Rough Rider & Related Slipjoints

[Will Power]

I've included a Chinese made Schrade 3-OT in Buffalo Horn. Lot of people have criticized the current non US Schrades but I certainly don't complain about this 3" lockback. It has NO blade-play at all, fine lock-up, is very keen and makes an excellent small locking carry. The rather poor spine photo might show the remarkable line-up between tang and spring.Very close and flush. The white bits on the handles near the bolster are not faults but food particles, er...

 

[midnight flyer]

That's a really nice knife, Will. I like that pattern and had a couple of old Seki (don't remember the brand) of that design and found that to be quite handy. Enough knife to be useful, but not too much to pocket. I like the horn on yours - nice stuff!

Like you, I know a lot of folks don't like the offshore offerings, and that is fine. But for me, looking at the fit of the scales/liner/spring/bolster on your knife really tell the tale of what good value is for me. And I can't imagine what horn would cost on a domestic knife.

I now have about 6 to 8 knives from the Pacific Rim makers and all but one are really well made. The odd one out I had to flush out with brake cleaner and work the blade for about an hour to get the grime and grit out of it, but it is a good knife now.

All of them have performed well, with my Remington large stockman (closely based on the CASE 92 series) being a steadfast worker. I have carried it and used it and my Remington medium stockman for about 6-7 years now and they are wearing, but they are lasting as well as any knife brand I have ever purchased. The fit is still great, there is NO blade wobble, and strangely the knives still fit as tight as a drum, although they back no longer looks like one piece of metal. You can see the liners, springs, etc. as outlines with fine lines, but no separation at all.

Since no one has actually done one, I might have to give it a year or two and do a write up on "RR and related slipjoints 10 years in" or something like that. These two Remingtons will easily coast past 10 years, no doubt. I know my biggest fear when buying this type of knife is the feeling they would fall apart in my pocket. That certainly hasn't been the case, so I am a happy guy with these knives.

Robert

 

[Will Power]

Thanks Robert, it's a much liked small un of mine. Here's another: RR Small Copperhead single-spring.
Regards, Will

 

[addylo]

So I've always told myself I was going to not bother with "cheap imports" but you guys have generally spoken well of RR's so I thought I'd give them a fair shot.

I'm genuinely impressed! What a great knife for its price point. Good F&F and razor sharp out of the box. I have no plans to collect them as a species but I won't hesitate to add additional patterns to my stable if the mood takes me.

Got these two from bdev.

And just picked this up off that auction site.

 

[midnight flyer]

So I've always told myself I was going to not bother with "cheap imports" but you guys have generally spoken well of RR's so I thought I'd give them a fair shot.

I'm genuinely impressed! What a great knife for its price point. Good F&F and razor sharp out of the box. I have no plans to collect them as a species but I won't hesitate to add additional patterns to my stable if the mood takes me.

You might want to rethink the whole "cheap imports" mindset. Good cutlery is coming from all over the world and has for some time. About 20 years ago I remember reading in the WSJ about the investments that many overseas companies were making in their manufacturing facilities, R&D, training, and processes. He predicted then that the US would fall behind in manufacturing since we were moving more towards the riches of technology. Appears he may have been right.

When you watch the video on YouTube that shows knife making in the CASE factory, it makes you wonder how QC could be so spotty. When I think that similar domestic knives to he RR series are 6, 7, 8 times as much in cost and the quality isn't always as good as the "imports" it is a head scratcher to me. There are plenty of junk knives out there from everywhere, but simply because a knife isn't as expensive as you think it should be or comes from a foreign country doesn't mean it is sub par.

I only have a couple of RRs, but that Barlow pattern is one of them. I really like your smooth bone and the Barlow I have from RR is one of the better examples of knife making I have bought in recent memory.

Nice knives!

