Which is least bad:RR, Rite Edge, schrade?

After going through the same problem of deciding what to get my nephew (12 years old) I got him a Rough Rider based mostly on what I had read here.

Turned out to be a great purchase. It was the original single blade "dog bone" with the long matchstrike pull on a spear blade, a belt sheath (this is a small knife, not sure why there was a belt sheath) and an attached whistle through the knife's lanyard hole.

It was a huge hit! And it has turned out to be quite sturdy for him as he has taken it camping and on many of his Boy Scout adventures. I figured if he lost it at $10 he or I hadn't lost much, but he likes it enough he actually keeps up with it.

On an embarrassing note, >> I << liked the knife quite a bit too, so I bought myself one. It's a niece piece of hardware.

Robert
 
First knife for a kid is always a Swiss Army for me. The small one with the scissors, one blade, screwdriver, toothpick and tweezers. Never had a problem with a parent or kid giving one of those to them. A knife with just blades is not as fun for a kid as one with scissors and a screwdriver as well. They love the tweezers too.
 
Trust me on this one. As well as getting a decent knife. Make sure the knife looks "cool". I have 3 boys. At a young age, looks plays as an important role as function and quality. As far as what they think looks cool. One likes old school looking knives with stag handles and such, another likes anything with bright green or orange handles. So go figure lol.

My advise would be you pick out some knives in the price range you want to spend. Then let them check them out. If you don't want them to know the price just google the images of the knives.
 
Marbles are made by Rough Rider as well.

I'd also suggest RR. They really are good knives. I have a small whittler in my pocket right now.
 
My brother bought me a sweet little RR toothpick for my birthday. Razor sharp out of the box. Good little knife. Great for the price!
 
Yeah the nickel silver on the Chinese knives yellows, I guess it has higher copper content. Just looked it up, nickel silver is a Chinese invention of nickel and copper. Western versions add zinc. That may be the difference. Although it yellows I find it a tad more scratch resistant than Case's for example.
 
I've been very pleased with the quality of the Buck imports. The steel may be a little soft, but that might be good for them to learn to sharpen on.
I think any kid would get a kick out of the dogbone models from RR. (I know I do) And you get a whistle!
 
MarkPinTx said:
Yeah the nickel silver on the Chinese knives yellows, I guess it has higher copper content. Just looked it up, nickel silver is a Chinese invention of nickel and copper. Western versions add zinc. That may be the difference. Although it yellows I find it a tad more scratch resistant than Case's for example.
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How very interesting.Thanks for finding that out.I've always wondered about that yellowness.
How old are the nephews? this is an important factor in choosing a knife for them.
My youngest turns 10 this month. He asked me for "one of those little old knives like yours Dad"
Rough rider peacock green bone canoe-less than 20AUD sent from the US. Can't go wrong.
 
Rough Rider makes plenty of locking traditionals in all shapes, sizes and colors. Except for their trapperliner, I'd say they're all pretty good. I suspect Marbles and Colt come from the same factory.

I think Buck's imports were top grade, at least when they still used 420HC. It looks like they may be using 420J2 on imports these days. Or may not. Buck and the dealers can't seem to consistently get their stories straight. But fit and finish is excellent. Possibly better than their domestic slipjoints.

There are two Boker lines of inexpensive traditionals, some under the less pricey Magnum name, and some under the Boker Plus name. The Boker Plus punch stockman I have is excellent. Good steel, excellent fit and finish.

Opinels are good, but distinctively non-American styled, traditionals.

An outside possibility is a small Leatherman.

But I would probably choose a Victorinox SAK like a small Tinker, Tourist, Sportsman, or maybe Recruit. For a couple reasons. One, the extra implements truly come in handy for all kinds of tasks. Two, You're not likely to find a consistently better made slipjoint at just about any price. And the prices on these are pretty reasonable.
 
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