Rough Rider & Related Slipjoints

The only imported slippies I have to this point are some imported Bucks, and if they are any indication of how slippies are made overseas, I think knife owners have nothing to worry about as far as quality. Granted, these are Bucks, and are made to Buck specs no matter WHERE they are made, but my imports are as good as ANY production knives, and I can totally see me handing these down to my grandkids. I don't baby them, either. I may not abuse them improperly, but they are used for everything, and they hang tough. Again, if the Rough Riders, Kissing Cranes, Marbles, etc., are made as good as the imported Bucks, then there's nothing wrong with these knives.
 
The RR knives are inexpensive working knives and they're not bad looking either. I compare them to the Imperial knives that used to sell for $1- $2.00 at hardware stores during the 60's and 70's. If you break one , no big deal, they're not heirlooms

I'm more of a stockman fan and I have many large stock knives from lots of makers including RR. My favorite RR is the large stockman in yellow composition, actually I like all of the RR knives in the old yellow series.

When I compare my RR knives to higher end knives I own like Case, Queen and GEC, I find the more expensive knives do have a higher level of F&F ( and they should). It could be psychological because I've spent more money, but I've never found a RR knife that I could say is "as good or better" than a Case /Queen or Gec knife. Yet I enjoy carrying and using many of my RR knives.

Using my Queen Large Stockman as an example , the Queen has a higher level of hand finishing than a RR stockman. The blades are swedged and nicely fitted. Looking down at a closed Queen stockman shows how symmetrical it is as compared to a RR, which lacks finesse. Of course the RR's are a fraction of the price , but I'm willing to spend $60-$100 for a Queen or GEC to get that level of craftsmanship.

Well enough miscellaneous ramblings
some photos.....

My favorite of the "old yellow" series

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a few comparison shots

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The earlier RR knives are not the best. these still show up on ebay NIB and it is not easy to tell if they are recent or older ones.
Newer ones like the "Long Rifle" series, or those with an acorn shield, or the work series with jigged black plastic handles, as some examples, have very good F'nF.
i think much of the differences of opinion regarding RR knives depends on whether you have the newer ones vs. the 'older' ones.
i base this on the approximately 80 RR folders i have, in addition to a great many USA made traditional folders.
roland
 
rprocter said:
The earlier RR knives are not the best. these still show up on ebay NIB and it is not easy to tell if they are recent or older ones.
Newer ones like the "Long Rifle" series, or those with an acorn shield, or the work series with jigged black plastic handles, as some examples, have very good F'nF.
i think much of the differences of opinion regarding RR knives depends on whether you have the newer ones vs. the 'older' ones.
i base this on the approximately 80 RR folders i have, in addition to a great many USA made traditional folders.
roland
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80 RR's :eek: :D
 
"80 RR's " Yep, and a bunch of RR fixed blades too ! obviously i REALLY like them.
i do have way more USA knives; lotsa German ones, Japan, etc., as well as about 20 Custom Folders. (1 Custom Folder = ~ 50 RR folders).
So even with all this 'competition' i still really like and enjoy my RRs. partly because they cost sooo little, all blades are sharp right out of the box, snap is good, no free play, not even 1 blade, smooth action(except the Toenails), and a super wide variety of patterns. i have carried and used only 3 of these, and they are 'holding up' just fine.
and, i'm a Knife Addict.
roland
 
rprocter said:
"80 RR's " Yep, and a bunch of RR fixed blades too ! obviously i REALLY like them.
i do have way more USA knives; lotsa German ones, Japan, etc., as well as about 20 Custom Folders. (1 Custom Folder = ~ 50 RR folders).
So even with all this 'competition' i still really like and enjoy my RRs. partly because they cost sooo little, all blades are sharp right out of the box, snap is good, no free play, not even 1 blade, smooth action(except the Toenails), and a super wide variety of patterns. i have carried and used only 3 of these, and they are 'holding up' just fine.
and, i'm a Knife Addict.
roland
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Good point. I guess I'm going to have to break down and spend 10 bucks and try one of their yeller sodbusters
 
rprocter said:
i do have way more USA knives; lotsa German ones, Japan, etc., as well as about 20 Custom Folders. (1 Custom Folder = ~ 50 RR folders).
So even with all this 'competition' i still really like and enjoy my RRs. partly because they cost sooo little, all blades are sharp right out of the box, snap is good, no free play, not even 1 blade, smooth action(except the Toenails), and a super wide variety of patterns. i have carried and used only 3 of these, and they are 'holding up' just fine.
and, i'm a Knife Addict.
roland
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My sentiments as well, they do hold up and I'm a knife addict too.:)
 