Robert

 

[Will Power]

Some Scrimshaw on one of their White Bone Barlows. Hope you like it. Thanks, Will

 

[r8shell]

Some Scrimshaw on one of their White Bone Barlows. Hope you like it. Thanks, Will

You did that? Beautiful :thumbup:
I've played around a bit with doing the scrimshaw on the RR white bone, but none of mine looked that good. It's a nice inexpensive way to learn the art, but good enough knives to actually use. Check out the sailor's knife with marlin spike. Lots of room on that one.

 

[addylo]

You might want to rethink the whole "cheap imports" mindset.

Agreed! But you know what I mean by the term; I am mainly referring to those $5 knives we all see at gun shows and flea markets. Being new at this it's sometimes difficult for me to separate the wheat from the chaff when viewing such knives online. You would think judging by price point would be a good indicator but obviously RR turns that on its head.

 

[Pipeman]

I've been buying RRs for years, think i've had most patterns. Just grabbed a big lot on the exchange forum and this 3 1/2 inch trapper showed up,have never seen this one before. The stag is not bad.

Regards

Robin

 

[midnight flyer]

Agreed! But you know what I mean by the term; I am mainly referring to those $5 knives we all see at gun shows and flea markets. Being new at this it's sometimes difficult for me to separate the wheat from the chaff when viewing such knives online. You would think judging by price point would be a good indicator but obviously RR turns that on its head.

I gotcha. And truthfully, no matter how nice they look I would never bought one had I not read reviews here on BF. Even then, I didn't buy one just for me. I wanted a knife for my 10 year old nephew and thought these knives would fill the bill perfectly. Good enough to get some use, patterns that would give some good utility value, and priced so that if a 10 year old boy lost it his uncle wouldn't have a fit.

So when I ordered his knife I also bought a Barlow pattern with some unusual scales on it, called "bark bone".



No way does this stock picture do justice to this pretty little knife. Fit and finish is near perfect, the size at almost 3 1/2" is perfect, the bevels are excellent, and the main blade has a slight hollow grind to it making it a mean little slicer. The bolsters are stamped evenly, the shield sits just right, and in person it even looks a little classy! It is easily as well made as any knife (including those domestics costing 7 to 8 times as much) I have bought in years. And it was $10...

I know exactly what you mean about bad stuff, and there is still plenty of it out there. But these knives have given me an opportunity to give a knife to someone that isn't sure they actually need one (what?????) in their pocket, and a chance to give a presentable knife as a small gift to someone that does me a favor. Everyone that has been gifted an RR by me has been very pleased, and NONE of them have failed or broken even when used for something other than a cutting tool.

Robert

 

[Pipeman]

The Barlow is pretty much my favourite RR, a great pattern. I consider RRs to be the
threshold drug for slipjoint collecting. You can buy 10 for the price of one and try out patterns and still have 10 pretty great knives for the money. They make great giveaways when you get hooked on GECs.

Regards

Robin

 

[midnight flyer]

The Barlow is pretty much my favourite RR, a great pattern. I consider RRs to be the
threshold drug for slipjoint collecting. You can buy 10 for the price of one and try out patterns and still have 10 pretty great knives for the money. They make great giveaways when you get hooked on GECs.

Regards

Robin.

With a drawer full of traditional patterns I have collected and inherited for over 50 years, I reached the point a few years ago where I just didn't need any more knives. It is silly to buy more as I don't carry all of the 80 or so knives I have now. And I have one specimen of every pattern I am interested in, sometimes more. For example, I like the Barlow pattern, and have few.

A Keen Kutter that belonged to my grandfather from the 20s or 30s, a 40 year old Kabar Barlow, and a Queen Dan Burke Barlow. That's three in the drawer already, with one of unknown origin. But buying that RR Barlow as an add on (since I was paying the same for shipping) was too irresistible. Buying a knife for the price of a nice lunch was too much for me to resist.

I don't buy more of these because I don't need any more knives. But I'm not made of stone, and looking at your Barlow with those Armor Hide scales sure gives me the itch to get one!

