Recommendation? Starting to get into traditionals, what are good entry level brands?

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erudite cricket

Joined
Dec 25, 2022
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I'm starting to get into traditional knives, and I was wondering what brands would be good for entry level. I was looking at Case, but I've heard a lot of mixed reviews of them. I would prefer USA made, but the Rough Ryder Reserve series looked kind of promising.
 
My bias goes back about 42 years when I bought my first Case knife at the Ohio State Fair (a yellow Stockman). I was ten and nobody cared ;-)

So many patterns.
So many types of handles.
Just a fun way to start (or continue) obsessing.
Apologies, umm, I meant collecting.

Everyone needs a Stag Stockman.
And a Trapper.
And...
 
black mamba said:
Case is still a good bet for American made traditionals, but you must remember that they cost 1/5 to 1/3 the price of moderns, and they have much more handwork involved in their manufacture, so don't expect perfection.
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Spillproof said:
My bias goes back about 42 years when I bought my first Case knife at the Ohio State Fair (a yellow Stockman). I was ten and nobody cared ;-)

So many patterns.
So many types of scales.
Just a fun way to start (or continue) obsessing.
Apologies, umm, I meant collecting.

Everyone needs a Stag Stockman.
And a Trapper.
And...
Click to expand...
I went a little way down the collection rabbit hole with some modern folders, but traditionals stole my heart. They seem to have so much more character and thought in them than the bulky, overbuilt monsters that is the norm today.

(Oops, didn't mean to reply to black mamba as well, apologies)
 
erudite cricket said:
I went a little way down the collection rabbit hole with some modern folders, but traditionals stole my heart. They seem to have so much more character and thought in them than the bulky, overbuilt monsters that is the norm today.

(Oops, didn't mean to reply to black mamba as well, apologies)
Click to expand...
Carry both!
(That's what I do most days)
 
RR has their Classic Carbon , and apparently a more premium knife series with D2 steel .
Case ? They look and feel great , ........... I have a few case knives from a few decades ago .. ( Edge retention is average )
You could chase up some Camillus / Remington knives that are still reasonably priced ( While you can ) ....
Everything no longer manufactured is pretty much a collector item now !

Value for money = a Decent D2 Chinese knife ... ( Sorry )
It's one thing if you want to collect , but if your looking for a user knife .. Do you go with your heart or your wallet ? Especially if it's going to be used / lost / damaged ...
Do you lose / damage a $30 knife or a $300 knife ?

All my old now US made knives are climbing in value and while it would be nice to use them .............
The Chinese knives are just getting better , to the point they are outperforming those older US made knives .
So , there is that sentimental thing and then there is that value thing .
Or you could just dip your paws in both ponds !
Do you really need to chose one over the other ?
 
Best value and quality combined is going to come from the Rough Ryder line. I enjoy the reserve items for my day to day user traditional.. although there are a lot of mixed feelings about them because of where they are sourced. I have had to send Case knives back too many times for issues. GEC is great but definitely not what I consider “entry level”.
 
erudite cricket said:
I'm starting to get into traditional knives, and I was wondering what brands would be good for entry level. I was looking at Case, but I've heard a lot of mixed reviews of them. I would prefer USA made, but the Rough Ryder Reserve series looked kind of promising.
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Try some of the Rough Riders or go into Antique Shops to see what Patterns you like . You can sometimes find some really nice knives in Antique Shops . They will almost always dicker with you on the price too . Decide what price level you want to buy . Go to where you can check out Case knives before you buy them . Some are very good and some are not so good in quality . Do a lot of reading in these Forums to see what other people are saying about what they think about good manufacturers because there are more than just GEC , CASE , BOKER , and VICTORINOX .
Welcome to Blade Forums my friend . Enjoy the ride .

Harry
 
King of the Cheese said:
Best value and quality combined is going to come from the Rough Ryder line. I enjoy the reserve items for my day to day user traditional.. although there are a lot of mixed feelings about them because of where they are sourced. I have had to send Case knives back too many times for issues. GEC is great but definitely not what I consider “entry level”.
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GEC knives look very high quality but the fairly high price and scarcity is what turns me away from them.
 
