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Right on that deep dive must have been challenging the way search engines are working lately. Thanks for the info!
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Rough Rider & Related Slipjoints
- Thread starter dalee100
- Start date
You bet. It was fun tracking that down. I have lately been on a project cataloging old Rough Rider knives, searching for rare and interesting ones, so it was timely. It is surprising how much interesting experimentation Rough Rider did with covers and patterns over the years! I guess when your knives are relatively inexpensive to produce you can really explore the design space.
afishhunter
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IMHO, That is one of the things that sets Rough Rider/Rider apart from the rest.
You get a descent dependable/long lasting knife at a price that won't bankrupt the bank, to try different patterns and/or cover materials.
"Upgrading" (note quotes) to a more "impressive" brand after you determine you like the pattern is always an option ...
providing you have the funds ... and the manufacturer you want does not have the pattern "in the vault" and out of production for 5+ years at a time. (Example: Case Barlow. WHY Case forces someone who wants a Barlow to either buy a used Case, or wait for it to be put in temporary production for a year, or more likely, to their competitors, is beyond my comprehension. All but one of Case' competitors (Buck) has the Barlow a standard production pattern.
I am not sure, but I don't think Buck has ever offered the Barlow pattern, from the Schrade and Camillus contract knives of the 1960's to the in-house and offshore manufactured offerings of today.
I also appreciate the consistent build quality. Minimal if any noticeable liner/spring/bolster/ cover gaps, consistent pulls of around "5" on all the blades of a multi blade pattern and light - if any - blade/blade and/or blade/liner rub.
mbkr
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Buck did sell a barlow made by Camillus. Same knife as a 1013 with yellow sawcut delrin.
Rough Rider has done some interesting patterns. I particularly like their various whittlers. This one with a locking main blade is pretty nifty
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It is funny you put this knife up. I bought my first Rough Rider ten years ago because I was looking for affordable lockback whittler patterns. The Case/Bose version was simply stupid expensive and I noticed that Rough Rider made a few, and off I went. I believe there are seven "Rider" versions in the same pattern as yours (Red Jigged, Amber Jigged, Outdoorsman, Pink Silver Select, White Silver Select, Yellow Delrin, and Moonglow) and one "Ryder" version (Workingman with the pocket clip, ie yours). Here are the five I have managed to track down over the years.Buck did sell a barlow made by Camillus. Same knife as a 1013 with yellow sawcut delrin.
Rough Rider has done some interesting patterns. I particularly like their various whittlers. This one with a locking main blade is pretty nifty
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Rough Rider released the lockback whittler for the first time in 2009. As far as I can tell, it was one of five patterns they released that year which were multi-blade traditionals with locking main blades: large trapper, medium trapper, canoe, large stockman-shaped whittler and a small canoe-shaped whittler. Each of the five patterns were originally produced in four different covers: red jigged bone, amber jigged bone, Outdoorsman, and yellow composition. Rough Rider released each of these patterns again in later years and different covers, except for the canittler; these were only part of the original release and never made in other covers. In fact, I have never seen the red JB and amber JB canittlers with anything other than the propeller shield, which suggests they may not have seen more than a single production run (typically about 1200 knives). The Rough Rider lockback canittler is one of my all-time favorite RR patterns, and today they are hard to find. Here is a set of the five original Rough Rider lockback multi-blade slipjoints in the Outdoorsman covers. There is quite a variation in color on this series. The center knife is the same as the knife in the post above this one. The color difference is caused by lighting differences.
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Digging around in the early RR years has been very interesting. As I get into them, I am discovering that in many cases I prefer the older knives to the newer knives. I am not really a fan of the huge boxes, the embossed bolster “R”, the main pivot washers on the RRR knives, or the blade swedges. To me, it makes many of the knives feel bloated and overdone. Does a knife really need a bolster stamp, an embossed shield, a blade etch and a tang stamp? The older knife designs were cleaner and simpler, in many cases (this is especially true of the canoe, one of my favorites). Here is a photo showing what I was talking about a few posts up regarding Rough Rider’s willingness to experiment with bone jigging. These are all old-school Riders - no Ryders, Reserves, Big Boxes or Bolster R’s in the bunch.
