Rough Rider & Related Slipjoints

i posted about 1 1/2 years ago that the Rough Rider knives i was buying seemed like really good knives. the responses were all negative, refering to them as "Chinese crap". it's good to see that opinions are changing, because if you love pocket knives, you will really like the RRs.
their "Long Rifle" series are some of the best so far. if you don't have any of these, i suggest you try them. i'm sure you will be even more impressed.
roland
 
The RR Sawcut Barlow is nice , it's on the left hand side in this pic. They also make a Tortoise Barlow and a matching tortoise Sodbuster that are both nice.

I have to say that the only RR's I've not been satisfied with are the larger ones... like the Coke Bottle and large Hunter

I can recommend the Marbles line too, a little more expensive , but they're real nice.

DSC00669BB.jpg
 
I´ve seen in several on-line cutlery shops that in some of Rough Rider traditional folders they say that the steel used is 440, but there are other models, even very similar or just with different handle material, where they only say that blades are 'stainless steel'.
Is it possible that in these models the steel isn´t 440 and may be some chinese 420 or even worse?
Thanks a lot in advance.
 
sevilla, i don't think answer to steel type is known to us general public.
i have been using a Steel Warrior copperlock with wharny small blade, for close to 2 years now, as an outdoor edc to cut whatever i need to. no babying this $10 knife. haven't sharpened it yet because it still cuts easily.
whatever the steel in both the RR and Steel Warrior knives is, it seems to hold up as well as Case TruSharp or the steel in USA Bucks, maybe even a bit better.
i was buying these knives 18-24 months ago when they were dirt cheap.
people have now realized that they are quite good knives and prices on ebay are up a little, but still a very good deal.
roland
 
Maybe I haven´t explained myself. My question isn´t about the steel they´re using, but about if they use the same steel in their whole line, or different steels in different models.
Thanks.
 
Maybe I haven´t explained myself. My question isn´t about the steel they´re using, but about if they use the same steel in their whole line, or different steels in different models.
Thanks.

I don't think anyone can really say for sure. I'm not even sure they're all made at the same factory. They might be contracted out to different makers.
 
Hi,

I would think that they use the same 440A in the whole line for cost control. I have 5 different models, (two from Waxman's and 3 from Smokey Mountain knife), and they are all marked 440 on one of the blades.

dalee
 
The first I ever bought was a liner-lock sodbuster with fake tortoise shell handles. Very tight, strong spring. I bought another, and another in red picked bone. Then two marlinspike knives, one in white bone, one in red bone. My last three were the sawcut barlow, amber bone whittler, and green bone copperhead, which is now my EDC.

Yes, I would rather buy American, but for the price these can't be beat. I'm able to sample patterns that I could not otherwise afford. They come razor sharp out of the box. The blades all seem to be hollow ground. I'll use them and abuse them and be happy about it :)
 
I´ve just ordered a Camp Scout (and that´s almost a sin for someone who loves SAKs and lives in Europe) and a Mini Canoe, both for less than 25 bucks, shipping to Spain included. I think I´m not taking much risk.
The butterbean (mini canoe) is the result of my recent interest in little knives: a yellow CV peanut lives in my pocket since almost a year ago, and I must recognize that I never thought that such little steel could be so useful.
Thank you all for your answers and replies.
Regards.
 
Overall I have been very pleased with my Rough Rider knives. I bought 25-30 this year between new knives and grab bags, and there were only 2 that I was truly disappointed in. I only have 5 left right now. Overall I have been pleased with the steel on them, although the edges often come a bit thick. They don't hold an edge forever, but they do take a nice sharp edge pretty easily. They let me see what patterns I liked, and more importantly what I didn't like.

I found a couple new Rough Rider variants on da' 'Bay, and had to check them out. Should have these two by the end of the week.

Baby Barlow, one blade, yellow handles. I was wanting something a little bigger than a Peanut, so I am eager to check this one out.


Gunstock, two blades, yellow handles. I had a RR Gunstock before, and liked the knife but never really warmed to the red bone handles.
 
I´ve just ordered a Camp Scout (and that´s almost a sin for someone who loves SAKs and lives in Europe)

What?!?! LOL :D I have a small collection of scouts, they were the first real knives I had as a kid before SAKs were discovered. Now I own several SAKs, they are among my favorite EDCs. But I rotate them with a scout. "We just have to learn to get along together." :D
 
Never had many traditional folders but after seeing a few RR at that price had to buy a one.

Question:
How do you loosen up a blade on a RR barlow, this thing is a nail ripper! I have oiled it with Hot sauce, opeaned and closed a few hudnred times it helped a little is there anything else I can do?
 
Never had many traditional folders but after seeing a few RR at that price had to buy a one.

Question:
How do you loosen up a blade on a RR barlow, this thing is a nail ripper! I have oiled it with Hot sauce, opeaned and closed a few hudnred times it helped a little is there anything else I can do?

You oiled your knife with hot sauce? Never heard of that before, but I would guess it would do more harm than good. I would wash that stuff out of there, make sure it's good and dry, and try some oil.

If that doesn't help, and it feels like the liners are pushing too tightly against the tang of the blade, you could try putting the tip of a flathead screwdriver in the slot where the blade goes- near the pivot, and rotate it SLIGHTLY to loosen up the pivot a little bit. Don't overdo this! You are looking for a fraction of a millimeter of movement- you can ruin the knife if you pry it open too hard.
 
He might be a bass fisherman and mean a brand of oil called "Hot Sauce" made by Quantum for lubricating bearings and other parts of a reel.

Ahhh, that makes sense. My apologies if this is the case :foot:
Just proves I need to get out and fish more!
 
Ahhh, that makes sense. My apologies if this is the case :foot:
Just proves I need to get out and fish more!

We all need to fish more my friend!

p.s. I really hope it isn't really hot sauce but with folks talking about smearing mustard on blades or dippin' them in vinegar, you never know! :)
 
Didn't think about the hot sauce untill i read the replies, Yes it is the Quantum hot sauce for fishing reels. It works great on my Benchmades and Spydercos.

Thanks Moonwillson for the screwdriver trick thought about it before but wanted to ask before I screwed up a knife. It is only $8.00 knife but still didn't want to jack it up.

Sorry about the confusion.
 
tight at the pivot may not be the "problem".
if it also has a powerful snap when closing, then most likely difficulty opening is due to a spring with a lot of tension; i.e. strong spring.
it's best when spring tension is "right on" but i prefer even a "nail breaker" to a wimpy one.
but RRs are consistently good with the spring tension, i think you just got the "odd" one.
roland
 
We all need to fish more my friend!

p.s. I really hope it isn't really hot sauce but with folks talking about smearing mustard on blades or dippin' them in vinegar, you never know! :)

This was my line of thinking- I was thinking about mustard and vinegar with carbon steel. There is vinegar in hot sauce, so maybe it would help with patina, but might tend to be a bit gummy. :D You never know!

I wish I could fish more! When I was in grad school, I got to fish almost every day- I loved it! There's good fishin' in southeast Iowa! But now that I live in the city, and I'm far away from the family farm (great fishing in West Virginia!), I haven't cast a line in over 2 years. :(
 
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