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Rough Rider & Related Slipjoints
- Thread starter dalee100
- Start date
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- Aug 4, 2013
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There was someone that recently wrote on this forum something about Case having Easter egg colors on many of their knives... And I totally get that they want to offer as much as possible that someone will want to buy. That said, the Easter egg color remark made me laugh, maybe because it rang so true. But hey, whatever keeps them in business, I guess, lol! 
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Hey... it's all just imo... and it's all about what I find kind'a coo coo, not anything serious. I mean, to each his own. And, imo, a lady leg is a goof novelty item... so anything goes with such a piece. But, imo, a stockman is not a novelty in my eyes.... so maybe some restraint is in order! LOL! 
- Joined
- Sep 3, 2002
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- 518
I got the 3 RR's I ordered. Trapper with gunstock bone is the nicest, no issues, a bit too big for daily carry though.
Got a Blue Moon Sowbelly, also nice, I will gif that one for Christmas. My favorite pattern turned out to be the Canoe.
Great blade shape, W&T, bit thinner, rides nice in back pocket slip. The F&F not so good though. The sawcut checkering
is kind of smeared from too much polish, and the hinge pins are proud, and a bit rough..poking out into the grooves in the
bolsters. That one is going back. May replace it with a Remington Canoe.
Got a Blue Moon Sowbelly, also nice, I will gif that one for Christmas. My favorite pattern turned out to be the Canoe.
Great blade shape, W&T, bit thinner, rides nice in back pocket slip. The F&F not so good though. The sawcut checkering
is kind of smeared from too much polish, and the hinge pins are proud, and a bit rough..poking out into the grooves in the
bolsters. That one is going back. May replace it with a Remington Canoe.
- Joined
- Aug 30, 2012
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- 1,487
Mine showed up today. I bought them mainly to see what traditional sizes and patterns I liked. I am learning a lot about traditionals from these knives and some of my misconceptions have been cleared up. These knives are (to me) very well done. All but one was quite sharp and that one responded well to a strop. In my opinion, the fit and finish is very good. Well above their price range. My experiment is a success and I have already purchased a couple of Case knives in the patterns I liked with more traditional knives, no doubt, coming in the future as I work my way through these Rough Riders.
- Joined
- Mar 7, 2006
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- 2,171
Since the threads were combined I don't remember if I posted this or not. So here it is JIC.
Well, last week you guys reminded me that I hadn't bought a RR and tried a pattern in a long time. I happened to catch an auction with about 15 minutes left, no bids, a $.99 opening bid and an honest and decent $2.75 shipping fee. I bid and won. I must give the seller credit. Despite the low sale price and the low shipping fee I had the knife in hand a few days before I expected it. They even hand wrote on the invoice, "Thanks. Enjoy it." I wish them well and will keep an eye out for them when sailing the bay.
So here is my $3.74 RR Elephant Toenail in Amber Jig Bone. Crappy phone pic of it along with my Case XX Smooth Chestnut Bone Mini-Trapper that is my EDC. Both look better in person, but the Case is showing a wee bit of pocket wear after a few years in the pocket with keys, lighter, and whatnot. Surprisingly very little, but a tiny bit. But, the idea is to show the RR.
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I've long wanted an ET or Sunfish, but wasn't ready to pay the $100 & up just to satisfy a bit of curiosity. I did pick up a RR in that pattern years ago in what I call their "awbaloney" material, their fake abalone. I couldn't dig it enough to use it so I gave it to the wife. She liked the look and stuck it in her jewelry box. The one she never seems to get her jewelry back into. She pulled it out for me after this one came in.
Comparing the new RR and the earlier one, the new ET has a bit better action and the scale to bolster fit is better. I moved my motorcycle key from my watch pocket to the main pocket where the Case sits a few days ago and the new RR has been riding there.
It was decently sharp as it came, but not truly the "Razor Sharp" the blade stamps claim. However, with just a little stropping on some bare leather and a bit of newsprint, it got that way pretty quick. I can press cut through some latigo leather strips I have with little pressure and you can just hear the blade cutting. The knife feels pocketable while still giving an interesting weight and cutting ability to the blades that's possibly a little more in keeping with a slightly larger blade, while the fat slabs give you something to hold on to comfortably. A lot of cool for less than $4 delivered.
While my Case Mini-Trapper is a fine knife with good walk and talk, and built well, the recent (2013) Case Canoe in the same scale material I picked up a few weeks ago isn't as good. I had to tweak the blades on the Case Canoe as they were rubbing and had already put a mark on one blade. Also with the smaller blade closed if you weren't very careful closing the large blade it would catch on the back of the smaller blade. So it was a matter of some very careful massaging the blades laterally.
The bottom line was that my recently purchased RR ET was out of the box a bit better than the also recently purchased Case Canoe that costs 8 times what I paid for the RR. Sucks, because I'm quite fond of Case knives and it looks like they may be going through another slack phase in QC. My 2006 Case Mini-Trapper is an excellent knife.
As if things aren't bad enough I also just won a RR yellow handle Barlow last night. That one cost me around twice what the Elephant Toenail costs me.
Well, last week you guys reminded me that I hadn't bought a RR and tried a pattern in a long time. I happened to catch an auction with about 15 minutes left, no bids, a $.99 opening bid and an honest and decent $2.75 shipping fee. I bid and won. I must give the seller credit. Despite the low sale price and the low shipping fee I had the knife in hand a few days before I expected it. They even hand wrote on the invoice, "Thanks. Enjoy it." I wish them well and will keep an eye out for them when sailing the bay.
