Hen & Rooster made in Spain - subpar

R

RevolverGuy

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Aug 19, 2015
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I own quite a few Hen & Rooster knives that were made in the early 80s. They are among some of my favorites in my collection. Well here's what happen. My wife decided to surprise me with a new stockman this week for my birthday. She's aware I collect knives, and she knows some of the brands I like, but she really doesn't know much else about knives (bless her heart). Hen & Rooster quality today is not the same from the knives I own. Apparently they're now made in Spain and from my searching online, the brand is owned by Frost Cutlery.

I just wanted to show the horrible quality on this one. Factory grind will make you cringe. The sheepfoot blade has some sort of recurve grind. The spring is also weak on two of the blades.



Then there is this issue with the bone scale on one side. It's got a visible gap between it and the brass liner.



I'm not sure what to do. For what she spent I feel like it just wasn't worth it. I am keeping it because it really is the thought that counts and I don't want to hurt her feelings and say I'm not happy. I've written a letter of complaint and sent pictures to Frost Cutlery and will see if they even respond back to me. Just a shame to see this brand being run into the mud like this.
 
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I agree KooKoo. Here's another pic of the same knife where you can see glue on the inside edge of the other scale. Whoever put this one together did a sloppy mess of a job. They'd be better off having cheap China labor do it instead of contracting Spain. What makes me really upset is that Frost sells these knives for a lot more than they should go for. My wife could have bought me a Rough Rider with better fit/finish and saved herself some money.

 
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That knife is bloody awful :eek:. That POIST IMAGE site isn't much either - your knife photos and lots of sexual come-ons. :confused: Tedious and sad.

What will you do with this knife? Did it come from a US based vendor? I hope you can send it back. Nice of your wife for the effort. Too bad to disappoint - both you and her.

Ray
 
Holy Crap. I own some Rough Riders, and I like the quality, but still always think of them as second tier below higher priced US made alternatives. I still think that, but their stock still just went way up.
 
RayseM said:
What will you do with this knife? Did it come from a US based vendor? I hope you can send it back.
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It did come from a US vendor. I have contacted both the vendor and Frost Cutlery. Am very curious about how they will respond and will update on what happens. Might just have them refund my wife and pick something else out. I'm not even sure I'd want a replacement after handling this one.
 
That’s a pure shame. I have c bertram, Voss cut, and gutmann era Hen and Rooster knives. The quality and workmanship in them is a long way from this. I’d heard that the current ones were somewhat sloppy. But I am surprised to see them let out something like that. I’d ask for a refund, then search for a vintage one.
 
That's the reason my family doesn't buy me knives. They know they don't know knives. Somehow you need to convey to the wife to leave the knife buying to you or you may well see more such knives in your future.
 
I know this is an older thread, but I thought an update won't hurt.

The verdict 4 years later is still the same: the Spanish made Hen & Roosters are still subpar, especially for the price Frost charges for them.
You can get much-much nicer quality (fit, finish, walk & talk) Rough Ryder knives, made in China for 1/3 - 1/4 the price!
Interestingly, Rough Ryder is also a Frost brand.

It is sad and shameful when Frost contracts a Spanish factory to crank out such a subpar quality barely befit for a 3rd world level and charging the customers for an alleged German quality (of days past).

Another warning: both SMKW and many sellers on ebay or even some reputable internet knife vendors advertise these Spanish made Hen and Roosters as still being made in Solingen, Germany.
This is implied both by the pictures shown as well as the descriptions.
So many years after the switch, it is difficult to argue that this is a honest mistake or miss.
Misleading the customer is not a good strategy and all those sellers, especially the Frost-connected SMKW should know better.

Buyers beware!
 
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as far as i know, they had / have some bowies made in spain but i'm pretty sure the folders are made in china and in a very very limited capacity in germany.
 
I know I started this thread a few years ago and I still love the Hen & Rooster knives but will not purchase any made in China or Spain. I learned some time ago that the brand, after it left the hands of A.G. Russell in the 1980s, was split two ways. The U.S. trademark was purchased by Frost and they sent production to China and Spain. I have examined some of these and the fixed blades from Spain are better quality than the folders, but still not up to par.

The German trademark remained with Robert Klaas. Hen & Rooster knives are still made in Germany but they are sold only in Europe and production seems to be low. If anyone is looking for the best quality Hen & Rooster knives, make sure they are stamped "Solingen, Germany" on the tang. These are the Klaas made knives which are well worth the money.

The website below is Klaas current site where you will find both the Hen & Rooster and Kissing Crane knives (which also I believe the U.S. trademark is owned by Frost). Helps if you can read German.
https://robert-klaas.de/
 
littleknife said:
Interestingly, Rough Ryder is also a Frost brand
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No. That is incorrect.
Rough Rider is owned by Smoky Mountain Knife Works (SMKW). NOT Frost. Frost is not the owner of SMKW or Bluegrass Cutlery, who owns SMKW.
FROST's only affiliation with SMKW is SMKW is one of their dealers. Same affiliation SMKW has with CASE, BUCK, SPYDERCO, and many others.
 
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Hickory n steel said:
as far as i know, they had / have some bowies made in spain but i'm pretty sure the folders are made in china and in a very very limited capacity in germany.
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I thought FROST moved production of most of their traditional knives to Pakistan?
Regardless, they contract for sub standard/quality knives instead of good quality, and get what they asked for.
I'm sure whatever Spanish firm is making them for FROST, can make a high quality product. Frost didn't ask for high quality, and isn't paying for high quality ... even though they are changing the customer for high quality.
 
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