Can anyone match Rough Ryder "bang for the buck"

Rover-Friskey

Rover-Friskey

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I have a few fairly new Case, Schrade, Buck, SAK, Boker Tree Band, Hen & Rooster, etc. traditional slipjoints. Have quite a few Rough Ryders. I find RR's to be an excellent value with good fit & finish, blades, and scales, and a great selection. The most outstanding thing I think is Rough Ryder's price. Does anyone else make a knife comparable in value to Rough Ryder? I have heard Steel Warrior may be as good?
Thanks!
RF
 
osoverride

Thread 'RoseCraft Knives'

The Porch needs a thread about RoseCraft knives.

Their new Beaver Creek Barlow (coming soon) is very enticing:
RCT006_A-Main.jpg


And their Appalachian Jack is an interesting pattern that I have never seen before. Anyone ever see a pry bar on the butt of a traditional jack knife before?
RCT003_Open-Front.jpg
  • Like
  • Wow
 
Rough Ryder are fine. I tried to like the two I bought, but they were just okay. I’d rather carry an Opinel or Victorinox, which are better knives, in my opinion.

The only appeal RR’s have is they’re cheap, which helps some folks scratch the new knife itch and it doesn’t break the bank. Now, that said, I’d rather just get an Opinel No. 6 for $15 bucks, or a Victorinox Solo for 30.
 
I think Victorinox far exceeds the value per dollar, and opinel absolutely does as well.
I have had a few RR knives in my hands over the years and my experience with them has been quite bad.
One knife the cover was coming off, another had severely canted wobbly blades, and a moose that was nearly impossible to open.
There were others but those are the only that I can specifically remember.
I have actually had better luck with the all of the Frost cutlery knives my dad used to buy me as a teenager, the Steel warrior knives were the best ones and the FROST FAMILY branded slipjoints made in Pakistan were the worst but still generally not as bad as I've gotten from RR.
there was probably 10 years between the Frost and RR knives I've had, so maybe that has something to do with it ?
 
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jmgruber said:
osoverride

Thread 'RoseCraft Knives'

The Porch needs a thread about RoseCraft knives.

Their new Beaver Creek Barlow (coming soon) is very enticing:
RCT006_A-Main.jpg


And their Appalachian Jack is an interesting pattern that I have never seen before. Anyone ever see a pry bar on the butt of a traditional jack knife before?
RCT003_Open-Front.jpg
  • Like
  • Wow
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I don't know, if that " sheeps foot " is any indication then I'd rather just pay less for a RR knife.
 
CVamberbonehead said:
I would say opinel. But I don’t think RR is that great of a value if you’re a user thought to be honest. They tend to be kind of fragile in my experience. They loosen up more than other brands.
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Strange. I've never had one loosen up over the years I've carried and used them.

Have you contacted SMKW about your defective knives?
They do stand behind their lifetime warranty.
I had a couple of their Marble's brand replaced at no charge to me for broken main springs.
One, a MR409 pruning knife, was so old/early it did not have the "MR" number. My proof of purchase was long gone, and the Amazon order number (closed account) was not available.
The MR409 is a $6.⁹⁹ plus tax and shipping knife, by the way. So is the MR278 "Demo" knife, that they replaced due to a broken mainspring.
 
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Hickory n steel said:
I don't know, if that " sheeps foot " is any indication then I'd rather just pay less for a RR knife.
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They are all a little wonky. Rosecraft, Rough Ryder, the RR Reserves, and the latest incarnation of Queen make some strange choices. Kinda like they’re all made by someone who’s been shown pictures of traditional knives and told to build one, but doesn’t own one themselves.
 
I bought the RR Reserve Congress in Tobacoo bone, I have carried it quite a bit and I don’t have any complaints yet. Fit and finish is good, springs are a little too tight. I don’t really buy the china made stuff that often, but the bone on this one swooned me.
 
Hickory n steel said:
I don't know, if that " sheeps foot " is any indication then I'd rather just pay less for a RR knife.
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I'd take a Rosecraft with a weird sheepsfoot over ten Rough Ryders every day and twice on Sunday.

Yes, I think that belly in a sheepsfoot is just as bizarre as the next guy does but, as far as I know, there's always variation in how distinct manufacturers interpret various blade shapes - look at the amount of variation seen in clip blades or cotton samplers, for instance.

