Rough Rider & Related Slipjoints

A Stoneworx stockman is one of the ones I looked at yesterday but did not buy. In reading the post from afishhunter above this one, I didn't know what a stoneworx stockman was so I google imaged it, and well, yeah. I also looked at the big river store site which listed the price at 16+ dollars. Which is only a few bucks more than in the store here. I didn't particularly like the Stoneworx though so I'm going to pass on it.

 

Really impressed with this one actually.

 

I agree completely with Pomsbz about that Remington canoe! :thumbup:


I liked mine so much that I later ordered a Peanut from the same series:


I'm really happy with this set!


- GT

 

I've got the Remington Stockman of the series. Good knife.
Rich

 

If I'm not mistaken it was you who gave me the idea in the first place Sir.

 

afishhunter, good to hear that you made it home. 11+ months is a looong time on the road! How long before you head out again?

Sounds like you had some interesting knives waiting for you. You should try to post some pictures while you're home. I'd really enjoy seeing some of your "traveling companions" as well as some of your new additions; I always have a special interest in seeing people's canoes.

So congrats on the new knives you finally got to see! :thumbup::thumbup: Now please show 'em off to the rest of us!

I had no idea I could be so influential; glad I didn't steer you wrong!

- GT

 

Great looking knives right there.^^^.

 

I have the medium Stockman from that series, and really like it a lot. It is a great sized knife for jeans carry. My only problem with the knife was one I had read about on "another site" that talks a lot about pocket knives, and that is the fact that the wood isn't stabilized or particularly hard. In intensely sweaty pockets for 10-12 hours a day like mine, I had problems with the scales warping as others had reported.

I quit carrying it on the job when it was really hot and I was sweating a lot (easily through my jeans), and when I had soaked them with sweat several times, they scales began moving around and no longer lined up. There was a pretty good sized gap between the scale and the liner on one side. I liked the knife enough that I decided to repair it, so I cleaned out the space between the liner and scale, filled it with slow dry epoxy, then clamped it. After a couple of days I took the clamp off and carefully sanded down the epoxy squeeze out and any differences in mating surfaces left after gluing.

To complete the repair, I lightly sanded both scales, and like I did when I was making custom writing pens, used water thin CA glue to really soak the scales. Cleaned off the excess CA from the bolsters, buffed it up a bit and I was back in business. I really like that knife.

I also have three of their 4" stockman patterned knives with the ebony black (NOT inferring it is ebony) scales. They came as a set with a peanut in the sets I bought. These did not have burlwood, so no problems. After carrying the large stockman for a few years I finally saw layers when I had it in the light just right and concluded that it is their version of "dymondwood" or some kind of half phenolic/half wood product dyed black. It was so highly polished when I got it I thought it was a black plastic of some sort. All the knives I have carried with the black scales have proven to be just about impervious to any kind of wear. They all came with great walk and talk, sharpen easily, hold an edge well, and no matter how much I sweat over days of carry I only get a dot or two of rust. And as much cutting, fitting moldings, cutting up boxes, trimming shims, light prying, etc., as they have done, there isn't any show of wear except they snap a bit more lightly.

The Remington brand was gifted to me by my niece as she knew I loved my pocket knives, and they carried them in blister packs at a local sporting goods store. Personally, I was still pretty biased against this type of knife, but carried it so that if I was around her she could see that her uncle appreciated her gift. After years of carry, they are just as sturdy and work in the field just as well (better in some cases...) than any of the other knives I have carried. I drop them in my pocket to go to work as a matter or preference now over most knives I own.

Robert

 

Wow, Bill, that's an appealing canoe! :thumbup: What are the covers called - gunstock checked?

- GT

 

You got it GT- Gunstock scales....or in TC terms, scratted
And yea, really like that canoe:thumbup:

 

Yeah, just checkered gunstock bone or something. It's definitely grippy. They're a little more than most RR's but the F&F seems to be a little better also.

 

Thanks for the confirmation, Steve and Bill. I was pretty sure it was the gunstock checked bone because I once had a Rough Rider copperhead with those covers (really liked the covers, but the knife itself was a little long for my taste, so it ended up going to a winner of a GAW). I seem to have an obsession with canoes that shows no signs of letting up, so I may be adding one like yours, Bill (and an Armorhide, and twisted brown bone, and a sawcut brown bone with the fancy bolsters, and maybe a mini-canoe in black lip pearl, and ...)

- GT

 

I brought out my armor hide mini barlow for today's edc

 

Seems like these import Remington branded folders and Rough Riders are 2 of the best brands for high quality, low price Traditional style folding knives. I wonder if the business person responsible for bringing out these knives is the same for both brands. Whomever is behind these knives obviously pays for, and insists on, top quality workmanship from the companies that manufacture knives for them.
kj

 

All they need to do now is up the steel! The Chinese know how to do good steel, it's only a matter of time.

 

IMHO there's nothing "wrong" with the steel they use now. It holds an edge, is easy to sharpen (on the rare occasion it needs it) and (so far) has cut everything I needed to cut.

 

I agree with the fish hunter. I have lots of knives with top end steels. There is not much difference in how they cut compared with how many low cost knives cut. Some low cost knives cut poorly and don't sharpen well. Rough Rider is one example of low cost that in real world use is not that different from expensive knives with high end steels. Differences show up if you cut say 300 strips of cardboard, but most of us never need to do that sort of thing.
"If it ain't broke, don't fix it" is some of the best advice ever. Rough Riders are working very well as they are. They 'ain't broke', so let's not try to 'fix' them.
kj

 

I have no complaints about the 440A steel in my two RRs. They came sharp and evenly beveled from the factory. For what I use a small pocket knife for, they are about as good as anything else.