Honestly, all my favorite traditional knives are older. Vintage USA Schrade has never disappointed me. Not once.
I have learned that much of GECs quality is what you would have expected from Case, Buck, or Schrade before 1990. Vintage is where the best traditional knives live in my opinion.
For illustration, my top 3 knives this year, vintage Robeson barlow, Ulster Electrician, and Schrade Whittler. Only one was more than $25.

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There were hundreds of manufacturers who made millions of knives prior to 2000, and for the most part they are bargains compared to anything produced today. For the price of a Rough Ryder you can buy a nice example made by any number of manufacturers. It'll be forty or fifty years old, maybe more, and probably hand made. Go to a few gun shows and handle a few for yourself.

There are a few makers of traditional knives grinding them out still in the USA, Buck, Case, Bear and Sons, Cooper. I've got a few Rough Ryders, they're okay considering the price, but for the most part they're poor imitations of traditional patterns. Pick up a Queen, or a Case, or a Schrade Stockman, and you know you have a Stockman. Pick up a Rough Ryder and you're holding a glob of various materials with a few blades stuck in it.
 
I'll definitely second or third the USA made Schrades mentioned a few times above. It is where I started with my small collection. Fit and finish isn't perfect, but it's on par or better than modern day Case XX knives; granted Case does seem to be getting slightly better. I've also heard that the 1095 carbon steel that the Old Timer USA made Schrades have is top notch; they just really had their heat treat process down and their 1095 is hard to beat. I've heard some claims that their 1095 even beats GEC. I can't speak much to Schrades' stainless; such as their Uncle Henry line. But, my grandfather and I used an Uncle Henry hunter to clean a lot of game over years and years and he was always pleased with it. He owned a lot of work knives too. So, his opinion does mean something to me. Either way, stainless or 1095, you can find good work knives from Schrade all over the place for $25 or less. Hard to find this level of quality at a lesser price. Just make sure it's not the overseas Schrades when purchasing.

Rough Ryder is supposed to be decent bang for buck. But, my lone example (a stockman) left me fairly unimpressed. Their reserve line is much better fit and finish, but not GEC levels and not entry level.

Other than that, you can honestly still find some nice used Case XX knives at a reasonable price just above the Schrade Old Timers without reaching GEC levels. I rarely end up spending more than $50-60 on a vintage Case knife. And, while the fit and finish again does not meet that of GEC in my experience, they are fantastic functional knives that I enjoy carrying (which I cannot say about my non-reserve rough ryder). You can certainly spend more on older vintage Case knives, but you can also find bargains from the 70's era. Newer Case knives are still often in that $60 range, but I would not buy one sight unseen unless you have a good exchange policy setup in case you get a dud.
 
Probably not the type of knives you were imagining, but all very traditional, inexpensive, and straightforward to procure:

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SomebodySomewhere said:
Also, you seem to need to know magic spells to get one … I really can’t figure out how people acquire one other than on certain moonlit nights on mountaintops.
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That's it! All you have to do is climb the nearest, highest mountain, on nights when the moon is either full or new. Then climb back down, go home and max out your credit card - or send your paycheck - to whatever dealer or individual has the GEC you desire.

Or use your time machine and go back in time 8 or 10 years ago, back to when they sold and were actually available at reasonable prices.

Apologies in advance to all the GEC hoarders who are ... ah-hmmm ... 'investing' in them. I have nothing against GEC - I have more than a few I bought 'back in the day' and I'm looking forward to cashing in on them at today's prices. I don't have any duplicates (or triplicates or dozens) of the same knife that I bought to 'fund my retirement', though. And I'm not in the habit of chasing women, windmills or 'opportunities' to spend overmuch money - especially if any of the foregoing are playing 'hard to get'. Too many fish in the sea!
 
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Keep an eye on the used / old knife market. You can't go wrong with Camillus. They made top quality knives for decades, and also made knives for pretty much every major knife manufacturer and retailer.
Camillus made knives are pretty easy to find for not a lot of money.
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