Is Rough Ryder Reserve really worth $27 more than Case?!

Hashishiin said:
Maybe Buck? I wonder how their slippies are..
Click to expand...
If you are unaware, the only currently Idaho made slipjoints are the 301 "large" stockman, and the 303 "medium" stockman.
They dropped the domestic production of their single and two blade slipjoints a few years ago under the guise of "remodeling and expanding that department, and with new slipjoint models (like a Barlow) to come."
After going on 5 years, I don't see the 302, 305, or the other US made 300 series slipjoints coming back, nor any new slipjoint patterns coming out..

The 37x and 38x Buck are offshore manufacture.

The 301/371 large stockman and 303/373 medium stockman is a three spring design.

The 3 spring isn't any fatter, and doesn't take up more pocket Real Estate than a two spring.

The Idaho made knives have the edges of the bolsters ground/polished wafer/paper thin at the liners, if not into the liners. I don't know if the pivot pin area has been ground/polished wafer/paper thin as well.
The offshore knives have proper bolsters.
 
afishhunter said:
If you are unaware, the only currently Idaho made slipjoints are the 301 "large" stockman, and the 303 "medium" stockman.
They dropped the domestic production of their single and two blade slipjoints a few years ago under the guise of "remodeling and expanding that department, and with new slipjoint models (like a Barlow) to come."
After going on 5 years, I don't see the 302, 305, or the other US made 300 series slipjoints coming back, nor any new slipjoint patterns coming out..

The 37x and 38x Buck are offshore manufacture.

The 301/371 large stockman and 303/373 medium stockman is a three spring design.

The 3 spring isn't any fatter, and doesn't take up more pocket Real Estate than a two spring.

The Idaho made knives have the edges of the bolsters ground/polished wafer/paper thin at the liners, if not into the liners. I don't know if the pivot pin area has been ground/polished wafer/paper thin as well.
The offshore knives have proper bolsters.
Click to expand...
Thanks for the information. Two days ago just got my first Buck, standard 110 and am loving it. At first, I was reading along, thought "Well, it's a good thing the large stockman is one of the main patterns I am interested in right now" but, your comment about the bolsters sketched me out a little. Have you had any hands-on experience with either the large or medium stockman from Idaho?
And RR is having a sale, $15 for their yellow delrin large stockman or the trapper.... ahhhh man, I hope they have that sale just a little longer so I can hop on it.
 
afishhunter said:
The Idaho made knives have the edges of the bolsters ground/polished wafer/paper thin at the liners, if not into the liners. I don't know if the pivot pin area has been ground/polished wafer/paper thin as well.
The offshore knives have proper bolsters.
Click to expand...
I am not disputing your comment but it should be noted that the liner, bolsters, and shield are all the same piece of steel. This is an older model but the Idaho 300's are still made this way.
IMG_5107.JPG
 
I have three RRR knives. The fit and finish on them is very good. No gaps in the springs, smooth transitions on the bolsters to the handles, good grinds on the blades and these came razor sharp out of the box. In descending order $60, $40 $50. I’m pleased with all of them. I also own a fair number of Case knives and for the most part are all very good knives. My only Bucks are 110 autos, one factory and the other a secondary market knife and they are awesome! IMHO, just buy what looks good to you and is in your budget.
View attachment 1754044
 
afishhunter said:
...301 "large" stockman, and the 303 "medium" stockman...

The Idaho made knives have the edges of the bolsters ground/polished wafer/paper thin at the liners, if not into the liners. I don't know if the pivot pin area has been ground/polished wafer/paper thin as well.
The offshore knives have proper bolsters.
Click to expand...

I've never seen this on the Idaho knives, and it's not possible that they're polished clear into the liners. The bolsters on these knives are integral, the bolsters and the liners are all one piece of nickel silver. The pivot pins are where they belong. The three spring Idaho and California knives are a little thicker than any of the two spring 300 series knives made by Buck, Camillus, or Schrade.
 
sf fanatic said:
I have three RRR knives. The fit and finish on them is very good. No gaps in the springs, smooth transitions on the bolsters to the handles, good grinds on the blades and these came razor sharp out of the box. In descending order $60, $40 $50. I’m pleased with all of them. I also own a fair number of Case knives and for the most part are all very good knives. My only Bucks are 110 autos, one factory and the other a secondary market knife and they are awesome! IMHO, just buy what looks good to you and is in your budget.
View attachment 1754044
Click to expand...
Just got my first 110 and I love it! I am thinking of one of the Buck slippies described earlier...
I'd like one of those custom 110 autos and just go full overkill with the auto and the "Buck Knucks" that this maker bolsters to the knife. It's such a "biker" knife, haha.
 
