All About Pocket Knives

Apparently you do, David! Nice collection there!

Just a word about Rough Ryders and SMKW. I had made a list of 18 RR’s I’d like to have within the past year. Revisited that list today and looked up each knife on SMKW. Out of the 18 knives on the list, 13 are out of stock, 2 were in stock, and three pulled up the wrong knife when I typed the pattern number in the search box. Apparently there’s a lot of turnover on the RR’s, so, if you see any you like, it seems they may not stay around long.

Good to know, Tim, thanks for the head's-up!

My latest…. This one from EBay. Note it’s a “Rough Rider,” not “Rough Ryder.” I checked back on AAPK posts, and apparently SMKW made the name change in 2019 - but no one seems to know why. This is a Tobacco Smooth Bone Lockback from an Outdoorsman Series they had - according to the box.

I like the acorn. It looks right on side covers that are more or less wood colored. Also, while frivolus, the lock is classy. Am I correct guessing that it's shorter than a standard 4 1/8" Case 54 Trapper?

You know, I ever thought about it till you asked, so I measured it. It’s 4” on the nose, so a bit shorter. But then I compared it to one of my Case Trappers. It seems to be a bit smaller in height (top to bottom), too. Hmmmm? Always thought these RRs were the same. May have to check a few others.

( Long Post)

I haven’t checked in for awhile but this thread caught
My eye. I’m retired now from 44 years working at the beginning as a machinist to a tool maker and the last several years as a manufacturing engineer still working with metals in precision machining and assembly.
I think it was two years before I retired I was approached by my supervisor and was told I was going to be sent to Bejing to assist the guys in a city Tianjin about 65 miles from Bejing. I protested the heck out of it but as it does in the workplace I was persuaded to go. I’ll say they did a good job taking care of me and I knew a few of the Chinese engineers that were sent here to learn so I manned up and went.
After I got over the initial shock I was in China and was taken to the plant in Tianjin and was with the few guys I knew it eased up. They spoke decent English and the company did everything possible to make it tolerable. The company had a bus to take us back and forth from the plant back to the hotel (which I have to say was the nicest I’d been in my life)
It was different and scary for the first day or two but I finally eased a bit. One thing I noticed was on the trips back and forth was all the US products signs on the walls of plants and factories. There was even a big Michelin man with slightly slanted eyes (and in no way is this disrespecting anybody) and also on the outside walls were a couple of other tire signs I couldn’t make out as it was all in Chinese.
I saw tons of US and European signs on plant walls.
I asked one of the guys at the plant I was working with about it and he told me that different brand products were sometimes made in the same plant. This got my curiosity up and every chance I got I would question about things a bit.

Finally another US guy showed up that I sort of knew in a much higher position than me and we spent a lot of time talking biz etc.
I asked him about what I was curious about and he put it pretty simple. He said China has become like Turkey. Which is a renowned manufacturer of shotguns. He said they would make you a piece of crap for cheap money If you wanted. Or if you wanted quality spend a little more and assist with materials and tooling they didn’t have access to and they would build as good a gun as anybody. He said China was the same way. And yes different products were made in the same facility a lot of times. Our company was sending materials and tooling for all the the critical things and expected quality.

Guys about maybe a year later that plant had a higher production rate and better quality than about all of the plants we had making the same product line. Here and in France as well. And we and another plant in the us and about 3-4 plants in France were shut down within Three years or so.
Now I didn’t step inside a knife factory but it got me thinking.
I’m as all American USA as you can be. But I saw with my own eyes kinda what the deal is. Just because it’s China made doesn’t automatically make it a piece of junk. Now I’ve been slam dunked and talked about for saying that but it’s true. I still collect and own USA made knives but my wife and I both have a roll of China knives. The ones we got have good fit and finish and smooth working. If we get one that’s not. I’ll quickly torture it to its breaking point point. lol.
God bless the USA and I pray things change and all those jobs can get back over here where they belong.
I have several RR and won’t hesitate to carry one.

