Rough Rider (Ryder) name change.

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Old Folder
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Rough Rider (Ryder) name change.

Post by Old Folder »

The below pictures were posted in the January 2019 "Smoky Mountain Knife Works" magazine describing the new name for "Rough Rider Knives."
The ad gives me some confusion. ::hmm::
It states: "As we RETURN using the "Y" in Rough Ryder".
I called SMKW today for some clarification, but they are closed on Sundays.
Do any of our members have any older Rough Riders with the Y instead of the I ?
All in my collection have the "I"
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IMG_0001.JPG
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Re: Rough Rider (Ryder) name change.

Post by Beavertail »

That's a new one on me. ::shrug::
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Re: Rough Rider (Ryder) name change.

Post by Mumbleypeg »

Interesting - maybe an attempt to somehow make the older ones collectible?

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Re: Rough Rider (Ryder) name change.

Post by treefarmer »

I just thought about the BB guns, they were named Red "Ryder" after the Red Ryder comic hero back in the day, might be a link to nostalgia there?
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Re: Rough Rider (Ryder) name change.

Post by philco »

I seem to dimly recall they used to spell it with a Y.
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Re: Rough Rider (Ryder) name change.

Post by 313 Mike »

I have never been a fan of intentional misspellings.
Seems kind of gimmicky to me.
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Re: Rough Rider (Ryder) name change.

Post by cody6268 »

Uh, what's the point? There's no trademark issues and RRs sell pretty danged well. I have seen some Rough R(Y)der knives from time to time, made in Ireland. Almost all of them seem to be horseman's knives (plastic handles, with spear and hoofpick blades), that look just like the Jowika-made Irish Imperials; usually advertising some kind of equine pharmaceutical.
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Re: Rough Rider (Ryder) name change.

Post by Dinadan »

I do not see the point either. Rough Riders have been selling well, at least it seems so based on the numbers in circulation, and I do not think a name change will help in that respect. Just strange.
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Re: Rough Rider (Ryder) name change.

Post by deltaboy »

Strange reasoning! ::tu::
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Re: Rough Rider (Ryder) name change.

Post by Eye Brand Man »

Marketing at it's finest :roll:
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Re: Rough Rider (Ryder) name change.

Post by jerryd6818 »

Some Jr. Genius in marketing got a wild hair and came up with this bright idea. He did a sell job on it to the powers that be that the new name would resonate with the old guys that buy most of the knives and make them nostalgic about the Red Ryder BB guns of their youth and the knives would sell like gang busters.
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Re: Rough Rider (Ryder) name change.

Post by Steve Warden »

jerryd6818 wrote:Some Jr. Genius in marketing got a wild hair and came up with this bright idea. He did a sell job on it to the powers that be that the new name would resonate with the old guys that buy most of the knives and make them nostalgic about the Red Ryder BB guns of their youth and the knives would sell like gang busters.
Plausible
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Re: Rough Rider (Ryder) name change.

Post by #goldpan »

I have Rough Rider knives that are over 10 years old, and no "y" in rider.... Makes me wonder Y? ::hmm::
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Re: Rough Rider (Ryder) name change.

Post by kootenay joe »

I began buying Rough Rider knives in 2007. I have never seen "Ryder" associated with these knives.
I think they have made a big mistake here.
I just received a new Rough Rider # 1895, "Tobacco Road" canoe, a new release based on the number 1895, and the box says "Rough Rider".
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Re: Rough Rider (Ryder) name change.

Post by RalphAlsip »

jerryd6818 wrote:Some Jr. Genius in marketing got a wild hair and came up with this bright idea. He did a sell job on it to the powers that be that the new name would resonate with the old guys that buy most of the knives and make them nostalgic about the Red Ryder BB guns of their youth and the knives would sell like gang busters.
Next month the Jr. Genius will probably decide to target the feel-good vibes that dogs bring and change the name to Ruff Ryder. :) Ruh Roh!
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Re: Rough Rider (Ryder) name change.

Post by TwoFlowersLuggage »

IMHO, there are a couple of reasons why someone decides to change their brand name:

1) They might have discovered they do not own the rights to that name in a specific market that they wish to enter. A trademark is not worldwide. Some countries honor US trademarks, and some do not and make you register your brand in their country. In Australia, Burger King restaurants are called Hungry Jacks because the Burger King was unavailable. What is odd is that in this situation, most companies would change the name only in the new country (as Burger King did), not everywhere.

