Rough Rider & Related Slipjoints

[afishhunter]

Quick question.

Does Rough Ryder make any carbon steel traditionals?
I'm not really not that familiar with the brand. I know that they have a lot of stainless models...but my preference goes to carbon.

Thanks!

Carbon Classis series with yellow covers and Classic Carbon II series with different covers. (I don't have one.) I believe both of these have diamond shields.
There was a Synthetic Yellow series with a Federal or Bomb shield, it was all 440A blades though.
They also had a Ti coated carbon steel with G10 covers.
Pictures:
Classic Carbon RR1740 XL (4.25 inch) Stockman, and RR2040 Barlow
View attachment 1683183
RR1569 G10 and Ti coated carbon steel moose pattern.View attachment 1683184
They use T10 carbon steel.
From what I've read about it, it is a good steel, and popular for swords, because it can be differential heat treated.

EDIT: T10 contains a small amount of Titanium, so it holds an edge better than one of the 10xx series steels, but is still realatively easy to sharpen.
It doesn't patina as easy, however. I'd say it's about like 5160 in that regard, in my experience.

 

[Kevin-B]

Carbon Classis series with yellow covers and Classic Carbon II series with different covers. (I don't have one.) I believe both of these have diamond shields.
There was a Synthetic Yellow series with a Federal or Bomb shield, it was all 440A blades though.
They also had a Ti coated carbon steel with G10 covers.
Pictures:
Classic Carbon RR1740 XL (4.25 inch) Stockman, and RR2040 Barlow
View attachment 1683183
RR1569 G10 and Ti coated carbon steel moose pattern.View attachment 1683184
They use T10 carbon steel.
From what I've read about it, it is a good steel, and popular for swords, because it can be differential heat treated.

EDIT: T10 contains a small amount of Titanium, so it holds an edge better than one of the 10xx series steels, but is still realatively easy to sharpen.
It doesn't patina as easy, however. I'd say it's about like 5160 in that regard, in my experience.

Thanks! I appreciate the information!

 

[Gary W. Graley]

Thanks to DavidZ for sending me this Rough Ryder whittler, it has a variety of names but I think whittler suits it best. Now it had some issues, as some knives often do, but not insurmountable.

The very first thing I noticed was the swedge on the main blade was ground way too crisp. As you went to close the blade the swedge would feel like it's about to slice into your hand! SO, I ground down the entire length of the spine to keep it even and bring a little bit of width to the back of the swedge, now it's polished and a tad wider, no longer a scare to close.

Then the edges of the handle scales were also a little edgy so I softened those down with some 600 grit sand paper just a bit.

Then the inside edge of the liners were quite sharp, I used my awl on my SAK Pioneer X to scrape down those edges and smoothed that out also with some folded pieces of the 600 grit sand paper.

Finally, there were two pen blades, which I felt was odd but have seen such on other folders, but it was pretty easy to grind down that tip into a modified coping blade making it a great third blade.

Untitled by GaryWGraley, on Flickr

Untitled by GaryWGraley, on Flickr

Untitled by GaryWGraley, on Flickr

as you can see, these blades are packed in kinda tight and that results in some blade rub;

Untitled by GaryWGraley, on Flickr

being carbon steel, there are already some speckling of rust starting to show, but, the steel seems fairly hard and I will polish that out with some flitz.

Untitled by GaryWGraley, on Flickr

G2

 

[afishhunter]

T10 carbon steel.
The 3 Rough Riders and 1 older Colt canoe I have with that blade steel takes and holds an edge.
I have mine set at 10 DPS, using a guided rod sharpener. No chipped or rolled edges so far.
T10 has a little Titanium in the alloy for increased edge retention, from what I've read about it.
Still easy enough to sharpen. The thing I noticed is it's a little slower than the 10xx carbon steels to patina. I'd guess it's between 5160 and D2 in that regard, based on how my T10, 5160, and D2 knives have taken a patina ... or not ... My D2 refuses to start one so far.

Thanks for the pictures. I've been wondering if the Rough Rider whittlers were a split back design. Looks like they might be.