From top to bottom, left to right, they are: Bark Bone, Twisted Bone, Black Sawcut, Twisted Tree Root, Brown Gunstock, Armor Hide, Moonshiner, and Moss Jigged Green. The Black Sawcut, Twisted Tree Root, and Moss Jigged Green were only released in this pattern (Big Trapper). It's really too bad, the Black Sawcut makes for a beautiful cover.
From top to bottom, left to right, they are: Bark Bone, Twisted Bone, Black Sawcut, Twisted Tree Root, Brown Gunstock, Armor Hide, Moonshiner, and Moss Jigged Green. The Black Sawcut, Twisted Tree Root, and Moss Jigged Green were only released in this pattern (Big Trapper). It's really too bad, the Black Sawcut makes for a beautiful cover.
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afishhunter
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Agree.Digging around in the early RR years has been very interesting. As I get into them, I am discovering that in many cases I prefer the older knives to the newer knives. I am not really a fan of the huge boxes, the embossed bolster “R”, the main pivot washers on the RRR knives, or the blade swedges. To me, it makes many of the knives feel bloated and overdone. Does a knife really need a bolster stamp, an embossed shield, a blade etch and a tang stamp? The older knife designs were cleaner and simpler, in many cases (this is especially true of the canoe, one of my favorites). Here is a photo showing what I was talking about a few posts up regarding Rough Rider’s willingness to experiment with bone jigging. These are all old-school Riders - no Ryders, Reserves, Big Boxes or Bolster R’s in the bunch.
From top to bottom, left to right, they are: Bark Bone, Twisted Bone, Black Sawcut, Twisted Tree Root, Brown Gunstock, Armor Hide, Moonshiner, and Moss Jigged Green. The Black Sawcut, Twisted Tree Root, and Moss Jigged Green were only released in this pattern (Big Trapper).
I dislike the ugly "R" bolster very much. Their inclusion on the (yellow) Carbon Classic series distracts from an otherwise fantastic knife.
TBH IMHO RR could drop the match strike pulls and nicks on the vast majority of patterns, (and ditch the second pull from the 2 blade folding hunter patterns and clasp knives) giving them a cleaner look. For me, the extra nail nick is a deal murderer.
Big "Collector" boxes with magnetic closure ... WHY??? to me Rough Rider/Ryder knives are more "user" than "safe royalty". The boxes are more likely to go into the trash than on display. How are they "display" boxes, anyway? No "window" in the lids.
I had a Twisted Bone Canoe. No idea where it wandered off to.
I remember it was my first (air quotes) "defective" Rough Rider. When I took it out of the box the shield stayed in the box. A drop of super glue repaired it.
Yeah, I really dislike double nail nicks too.
The twisted bone canoe is an absolutely killer knife. Twisted bone is a beautiful and uncommon jigging pattern and the original RR canoe design is my favorite canoe across all makers (and I have plenty of others from Queen and Case). It just has the right combination of simple slim design and fit in the hand that I love. The old-style canoe is my most commonly carried RR knife. I do NOT like the new RR canoes....the ones with "R" bolsters and swedges. They feel bulky and clunky to me. I still remember how disappointed I was when I got one of the new ones. Luckily, Rough Rider made the old style canoe in lots of different covers; I think they made 50 or so different ones before the design change. I probably have 15 of them, and there are still a few I am constantly on the lookout for.
5K Qs
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Well, I finally bought the BIG anniversary stockman, wrapped it up in pretty paper, and my wife gave it to me for Christmas. She also gave me an Opinel No.2 for my birthday the week before Christmas. I think they are my largest and smallest knives, respectively.I think I have more Rough Rider knives than any other brand, and I like them. I'd not heard of this gigantic 30th Anniversary stockman before, but I'm almost sure I'm going to buy one eventually.
- GT
- GT
KentuckyBlackBird
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I am curious how the F&F is on those knife? I’d think it is pretty dang good.Well, I finally bought the BIG anniversary stockman, wrapped it up in pretty paper, and my wife gave it to me for Christmas. She also gave me an Opinel No.2 for my birthday the week before Christmas. I think they are my largest and smallest knives, respectively.