So here is my $3.74 RR Elephant Toenail in Amber Jig Bone. Crappy phone pic of it along with my Case XX Smooth Chestnut Bone Mini-Trapper that is my EDC. Both look better in person, but the Case is showing a wee bit of pocket wear after a few years in the pocket with keys, lighter, and whatnot. Surprisingly very little, but a tiny bit. But, the idea is to show the RR.
I've long wanted an ET or Sunfish, but wasn't ready to pay the $100 & up just to satisfy a bit of curiosity. I did pick up a RR in that pattern years ago in what I call their "awbaloney" material, their fake abalone. I couldn't dig it enough to use it so I gave it to the wife. She liked the look and stuck it in her jewelry box. The one she never seems to get her jewelry back into.
She pulled it out for me after this one came in.Comparing the new RR and the earlier one, the new ET has a bit better action and the scale to bolster fit is better. I moved my motorcycle key from my watch pocket to the main pocket where the Case sits a few days ago and the new RR has been riding there.
It was decently sharp as it came, but not truly the "Razor Sharp" the blade stamps claim. However, with just a little stropping on some bare leather and a bit of newsprint, it got that way pretty quick. I can press cut through some latigo leather strips I have with little pressure and you can just hear the blade cutting. The knife feels pocketable while still giving an interesting weight and cutting ability to the blades that's possibly a little more in keeping with a slightly larger blade, while the fat slabs give you something to hold on to comfortably. A lot of cool for less than $4 delivered.
While my Case Mini-Trapper is a fine knife with good walk and talk, and built well, the recent (2013) Case Canoe in the same scale material I picked up a few weeks ago isn't as good. I had to tweak the blades on the Case Canoe as they were rubbing and had already put a mark on one blade. Also with the smaller blade closed if you weren't very careful closing the large blade it would catch on the back of the smaller blade. So it was a matter of some very careful massaging the blades laterally.
The bottom line was that my recently purchased RR ET was out of the box a bit better than the also recently purchased Case Canoe that costs 8 times what I paid for the RR. Sucks, because I'm quite fond of Case knives and it looks like they may be going through another slack phase in QC. My 2006 Case Mini-Trapper is an excellent knife.
As if things aren't bad enough I also just won a RR yellow handle Barlow last night. That one cost me around twice what the Elephant Toenail costs me.
I could use a hand picking a Rough Rider from you collectors/owners out there. I am looking for a large handled, 3 7/8" to 4 1/2" range. The main thing is I want one with thinner blades. I see some 4" congress style with what appear to be thinner blades but I do not care for the feel in the hand while using a congress for whittling, nor do I like the thinner profile handle of these compared to say a trapper or stockman as I have bigfoot hands.
It looks like the other bigger handled knives all have thick blades. You never can tell for sure tho from just looking though at a picture. So looking for suggestions for a large whittler for roughing out/bark removal around a camp fire. I have a my carvin' jack for the detail work so it doesn't have to be a whittler, so much as have thinner blades with a big fat handle.
It looks like the other bigger handled knives all have thick blades. You never can tell for sure tho from just looking though at a picture. So looking for suggestions for a large whittler for roughing out/bark removal around a camp fire. I have a my carvin' jack for the detail work so it doesn't have to be a whittler, so much as have thinner blades with a big fat handle.
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- Jan 12, 2009
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- 3,198
I only have two RRs myself, but have handled more than a few. All of them seem to be engineered for slicing. I have a nifty Barlow of theirs and as mentioned above the blade profile is a lot like the old CASE knives. The main blade (a clip) isn't actually hollow ground, but it is hollow shaped along its length making is a gem dandy of a slicer.
Robert
Robert
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- Nov 20, 2005
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Sir, do you know why I pulled you over? .... ahhh, cause I'm a pig.... Love that picture of the kitty.
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- Mar 7, 2006
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- 2,171
Torgesson, the Elephant Toenail in the pic right above your post (repeated here) is shown in comparison to my Case Mini-Trapper. The big blade is about as thick as the main blade on the Case and on my Colt 175th Anniversary Barlow. So not as thin as a peanut, but not overly thick either. There is also a second blade that is smaller and thinner.
The closed dimensions on the Elephant is about 1 1/4" wide at the widest by 4" long. It fills the palm of my hand. The blade is 2 1/2" long and it cuts very well. Unless you need a 4" blade I'd say take a look at it.
You also might take a look at their single blade, Granddaddy Barlow. It's about 5" closed, but is a slender knife, but has some real estate to get hold off.
The closed dimensions on the Elephant is about 1 1/4" wide at the widest by 4" long. It fills the palm of my hand. The blade is 2 1/2" long and it cuts very well. Unless you need a 4" blade I'd say take a look at it.
You also might take a look at their single blade, Granddaddy Barlow. It's about 5" closed, but is a slender knife, but has some real estate to get hold off.
You might take a look at the boxcar whittler. It's a good heavy knife for whittling.
Regards
Robin
r8shell
Knifemaker / Craftsman / Service Provider
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- Jan 16, 2010
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- 26,239
Here's a picture of one next to a Case peanut. (it came in white bone- skrimshaw is mine) It's OK, but I would say the f & f is a bit rougher. It has a less elegant look to it to me, but that is a matter of personal esthetics. I can't say too much about how it holds up, as I haven't really used it for much more than opening mail. I'd say try one. At under $10, what have you got to lose? Well, $10, I suppose