Robert

 

[Will Power]

You did that? Beautiful :thumbup:
I've played around a bit with doing the scrimshaw on the RR white bone, but none of mine looked that good. It's a nice inexpensive way to learn the art, but good enough knives to actually use. Check out the sailor's knife with marlin spike. Lots of room on that one.

I WISH I had that skill! But with my failing eyesight even finding the knife will shortly be a problem....
Got it from the Bay from a woman who does this work to order using RR White knives, the quality is good and I like it.

Thanks, Will

 

[MarkPinTx]

This is probably getting off topic, but the key to getting quality out of China is exercising quality control. They won't do it on their own on products for export. This is true of computers and electronics, air rifles, and knives among other things.

A lot of credit is due to SMKW (whoever it is that commissions these knives), AG Russell, Buck, heck maybe even Taylor, for a) teaching the Chinese to make these patterns and b) forcing quality control on them. I would be very curious to see the scrap rate on the Rough Riders and similar knives. I bet it's really high.

 

[Pipeman]

I don't think SMKW gets that many seconds, they used to mark them and sell them, there were never too many. I think bad Chinese knives are more a product of what the buyer is willing to pay. Lets face it, the Chinese were making weapons that would cut a man in half (from head to toe) way before we landed in North America.

Regards

Robin

 

[midnight flyer]

Yeah... this is getting into some dangerous territory. I don't want to get dinged, nor do I want this thread to devolve into a political description.

So I will just say this: The Chinese in some cases were a few centuries ahead of the rest of the world in many, many fields. Reflecting on the many articles I have read in the Wall Street Journal, Forbes, Business Week, etc., the Chinese are on the cutting edge (no pun intended!) of manufacturing due to their willingness to reinvest in their own factories on all levels, their innovations in manufacturing techniques, and their willingness to learn from the business world around them.

They are a long way from being the backward sweatshops that need our oversight to be successful. In many cases (please go to Ali Baba for yourself) you can see the very same knives branded under many different badges that are being made in independent Pacific Rim factories that are just awaiting your order of 500 or more. You can find Spyderco's Sanrenmu manufacturing partner there as well as others. They operate independently of Western oversight selling their own products, promising up front a quality product to satisfy their customers. And with the extremely low prices we enjoy on the Pacific Rim knives we have, I seriously doubt their scrap pile is very large as it would drive up the cost. Add that to the fact that I have never received a real dud from any of the PR manufacturers, I would be more inclined to think that they simply cracked the code on how to do what they do. I can't say that the last few domestic knives I have purchased have been as high quality as these knives that cost 8-10 times more than the PR knives.

Hope I was able to communicate clearly. No more from me on this.

Robert

 

[knarfeng]

Meanwhile, back at the ranch, The Lone Ranger and Tonto were talking about knives,instead of where they were made. Let us join them in that conversation...

 

[midnight flyer]

Meanwhile, back at the ranch, The Lone Ranger and Tonto were talking about knives,instead of where they were made. Let us join them in that conversation...

Excellent plan.

I bought this about a month ago, and really like it. There was a good thread going on the traditional subforums about the harness jack patterns, and I realized I didn't have a good leather punch on an knife I carry now. I took these pictures not as glamor shots but to show some of the details. I was surprised when I got this knife that the main clip blade is hollow ground. With a little studying on the picture you can see it:



The knife came reasonably sharp, and when I finished it up the 440C took a fine, sharp edge. In the last month or so, it has held it really well. The fit and finish on this knife is great as is the walk and talk. It looks and acts like an old German Boker I carried many years ago which is a great thing for me. The big difference is that this one holds and edge MUCH better than Boker's 30 year old carbon steel.

Along with a good sharpening and lube, I took a piece of super fine sandpaper and rolled over the edges on the back of the knife scales as they were pretty square and a little uncomfortable in the hand. Less than five minutes of light sanding and the back edges were round and comfy in the hand.

The sheepfoot blade is a little oversized than usually seen on a knife this size, and is ground flat and thin. It took and holds a great edge and is a nice slicer.