I bought a white bone handled RR stockman that is an aesthetic dead ringer for my 1970s Uncle Henry 897UH. I bought it because I can't replace that UH if I lose it at work. I had to take my impregnated felt polishing wheel to it to make it pocket and hand friendly.
It takes a good enough edge, but doesn't hold it long.
The same is true of my RR Barlows and Scout pattern.
They're pretty to look at, but their blade steel is crap. They're the Parker/Frost of the 2000s.
My Case, Camillus, Schrade, Boker, Colonial, Buck, and Imperial knives all hold better edges than the RR knives. They're nice for the money, but that's it.
I'll take one of the old '60s or '70s cheap Imperials over my RRs and Owl Head, any day. The old, cheap Imperials I have hold an edge MUCH better than the RR knives. Their blade steel isn't much better than 300 series stainless.

If they would make their blades of 1095, I'd be all over them in a big way. But they don't. They use 440A, which is a garbage excuse for cutlery steel.

For a similar price, you can buy a carbon steel Opinel that holds a MUCH better edge.
 
I used the RR whittler on oak and balsa wood projects. I kept a paint stirring stick with a strip of mouse pad and 600 grit sandpaper with me. Since I touched up the blade often anyway I didn't really find out how it held an edge for any long time but it was easy to restore a fine edge for whittling with a few strokes. Next project I'll see how long the edge will last.
 
Jaymo said:
I bought a white bone handled RR stockman that is an aesthetic dead ringer for my 1970s Uncle Henry 897UH. I bought it because I can't replace that UH if I lose it at work. I had to take my impregnated felt polishing wheel to it to make it pocket and hand friendly.
It takes a good enough edge, but doesn't hold it long.
The same is true of my RR Barlows and Scout pattern.
They're pretty to look at, but their blade steel is crap. They're the Parker/Frost of the 2000s.
My Case, Camillus, Schrade, Boker, Colonial, Buck, and Imperial knives all hold better edges than the RR knives. They're nice for the money, but that's it.
I'll take one of the old '60s or '70s cheap Imperials over my RRs and Owl Head, any day. The old, cheap Imperials I have hold an edge MUCH better than the RR knives. Their blade steel isn't much better than 300 series stainless.

If they would make their blades of 1095, I'd be all over them in a big way. But they don't. They use 440A, which is a garbage excuse for cutlery steel.

For a similar price, you can buy a carbon steel Opinel that holds a MUCH better edge.
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Hi,

While my Case CV, Queen D2, and GEC 1095 are unarguablely better steels. 440A is a decent steel for slippie-joint blades in my opinion. As with most things how good, depends on what and how you use it.

I don't own as many as Roland, but I probably like them just as much. I've done a hardness test on three of my favorites and they come in at 57Rc for all three. That's as good as my SAKs and my Case Tru-Sharp.

Perhaps you got some early bad ones. Or perhaps 440A isn't the best steel for your uses. There is no bad steel, just incorrect application.

I whole heartedly agree with you that if RR started to make plain high carbon steel blades at the current price point, every other cutler on this planet would be in dire trouble.

Mt two latest RR's, a Congress and a Mini-Canoe.

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dalee
 
Mine all seem to hold and edge acceptably well. When I carry one normally a quick stropping brings it right back at the end of the day unless I really used it hard. Their barlows get a good bit of pocket time as they are my favorite pattern.
 
