Rough Rider & Related Slipjoints

I have purchased a few of these lately and I must say for the price you cannot go wrong if you just want a new knife that looks cool. I do like the looks of the majority of the RR's but in my mind, which is probably all it is, I cannot use them for all day cutting tasks. Maybe good desk knives for mail and such? I dunno maybe I am being a bit dramatic?
 
Historically, I purchase used swiss army knives to use as my beaters. Do RR knives stand up to less than civil (but not hard or abusive) treatment?

I'm talking about pocket carry with keys and change, being dropped on concrete floors, that sort of thing.
 
supergnat said:
Historically, I purchase used swiss army knives to use as my beaters. Do RR knives stand up to less than civil (but not hard or abusive) treatment?

I'm talking about pocket carry with keys and change, being dropped on concrete floors, that sort of thing.
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I've been carrying this one 6 days a week more or less for the past 7 months. No worse than for wear.

 
I also have carried a SAK Tinker for years, but the RRs are as tough as they come. Will hold up for years of pocket wear.
Rich
 
supergnat said:
Historically, I purchase used swiss army knives to use as my beaters. Do RR knives stand up to less than civil (but not hard or abusive) treatment?

I'm talking about pocket carry with keys and change, being dropped on concrete floors, that sort of thing.
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Well, depending on how much you sweat, the bolsters might get a little patina.
I carried a large Rough Rider sunfish as my primary EDC for about a year, no harm to the knife from keys, coins, or the Rough Rider Barlow it shared pocket space with. (no harm to the Barlow, either.)

As for dropping on a concrete floor, ANY knife regardless of brand that has bone covers can chip or break the bone or stag. That is one reason all my work knives have wood or Derlin covers ... except my Marbles camp/scout/utility knife, which has stainless steel covers/scales.
 
supergnat said:
Historically, I purchase used swiss army knives to use as my beaters. Do RR knives stand up to less than civil (but not hard or abusive) treatment?

I'm talking about pocket carry with keys and change, being dropped on concrete floors, that sort of thing.
Click to expand...

I have been using the RR and their "kissing cousins" for several years now. I have had a real affinity for the Remington off shore offerings as they make a stockman pattern that I similar to a CASE branded knife I can't find. I have done the same with a couple of other knife patterns I can't find.

With the large (4") stockman pattern in my pocket for use in my daily construction work I can tell you my experience has been that these knives work just has hard (or harder!) than their domestic counterparts. I have carried the Remington as much as two years at a stretch with no breaks and it still snaps like new and has no blade wobble. Same with the Boker, except that the shield fell out and needs to be glued back in. Shields coming out seems to be a problem with a lot of knives these days.

I have said this before, but honestly I wouldn't have bought one of these knives since I am pretty brand loyal to CASE and BUCK for work knives. But I got the Remington as a gift about 7+ years ago and had to carry it since the person that got it for me insisted on seeing that I had it in my pocket when she saw me. I have been very pleased with these less expensive lines of knives, and if anything, have probably used them a bit harder than I would my CASE or BUCKS since I kept thinking they were lesser quality. In my experience, they can hold their own in an actual work environment quite well.

Robert
 
I've been using this little guy to cut the old vinyl floor in my bathroom throughout my reno. It's an OK little fixed blade! I think those taylor made schrades might have the RR fixed blades beat though, lol.



PS the tip on this guy was used in some less than stellar ways and it didn't deform.
 
I think the RR fixed blades are made by a different manufacturer than the folders. The RR folding knives are amazingly good. The RR fixed blades do not arrive as sharp as the folders and seem to me to be o.k., but not in the same league as the folders.
kj
 
Deffy not in the same league, mine came with uneven for grinds. I knew I was going to be doing house renovations with this one so I didn't bother doing a clean sharpening pass with this one. I might do a pass around or gaw on it for fun.
 
I only have the one RR fixed-blade, but I've been pleased with it :thumbup:

 
RR seems to source their fixed blades from several different sources. Some look pretty closely related to their traditional folders. Some seem to come from Pakistan. One looks to be made by Imacasa/Condor (El Salvador).

Whoever runs the brand seems to have hit a winning streak sourcing their traditional folders from likely a single source. Early RR folders were more varied, modern designs mixed in, with a couple look to have come from whoever makes Sanrenmu knives. But the traditionals hit a sweet spot of quality, price and demand.
 