2) They might have discovered they do not own the rights to that name in a major market they are ALREADY selling in. This is much worse than #1, and can result in major lawsuits and big settlements.

3) They might be trying to introduce a new line under a different brand name. This allows them to move laterally in the market to try to capture a different segment that might not buy their primary line. This might be a higher-end line, a lower-end line, or a completely different style or category of product. It might also allow the manufacturer to use a different distribution channel that is not covered by their existing Sales contracts. This allows them to avoid being accused of creating competition by their existing resellers. In this last case, you would normally want to have clear separation between the names - you wouldn't just change one letter.

4) They might be creating a different brand and legal entity in order to end a warranty practice that existed with the old brand. For example, if you had a lifetime warranty on a product, and you didn't want to produce any more products with a lifetime warranty, then you could change the brand name, and the new products with the different name would now have a different warranty. This makes it much easier to draw a line in the sand and know that no new products are going to be produced that require support forever. This make the accountants in the Finance department very, very happy...

5) Some wank from the Marketing department thinks he is the next Don Draper and makes all kind of promises about how this change will boost sales by XX% and they will all be richer than Jeff Bezos & Elon Musk combined.

Take your pick...
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Re: Rough Rider (Ryder) name change.

Post by jerryd6818 »

RalphAlsip wrote:
jerryd6818 wrote:Some Jr. Genius in marketing got a wild hair and came up with this bright idea. He did a sell job on it to the powers that be that the new name would resonate with the old guys that buy most of the knives and make them nostalgic about the Red Ryder BB guns of their youth and the knives would sell like gang busters.
Next month the Jr. Genius will probably decide to target the feel-good vibes that dogs bring and change the name to Ruff Ryder. :) Ruh Roh!
:lol: :mrgreen: :lol: :mrgreen:
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Re: Rough Rider (Ryder) name change.

Post by deltaboy »

No problem if they keep making a solid product! ::tu::
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Re: Rough Rider (Ryder) name change.

Post by OLDE CUTLER »

They are probably getting sued by the condom company. lol
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Re: Rough Rider (Ryder) name change.

Post by cody6268 »

OLDE CUTLER wrote:They are probably getting sued by the condom company. lol
That is what pops up first in the search suggestion on Amazon when I type in "Rough Rider. I think SMKW did not want association with this "type of goods", and thus that warranted the name change to Rough Ryder. And I don't blame SMKW for that at all. Seems logical to me now.
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Re: Rough Rider (Ryder) name change.

Post by OLDE CUTLER »

cody6268 wrote:
OLDE CUTLER wrote:They are probably getting sued by the condom company. lol
That is what pops up first in the search suggestion on Amazon when I type in "Rough Rider. I think SMKW did not want association with this "type of goods", and thus that warranted the name change to Rough Ryder. And I don't blame SMKW for that at all. Seems logical to me now.

A few years back a new high school was built here called Theodore Roosevelt High (another new one will be built in the next couple of years named Thomas Jefferson, thus our 4 High schools will all have Mt. Rushmore names). When it came time for a nickname for the sports teams, of course Rough Riders came up and was debated by the school board. This argument came up then, do you want a high school sports team named after a brand of condoms. Most people had no idea it was the name of a product, but they went ahead with the Roosevelt Rough Riders because of the historical significance.
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Re: Rough Rider (Ryder) name change.

Post by KnifeSlinger#81 »

RalphAlsip wrote:Next month the Jr. Genius will probably decide to target the feel-good vibes that dogs bring and change the name to Ruff Ryder. :) Ruh Roh!
They already make a dog bone knife, so it's likely! :D
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Re: Rough Rider (Ryder) name change.

Post by jerryd6818 »

KnifeSlinger#81 wrote:
RalphAlsip wrote:Next month the Jr. Genius will probably decide to target the feel-good vibes that dogs bring and change the name to Ruff Ryder. :) Ruh Roh!
They already make a dog bone knife, so it's likely! :D
Do you mean like this? ::super_happy::
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Forged on the anvil of discipline.
The Few. The Proud.
Jerry D.

This country has become more about sub-groups than about it's unity as a nation.

"The #72 pattern has got to be pretty close to the perfect knife."
--T.J. Murphy 2012
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