Now the only thing that wasn't right. The leather punch on this knife was literally unusable. It could have been a screwdriver, a tiny scraper, a dull ice pick, anything but a cutting instrument. Luckily for me I have fixed more than a few of these on other knives of mine. You can see it is a very simple punch, stamped deeply to create a concave profile and roll an edge.



I sharpened the edge opposite the nick with a diamond stone after grinding it flat on my belt sander and it is quite sharp now. I freehand sharpen all my lathe tools and like what is called a "fingernail" grind, so it was easy to duplicate that pattern on the punch blade:



Now it works very well and I have even tuned up a cigar or two to improve its draw the punch. And it works very well as intended as a punch/drill, too.

Had I bought this knife thinking I was going to get one of those dandy GEC punches that apparently work, I would have been really disappointed. Likewise if I didn't know how to fix the blade on this knife. As it is I am very pleased with it and it is showing itself to be a good work knife.

Robert

 

[Amos Iron Wolf]

Willgoy, is that one of those scrimshawed RRs I see coming out of Hawaii that are listed on that auction site? The work looks very similar. I've been seeing a lusting after a few of those. Particularly the ones done on the elephant toenail and marlinspike rigging knives.

I've managed for one reason or another to end up with three RR granddaddy barlows over the last several months. Two in yellow delrin, one of which I'll send to my saddle pard up in SATX. The latest is one, a RR 944, in brown sawcut bone. All not only have a nice walk and talk, but nice half-stops as well.

Lately, that amber jigged bone RR Elephant Toenail I picked up new some months back to under $4 shipped on a last minute bid where no one had bid yet, has been riding in my right pocket. I've been whittling and notching sticks with it in the back yard while the dog goes out and catches a little sun. I've been really impressed with handling, build, and the way the edge has been holding up on it.

I have a KME guided sharpening system, but have never taken the time to clamp this ET in there and give it the full treatment. The most I've done is lightly freehand sharpen it on a fine and extra fine diamond stone then strop it. When I come in from the back I'll check the edge on phonebook and slick catalog paper. There might be a slight catch on the phonebook paper, maybe even a little on the catalog paper, but a little casual stropping and it's usually cutting paper cleanly again. I also test cut after a session and before stropping on 550 cord, jute twine, some sisal rope, and the folded, sewn seams of some old jeans. The knife still cuts all of those items like a champ.

Drop me in the sticks with this knife and a pocket stone and I'd feel comfortable with it taking care of me. I might not be batoning logs with it, but I never did that when I camped anyway.

The only problem with Rough Rider pocket knives is that they can be gateway drugs to G.E.C. knives. I haven't followed suit due to costs, but I know a few folks who have. I sent a similar RR ET to a guy who is a dealer and who has a business polishing (fancy sharpening) knives for some guys who pay a lot of money to him to do so. Even though he has a ton of knives to choose from that ET has become a regular carry of his. He liked it so much and found it so useful he bought some of the similar RR sunfish patterns, sold several to clients, then bought several G.E.C. Whalers, of which he polished and sold several to high end clients, keeping a couple for himself. To top it off, he recently bought an A.G. Russell locking Sunfish (a beast of a folder) and it's his riding knife as he calls it when he's out on one of his Harleys and a big favorite of his.

All that because I sent him a RR Elephant toenail that I got as part of a small lot of knives I bought for not much money. Folks are warned

Now if G.E.C. would make an Elephant Toenail, the slightly egg shaped frame, I might have to scrape, save, and embezzle, some funds for that. Fortunately for me it seems they only have the equal end Sunfish types so far. Whew!

 

[Will Power]

Amos, can't remember exactly where but it came from the US somewhere to here in Europe. Some time ago you see...

The White Bone RRs are actually rather good even without the Scrim, that Rigging Knife you mention in particular. As many others have stated, the RR Barlow is a tidy knife too, great W&T and well put together.

Thanks, Will