With this thread making its way to the top, I should probably clear up my post on the previous page.
When I said I was impressed with the RR offerings, I meant I was impressed with what you get for $10. Overall they are decent $10 knives. If you look at the pics I posted you can see that once they are put together, they are finished with a belt sander from end to end. the bolsters and slabs show the same finish along the edges.
The Canoe I posted does have even grinds and slabs fit nicely but the half stops are sloppy at best.
The Tiny Trapper has some nice spring tension and the half stops are square and talk. Very nice. Unfortunately, the grinds are sub par.
These are the only RR knives I have used. Both have their good points and both have bad points.
For example. The Canoe has tortise shell scales that you can see through. The machine work under the scales is visible and rough. The fluting on the bolsters is obviously stamped. Three of the four run from top to bottom. One of them stopps short. See below.
As for the Tiny Trapper. This one was more impressive in fit and finish and walk and talk than the Canoe. It actually had a nice, smooth walk with a pronounced "snap" at the half stop, open and close.
The grinds is where this one fell short. The spey blade had a definate flaw. It looks as though whoever finished this blade got a bit heavy handed. There is a definate over working/ over heating of the edge right at the belly. From one side you can see a discoloration. From the other, a rolled foil edge that ruins it. See below:
To simplify my opinion of RR knives:
Will I buy more in the future?
No. Sorry. I'd rather have an Imperial Frontier or a second had US made Old Timer.
Would I recommed a RR to someone?
Yes. But only if they were on a budget and $10 was all they had to spend on a folder and they were not knife knuts. I'd probably have them look at a Mora first. But if they had their heart set on a slipjoint, I might have them look at Rough Riders.
Best wishes to the RR fans out there.
Chris