Rough Rider steel???

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Mar 2, 2014
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It says its 440 steel,and is a decent steel,but havent used it for long time.Which other steels it can be compared to,on behalf of edge holding,ease of sharpening,etc.I just ordered RR Trapper with bone handle at bargain price.
 
It's similar to Case Tru-sharp and Schrade+ in a general sense. I used one for whittling and was very happy with both sharpness and edge holding.
 
As said above it's about the same as Case True Sharp, or CV, OR Whatever it is Buck uses... I find it pretty dang close to well treated Aus-8 too.

I think you could mix up the labels on blades from Case, R Rider, Buck, Schrade, and most working class factory knives right now, and never tell the difference.
 
Really? Good to know...some of the RR designs caught my eye. I have no complaints about Case steel. I know it isn't the same class as my VG10 AG Russell dog leg trapper, but I have been pleased...sometimes, easy sharpening is nice too.
 
Pretty sure it is 440A. Their blade grinds are a little thick but they come with a decently sharp and even edge bevel from the factory. I'd say the steel is slightly better than Case's 420HC.
 
I am no connoisseur of steel, but almost all of my Rough Riders have come shaving sharp out of the box. At my level of use, I have no reason to fault the steel. They almost al get used, but never very hard or long. The only reason I would prefer a Case is to watch it take a patina. I can't tell any difference in the stainless.
 
I've thinned some of them down to less than 15° per side for whittling and they've performed quite well. A little stropping after every session and I'm good to go. I tried the same thing with a Boker carver and haven't been able to get it quite as sharp.

Overall for ease of sharpening and edge holding I have no complaints. And for the price I'm not afraid to change the angle, blade shape etc. and not feel the least bit bad.
 
It says its 440 steel,and is a decent steel,but havent used it for long time.Which other steels it can be compared to,on behalf of edge holding,ease of sharpening,etc.I just ordered RR Trapper with bone handle at bargain price.
Descriptions at the Rough Rider store site say it's 440A stainless steel. The sales people there (in TN) say that they ship US 440A to China for the production. I think you'll probably like he knife, especially at their price point. It's important to always qualify the pricing since I don't think many would argue that Rough Rider knives are nicer than stuff made by Queen or GEC.
 
Descriptions at the Rough Rider store site say it's 440A stainless steel. The sales people there (in TN) say that they ship US 440A to China for the production. I think you'll probably like he knife, especially at their price point. It's important to always qualify the pricing since I don't think many would argue that Rough Rider knives are nicer than stuff made by Queen or GEC.
Why qualify the price? Most would not argue Case, Buck, Utica/Kutmaster, Böker, USA Schrade, and others, are "nicer" than stuff made by Queen or GEC, either, yet do not find it necessary to qualify the price.
Rough Riders are good knives, period.
They use 440A, with a good heat treat. They hold an edge just as well - if not better - than the USA made knives using the same steel.
They are consistently one of the sharpest knives out of the box.
Good fit and finish, the blades are generally well centered. (at least on the 15 or so I have)
They offer patterns the others don't. (When was the last time, for example, that Case and Buck made a Barlow, or large Sunfish?)
 
Descriptions at the Rough Rider store site say it's 440A stainless steel. The sales people there (in TN) say that they ship US 440A to China for the production. I think you'll probably like he knife, especially at their price point. It's important to always qualify the pricing since I don't think many would argue that Rough Rider knives are nicer than stuff made by Queen or GEC.


Given how many queens I've seen sent back in the last couple years to be rebuilt because they were junk, and my one experience with GEC, I can attest that RR Are, a lot of the time, built better than Queen, and at times world's above GEC too.

Price and quality have nothing to do with each other, well built is well built if it costs $5, or $500.
 
Given how many queens I've seen sent back in the last couple years to be rebuilt because they were junk, and my one experience with GEC, I can attest that RR Are, a lot of the time, built better than Queen, and at times world's above GEC too.

Price and quality have nothing to do with each other, well built is well built if it costs $5, or $500.
I've had a pretty different experience with RR's, out of the 4 I've purchased 2 of them were crap. The others were okay but they definitely weren't anything special.