 

[Gary W. Graley]

Here's a shot of the back of the folder;

Untitled by GaryWGraley, on Flickr

G2

 

[chuckgp]

Here's a shot of the back of the folder;

Untitled by GaryWGraley, on Flickr

G2

i've heard of tapered tangs but never seen a tapered liner

 

[Gary W. Graley]

Pretty normal on whittlers
G2

 

[Grateful]

T10 has a little Titanium in the alloy for increased edge retention, from what I've read about it.

It’s tungsten I believe, not titanium.

 

[Henry Beige]

Not long after I received this wharncliffe work knife I noticed the covers starting to shrink around the lanyard hole. As you can see, the end piece fell off today. Thankfully I found it in my pocket. I’m going to epoxy it back on and continue to carry and use it.View attachment 1676995

My covers haven’t shrunk, but i dropped my knife on the floor and broke an almost identical chunk out of the handle. I fixed it with Bondic, an overpriced light-curing resin similar to what dentists use. It looks like crap right now, but not from a distance. A little more sanding and some coloration with a Sharpie should have it looking like a fairly respectable bodge.

 

[josha840]

Thanks to DavidZ for sending me this Rough Ryder whittler, it has a variety of names but I think whittler suits it best. Now it had some issues, as some knives often do, but not insurmountable.

The very first thing I noticed was the swedge on the main blade was ground way too crisp. As you went to close the blade the swedge would feel like it's about to slice into your hand! SO, I ground down the entire length of the spine to keep it even and bring a little bit of width to the back of the swedge, now it's polished and a tad wider, no longer a scare to close.

Then the edges of the handle scales were also a little edgy so I softened those down with some 600 grit sand paper just a bit.

Then the inside edge of the liners were quite sharp, I used my awl on my SAK Pioneer X to scrape down those edges and smoothed that out also with some folded pieces of the 600 grit sand paper.

Finally, there were two pen blades, which I felt was odd but have seen such on other folders, but it was pretty easy to grind down that tip into a modified coping blade making it a great third blade.

Untitled by GaryWGraley, on Flickr

Untitled by GaryWGraley, on Flickr

Untitled by GaryWGraley, on Flickr

as you can see, these blades are packed in kinda tight and that results in some blade rub;

Untitled by GaryWGraley, on Flickr

being carbon steel, there are already some speckling of rust starting to show, but, the steel seems fairly hard and I will polish that out with some flitz.

Untitled by GaryWGraley, on Flickr

G2

This might very well be my next knife purchase. I really like the look of it!

 

[nickvnlr]

I love that whittler enough that I got 2. The black canvas is perfectly textured. The blades are good sizes/shapes and the steel sharpens up very nicely.

 

[Nixelplix]

A few new knives for the new year!

I bought a couple of new Rough Ryders and a Marble's. Fit and finish on all three is superior.

First up is this Rough Ryder bolster lock trapper. It is a lovely single blade trapper. It has a pretty neat bolster lock, which is really just a fancy liner lock. It locks up solid, no wiggle at all!

Next is this Marble's brown linen micarta medium lockback. It is a really lovely medum sized lockback hunting knife. It comes with a small sheath. The micarta is great, nice and grippy, looks really cool. Locks up solid. Nice jimping. It really is a lot of knife for $20!

Last but not least is a fun little novelty dagger. It's a reproduction of an old Parker knife I think. A Rough Ryder green bone folding push dagger! It starts as a nice little two finger boot knife, and converts to a push dagger for business time (lol!) It comes with a sheath that has both a belt loop and a clip. It's almost completely useless, but it is a fun thing to add to the collection, for sure.

 

[Modoc ED]

A few new knives for the new year!

I bought a couple of new Rough Ryders and a Marble's. Fit and finish on all three is superior.

First up is this Rough Ryder bolster lock trapper. It is a lovely single blade trapper. It has a pretty neat bolster lock, which is really just a fancy liner lock. It locks up solid, no wiggle at all!

Next is this Marble's brown linen micarta medium lockback. It is a really lovely medum sized lockback hunting knife. It comes with a small sheath. The micarta is great, nice and grippy, looks really cool. Locks up solid. Nice jimping. It really is a lot of knife for $20!

Last but not least is a fun little novelty dagger. It's a reproduction of an old Parker knife I think. A Rough Ryder green bone folding push dagger! It starts as a nice little two finger boot knife, and converts to a push dagger for business time (lol!) It comes with a sheath that has both a belt loop and a clip. It's almost completely useless, but it is a fun thing to add to the collection, for sure.

