out of stock. I'll pick one of those up and a few other patterns latter after I check out the three I ordered.
Patrick
 
After along delay due to a shipping problem, my Rough Riders came today. I am very pleased with them for the money. Fit and finish is good at first glance but does not hold up to close inspection. Small gaps in the liners and grind marks are visable on the knives. The springs are a bit weak on some of the blades while other have good snap. The Doctor's Knife is my favorite. It is a very striking looking knife. The nail nicks are cut with a saw tooth pattern and it has orange bone scales. The main blade spring is weak however. This knife will see evening and Sunday carry for sure. The baby Canoe is a cute knife but I wish I had gotten the full size. This is just too small. It is a good shape though the curve of the bolster makes a good finger rest. The Elephant Toe on the other hand is huge. I had read the old knife of the week thread about the Toe and Sunfish but did not get a sense of the true size of these knives. It is flat and rides well in a jeans pocket. With baggy pants it tends to smack you leg when walking and it is not a light knife. The wide flat blade has plenty of cutting power and you can realy get agrip on the knife.. I'm not sure how much use this knife will see but I like it.
In short I'm pleased and will order more Rough Riders.
Patrick
 
fasteddie said:
Is it just me or has anyone else noticed that more and more of the liner lock/tactical collectors are getting more interested in traditional slip joint knives?
Click to expand...


This could be a new thread altogether-I'm guilty for sure..
 
I've bought 30 different Rough Rider knives off eBay and other online retailers. I love these knives! All my knives are slip joints and traditional lockback patterns. I have some of their MOP, bone stag, stag, jigged bone, horn, orange smooth bone, and white smooth bone knives. The sunfish and elephant toes are excellent and a novelty when you figure no one else produces anything in these patterns even close at this price point. The MOP baby sunfish is absolutely beautiful. I need a baby toothpick, peanut, doctors knife, large lady leg, and the minis to make my collection of the patterns complete. The copperheads are really well done and the congress patterns are very nice. I need a baby sunfish in jigged bone, if anyone has one to spare. I spent last night cataloging the model numbers and names of all the Rough Riders I can find. There are well over 200 so far. This includes their tactical models and other gear. I used to feel awkward about knives made in China. Then I remembered that the cutlery industry has always followed this cycle. Ask cutlers in Toledo, Spain and Solingen, Germany and Sheffield, England. I bet the good folks in Switzerland know a bit about it, too. As recently as the early 20th century, the USA imposed protection tarriffs on imported cutlery to help domestic companies compete. This brought Sheffield and Solingen cutlers to America to earn a living. The cutlery industry has always had a wandering eye toward cheap labor and new markets. We've seen many many companies come and go due to competition and cheaper labor. Solingen had too many companies to even mention, yet they are now down to about a handful of names and some of them are just brands made under contract. Does anyone know any makers in Sheffield anymore? The point is that China may be starting to come into their own in the cutlery industry or this may just be a fluke. Some of the same things said about China have been said about the USA, Japan, and Taiwan. Does anyone else remember when it was commonly said that anything made in Japan was junk? I do. I'm just glad to find knives that I can respect at a price I can afford to pay. The patterns are traditional and a whole lot of fun to collect. You can't go wrong.
 
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