Hashishiin said:
Thanks for the information. Two days ago just got my first Buck, standard 110 and am loving it. At first, I was reading along, thought "Well, it's a good thing the large stockman is one of the main patterns I am interested in right now" but, your comment about the bolsters sketched me out a little. Have you had any hands-on experience with either the large or medium stockman from Idaho?
And RR is having a sale, $15 for their yellow delrin large stockman or the trapper.... ahhhh man, I hope they have that sale just a little longer so I can hop on it.
Click to expand...
I have two 301's, a 2015 standard production, and a 2018 BF Forum Knife. I've carried the standard production a lot more often than the fancy Forum Knife. For roughly two ... 2.5 years, the 2015 was my primary use knife driving an expedited box truck cross country.
It is still tight, no blade wiggly wobblies.
I did reprofile the edge on all three blades to 10DPS, which also had the added benefit of thinning behind the edge.
I've never had the edge roll or chip. Generally a few swipes on a plain dry (no polishing compounds) leather sheath has been enough to restore a working edge. I might have taken a stone to it for a couple swipes three times after thinning the edge.

Is the RR you're looking at the RR603 4.25 inch closed with 440A blades, or the same size Classic Carbon, with T10 blades?
Both are excellent knives.
 
afishhunter said:
I have two 301's, a 2015 standard production, and a 2018 BF Forum Knife. I've carried the standard production a lot more often than the fancy Forum Knife. For roughly two ... 2.5 years, the 2015 was my primary use knife driving an expedited box truck cross country.
It is still tight, no blade wiggly wobblies.
I did reprofile the edge on all three blades to 10DPS, which also had the added benefit of thinning behind the edge.
I've never had the edge roll or chip. Generally a few swipes on a plain dry (no polishing compounds) leather sheath has been enough to restore a working edge. I might have taken a stone to it for a couple swipes three times after thinning the edge.

Is the RR you're looking at the RR603 4.25 inch closed with 440A blades, or the same size Classic Carbon, with T10 blades?
Both are excellent knives.
Click to expand...
Great info for the Buck, just the info I needed. I didn't know you could strop on plain leather. Just did my first stropping this week on an Opi 8 - green compound on rough side of strop. Seemed to work alright, it at least didn't hurt, but I need to perfect it.

I'm looking at, all in Classic Carbon, trapper (1731), the wharncliffe trapper(2127) and the large stockman 1740, any one of these would make a perfect large slipjoint for me.
 
dsutton24 said:
I've never seen this on the Idaho knives, and it's not possible that they're polished clear into the liners. The bolsters on these knives are integral, the bolsters and the liners are all one piece of nickel silver. The pivot pins are where they belong. The three spring Idaho and California knives are a little thicker than any of the two spring 300 series knives made by Buck, Camillus, or Schrade.
Click to expand...
301 standard production and Forum KnifeView attachment 1754080
other endView attachment 1754081
BottomView attachment 1754083
371/301/371View attachment 1754084
Integral or no, The 301's bolsters look thinner.
They are probably strong enough, however.
 
It’s worth it to you if you buy it. And like it.
I only have one RR, and it was worth the $18. Carry and use it fairly often.
 
My Rough Ryder reserves are all < $50.00 which is generally cheaper than most of my Case knives.....

The RR reserves have funky designs but better quality than my Cases.....

The standard RR ($10-$18) quality is generally equal to $50-$70 Cases.... The sharpening on standard RR knives is notably better than Case...

My opinions come from owning and examining ~ 75 each of standard RR and Case knives....
 
Answers to the OP’s question:
1. No
2. Objection. Lack of foundation. (No way does any Rough Ryder cost $27 more than a case).
3. Why would you even do business with a vendor who tries to charge you ninety bucks for a Rough Ryder?

Rough Riders are nice knives, on the whole much nicer now than they were five or six years ago. Fit and finish issues used to be not uncommon, but I have never had one that I would dismiss as junk. Some of their releases in the last three years or so have been very nice. My favorites are the 2038 work knife, the upswept trapper, the sowbelly stockman in a few different finishes, Others have their own favorites.

The Rough Ryder Reserve have not really grabbed me. They are well made, but the designs are for the most part clunky and graceless. I have bought only one, the 0005, with a wharncliffe and a clip. I prefer my $8 improved muskrat.
 
I don't think that the RR's are really worth it these days. Especially if they cost more than a Case! I like them, but there are lot of reasons not to buy them (for me). Plus they have always been spotty for me, it is a crapshoot whether you will have a good knife or a terrible one.
 
