GEC Viper vs RR 2038

In my eyes the Viper looks more Queen Cutlery. The swedge, three lined bolster and shape of the handle say Queen which is where the GEC staff and the style are from and many patterns came with them.
 
knifeswapper said:
Well, then throw in the Case Swayback and the GEC Lambsfoot and several of the English Lambfoot models and on and on. My point is that you jumped from two knives that most would agree one tried real hard to copy all aspects of the other ; which makes it a legitimate "versus" conversation. But, if you feel all wharnie bladed swaybacks should be part of the conversation, that may be legitimate; although a bit aside from the obvious.
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The lambsfoot comparisons to the gec viper has already been well established in other threads. So has the case swayback gent/jack. The RR and Viper Cutlery are new.
 
Norcaldude said:
My original post wasn't meant as a confrontational comparison of the two. I think everybody agrees it's like comparing ... steaks to slices of discount bologna, but I happened to have both of them and they are very similar and I thought some people might be interested in how they compare.

Looking forward to having one of the Viper swaybacks to compare also (though as I was writing that out I realized that the GEC Viper and the Viper swayback names might cause some confusion in the future)
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I dont have either knife, I DO have a Bullnose and a Case Sodbuster Jr., I rank the GEC above the Case mostly on how solid it feels. Obviously people are going to compare, as soon as I seen the viper look alike I thought "This ones gonna light some fires" lol. To be honest every now and then I like a fine medium rare steak, but I also quite like a fried bologna sandwich. I have been blessed to be gifted two wonderful GEC's and have been impressed enough to have recently bought another from the exchange (should arrive tomorrow! :D) I have bought several RR's and like them as well. Steak one day and bologna the next? You betcha:D:thumbsup:. Though RR shoulda made it a bit more their own, rattailed bolsters woulda been niceo_O
 
I have a fair amount of GEC knives, and a few swaybacks. No 47. But I did get this RR and one for my cousin. Great knife for under $20. Might even buy another for one of the kids. Your mileage may vary.
 
knifeswapper said:
Well, then throw in the Case Swayback and the GEC Lambsfoot and several of the English Lambfoot models and on and on. My point is that you jumped from two knives that most would agree one tried real hard to copy all aspects of the other ; which makes it a legitimate "versus" conversation. But, if you feel all wharnie bladed swaybacks should be part of the conversation, that may be legitimate; although a bit aside from the obvious.
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Come on, man. I dig the look of the upcoming Swayback, but what enticed me was the similarities to the Viper. It looks like a modern Viper. To deny that the lines are extremely similar is just being disingenuous. No one is bagging on you or your business, but the knives are darn close to one another in terms of lines and design.
 
I bit and ordered one of the RR's. Total disappointment - fit and finish was lousey. Big gap between bolster and micarta sides on both sides. 2 pins were proud & would need to be FILED, not sanded down. BIg chunk missing where they pressed in the lanyard ring. Listen, I'm not expecting Case quality, but nobody that is knowledgeable about knives would be happy with the knife I received. Only good thing was the nail nick was nice and large and cut nicely. I've never thought I would return a $15 knife, but I wouldn't want to even give this one away. Couldn't get it back in the package for a return fast enough. 2 of the 3 RR's I have bought have been stinkers ... I'm done with them.
 
GasMan1 said:
I own three or four RRs and all but one have been great. I guess I just got lucky.

I don't have any complaints about this one either.
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Not as lucky as me, apparently! :D:thumbsup::thumbsup:
I just counted, and I've had 79 Rough Rider knives (not counting Colts and Marbles that seem to be related to RR), and I can only think of TWO with which I was unhappy in terms of craftsmanship. One canoe I bought had a bright green smooth bone cover on one side, but the other side apparently didn't take any dye at all; I sent it back and it was exchanged for one with matching covers, no questions asked. And another canoe was supposed to have black smooth bone covers, but one side looked more like appaloosa bone because of the dye job lacking uniformity. I just kept that one as it was.

If you want MY Rough Riders, you'll have to pry them from my cold, dead fingers! :D:D:thumbsup:

- GT
 
Half of the RRs I've gotten have been good to excellent (for the money).
The other half I've gotten have been poor to horrible and not worth the postage to send them back.
I think I'm just jinxed when it comes to this knife brand.
 
Thanks to Darren @waverave I am the happy owner of this knife. As to the copying/ripoff vibe I stand firmly on the side of the company making/selling the Rough Ryder. If GEC had anything distinctive in their version they would have easily been able to quash the Rough Ryder on the basis of design infringement. And if they do have that right they have chosen not to go down that road. Virtually all products are available today at different price points. That’s good for us the consumer. That is my opinion.
As for the knife itself, it must be a good one otherwise there wouldn’t be such noise about it. The copy I have is excellent. It has no gaps, it’s sharp with smooth transitions and no discernible problems.DA10F5D0-2E7D-4886-8A3E-E97C2063F6B2.jpeg9DAD1BFC-4B3B-488F-94FD-F46B12597ED2.jpeg
 
I bought two of these a while back... just because. Both are very nicely made, great walk/talk.. they came with a very nice edge. I'm very pleased with them, and would be, even if they were double the price.
I started a little bit of whittling with one of them yesterday after touching up the edge and finishing on a smooth ceramic stone for polish. It worked as well as the other knife I had been using (on spanish cedar) and after about 20 minutes of shaving chips off it, it was still sharp enough to continue using. Apparently their version of stainless is "ok"... certainly not M390 great, but usable...
If I could find a GEC viper I could afford, I'd likely buy it. I'm still thinking about Mike's viper, and will likely buy one, but have committed funds to other projects at the moment..
 
I sold off my Vipers a few years ago. Nice knife pattern but I just didn’t get enough enjoyment out of it to justify not cashing in on the secondary market prices. That wharncliffe tip is very delicate in daily use. Kudos to RR for copying what many consider a great design, and I hope they sell a pile of them. I’ll probably pick one up myself.
 
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