What do you think of Rough Rider

Bastid said:
I very well relaize that RR is NOT a Hampton or a Bose and YES I do realize that customs are more expensive than production knives, but thanks for the education.

You missed my point completely. Might be because you sell the line. :D
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With all due respect, I Got your point, however, like I said, not all people can afford custom knives. AND, I also sell Case knives, queen knives, and other American brands. But thank you for your comment.

Robin
 
Per, "I wish certain US manufacturers could make knives as well and consistent."

For the manufacturing price of the RR, they can throw away any knives that have problems. For the price of labor in China, RR can inspect every knife. RR may have considerably less consitent manufacturing than a US manufacturer, but they just weed it out with 100% inspection and the knives are cheap enough to pitch.
 
I was just reading another (older) thread and a thought occured to me. We all buy knives for different reasons; to collect, 'play' with, use for work, EDC etc. So when these threads about Roughriders come up, why are they always turned into "I don't buy nothin' from soulless commie, slave labor using sellouts!" threads. I mean nobody ever criticizes Hotwheels or candleholders or other collectibles because they are made overseas. Same with tools. Korean hammers are no good? Roughriders look pretty good, cut well and are durable. Those are provable facts (maybe not the bit about looking good- eye of the beholder and all that). They are decent tools-get over it. Nobody is forcing anyone to pay less for good stuff if they don't want to. We are living in a Golden Age of easily affordable, quality knives. Let those of us who can enjoy this do so in peace.
 
Bastid said:
I am with that guy. (but I am weird since for me to enjoy a knife, a good, great or decent deal is only part of the equation, other aspects are more important to me. It does not matter where it is made to me; I just want to be happy with the whole picture.) To each their own. I am just glad there are a lot of choices out there and that we can pick the ones that work for us the best. My best will not be the same as what is best for others.

Today this is in my pocket. It ain't just a knife to me. Knifehead made it so the knife is very special to me.

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I'm surprised nobody has said that RR makes a knife that looks similar to that one, only different, for 8.95 :D

IMHO the RR debate is slowly getting close to the same level as never ending Cold Steel and Strider debates ...

BTW Gus, thats a beauty that anyone would be proud to have in pocket :thumbup:
 
Finding cheap but decent knives is part of my hobby,
so to date I have about 15 or so Rough Riders.
Furthermore, one aim of my collection is to gather as much different
folder pattern as possible.
I’m not rich enough (or maybe too stingy) to realize this aim solely with premium knives.
Furthermore some pattern aren’t offered by premium makers, so I’m glad that there are
brands like RR, Colt, Boker plus, and the like.

All_Folders_3.jpg


Most of my Rough Riders are quite well made and I really love my RR rigging knife.
Two of them came with some minor flaws, but I think this could also happen
with knives that are more expensive.
For a very subjective classification, I like them a tad more than Frost’s Steel Warriors.
However, I think Boker plus and Booker Magnum knives still have an edge here.
 
Could we come back to a discussion of Quality vs Price.

And not discuss the very painful subject of Sweat shops where ever they might be.
 
Most of the 8 or 9 I have display excellent quality versus price. The elephant toenail patterns display a bit rougher opening.

My fave is probably their Canoe with abalone inlay. A lovely gentlemen knife with an efficient thin blade. One of the best values in gentlemen knives. If you want to see it in the hand: HERE is my video about it.
 
yobbos1 said:
I was just reading another (older) thread and a thought occured to me. We all buy knives for different reasons; to collect, 'play' with, use for work, EDC etc. So when these threads about Roughriders come up, why are they always turned into "I don't buy nothin' from soulless commie, slave labor using sellouts!" threads. I mean nobody ever criticizes Hotwheels or candleholders or other collectibles because they are made overseas. Same with tools. Korean hammers are no good? Roughriders look pretty good, cut well and are durable. Those are provable facts (maybe not the bit about looking good- eye of the beholder and all that). They are decent tools-get over it. Nobody is forcing anyone to pay less for good stuff if they don't want to. We are living in a Golden Age of easily affordable, quality knives. Let those of us who can enjoy this do so in peace.
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The OP asked "the question" and people are going to give their opinions. If I was a mod, I would have told you to take your discussion of Hotwheels n hammers elsewhere :p, afterall, this is a traditional knife forum...which is probably why nobody has been criticizing those other things here. :rolleyes:

My only RR purchase happened way back before I knew what RR was and actually before I knew much about pocket knives at all. I was at a yard sale and this guy had new RR knives for sale and I bought a tiny trapper off of him for $25 :o. I thought Rough Rider...that sounds good. The knife is made very well and it was the quality of the fit and finish that made me think that $25 was a heck of a deal. I later found the same knife online for $7.50. I was :mad: at myself. BTW, I don't buy any knives for investment purposes so I don't care what the knife is worth, I just like knives.

