Has Rough Rider always been a SMKW brand?

Misplaced Hillbilly

Misplaced Hillbilly

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May 16, 2018
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Simple question, in search of a simple answer. A friend of mine insists that SMKW recently bought the brand. I told him its a SMKW house brand, just want to confirm. I know it wasn't bought "recently" at any rate. Thanks
 
I was under the impression, like you, that it has always been their house brand. Interested to find out for sure also.
 
Misplaced Hillbilly said:
Simple question, in search of a simple answer. A friend of mine insists that SMKW recently bought the brand. I told him its a SMKW house brand, just want to confirm. I know it wasn't bought "recently" at any rate. Thanks
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They recently changed the name from "Rough Rider" to "Rough Ryder", so that could be the cause of confusion.
Always was owned by SMKW, as far as I know.
 
Thanks for the answers guys and gals👍
ddallam ddallam check out this thread,

Rough Rider & Related Slipjoints

Hi, I've had these about a week now. I've never had these patterns, so it's been fun trying them. The fit and finish is a little variable between the three. The green mini-trapper is far and away the best for fit and finish. I'd put it against any production slippie out there. It walks...
www.bladeforums.com www.bladeforums.com

I personally own several Rough Rider knives and by and large the quality is as good as current Case. Like Case sometimes they have duds but overall very good. IMHO😉
 
Dave Dallam said:
How does RR quality compare to Case???
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The RR I have are at least equal to, or better than, the few Case I own in the same pattern ... except possibly for the two spring large stockman's.

I don't have a Case 2 spring stockman, of any size.
However, Case alleges that blade rub "goes with the pattern" and they say on their website, they do not do warranty repair to correct blade rub on their 2 spring stockmans.

None of my eight 2 spring Rough Rider/Rough Ryder large stockmans has/have blade rub. (nor do my offshore Schrade Old Timer 2 blade 858OTB and 858OT stockmans ... or my vintage USA Schrade + Old Timer 858 (no "OT" on the tang stamp) stockman, for that matter.)
For that pattern, at least, RR vastly exceeds Case, IMHO.
 
Dave Dallam said:
How does RR quality compare to Case???
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In my experience Case knives are more sophisticated, where as RR's tend to be more over built, and unnecessarily bulky. Conversely, I've had better luck with RR's having better fit and finish than I have with recent Case knives.

Either way to my Hillbilly original poster buddy, I think when you read the SMKW intro to the brand it seems to indicate it was the SMKW's owner who started the brand in an effort to... something... blah blah... get a knife on every table and a chicken in every pocket.. etc. etc.
 
Dave Dallam said:
How does RR quality compare to Case???
Click to expand...

I just happened to receive a RR Mini Trapper in the mail by mistake, they sent the wrong knife.
So, let's look at some pictures comparing the RR to the Case Mini Trapper...

Let's look at the over-all appearance of the knives...



They both came with a slight gap in the exact same place...



Lastly, let's look at blade centering, spring termination, and slab finish...


The RR spring termination is not as clean, there are sharp edges at the bolsters, the slabs are different thicknesses (even along the same side), the edges of the bone are not finished well with voids and gaps, and their pin work is high, sharp, and not finished well at all. The action of the blades is also below par.

Now I'm not saying the RR is horrible, it would make a perfectly serviceable knife... but I think you get what you pay for.
To my mind, the Case knife is way more refined and finished. Okay, it was twice the cost of the RR, but I think it's worth it.
 
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JohnDF said:
it was twice the cost of the RR, but I think it's worth it.
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though I don’t disagree with you, John, I will say Case knives on average are closer to four times the cost…

I bought an RR for 12 bucks that is pretty beat, and another for 17 bucks that is almost immaculate, though 440A is not as nice as the Case “surgical stainless”.
 
It's all relative. I've paid $20 for many Rough Riders, and I've only been disappointed in one of them. I've paid $60 for many Case, and I've returned 7 of the last 8 I've purchased sight unseen.

Are Case knives "better" than RR, I suppose as a whole, probably alittle. But I pay $15-20 for a RR, and I feel like I've gotten a $30 knife. I pay $55-60 for a Case, and I feel like I've gotten a $35 knife. You do the math.
 
One thing I will say is that Rough Rider's steel is "at least" as good as Case's Tru-Sharp. 440A has more carbon than 420HC, and RRs are most likely run a point or two harder than Cases. At least on this forum, there seems to be more positive comments about RR's edge holding and sharpness out of the box than there is for Case Tru-Sharp.
 
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