Very nice Josh Nixelplix

 

[josha840]

A few new knives for the new year!

I bought a couple of new Rough Ryders and a Marble's. Fit and finish on all three is superior.

First up is this Rough Ryder bolster lock trapper. It is a lovely single blade trapper. It has a pretty neat bolster lock, which is really just a fancy liner lock. It locks up solid, no wiggle at all!

Next is this Marble's brown linen micarta medium lockback. It is a really lovely medum sized lockback hunting knife. It comes with a small sheath. The micarta is great, nice and grippy, looks really cool. Locks up solid. Nice jimping. It really is a lot of knife for $20!

Last but not least is a fun little novelty dagger. It's a reproduction of an old Parker knife I think. A Rough Ryder green bone folding push dagger! It starts as a nice little two finger boot knife, and converts to a push dagger for business time (lol!) It comes with a sheath that has both a belt loop and a clip. It's almost completely useless, but it is a fun thing to add to the collection, for sure.

That Marbles folding hunter looks nice! Report back after some use.

 

[Nixelplix]

That Marbles folding hunter looks nice! Report back after some use.

It really is the winner of the bunch. It is just a simple folding hunter with some modern touches, but I really can't find anything negative to say about it. Personally it took me a while to get used to the curve of the handle, but after using it a bit today I found it to be quite comfortable. Maybe if they scaled it up slightly to be the same size of a Buck 110 I would like it a little better.
I can easily thumb the blade open one handed, the action is smooth, easy to close one handed against my leg. Very sharp factory edge. The steel is some version of 440 I believe. The micarta looks nice and feels nice. If I was going to get one $20 knife, this one would be right on top of the list of candidates for sure.

 

[jlomein]

A few new knives for the new year!

I bought a couple of new Rough Ryders and a Marble's. Fit and finish on all three is superior.

First up is this Rough Ryder bolster lock trapper. It is a lovely single blade trapper. It has a pretty neat bolster lock, which is really just a fancy liner lock. It locks up solid, no wiggle at all!

Next is this Marble's brown linen micarta medium lockback. It is a really lovely medum sized lockback hunting knife. It comes with a small sheath. The micarta is great, nice and grippy, looks really cool. Locks up solid. Nice jimping. It really is a lot of knife for $20!

Last but not least is a fun little novelty dagger. It's a reproduction of an old Parker knife I think. A Rough Ryder green bone folding push dagger! It starts as a nice little two finger boot knife, and converts to a push dagger for business time (lol!) It comes with a sheath that has both a belt loop and a clip. It's almost completely useless, but it is a fun thing to add to the collection, for sure.

That Red Bone Bolster Lock Trapper looks like a beaut and a good user for a cheap price!

 

[craytab]

It really is the winner of the bunch. It is just a simple folding hunter with some modern touches, but I really can't find anything negative to say about it. Personally it took me a while to get used to the curve of the handle, but after using it a bit today I found it to be quite comfortable. Maybe if they scaled it up slightly to be the same size of a Buck 110 I would like it a little better.
I can easily thumb the blade open one handed, the action is smooth, easy to close one handed against my leg. Very sharp factory edge. The steel is some version of 440 I believe. The micarta looks nice and feels nice. If I was going to get one $20 knife, this one would be right on top of the list of candidates for sure.

I'm waiting for that to filter in to the usual spots one finds knives like this close to their intended price. I'd pay $20 all day for that thing but $30 is too much. That blade looks great.

 

[nickvnlr]

Just curious. Does this blend the lines enough to no longer be considered traditional?

There's no clip.

 

[afishhunter]

Just curious. Does this blend the lines enough to no longer be considered traditional?

There's no clip.

Blade stud disqualifies it. I'm not sure about the flipper, but since flippers hadn't been invented until well after the mid 1960's, my guess is the flipper tab is also a disqualifier.

 

[B1GSHOT]

If I put a thumb stud on my Buck 110, does that make it not a traditional? I would qualify this pattern as a modified traditional pattern. Still a traditional form, just with modern features. It's not a slip joint, but there are traditional knives that aren't slip joints.