I don't buy RR knives because I know what it takes to make a knife of that quality. Somebody has to do a lot of hand work to finish a knife like that. My dad told me a few times while I was growing up, "Kerry, you can't get something for nothing". Those Rough Riders don't cost you very much but somebody is paying the difference. Knives are a passion of mine and it's where I choose to make a stand on where I'll spend my money. I would rather spend $100 dollars to buy a single USA made knife than $100 to buy ten off-shore knives.

That's what I think about Rough Rider.
 
Regarding a post I made earlier about the Rough Riders and Magnum Bonsai (they look so similar I wonder if they are made by the same firm?)...that I bought for some of the vaqueros at the ranch and afterwards I started thinking that I might check with the fellows to find out what they think of the knives. In the past I'd buy Eye Brand Sodbuster Jrs for everybody but I guess this past year (things being as they are) I got a little pinche (stingy) and opted for the RR and MB folders. Like I said in the earlier post these guys use their knives everyday. They endure serious treatment....but NEVER mistreatment. Those cowboys know how to take care of their knives.

Anyway, here's what I learned: First, not one knife still had the logo shield; they had all fallen out. Second, some of the guys politely explained that these knives don't hold an edge like the folders I've purchased in the past. Third, several of the knives had lost their blades from the blade falling out to just breaking in half. Still, I like those knives; they're just not for hard use. I used a false-economy in my thinking and will not do that again. Tomorrow I'll go to the hardware store and buy a bunch of EB sodbuster jrs and hand those out. My fault. It probably costs less than a dollar to make the RR and MB folders and they are very nice looking and for casual use I still think they are excellent. Just don't use them out on the ranch.
 
woodsroamer said:
Regarding a post I made earlier about the Rough Riders and Magnum Bonsai (they look so similar I wonder if they are made by the same firm?)...that I bought for some of the vaqueros at the ranch and afterwards I started thinking that I might check with the fellows to find out what they think of the knives. In the past I'd buy Eye Brand Sodbuster Jrs for everybody but I guess this past year (things being as they are) I got a little pinche (stingy) and opted for the RR and MB folders. Like I said in the earlier post these guys use their knives everyday. They endure serious treatment....but NEVER mistreatment. Those cowboys know how to take care of their knives.

Anyway, here's what I learned: First, not one knife still had the logo shield; they had all fallen out. Second, some of the guys politely explained that these knives don't hold an edge like the folders I've purchased in the past. Third, several of the knives had lost their blades from the blade falling out to just breaking in half. Still, I like those knives; they're just not for hard use. I used a false-economy in my thinking and will not do that again. Tomorrow I'll go to the hardware store and buy a bunch of EB sodbuster jrs and hand those out. My fault. It probably costs less than a dollar to make the RR and MB folders and they are very nice looking and for casual use I still think they are excellent. Just don't use them out on the ranch.
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VERY interesting. I am in the (slow) process of abusing a RR to see what the ultimate effect will be over at the Reviews and Testing forum. One thing I cannot relate to is the edge-holding, mine has held up remarkably well. As for your other findings, I haven't pushed the limits yet but I intend to. KnifeHead: as for buying local at any cost; my people were not exactly treated well by the folks who eventually became the established culture in these parts so I have grievances of my own. I look for quality and if I find it from Timbuktu then fine.
 
I picked up three cheap and gave them to my non-knife coworkers about six months ago, who use their blades daily. They love them, I've given two of them a sharpening, and they still look and function great. One got lost Tuesday, and the owner doesn't know what he's going to do. I think I'll move him up to a CV Case Jack, from his med. toothpick. Oh, the power
 
kamagong said:
No thanks. I already have too many knives as it is, and I'd rather spend more on a single knife I really like rather than buy half-a-dozen RRs.
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Same here. I don't have anything against RR or knives from China in general (I prefer slipjoints that are made in the U.S. or Germany, but I do recommend Buck's line of Chinese-made slipjoints as hearty users). It's just that I'm just not into acquiring dozens of knives for the sake of, well, acquiring dozens of knives. YMMV.
 
I have been a fan of many of the import knives as well as those made here in the US. When it comes to the best "bang for the buck" the knives made in china such as the RR's are centaintly near the top of the list. Fit and finish are quite good on the majority I have seen. I remember a time not that long ago when people thought if it was marked "made in Japan" it was junk and in many cases it was. Now people claim they are of the highest quality and the price of many Japanese knives reflect that. As a country develops it manufacturing and industrial capabilities there is normally an increase in the quality of goods it makes as well and this is very true of Chinese made knives.

