My two new Rough Rider "sunfish" knives - including a quite special one

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Dagon

Joined
Nov 12, 2007
Messages
1,932
Hi all,

Today I received 2 new Rough Rider "sunfish" knives. The large one has a synthetic tortoise handle which really looks sweet, and the small one is truly special: it has a handmade inlay of hexagonal mother of pearl and abalone pieces. It really looks as nice as an expensive custom, while it is pretty cheap.

I must say that the build quality of these 2 RRs while not bad is less convincing than my previous ones. The big one has a somewhat weak back spring (not bad, but a little too supple for my taste) and the blades opens with a somewhat gritty feeling (I will apply oil and that will probably be sufficient). The small one's spring is in contrast rather hard to open - I will also lubricate it a bit. Still, at the price two real beauties.

Look and decide for yourself:

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Eventually these two will turn up in my ongoing video review series, of course.
 
Looks nice. I like the larger one's handle pattern. RR's knives have been quite affordable. I might later buy one just to see how it fares as China made knife against my comming Case medium stockman...
 
I have several, and they have all been more than acceptable, even some seconds I picked up for less than $4.00 each. Nice knives. That larger one looks like a handful!
 
That larger one looks like a handful!
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Yes, surprisingly so even but it gives a good strong grip, and the blade is thicker than expected as well - hence it's pretty interesting as a cheap workhorse.
 
Hi,

Pretty nice pair. You're right, that second one looks very interesting. I haven't seen that scale pattern before. It looks pretty well done too. Considering it's a production knife made to a certain price point. A lot of fiddley work from the looks of it. They both look like keepers to me.

thejamppa, it may not be really fair to compare a RR 440A blade to a Case CV blade. CV being a better steel. The general fit and finish of RR's will also vary some. I own some RR's that are as well made as any production you can buy. And I own some that if they had cost what a Case knife would cost, would have gone back to the factory for repair or replacement. Nothing functionally wrong, just fit and finish issues. But for the price of RR's, you get a pretty well made piece.

dalee
 
Nice knives you've got there bud. The scales are very nice considering the price. I'm going to have to pick up a few of these at some point. I went into Ace to "look around" today and ended up walking out with a new yellow trapper, so I may have to wait another week or so, but at that price, I'll definitely still be picking some up. Which do you see yourself carrying/using more? The smaller one? What are their respective overall/blade lengths? If you get bored and post any more pictures, maybe take one with a few "standardized" items to help gauge size? It's not a big deal, only if you were going to post more anyway. Thanks for sharing.
 
Wow, that shell inlay is more appealing than I thought it would be. It kind of reminds me of the bathroom tile I used to have in my oooold place.

I've owned several RR knives, and they've all been, at worst, very good users. A couple are good enough to shame knives ten time the price. Most consistently impressive thing I've found with Rough Riders? That mystery 440 steel. I find that stuff to be very good, rivaling any decent domestic 420HC, TruSharp, Victorinox/Wenger steel. It grinds easily, doesn't seem to burr annoyingly or excessively, takes a very fine edge, and if well profiled, is a breeze to maintain. Modest but very user friendly stuff.

I have a couple tortoise shell-oid RRs. The stuff is more handsome and appealing than I expected. Maybe I'll have to give one of their MOP/abalone knives a closer look.
 
i have a lot of RR knives. the fit & finish, blade action, sharpness and overall "attractiveness" is remarkably good on all of them, except the 2 Sunfish (Toenail) i have. same problem: gritty sensation when opening/closing blades and rather stiff to move. i have sprayed the joints with WD40, lubricated with mineral oil and opened/closed a few times; no change, but probably would improve if i kept at it.
is there something about this pattern that requires greater than 'usual' tolerances to get smooth action ? fat blade contacts greater surface area of liners ?
roland
 
dalee 100: I don't expect it to be fair, but when you do compearing, you might aswell do the compearing the best there is to see how well it fares. Sure, rough riders won't have much changes against Case CV, but if it manages to hold its own against Case without braking apart in my test, then its worth of every penny. I don't expect Rough Rider's to beat Case. But its bit like cars. Sure it ain't fare put one of the hybrid's against Ferrari in test race, but if you're doing measurements you might aswell test the things against best you have to offer in same category.

I just expect RR's to hold themselves against superior odd's and behave like marine's: never giving an inch, not even against superior odd's even when there's no change of winning. If they fare in that, they're keeper.
 
That has got to be a first... I have never seen another slipjoint, or knife of any kind for that matter, with scales like that.
Can't stare at it to long though, or it starts messin with your eyes :D
 
I have one of the smaller sunfish knives and it is a total bear to open. It's probably the strongest backspring I have ever encountered on a knife. It also has pearl and abalone scales but nothing at all like the one pictured here. Where can I get one like that?
 
I see that others here have had similar experiences with their RR sunfish/toenail knives. Not a dealbreaker but a bit unfortunate when otherwise they do such stellar work on the handles of the small one, for example.

Where can I get one like that?
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I'm always wondering when it is ok to publish a link to a webstore, whether it is a violation of the forum or not. In this case, since you ask it explicitely, I bought it from a european ebay shop, for Americans: just search ebay.com for Rough Rider Sunfish and at least 1 minute ago you could find this honeycomb one on offer at a very good price.
 
Dagon said:
I'm always wondering when it is ok to publish a link to a webstore, whether it is a violation of the forum or not. In this case, since you ask it explicitely, I bought it from a european ebay shop, for Americans: just search ebay.com for Rough Rider Sunfish and at least 1 minute ago you could find this honeycomb one on offer at a very good price.
Click to expand...

The guidelines are linked via a "sticky" at the top of the Traditional Forum page.
If you don't find the answer you are looking for, feel free to contact the moderators directly (rather than within the thread).
 
That hexagonal honey-comb pattern is more than funky!
Nice bit of experimentation by RR and thanks for very good photos. My favourite RR range is the Old Yellow, very nicely done yellow delrin, not funky though...
 
I'm always wondering when it is ok to publish a link to a webstore, whether it is a violation of the forum or not. In this case, since you ask it explicitely, I bought it from a european ebay shop, for Americans: just search ebay.com for Rough Rider Sunfish and at least 1 minute ago you could find this honeycomb one on offer at a very good price.
Click to expand...

Thanks for the tip! now I just have to see if they ship to Canada. I'm hoping this one won't be the nail breaker my first one was...
 
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Has anyone checked out the new "synthystone" line fron RR? The scales are interesting, the fileworked back springs are amazing.
Re the Toenail Sunfish line, RR used to make a different frame for their large Sunfish, wider at the master blade end like a wildcat well driller. I found that shape to have better spring action than the large toenail. I also like the yellow delrin line but my favourite is the gun checkered bone, great grip great look.

Best regards

Robin
 
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