RR Knives are OK if you want to ship your money to China & the quality is pretty good for the money, but I don't get it... I would rather go without a knife for several months & then buy a Queen or Schatt & Morgan or Kershaw.
I would not. The neat thing is, under your scenario where one is saving up for a name, one could buy a Rough rider, and then later a Queen or Schatt & Morgan or Kershaw, and still not have spent too much additional money.
I just don't see collecting any cheap knives...doesn't that undermine the whole reason for collecting? (so they go up in value or be worthy of being a family heirloom?)
I'm not much of a collector, but it seems collecting can be done for
any reason. Expensive knives, rare knives, yellow knives, cheap knives, etc. As far as going up in value, that's a risky reason to collect. Most old knives are lucky to retain value, let alone appreciate in value. And when they do appreciate, it can be for understandable or silly reasons, or for no reason at all. And it isn't clear why a Chinese knife cannot become a family heirloom. Things often become heirlooms for sentimental reasons in which country of origin makes no matter.
If your looking for a cheap well made knife for about double the money buy a Bear & Sons American made knife & use, beat & abuse it & it's still worth much more than a rough rider that sits in a display case...because it's American made & when your kids are old enough to leave the house & be out on there own maybe they will even be able to find a job to boot! BUY AMERICAN! Duh
I've seen a few Bear and Son knives, and I would not recommend them over any Rough Rider I've seen.
What you ask is that knife buyers provide welfare for US knife companies by overlooking a good value, and paying more for an item that may not even be any better. This does not help US workers in the long run, because it discourages innovation. Except for the foreign competition, which are forced to innovate and cut costs to compete. At some point, American products simply won't compare.