- GT
afishhunter
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What's the blade pulls on the big one? Same (around a "4" or "5") of the smaller ones, or harder?Well, I finally bought the BIG anniversary stockman, wrapped it up in pretty paper, and my wife gave it to me for Christmas. She also gave me an Opinel No.2 for my birthday the week before Christmas. I think they are my largest and smallest knives, respectively.
- GT
440A or T10 blades? (I'll guess the stainless.)
5K Qs
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I think it's made well. The blades are stainless 440A, but satin-finished which I like better than the mirror-polished stainless on most of my RR knives. No blade play in any direction on any of the blades. The clip blade is probably a 6; no trouble to open and close at all. The two smaller blades have stiffer pulls - I'd probably rate them 8. I have a hard time opening either of them using a thumbnail, but either one can be opened using TWO fingernails in the nail nick. Part of the problem for the sheepsfoot is that it rubs against the clip. (Either of the smaller blades can also be pinched open with no problem, IF you can get hold of the blade, but that requires having the clip open to "get a grip on" either of the other 2 blades.) I don't know if the pulls will ease up a little after I do my usual rinsing out the joints and lubricating them; I haven't washed it yet. Below is a photo of the bladewell that shows the sheepsfoot leaning against the clip. You can also see between the tangs of clip and sheepsfoot and in the corresponding position on the other end of the knife there's a "partial" center liner between, and almost the same shape as, the backsprings, which I think helps to keep the blades from interfering with each other.
The handle covers fit well, but they're made of pakkawood, which doesn't look as good to me as natural wood. The backsprings have the fancy filework that RR sometimes uses on their larger knives.
So far, I'm quite happy with it, although I have no idea how or when I'll use it!
- GT
KentuckyBlackBird
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I like it!I think it's made well. The blades are stainless 440A, but satin-finished which I like better than the mirror-polished stainless on most of my RR knives. No blade play in any direction on any of the blades. The clip blade is probably a 6; no trouble to open and close at all. The two smaller blades have stiffer pulls - I'd probably rate them 8. I have a hard time opening either of them using a thumbnail, but either one can be opened using TWO fingernails in the nail nick. Part of the problem for the sheepsfoot is that it rubs against the clip. (Either of the smaller blades can also be pinched open with no problem, IF you can get hold of the blade, but that requires having the clip open to "get a grip on" either of the other 2 blades.) I don't know if the pulls will ease up a little after I do my usual rinsing out the joints and lubricating them; I haven't washed it yet. Below is a photo of the bladewell that shows the sheepsfoot leaning against the clip. You can also see between the tangs of clip and sheepsfoot and in the corresponding position on the other end of the knife there's a "partial" center liner between, and almost the same shape as, the backsprings, which I think helps to keep the blades from interfering with each other.
The handle covers fit well, but they're made of pakkawood, which doesn't look as good to me as natural wood. The backsprings have the fancy filework that RR sometimes uses on their larger knives.
So far, I'm quite happy with it, although I have no idea how or when I'll use it!
- GT
KentuckyBlackBird
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I bought myself a folder from RR last week. It’s the first non-traditional by them that I have. It is made very well and has no blade play, is centered nicely, and came razor sharp. 
afishhunter
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My Marbles D2 Sowbelly had that issue.
I got the pull of the sheepsfoot from a "8.5" or "9" to a "6" by using a worn diamond plate ("400 grit") to file a small swedge on the inside of the clip point blade, and thinning maybe 0.002 to 0.004" off the sheepsfoot where there was severe (as in "the blade moved to the side when closing.") blade rub after making the swedge. It took less than 30 minutes, if memory serves.Interesting knife. I might get one.
5K Qs
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Thanks for the info about how you fixed the problem on your Marble's sowbelly.My Marbles D2 Sowbelly had that issue.
Interesting knife. I might get one.
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Carboniferous
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Got a capitol intern with appaloosa bone today, really nice covers and blades, extremely flush and well polished open and closed, but the walk and talk is extremely subpar. The secondary is a bear to open and both blades feel pretty squishy, especially the secondary. Feels overly tight to me, not up to the standard of my other RRs. Extremely promising though, I might just buy another one and hope to get luckier. The appaloosa bone is beautiful, and a great combo with the spade shield.
afishhunter
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That blows. Dry Dirty joints, maybe?
Have you tried washing the joints yet?