I have only two so far but am really impresssed by the overall quality. One could just find the spring a bit on the hard side.Two more coming, then I stop. Promised!
 
Quote: "hit a sweet spot of quality, price and demand."
The price missed the "sweet spot". In the beginning ( ~ 2005 ?) the prices were $5-$10 and more recently they have crept up a little but still are under $20.
I began buying RR knives in 2007, at first just to see how bad a $5-$10 knife would be. To my great surprise all were very decent, sharp knives. Every other knifer i told about the RR knives dismissed what i said because it seemed impossible to sell anything but 'crap' at that price.
It took years before enough knife knowledgeable people had tried the RR knives such that the collective positive opinion took hold. Had the price been higher (e.g. $20-$30) i think they would have caught on much earlier.
You can still buy a new RR for under $10 delivered to your home address. Even if the knife was acquired for free in China i still do not understand how $10 covers shipping to USA, then shipping within USA, warehousing, marketing and USPS delivery to the buyer.
kj
 
kootenay joe said:
Quote:

You can still buy a new RR for under $10 delivered to your home address. Even if the knife was acquired for free in China i still do not understand how $10 covers shipping to USA, then shipping within USA, warehousing, marketing and USPS delivery to the buyer.
kj
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Not trying to change subject,but my daughter bought some ear rings from off shore for like .50 a pair....ok,she bought about
10 pair from 5 or 6 diffrent vendors....all FREE SHIPPING....They each came delivered on diff days,diff pkgs,etc.....I too,can not
understand how they can ship a pkg free,from offshore...especially when it was only half dollar item....it did take 2 to 3 weeks to get them
all,but at that price......Just Saying.....

Now back to the knives.....That muskrat with stag is sweet...Not very fond of that pattern,but that stag really looks nice,sets the knife off....
 
CROWEMAG said:
I have purchased a few of these lately and I must say for the price you cannot go wrong if you just want a new knife that looks cool. I do like the looks of the majority of the RR's but in my mind, which is probably all it is, I cannot use them for all day cutting tasks. Maybe good desk knives for mail and such? I dunno maybe I am being a bit dramatic?
Click to expand...

Why can't you use them for all day cutting tasks? Of the 15 or so Rough Riders I have (only three are duplicate patterns, just a different handle material) they all hold an edge just as well as my Bucks do (no fancy steel, just their standard 420HC) which to me, indicates Rough Rider has a good heat treat on their 440A. None of my Rough Riders have developed any blade slop. I think they are somewhat like the Imperial and other low cost knives back in the day; a high quality, low cost, no frills user/work knife for the masses.

I had to notch a piece of oak a couple weeks ago. The oak is/was a 1 x 2 board, I had to whittle a notch about 3/4inch high and 3 inches long, to clear a drawer latch. Then, so the drawer latch finger cleared the 1 x 2 (locking the drawer closed) I had to thin the "one inch" of the 1 x 2 down to roughly 3/8 inch. The only tool I used for this "whittling" project was the pen blade of my Rough Rider large sunfish (the main blade was just a tad big for what I needed to do). I did not baton across the grain (or with the grain, for that matter). When I finished, the blade still had no slop in any direction, and did not need to visit a hone or strop; it was still sharp enough to shave arm hair.

Give your Rough Riders a go, you'll be pleasantly surprised with their everyday performance.
 
Got this Colt/rough rider Sowbelly with stag covers yesterday afternoon and put to some whittling on a walking cane. It did a credible job. the blade thickness at the edges were slightly thicker than the GEC Maverick. The blades were sharp enough though to do the task.





 
/\ That sowbelly looks like it has "carved stag bone" which is bone carved to appear like stag. Pretty nice, though!

jdracing said:
Now back to the knives.....That muskrat with stag is sweet...Not very fond of that pattern,but that stag really looks nice,sets the knife off....
Click to expand...

I posted the muskrat because I thought it had the nicest stag covers in the pictures of the patterns being offered. Here's the other ones I have seen:

CT220.jpg


CT219.jpg


CT222.jpg


CT218.jpg


CT221.jpg


And for the manly men out there, the Rough Rider "bling" lady's leg knife:

RR1440.jpg
 
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