My new Rough Riders, an ongoing commentary...

I just picked up an email from my seller and he is sending me another knife out today. It is not the other bark pearl stockman, but one with the checkered bone which I had picked out and requested. I'll probably have it Friday. The other thing is that he told me to keep the other knife and not return it. Can't argue with customer service like that.

Thanks, Peter for treating me much better than I expected on this problem.

Now, with the bark pearl remaining in my possession and another knife coming in, I will post more information on the both of them when I get it.

Ed
 
TLARbb said:
there may be some taper involved, but it isn't much.

It's an interesting approach. Might work just fine.

Ed
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there does look to be a taper.... i just looked at the KC and it has a (very) slight taper as well. neat congress you have there.

keith
 
I have a RR copper head in the Dark Brown checkered bone that is georgeous. You will like it. I love the CH pattern too, but dont carry this RR one, as the blades sit too low and I can't get it open conveniently. The RR's do come sharp! Best bet for finding them at a good cost is at the larger shows where the competition is fierce and ten look for the box of "seconds." Some them are actually marked "second" on one blade. Which is fun because you can aske someone if they know how to tell which blade is the first and which one is second, and then show them. :)
 
I have taken a couple pictures of the now adopted ugly duckling (the bark pearl stockman) with my little peanut and my Case Texas Jack for size comparisons. Here is the profile view. The RR is the center knife.

knives090810001.jpg


It is just a tiny shade smaller than the Texas Jack which I consider about the perfect size for ordinary pocket carry. So, it is a good size for the pocket. I would not consider either to be "work knives" even though they would be called upon to do such work as presents itself. In my case, probably not a whole lot; I tend to get out the bigger guns when real knife work is anticipated. It is a good size for light duty EDC.

This next photo is again a comparison of the knives from the back or spine. I don't see any problems at all with this knife in regards to fit of the metal as it came out of the box.

knives090810002.jpg


It is fairly easy to see in this photo the differences in the finish of the RR and the Case. I'll let you form your own conclusions, but I certainly don't see anything to beat RR up about.

Again, I don't think the RR is as good as the Case, but the Case cost about 3 times as much. "You pays your money and you takes your choice."

I also put the main blade of this little stockman on the India stone to smooth up the edge as it was not as sharp as I wanted it. I did not change the bevel, just smoothed up the edge and put a few finishing strokes on the strop and it shaves a treat now. The steel takes an excellent finished edge.

I also resharpened one of the pens on the Congress because I wanted a shallower bevel. It sharpened up excellently as well without a whole lot of work. So, one of the reasons that RR and others may be using this steel is its ability to take a good edge. Not sure how the edge will hold up, but it will get sharp.

Ed
 
No pins. I gotta have pins.:eek: Love that little peanut too Ed.

Its kind of unique that they use a shell,the reason for no pins because it may fracture during manufacture IMO, but it's got a grain to it sort of like stag in a way.
 
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navihawk said:
Its kind of unique that they use a shell,the reason for no pins because it may fracture during manufacture IMO, but it's got a grain to it sort of like stag in a way.
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i like that shell too. very interesting really.... it's a shame about the the fat side though. to go through all the effort to build a good knife with interesting material and ruen it in the final step or two.
 
Sappyg, the fat side is intentional. look at vintage German knives in Stag. one side is always fatter than the other. seats in the hand better.
roland
 
I can understand some variance. After all it is a nature made material, but that much variance is more than I would be willing to settle for even on a knife this inexpensive. Much less on a higher priced one.

It was a good material and a great intention, but the execution on this knife is poor.

Ed
 
navihawk said:
No pins. I gotta have pins.:eek: Love that little peanut too Ed.

Its kind of unique that they use a shell,the reason for no pins because it may fracture during manufacture IMO, but it's got a grain to it sort of like stag in a way.
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That peanut is a real sweetie. I carry it or fool with it every day. It's not always in my pocket but it's been there a lot.

I don't know what they stuck them on with, but I'll be willing to bet they won't stay on there long.

I really like the effect of the bark on the shell, and yes, it does remind me of stag sort of.

Roland, you can't make me like that fat sided shell. Sorry, no can do. Otherwise, it is a darned good knife. If the scales fall off like I think they will, I'll fit something else on there.

Ed
 
rprocter said:
Sappyg, the fat side is intentional. look at vintage German knives in Stag. one side is always fatter than the other. seats in the hand better.
roland
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that's curious.... i have no experience with vintage german stag (or any stag for that matter) so now i'm on the lookout for it. i would get a kick out of any pics you could post of this. i don't think i could warm up to it as a modern EDC concept but i don't dought it's ability as a working philosophy.

also, i'm interested now in the congress pattern in general. how was the 4 bladed congress origionally intended? seems like a good pattern that's been left behind somehow. i've just put the RR congress in my pocket and it's not bad at all. i like the swayback though i could do w/o two sheepfoot blades. admitedly, i get a little confused by the even ends and redundant blades. i have to say i would never have tried a congress were it not for the RR offerings.

keith
 
FWIW, Case didn't use pins on their pearl handles between 1981 and 1985. However, I believe this represents the low point of Case pearl-handled knives, as they stopped using pearl (as part of their regular line) altogether from 1985-1995. When pearl was reintroduced in '95, and from then on, they went back to using pins.
(from Pfeifer's Collecting Case Knives)
 
The Congress is a Southern U.S.A. pattern that goes back to early/mid 1800s
Sheepsfoot blades were used to cut off plugs of chewing tobacco.
Traditionally the best ones had fancy engraved bolsters.
roland
 
Quote: "i have no experience with vintage german stag "
go to ebay and search "Germany" or "German" along with "knives" and you'll see some. very ergonomic. but the RR Pearl Bark one is overdone, looks bad and too bulky. well done ones have a more subtle difference from 1 side to the other.
roland
 
I have the Rough Rider Congress whittler today. I'm going to be carrying it for a few days. Cut up a peach with it. Unfortunately for me, the peach wasn't any good and I had to pitch it out.
Ed
 
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I have had about 20 of the bark pearl RRs and all of them have been thick on one side or the other. They are pretty ugly but surprisingly comfy to hold (if the heavy scale is on the right side))).

Regards

Robin
 
I got the other stockman today, which was sent as a replacement for fat-sided bark pearl one. It has brown "gunstock" checkered scales which are very nicely done. I give them an A+ on this knife. I believe anyone would like this checkered bone; it's a treat.

I will also mention that none of the three blades on this knife would shave out of the box, but it was useable as it came. It only took about 5 minutes on the india stone and strop to get it hair popping sharp. (I have only yet sharpened but the main blade though). The 440A steel does sharpen easily and I am watching the edge closely on my Congress whittler (my main test bed for now) to see how good the edge holding will be.

I'm itching to carry that Copperhead, but I am determined to give the Congress a fair shot before I move on.

Bottom line so far: These knives are very good values for the money and well worth what they cost.

I'm going to be looking at some more for next month I think.

Ed
 
Ping Pong said:
Due to op's nice review I bought a RR copperhead off ebay last night. Thanks for all the work.
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Hey, I hope you are not disappointed and I don't think you will be. When you get yours, drop your comments in here; I'd sure like your reference points as well.

Ed
 
TLARbb said:
I got the other stockman today, which was sent as a replacement for fat-sided bark pearl one. It has brown "gunstock" checkered scales which are very nicely done. I give them an A+ on this knife. I believe anyone would like this checkered bone; it's a treat.

Ed
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The sawcut and gunstock series have been my favorites. They do an outstanding job on those knives.

Patrick
 
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