I’m a dyed in the wool, totally committed, avid Case collector. Always will be. I also love the history behind knives and really like finding knives from the now defunct American manufacturers. However, I go to SMKW a couple of times a year, and I really enjoy looking at the RR knives. In the past three years, I have collected 20 or so. To me, they have the look and feel of a well made knife. The 440 stainless steel they use for the blades is good quality stuff. Quite a few of their handles are bone. I don’t claim to be any kind of an expert since I’ve only been collecting a little over three years now - but the RR knives seem to be pretty darned good to me. I mean, at an average of about $15 a knife, they’re just a lot of cheap fun for me. Does it bother me they are made in China? Yes, a bit, but they are also owned by SMKW, an American company - and who doesn’t like SMKW! Every once in awhile I get one with weak snap - the one above has weak snap on the clip point but gator snap on the Spey blade. Go figure! Let’s face it, even Case has that problem once in awhile. Case has one of my knives now that I sent back to repair poor snap. I like ‘em. I think they’re good quality, and they’re fun to collect. If I lose one or damage one, I’m only out a few bucks, not a hundred or two. BTW, I don’t use my RRs. They are a collection just like my Case knives.

tvic,
There is no reason for your Outdoorsman/acorn Trapper's clip blade to have stiffer than soft snap. Firmer snap on its slip joint spey blade keeps it from colaspsing across your fingers. That safety is more than provided by the clip blades back lock. The springs for its clip point need only be stiff enough to reliably move the lock parts.

I've bought more RRs and Chinese Marbles than I'm going to use so I suppose I collect them. Since most of the folders appear to be coming out of the same factory I consider RRs and Chinese Marbles to be one company's, SMKW, different product lines. To enjoy a 4" plus handle and stay within a law that writes blades up to 2 1/2 inch are legal a Chinese Marbles Congress has been the knife I most often carry away from home for awhile. While not outstanding its 440A holds an edge longer than any of the stainless knives in my kitchen. It's reasonably close to Case's surgical stainless. In the RRs and Chinese Marbles I get a higher percentage of rejects than with Cases but SMKW replaces them or refunds my money. With most of them I'm amazed at what a great pocket knife I've gotten for such a tiny amount of money.

In SMKW RRs and Chinese Marbles there are about a half dozen different blade steels. For a little more money one could only buy from the series made with harder steels.

I have a few RRs. Maybe 10.
I would never ever carry one though.
Life is to short to carry a cheap knife.
I'll carry my GECs, Chris Reeve, Benchmade, ZTs etc.

I like your thinking, Tim, and congratulations on acquiring your new Rough Rider, it's a beauty!

Thanks, Mark! Hope things are back to normal for you after your hospital stay, my friend.

Getting better each day, Tim, thanks for your concern.

Picked up some new ones a SMKW this past weekend.

Very cool knives, Tim, Rough Rider seems to be producing many new styles recently, it will be interesting to see what they come up with next.
Enjoy your new knives!

Cool shields.

Another new one… Midnight Swirl

That's a beauty, Tim, I received an older unusual RR today, it has the "Ryder" as opposed to "Rider" markings, but it's late here and I'm tired so I'll post pictures soon.
The swirl looks great!

Thanks, Mark! Yea, looking forward to your pic!

As promised, Tim, here's a Rough Ryder with old markings and nice colors, IMO!
Sorry bout' the poor pictures!

I LIKE that turquoise and black, Mark! Great color combination for a good looking handle. Nice blade on that one, too! Do you happen to know what RR calls that pattern?

Thanks Tim, I figured you would like that one!
It's called, "Rough Ryder Turquoise Peak linerlock # RR1578", and I got it from Amazon.com , but plenty of other stores have them too some in stock with similar prices some sold out, although, I'd suggest Amazon.com cuz their shipping is free and fast. They're only at Amazon.com (US site) not at Amazon.ca (Canadian site).

Thanks, Marco!

Just for the heck of it, I picked out 11 Rough Ryders from one online dealer. The total was $134. Went to another online dealer, plugged in the same 11, and it came up to $165. Went to a third online store, looked up the same 11 again, and it was $199. It pays to shop around - just sayin’!

Absolutely, Tim.
You need to be quick to act too, just today I had a very nice and expensive Lone Wolf "Defendor" disappear from my "Checkout", cuz while I was reviewing the transaction prior to submitting the order someone else bought it.
I was quite surprised at my reaction to this, for about an hour afterward my feelings were hurt! Why I would take something like that personally I have no clue. Talk about addicted, huh!

tvic wrote: ↑Thu Apr 11, 2024 3:01 pm Thanks, Marco!

Just for the heck of it, I picked out 11 Rough Ryders from one online dealer. The total was $134. Went to another online dealer, plugged in the same 11, and it came up to $165. Went to a third online store, looked up the same 11 again, and it was $199. It pays to shop around - just sayin’!

Would you mind saying the 3 dealers?