The only reason I even consider rough riders now is because I can test out different patterns for a low price.
 
Why qualify the price? Most would not argue Case, Buck, Utica/Kutmaster, Böker, USA Schrade, and others, are "nicer" than stuff made by Queen or GEC, either, yet do not find it necessary to qualify the price.
Rough Riders are good knives, period.
They use 440A, with a good heat treat. They hold an edge just as well - if not better - than the USA made knives using the same steel.
They are consistently one of the sharpest knives out of the box.
Good fit and finish, the blades are generally well centered. (at least on the 15 or so I have)
They offer patterns the others don't. (When was the last time, for example, that Case and Buck made a Barlow, or large Sunfish?)
I think the Rough Riders are pretty good traditional knives (especially for the money). I compare them to the run of the mill Frosts and they are worlds ahead of them in quality, but not price.

I don't really think the Rough Riders are as good as most Queens or GEC's that I have purchased. But what makes them good? One of the sales people at "the Rough Rider store" mentioned that a Case sales rep was going through the Rough Riders and just shaking his head.... how can you make or have made a knife of this quality and sell for these prices? That sales rep bought a bunch of Rough Riders. I suspect he was going to take them back to Case. Rough Riders aren't any secret. The ones I have handled or purchased have been consistently of good quality and workmanship. So, I am not putting them down at all; just the opposite.
 
I think ALL of my RR knives have arrived hairshaving sharp from new, I regard this as a good sign.

Yes, all knives will need sharpening but if it arrives very keen it's quite easy to keep it that way. I've been extremely pleased with edge retention and ease of sharpening, certainly betters CASE's cv in my experience. I was making fire curls the other day with an RR liner lock small Sodbuster, I use this and other RR knives for some dirty or beater tasks around the garden, they all keep a good edge for a good long time. Wins my approval for what a small pocket knife's steel should do.
 
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I've had great luck with the RR knives I've had. I'm not a fan of stainless when it comes to my traditionals, but I have found they take and hold an edge as well as my Case knives.
 
I think the Rough Riders are pretty good traditional knives (especially for the money). I compare them to the run of the mill Frosts and they are worlds ahead of them in quality, but not price.

I don't really think the Rough Riders are as good as most Queens or GEC's that I have purchased. But what makes them good? One of the sales people at "the Rough Rider store" mentioned that a Case sales rep was going through the Rough Riders and just shaking his head.... how can you make or have made a knife of this quality and sell for these prices? That sales rep bought a bunch of Rough Riders. I suspect he was going to take them back to Case. Rough Riders aren't any secret. The ones I have handled or purchased have been consistently of good quality and workmanship. So, I am not putting them down at all; just the opposite.

I wonder if that Case sales rep bought any patterns Case is not currently producing, along with patterns they are making.
 
Who knows? I'm only summarizing what I was told at the store. The sales guy was quite helpful and knew his product. He told me to use what I bought that day and report back to him on my next store visit on my observations.
 
Any word on their carbon steel? Their black g10 bow trapper looks really nice.

I think RR got the Colt's carbon steel after the Colt line shut down. RR offers the same patterns with carbon steel, the only difference I see (in photos) is the tang and shield say Rough Rider now.
Of they are "just" relabled Colts, the blades should be good. I have a Colt Canoe with the carbon steel blades. No problems with the blades at all. They came sharp and are easy to keep that way. I've never needed to do morr thsn strop them. Be aware though that the blades may be slightly thicker on the carbon steel version vs the stainless. My Colt's blades are thicker than my Rough Rider canoe's stainless blades.
Perdonally, I view the Colt as a heavier duty Canoe. The carbon blades have a really well done swedge on the main blade, too.
 
If someone can provide me with some info about Colt traditional knives,which ones are good,and which ones are in carbon steel?I got my trapper RR today and quality seems really good.I find the steel on Chinese knives pretty good these days and with decent heat treAt,almost same or even better than some western knives.Ill buy more RR knives,would love to have some more GEC and other more expensive stuff but am on budget and some of those knives are really expensive .Thanx for good info,have used RR knives but not long enough.
 
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