Pleasantly surprised by Rough Rider Knives

Hairlesstwinkie

Hairlesstwinkie

Joined
Feb 4, 2013
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I picked up a Rough Rider trapper today and I was really impressed by the overall quality of the Rough Riders that I came across. I paid $16 for this trapper, and I don't think it's a bad price at all. There were others that were around $8, but I like the handle materals on this one. Whether it's real bone or not, it looks nice nonetheless. The fit and finish is excellent on it. Take the "440 razor sharp steel" and the "china" off, I might believe it's made by an USA manufacturer. The blade is razor sharp. I was able to push cut newspaper and phonebook paper with factory edge. I'm very impressed. I don't know how the edge retention will be on it, but I might pick up another one for long term use. This one will be a birthday present to a buddy of mine. I honestly don't know enough about these Rough Rider knives, but the knife screams quality.

here's a few pictures of it, the polish makes it difficult to photograph...


Untitled by Hairlesstwinkie, on Flickr

Untitled by Hairlesstwinkie, on Flickr

Untitled by Hairlesstwinkie, on Flickr
 
I've got a few myself and they do offer a pretty good build for the price and then some. I wish they were 440C instead of 440A, but as long as the heat treat is good they should serve well if carried. Sharpening them it seems the HT is good.

I love my Case, few Queens and S&Ms I have, and my Camillus built Remington knives, but have to admit that the later crop of RRs and the current Colt traditional lines are well made. They are less clunky and trimmer now than when they first started. Seems someone is guiding the makers in the more subtle things now.

Btw, good looking knife.
 
That one is nice. RR makes some respectable knives, given the price. I might go as far as to say the quality is improving a bit. Not that they were ever bad, though every company has lemons. Still, they just seem to get nicer, and nicer looking.
 
I have a RR Barlow that also came razor sharp. It doesn't hold an edge as long as my GEC knives or even my Buck. I had a hard time putting an edge back on it with my Sharpmaker but I recently bought a little Smith Trihone & it got it back to at least factory sharp pretty fast. Overall great fit & finish especially for the price!
 
Sweet, sounds like I'm not the only one who seems to like these knives. I always like to be surprised by the cheaper stuff. I'm definitely going to pick another one up to carry and use. Since they're so cheap, there's not all that much to lose. If the steel isn't stellar, the handles are still nice to look at so they would look great in a display case.
 
The RR scout/utility is hard to beat for the money, and I'd rather take it into the woods instead of my vintage Case redbone in the same pattern. I've found they're a great way to get people into traditionals too, we've given away a bunch to guys in my Troop. This past Christmas it was a Barlow and a 'carpenter' whittler pattern (sheepsfoot main), in years past we've given the scouts.
 
this has just occurred to me... 440A that's used by RR is essentially like the 420HC used by Case right? oh boy...
 
Hairlesstwinkie said:
this has just occurred to me... 440A that's used by RR is essentially like the 420HC used by Case right? oh boy...
Click to expand...

jkulysses said:
I have a RR Barlow that also came razor sharp. It doesn't hold an edge as long as my GEC knives or even my Buck. I had a hard time putting an edge back on it with my Sharpmaker
Click to expand...

Rough Riders are great, especially for gifts. If you don't go for very sharp and put a more obtuse secondary angle on them they'll hold a good working edge.

Case 420hc is a bit soft but will take a pretty sharp edge. It needs resharpening somewhat often but it's easy to resharpen. I like it better but it's not worth the cost. Case CV is quite nice.

My choice in budget knives has become old knives with carbon steel I like more than either of the above. Once you keep your eyes open for them there are lots out there.
 
Hairlesstwinkie said:
this has just occurred to me... 440A that's used by RR is essentially like the 420HC used by Case right? oh boy...
Click to expand...

Since RR knives are made in China, it is unlikely they use either of those alloys. Chinese steel mills do not make AISI alloys.

440A and 420HC are reasonably different alloys. The performance can be similar or different depending on the heat treatment.
 
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