Most Rough Ryders I've handled have done an exceptional job of showcasing why Chinese-made knives got a bad rap in the first place, namely: warped blades, off-center blades (easy when the blade is significantly warped!), large gaps, inconsistent actions, blade wobble, strange embellishments, etc. I've received a couple okay ones throughout the years, but even they aren't much to write home about.

On the other hand, had China begun their cutlery exporting adventure with examples of Rosecraft's quality, I don't believe they would have ever picked up the reputation they did. Of course, some people would still dislike them based on other reasons but I'd file that under "personal issues" not "manufacturing issues."

In my experience, not vast by any stretch (I think I have ten or so), Rosecraft knives are at least durable and functional tools with none (that I've seen) of the flaws that seemingly plague Rough Ryder. I've yet to receive a Rosecraft with any lateral blade movement, gaps, warped blades, or anything else - in my book, even more impressive because I'd say half of the ones I have were purchased as factory seconds. When all the stars align correctly, I'd say they can be darn good looking too!

yaLweqp.jpeg
 
EngrSorenson said:
They are all a little wonky. Rosecraft, Rough Ryder, the RR Reserves, and the latest incarnation of Queen make some strange choices. Kinda like they’re all made by someone who’s been shown pictures of traditional knives and told to build one, but doesn’t own one themselves.
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I thought the knife in question was just ground wrong, but yes I do believe there's gotta be an issue of some people who just don't really get it.
I imagine those responsible for the knives being people who carry a modern folder as their primary cutting tool then the traditional slipjoint is just their delicate little showpiece or something, maybe they like all kinds of knives and think traditionals are neat but haven't completely embraced them as practical cutting tools.


Is it really too much to ask to let us want and actually get traditional knives that are truly conventional and properly capturing the magic of all those early 20th century pocket knives while also being actually available?
I Suppose for this to happen GEC would probably have to pick say 4 models to standardize and keep in regular production, or Case would have to delve into their pre war history a bit.
 
birdsbeaks said:
Yes, I think that belly in a sheepsfoot is just as bizarre as the next guy does but, as far as I know, there's always variation in how distinct manufacturers interpret various blade shapes - look at the amount of variation seen in clip blades or cotton samplers, for instance.
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Minor differences yes, but you can't change one of the most important aspects of a blade shape without having entirely undermined that blade shape. The tip and the straight edge are what define it.
this is as bad as putting a rear cap bolster on a Barlow frame and calling it a trapper.
 
I think RR is great bang for the buck. I have a few that are close to GEC, better than Case. I also have a couple that are pretty shoddy. I liked to buy them when I was learning about new traditional patterns. What I don’t love is that almost every one of them has some weird styling or bizarre choice of cover material/color that just make them seem like gas station toys instead of “serious” knives.

For $15 I’d rather buy an Opinel or save up for a Case.
 
Hickory n steel said:
Minor differences yes, but you can't change one of the most important aspects of a blade shape without having entirely undermined that blade shape. The tip and the straight edge are what define it.
this is as bad as putting a rear cap bolster on a Barlow frame and calling it a trapper.
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I'm with you all the way. Andy Armstrong is, in part, known for sometimes questionable design choices both with Rough Ryder, and now Rosecraft. I've often thought that if he played the design game a bit straighter, less difference for the sake of difference, that both lines would have been or be, respectively, better off. They're "traditional knives" - not a whole lot is needed to "push the envelope." 😂
 
GaiusJulius said:
I think RR is great bang for the buck. I have a few that are close to GEC, better than Case. I also have a couple that are pretty shoddy. I liked to buy them when I was learning about new traditional patterns. What I don’t love is that almost every one of them has some weird styling or bizarre choice of cover material/color that just make them seem like gas station toys instead of “serious” knives.

For $15 I’d rather buy an Opinel or save up for a Case.
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That's also a complaint I have with Case sometimes.
They cater too much to collectors that just want an endless variety of vibrant flashy stuff that won't rust in their knife display.
I believe the RR knives started as basically being Case knockoffs then spiraled from there, so they took the tackiness to a whole new level while Case has platoed a bit.
 
I have a R/R Elephant Toe I picked up for less than $30 all in on eBay. I wasn't expecting much but just bought to keep in the truck console when needed. It is actually a pretty nice little knife. It pales aesthetically to my GEC 46 but I also paid 15x more for the GEC than the R/R. The bolster logo on the R/R is a little hokey but its the blade you cut with. 😉
 
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