Hi Folks,
Rough Ryder has a mini canoe with blue micarta covers, nickel-silver bolsters, and 440A blades on sale for $10. I've never examined a knife by this company, and know nothing about the build quality. Could this be a decent knife for such a low price.
Rough Ryder Folding Knife Blue Denim Micarta Mini Canoe RR2664
RR has excellent build quality. IMHO comparable to CASE (when they did/do it right) USA Schrade, Camillus, Queen/S&M, and even GEC.
RR also stands behind the warrantee/guarantee, even a $6.99 retail Barlow and canoe. (prices have gone up significantly over the 12-13 years since I bought my first one. I blame all them who said in the forums (quote) "Worth double or even triple the cost!"(end quote)
They are also known to be quite sharp out of the box, and to have even grinds.
Of the 60 plus RR I have, exactly two had a ... "defect" ... When I took a "twisted bone" series Canoe out of the box, the shield stayed in the box. A drop of "super glue" fixed it.
The other was a white bone coffin jack clasp knife (5.5" closed) It had a small crack, center pin to spring. I worked a small drop of "super glue" into the crack, let dry, then sanded smooth.
Nothing but cosmetic defects.
Bone is a natural material which can and does crack at pin holes, regardless of the knife's price point. Not a "big deal".
Shields fall off, again, the price of the knife is not a factor. How many Case. (USA) Imperial-Schrade family, Camillus, and others have been shown here either missing the shield, or the shield replaced with wood, auto body filler, a different material, or a too small shield?
RR has an excellent heat treat on both their 440a stainless and T10 carbon steel. IMHO it is
at least as good as the heat treat of the vintage pre-2004 Shchrade's 440a and 1095.I do not have any of the higher end much more spendy Rough Rider Reserve knives (RRR). From what I have read about yhem here, they are high quality as well, though some of the designs are ... "strange" ...
Don't take my word for it!
There is a thread "ROUGH RIDER AND RELATED SLIPJOINTS" that is well worth reading. Sadly, the "Photo Bucket Disaster" of a few years back eliminated a lot the earlier pictures ... (in the first 75-100 pages?) but the comments remain the same.
Rough Rider has more patterns in production than anyone else. (For example, who else besides Marbles, a sister brand of Rough Rider) currently produces a Sunfish/Elephant Toe?RR is great for trying different patterns without bankrupting the bank.
(A used Case or G.E.C. sunfish costs closer $700 than $600. The Rough Rider is under $20.)
Again, they have an excellent blade heat treat and edge geometry.
I used a Smooth Tobacco Bone sunfish ($9.99 in the mid 20-teens, when I bought it) to carve/whittle a lock mortise in a piece of cured Oak for a cabnet shelf slide, in the sleeper of the truck I was driving.
When I finished, it did not need sharpened or even stropped. (I did dry strop it (no diamond pase or polishing conpound) anyway.)
Sounds like you would be happy with it and I'd be happy for you to have it. Send me your mailing address via PM. I won't be able to send it out until Monday though, gonna be on the road for a few days.
.
