Rough Rider & Related Slipjoints

Nixelplix said:
I'm pretty sure that Bear MGC knives are made in the USA, but their quality is generally not quite on par with Rough Rider.
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aww thats a bummer, well atleast maybe they will be fun mod projects. i know i have to return one of them atleast
 
Here are my two must recent RRs

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Love all the options they have available and that I can try them out on a whim.
 
lciesielski said:
Is a RR China 440a the same steel like US or EU 440a? Sorry if it's a stupid question and thanks for an answer on it.
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I can't speak to a standard. But the RR 440a is heat treated daily well. It holds an edge quite well rolls rather than chips. I've used a RR to dig out grout from tile, fairly abusive and all it took was 3 minutes on a stone to get it back to sharp. For daily regular use it holds its edge pretty well.

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Just received a RR "Diamond Jim" sowbelly stockman. The bone has pin cracks on both sides. The brass liners have black stains. There's a gap in the back spring, and several other flaws. The blades aren't sharp either. These are really inconsistent. I've owned over a dozen going back 4 years and I never seem to get any consistency. Maybe some models are better than others.
 
I've never gotten a dull one. My large coke bottle with smooth white bone came with a crack by the center pin, mark side. Being as bone is a natural material, and can (and sometimes does) come cracked on any brand of knife, I don't consider this a major defect. A little light sanding, and super glue fixed it well enough for me.
My smooth white bone large sunfish, Barlow, and Mustang lockback don't have any cracks, nor does my large "smooth tobacco" large sunfish.
I have three new Rough Riders waiting for me at the office.
"Stroke of Luck" large stockman, with green bone covers, six blade stockman, with yellow composit covers, and a two blade half hawk, again with the yellow covers.
I'll post about them after I get back to the office, It "may" be a while though. Office is in Ohio. So far this month, the closest I've been to Ohio, is Michigan. I'm on a run now, from Tennessee to Texas.

Worst case, you can send it back to the USA company in Tennessee that owns the brand, for a replacement.
 
This is the first one I've received with cracks in the bone. The others all had varying amounts of gaps, varying levels of sharpness, but typically good snap and fit. There are gaps between the bone and the liners in multiple places near the bolsters. The bolsters aren't evenly cut either, some are longer than others, which I've noticed on other RR knives. The sharpness isn't really an issue. I've received some that would easily shave arm hair and cleanly slice phone book paper, while others like this one need a sharpening before use. The initial sharpness isn't bad for a $12 knife, but it's certainly not shaving sharp like others have been.

I buy these for variety and I know they're cheap, but I've received some with quite good F&F. I judge them harsher than I should for what they cost. I do like the pattern though. I'm going to see about getting it exchanged because other than the problems with the scales it's a nice little knife and one I'd definitely carry and use.

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Pile side
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Mark side
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The cracks on both sides go all the way through the scale.
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To provide a point of comparison, this Rough Rider was about $15. The pictures are from when it was new. The only glaring flaw is the gap on the mark side between the scale and the bolster. There's no lateral blade play. The half stops are good. The springs are strong. Overall fit and finish is very high considering the price point. It came shaving sharp to where I was actually surprised. I need to repair the gap between bone and bolster because aside from that it's a very nice knife.

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My Diamond Jim sow belly is a pretty nice example,with no evident flaws except that all three blades rub. My Big Boy trapper is not a perfect knife, because there is no such thing, but I am so far unable to identify any flaw. You are right, it is a very nice knife.

The Improved Muskrat is one of my favorite patterns. Of the three I have bought, two have been very nice, while the first one had several very noticeable gaps between springs and liners. As far as I can tell, no pattern is more prone to flaws than any other. Getting a good one seems to be a matter of luck or persistence.
 
lciesielski said:
Is a RR China 440a the same steel like US or EU 440a? Sorry if it's a stupid question and thanks for an answer on it.
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No, it is not exactly the same composition, but it is similar enough that you won't notice the difference in performance.
 
Fanglekai said:
This is the first one I've received with cracks in the bone. The others all had varying amounts of gaps, varying levels of sharpness, but typically good snap and fit. There are gaps between the bone and the liners in multiple places near the bolsters. The bolsters aren't evenly cut either, some are longer than others, which I've noticed on other RR knives. The sharpness isn't really an issue. I've received some that would easily shave arm hair and cleanly slice phone book paper, while others like this one need a sharpening before use. The initial sharpness isn't bad for a $12 knife, but it's certainly not shaving sharp like others have been.

I buy these for variety and I know they're cheap, but I've received some with quite good F&F. I judge them harsher than I should for what they cost. I do like the pattern though. I'm going to see about getting it exchanged because other than the problems with the scales it's a nice little knife and one I'd definitely carry and use.
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One thing I have noticed here on this thread is that people absolutely pick these little knives to pieces. Every tiny flaw is examined, photographed and posted.

I think some should spend more time on the actual traditional forum and read how easy folks are on their $125 to $150 knives. They love the gaps, love the flaws in finish and love the dullness of their purchases. Certainly not all feel that way, but they are certainly an accepting group, dismissing most "flaws" as proof that their knife was made by hand and celebrate it as such. They are the first to declare they don't buy their knives for looks (although there are a lot of safe queens!) but buy them to use, so little imperfections are of no concern.

I don't have more than a 3 or 4 RRs, but I do have about 6 or 8 of their cousins badged under the Remington label. All of these knives have been great performers (forget about the price) and three or four of them have been used heavily in my construction duties for years.

