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 and talks. And I've come to find that I kind of like the pattern. It's as good a working knife for my day to day use as is my stockman or Vickie Soldier.
The half-whittler is a real surprise to me. It's not quite as good a fit and finish as the trapper, but still pretty darn good. The blades don't quite have the nice snap on opening or closing. And the dye job was not well matched on the jigged bone scales. But I really like carrying it. It's light and easy in the pocket. Didn't think I'd really care for it. I only got it because SMKW didn't have the mini-sunfish I wanted.
The mini-canoe is perhaps the disappointment to me. While I adore the saw cut bone and fluted bolsters. The fit and finish isn't as good as the other two. There is a .004" gap in the back springs on one end. And the a small .0015" between the brass liner and one bolster. (Hey, as a machinist, I measure). I know it's not going to prevent it from being a good user. It's just I was hoping that it would be as good the trapper. It's a good slicer though. With a .045 thick main spear point blade it sliced through a cardboard box, a foil pouch, and 2" thick styrofoam with ease. I will continue to carry it, though perhaps not as often as others.
All in all, I like my new knives. Rough Rider provides me with inexpensive slippies to expand my horizons all the while making a good solid knife. Could you imagine if RR offered plain carbon steel at these prices?
dalee
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 and talks. And I've come to find that I kind of like the pattern. It's as good a working knife for my day to day use as is my stockman or Vickie Soldier.
The half-whittler is a real surprise to me. It's not quite as good a fit and finish as the trapper, but still pretty darn good. The blades don't quite have the nice snap on opening or closing. And the dye job was not well matched on the jigged bone scales. But I really like carrying it. It's light and easy in the pocket. Didn't think I'd really care for it. I only got it because SMKW didn't have the mini-sunfish I wanted.
The mini-canoe is perhaps the disappointment to me. While I adore the saw cut bone and fluted bolsters. The fit and finish isn't as good as the other two. There is a .004" gap in the back springs on one end. And the a small .0015" between the brass liner and one bolster. (Hey, as a machinist, I measure). I know it's not going to prevent it from being a good user. It's just I was hoping that it would be as good the trapper. It's a good slicer though. With a .045 thick main spear point blade it sliced through a cardboard box, a foil pouch, and 2" thick styrofoam with ease. I will continue to carry it, though perhaps not as often as others.
All in all, I like my new knives. Rough Rider provides me with inexpensive slippies to expand my horizons all the while making a good solid knife. Could you imagine if RR offered plain carbon steel at these prices?
dalee