Of course just like in the US there are different levels of quality and yes, RR are on the lower end but for the money they are great quality for the money they cost. The ones I have hold an edge well, sharpen easily, blades stay tight on them, I just don't have a problem with them. The Colts I have from China are a step up from the RR and do run about double the price. I have put my Colt Split Spring in the hands of quite a few people and the are amazed to learn it came from China. Grinds are very even, the look is old school with great swedges, the bone quality is excellent, and F&F is as good as Case. You have to remember the Chinese have been a knife culture for a very, very long time...much longer than the US has even existed.

colt2copy.jpg


Then you can move up the quality ladder even further and look at the offerings from AG Russell that are coming out of China. My reviews of his Texas Ranger knives are on this forum and I have no doubt if he had had those knives made in the US out of the same quality materials and made to the same level of quality they would cost 5 times as much easily.

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One last word here. When I buy I knife made in China I know I am helping a Chinese worker fill his families rice bowl. I also know that the importer here in the US makes money, the distributor makes money, the dealer makes money, the feds make money off import duty...everyone along the line gets their rice bowl filled. And I get a good quality knife at a very fair price.

I like my Case knives, my US made Schrades, and Ka-Bars, my US made customs...I have far more of those than I do imports but I do care about value for the dollar as well.
 
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I have never bought a Rough Rider, which is strange, because I love to buy high quality/low cost knives (Opinel, Mora, etc.). I love a big bang for the buck ratio. I guess I just equate them to Frost Cutlery type junk, despite the many threads stating otherwise. And I even have a few Frost knives (all gifts btw).

I understand all the points being made in favor of purchasing Rough Riders, but am tempted to get a few for an entirely different reason: I love the horseshoe stamps and shields! As everyone knows, horseshoes are a symbol of luck.

Now that I read in the post from Woodsroamer that the shields fall off with hard use, the temptation isn't quite as strong anyway.

Is there another manufacturer that uses a horseshoe on their knives that would provide an alternative to RR?
 
Quote: "I just want to be happy with the whole picture".
Hopefully that is not selectively applied to knives alone.
i rarely shop Walmart or any big box stores but still find that the majority of merchandise originates in China. especially true for all electronics, but increasingly everything, even 100% cotton bedsheets and there are coffee shops in Vancouver where the fresh muffins arrive daily from China.
point being, if you eschew Chinese goods because of poor labour standards, then you are going to spend a great deal more time shopping because it is getting ever harder to find non-Chinese goods.
i suspect part of the reason the RR and other Chinese knives are so cheap and reliably sharp, is that the Chinese knife factories are technologically far more advanced, using state of the art laser guided machinery, vs. 100 year old equipment in most of the USA knife factories.
Historically where the 'best' knives have been made has always moved around geographically. 800 years ago it probably was China or Japan. 150 yrs ago, England, then maybe Germany and early 1900s USA knives were certainly world class. for a brief time in late 20th century Japan was close to the top. Now China is in the ascendancy and the RRs, while good, are far from their best currently available.
i think all this is part of "the whole picture".
roland
 
Steve_Holt said:
I have never bought a Rough Rider, which is strange, because I love to buy high quality/low cost knives (Opinel, Mora, etc.). I love a big bang for the buck ratio. I guess I just equate them to Frost Cutlery type junk, despite the many threads stating otherwise. And I even have a few Frost knives (all gifts btw).

I understand all the points being made in favor of purchasing Rough Riders, but am tempted to get a few for an entirely different reason: I love the horseshoe stamps and shields! As everyone knows, horseshoes are a symbol of luck.

Now that I read in the post from Woodsroamer that the shields fall off with hard use, the temptation isn't quite as strong anyway.

Is there another manufacturer that uses a horseshoe on their knives that would provide an alternative to RR?
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I am certainly NOT doubting Woodsroamers word but I have bought and sold hundreds of RR knives and have never heard of a sheild coming off. At least 50 % of these knives get hard use.
RR seem to be doing a lot of new shields, my fav is the blank on the yellow handles but the bar shield on the new "synthystone" handles looks great.


Best regards

Robin
 
rprocter said:
Q
i think all this is part of "the whole picture".
roland
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I suggest you take some time and look at the labor practices/ suicide rates of labor. If you are happy with the whole picture more power to you.

I guarantee you I am not happy with that "picture" and my choice is to avoid supporting some practices when it is possible and in some cases it is easily possible. To each their own, but please do not put words into my posts that are not there.
 
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