I had one Boker that had a crack in the bone right at the back spring pin as you did. I opened it up with a straight pin, overfilled it with gel super glue, pulled out the straight pin, then let it cure out a couple of days. I sanded off the overfill and haven't had any problems with it since i did that about four years ago.

I love using these knives for work knives as I can push them as hard as I want without worry of failure. Since I don't abuse them, NONE have failed in any way. I feel like I get a lot more than I pay for with these knives.

Robert
 
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Good points Robert.:thumbup:

I've encountered cracks with the Yellow Delrin models around the centre-pin, it may be to do with the quality of the plastic or the techniques. Bone has been OK and some cracks may be as a result of them being dropped in the factory before delivery. RR knives have generally exceeded my expectations and some have pleased me enormously, not 'just for the money' either, but for the knife itself. For instance, yesterday at work I went out for a stroll in the grounds to look at an apple tree I'd planted some years ago in memory of a friend and colleague who was killed in an accident. A few shoots needed tidying up so the only knife I had on me was my RR Mini Copperhead, a diminutive knife. It sliced cleanly through all the twigs and suckers I wanted to tidy up with no problem at all and many of these were tough whippy wood, it is no Pruner but the stainless performed excellently. Nor does the knife have any F&F issues at all.

I've had bone pin cracks on 3 GEC knives, one developed a centre pin crack after 2 days and the dealer replaced it no question (I live in Europe so that makes it even better) the other two developed them with moderate use and have never been dropped or banged down. The latest is a Beer Scout knife in Natural Bone, certainly I've been using it as it hangs on a nail in the kitchen but given iits cost it's disappointing that cracks have appeared on both sides in six months. I think it costs about 7x as much as an RR or more. Better it happens on an inexpensive knife than a costly one I think. Some might spin that along the lines cheap knife cheap materials methods, expensive knife - all part of the character and mystique of hand made tradition.....:rolleyes:
 
Will Power said:
Good points Robert.:thumbup:

I've encountered cracks with the Yellow Delrin models around the centre-pin, it may be to do with the quality of the plastic or the techniques. Bone has been OK and some cracks may be as a result of them being dropped in the factory before delivery. RR knives have generally exceeded my expectations and some have pleased me enormously, not 'just for the money' either, but for the knife itself. For instance, yesterday at work I went out for a stroll in the grounds to look at an apple tree I'd planted some years ago in memory of a friend and colleague who was killed in an accident. A few shoots needed tidying up so the only knife I had on me was my RR Mini Copperhead, a diminutive knife. It sliced cleanly through all the twigs and suckers I wanted to tidy up with no problem at all and many of these were tough whippy wood, it is no Pruner but the stainless performed excellently. Nor does the knife have any F&F issues at all.

I've had bone pin cracks on 3 GEC knives, one developed a centre pin crack after 2 days and the dealer replaced it no question (I live in Europe so that makes it even better) the other two developed them with moderate use and have never been dropped or banged down. The latest is a Beer Scout knife in Natural Bone, certainly I've been using it as it hangs on a nail in the kitchen but given iits cost it's disappointing that cracks have appeared on both sides in six months. I think it costs about 7x as much as an RR or more. Better it happens on an inexpensive knife than a costly one I think. Some might spin that along the lines cheap knife cheap materials methods, expensive knife - all part of the character and mystique of hand made tradition.....:rolleyes:
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Nice work with the Copperhead Will, that's why we carry these small knives ain't it...so we can take care of those small jobs as and when they present themselves. Something very satisfying about that. A small crack recently appeared to the side of one of the pins on my small RR yellow work knife. Don't remember dropping it so may have happened with use. Anyway I'm not bothered, it'll be part of its character when it's old and battered. :thumbup:
 
midnight flyer said:
One thing I have noticed here on this thread is that people absolutely pick these little knives to pieces. Every tiny flaw is examined, photographed and posted.

I think some should spend more time on the actual traditional forum and read how easy folks are on their $125 to $150 knives. They love the gaps, love the flaws in finish and love the dullness of their purchases. Certainly not all feel that way, but they are certainly an accepting group, dismissing most "flaws" as proof that their knife was made by hand and celebrate it as such. They are the first to declare they don't buy their knives for looks (although there are a lot of safe queens!) but buy them to use, so little imperfections are of no concern.

I don't have more than a 3 or 4 RRs, but I do have about 6 or 8 of their cousins badged under the Remington label. All of these knives have been great performers (forget about the price) and three or four of them have been used heavily in my construction duties for years.

I had one Boker that had a crack in the bone right at the back spring pin as you did. I opened it up with a straight pin, overfilled it with gel super glue, pulled out the straight pin, then let it cure out a couple of days. I sanded off the overfill and haven't had any problems with it since i did that about four years ago.

I love using these knives for work knives as I can push them as hard as I want without worry of failure. Since I don't abuse them, NONE have failed in any way. I feel like I get a lot more than I pay for with these knives.

Robert
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I said I judge them too hard for their price point, but RR puts out some really nice ones, so I know they're capable of doing better. That's why I posted a comparison between two that I currently own. RR knives are typically awesome users. I was just a little disappointed with the scale fit on this one. The pin cracks are annoying but you're right a little super glue will fix it.
 
Could somebody explain me what does the titanium coating bring to the 440 blade on Colts CT311and 589?
Thx
 
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