Old Timer Vs Rough Rider

G

GABaus

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May 7, 2017
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Both brands are made in china and in my experience modern "schrade" folders have about a 50% chance of being good. How do rough riders compare?

I have a few of the modern schrade folders and they range from a nice 108OT with minimal cosmetic defects to an 834UH which has one spring that goes a little deeper into the handle increasing blisters, a nail nick in one of the blades being ground so close to the handle that it is nearly impossible to open, at the time of purchase two of the blades had so much interference that I had to bend them to get them to close, and the main clip point had a weak spring just to name a few flaws.(the weak spring on the knife might have been due to the fact that the knife was in a display with all of its blades out for an unknown period of time) I am more curious about Rough Riders because I only own one(an RR406 with red jigged bone handles)

Thanks for the replys.
 
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I don't have any experience with the modern Schrade knives but I've purchased maybe 15-20 Rough Riders in the last 5 or 6 years.

In my experience, Rough Rider is very consistent with their quality. I've read a few comments from folks who have gotten flawed knives but only a few. Rough Rider has a pretty good reputation I would say.

Personally, if I wanted a Schrade pocket knife I would try to find a "real" Schrade for a good price. Otherwise, between those two choices I would go with Rough Rider.
 
I have a few of the Taylor Schrade and BTI Schrade. They are ok. They don't have the choice of handle materials or the number of patterns, Rough Rider has though.
I have roughly 50 Rough Riders, Most are Stockman and Canoes, but I have others like the sunfish, half hawk, Marlin Spike, Barlow, and a large Coke Bottle, to name a few.
None of mine have any noticable defects, have no blade wobble, and no gaps wider than a piece of cigarette paper is thick. All the blades came sharp enough to shave arm hair, out of the box, and all have good walk and talk.
Conparing them to the Case and Buck pocket knives I have, I'd have to say the Rough Riders are just as good, if not better for build quality, and holding an edge.
Between the new Schrades and Rough Rider, I would go Rough Rider. The Rough Rider costs less and has a wider choice of handles and patterns than Schrade.
Don't get me wrong, Schrade makes a good knife, too, but for selection and price, Rough Rider blows Schrade (and Case, for that matter) out of the water.
Try the Rough Rider. You won't regret it. :)
 
I have two Taylor Schrades. Both are decent working knives, roughly equal in fit and finish to the original Uncle Henry knives.
 
In my experience / handling the quality on both are comparable but the new so called " OLD TIMERS " just aren't the same as the originals, so I'd go with rough rider which has way more variety anyways.
I've only experienced one flawless example of a rough rider out of 7, and one flawless example of a Chinese so called " OLD TIMER "out of 6, so based on that alone I couldn't really recommend either unless you can buy in person and select the best one.
 
I'm often reminded of something BLR wrote in his 2nd edition, which happens to be the one I have: "Any knife you can buy today is better than (almost?) and knife you could have bought 100 years ago). Not sure if he said "almost", and it's probably 130 years by now.
 
I would think primarily because of the steel and heat treatment. But are the knives of today better than any knife from 50 years ago?

I doubt it.
 
I have several RR knives and only one with gaps between the back springs and liners but was fully functional. The RRs I have do not have blade rub which is more than I can say for Case. The few taylor Schrades I have don't seems to have the same heat treat the RRs have and seems soft although I certainly have never done a cutting test.
 
I've had bad luck with rough riders but I'd still buy them over the modern Schrades. If you want a Schrade it's pretty darn easy to find the older US made ones for a decent price.

As far as rough riders go, out of the 4 I've bought 2 of them were terrible... but they are so cheap and they have so much variety that I'll still likely buy some in the future.
 
I have several (Barlow, Scout, small trapper, stockman, etc.) of the Taylor-made Schrade Old Timers and they have been decent in terms of fit and finish and I've been very happy with the quality given the price. I also have quite a few Rough Riders and, like most manufacturers, the majority have been very good with a few exceptions. Overall my experience between the two has been similar in terms of quality, fit and finish, etc. Of course with Rough Rider you have a lot more patterns, handle materials, etc. to choose from.
And, as always, ......................YMMV
 
I only have one rough rider. I have a couple of Taylor Schrades.
Without having done a formal test, the Schrades seem to hold an edge better.
The Rough Rider has somewhat better fit and finish.
 
Nothing Rough about this Mini Copperhead, nor most of the other RR knives I have. Inexpensive and reliable. as for the Schrades, I have just 2 small 3 OT type lock backs. They don't have the carbon or the nice delrin of the originals but both have good F&F a load better than a Camilus Yello Jaket I have- one made not long before closure. I think the original Schrades were tough workmanlike knives but had their share of roughly finished ones too.

IMG_3743.jpg~original
 
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