I thought I would chime in, though my first instinct was not to, as discussions of quality and bang-for-buck are just so subjective.

I own plenty of Case, GEC, and have owned several RRs (and RRRs). Personally (emphasis here), if deciding between Case and RRR (or RR), I would tend to always go for Case based on my experiences tastes.

Whether because of the particular Case patterns I tend to gravitate toward, or chance, I don't have a lot of quality issues with Case. Then again, I mostly own Trappers, Mini Trappers, Saddle Horns, Backpockets, Panama Trappers, and the occasional Russlock and Swayback. So I really haven't had but a few that warranted sending back, and that's out of a lot of knives. In terms of fit and finish, the Trappers seem to be the most consistent, based on my experience. Not sure why.

Now the RRs I've had haven't been bad either, but I didn't appreciate the aesthetics as much, and had more blade play and such for the ones I've owned (though easy to fix). However, the caveat is that I've owned far fewer RRs than Case. I've picked up several RRRs, but passed all but one along; the Common Stock. They are certainly well made, but I find the execution lacking for my tastes and use. If they took more common patterns and made them into RRRs, I would probably be a fan.

Again, personal opinion and taste, so this really doesn't have anything to do with anything. But every once in a while I feel inclined to chime in on topics such as this, so I should now be good for a few months :)
 
Stockman is my favorite pattern. I have lots of them. My favorite is the Buck 301 and 307 Wrangler (not in production any more). The are solidly built, well designed tools that will last a lifetime. The Chinese Buck stockman is very close to being as good as the US. I've got a 70s George Wostenholm from Sheffield that is gorgeous. Really glad I got that one. I really like my various regular Rough Ryder stockman knives. For about $15, they really give the Bucks a run for the money. They are excellent knives, competitive with any other brand. The Reserve is a little too thick, but I like it having a bottle opener instead of a spay blade. It isn't my favorite in the Reserve line though. I have a Case sowbelly stag stockman. The blades are thin compared to other brands and it is just about impossible to open with fingernails. It's beautiful, but not a practical, more of a fancy collector's item than a well made tool. The regular Cases may be better, but I'd suggest buying from somewhere that allows returns.
 
el gigantor said:
For the Case I was looking at KnifeCenter, where it’s listed for $62.99

For the RRR, I found it at Traditional Pocket Knives (C. Risner Cutlery). They’ve having a Rough Ryder sale right now, but the Common Stock was listed at $90 a few days ago and that price has stayed the same.

Perhaps it would be prudent for me to shop elsewhere. Thanks for the info!
Click to expand...
I saw that "sale". Is Risner even a dealer? They might have just bought a few from CKW and marked them up. 🤷‍♂️
 
nickvnlr said:
I saw that "sale". Is Risner even a dealer? They might have just bought a few from CKW and marked them up. 🤷‍♂️
Click to expand...
That seems to be it. I bought a discontinued Rough Ryder from him at a mark up once. The best prices are at Chicago Knife Works.
 
While I probably will never own a Case because of budget reasons and even the Rough Ryder Reserve because of the same reason, after reading this a few weeks ago I told a few of my friends who do own or can afford both and they decided to order 3 Case and 3 Rough Ryder each just to check fit and finish. One of my friends also bought a couple of Reserve's to check as well, after they came in, they finally brought them over and we checked them out. Of the 6 Case 3 were as perfect as can be with everything well made, 2 had gaps in liners and spring tension was bad to the point of blades not having snap even after oiling and 1 was terrible with gaps, bad tension and bone handle cracks and chips. For the 6 regular Rough Ryder's 4 were as perfect as the Cases with excellent fit and finish and good snap and even half stops, 2 were ok but with gaps and some rough open and closing but they were'nt no worse that the bad Cases. The two Rough Ryder Reserves were excellent all the way around and as good as the best of the Cases that came in except they were a little heavier and thicker. So after seeing what I saw and I could afford a Case then I would buy a Case but only in person so I could check it out, but the Rough Ryder's held their own against Case. If I was gonna order then I think in a gamble a Rough Ryder may end up being better.
 
It’s only money, after all. I only have a couple RR and they are both very good knives, great bang for the buck both bought new. I have other knives that cost a little more to a lot more that are better knives for certain. But the less expensive ones do cut as well. Buy what you want and enjoy it. Buy them both and compare and let us know, trade off or sell the one you don’t care for. Keep your accumulating and using fun!
 
You must log in or register to reply here.
Back
Top