Whittling, cutting tape, and the occasional cardboard. Mine are all 2009 production. My 440C knives hold an edge much better, and the 1095, better still. I use my RRs at work because I can wear them out or lose them(God forbid) and not feel as bad as if I lost a good knife. If my 897UH looked like my white bone RR stockman does now, I'd be sick. For the $6.00 I paid for it, it's fantastic.
That, and because I never could get happy about the glorified box cutter folders. I've got 3 of them and none of them are all that useful. I've had to sharpen a lot of the box cutter blades before I could even use them for the first time. A sharp pocketknife does a great job of cutting boxes. A box cutter is pretty useless for anything but.

I don't want to come down too hard on the RRs. For the money, they're good. However, they don't hold an edge as well as any of my American, French, German, or Swedish made knives.

Now, if RR would start making their Barlows with squared off bolsters and real nickel silver (glorified brass), I'd probably buy some more of them, just because I like Barlows.
I used to carry an old Camillus Barlow at work, but quit after I lost my Gerber EZ Out for the 5th and final time. Things fall out of my pockets at work because I have to lay down on the concrete often, to repair the equipment I work on. Quite the dilemma for me. I've been collecting knives for 32 years now and hate to carry a cheap knife. But, I hate, even more, to lose a good knife.
I lost my 1967 Camillus US military 4 blade scout pattern once and was sick until I found it.
 
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Well heat treated 440a is not a bad steel at all. I have bought and sold over 300 RRs and never a problem or complaint. I purchased my first 3 years ago after reading a very favourable write up in knives illustrated. I got a medium stockman and use the sheeps foot blade every day cutting 10 oz leather and even though I like to sharpen it a LOT there is very little gone off the blade. A buddy of mine skinned three white tails with their drop point hunter with only a light stropping on cardboard between the second and third Deer. I have introduced Many people to the joy of a slippie in their pocket, some now buy American knives from me. They are easy blades to sharpen and usually take only a stropping to keep them Razor sharp. There certainly are better steels out there but for the money there aren't many better knives, IMO.

Best regards

Robin
 
Well i did say i would not post any more of my RR or Colt folders, but i just received this Colt Gunstock with an impressive looking Clip blade to go along with the 2 blade(Spear & Clip) Gunstock i posted earlier.

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Quite nice.
roland
 
So, are the Winchester and Schrade Chinese knives made in the same factory as the RR knives?
I almost bought a Case seahorse whittler yesterday at a hardware store. $49.99 for the fire engine red jigged plastic handles. I was really tempted. I just think that If I'm going to get one with SS blades, I'll save some money and try the RR sleeveboard whittler. I'm not out much if I don't like it.
OR, I could get a Boker or other CS bladed German whittler for the same or less money as the Case.
OR I could put that $50.00 toward a HI khukuri.
 
"For a similar price, you can buy a carbon steel Opinel that holds a MUCH better edge."

LOL. Yeah, if you don't mind something that looks like a High School shop project.
 
JPD1998 said:
Using my Queen Large Stockman as an example , the Queen has a higher level of hand finishing than a RR stockman. The blades are swedged and nicely fitted. Looking down at a closed Queen stockman shows how symmetrical it is as compared to a RR, which lacks finesse. Of course the RR's are a fraction of the price , but I'm willing to spend $60-$100 for a Queen or GEC to get that level of craftsmanship.
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Where did you get the large yellow Stock? I can find 4" round bolsters, but not 4 1/4" square.
 
rprocter said:
Well i did say i would not post any more of my RR or Colt folders, but i just received this Colt Gunstock with an impressive looking Clip blade to go along with the 2 blade(Spear & Clip) Gunstock i posted earlier.

Quite nice.
roland
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Hi,

I've eyeballed those Colts, they look really nice. But that "C" on the bolster just kills it for me. Beautiful otherwise.

dalee
 
Ive seen alot rough riders mentioned alot throughout this part of the forum and heard alot of good things about them. I just had a couple of questions for people who have them. Ive never been a stickler for steel but whats the quality on the stainless they use, for under 20bucks I dont expect it to be super but thats kinda why I like it. I had a particular interest in the large folding hunter pattern. Whats your take on them.
 
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