Four China Whittlers
Posted: Sun Aug 24, 2014 4:37 pm
Earlier this year I developed an interest in whittler pocket knives. Along with nice Case and a Boker, I bought several cheap Chinese whittlers to play around with. I just thought I would post some observations here. I chose Robert Klaas, Marbles, Colt, and Rough Rider. All four of the knives are split back spring whittlers and all four were made in China. I know most folks here are not real fond of Chinese knives, and I will say that none of these four are the quality of my Boker or Case. For one thing, if I hold the Case or Boker up in front of a bright window, I cannot see a trace of light between springs and liners. On all four of these I can see lines of light.
The 3 1/2" Klaas was the most expensive, about $25, and certainly seems well made. The blades have a good walk and talk. No half stops. The blades are straight and the two secondary blades are parallel when open. My general impression is that this is a good knife that I enjoy using. The only indication that this is a China knife is a small sticker on the box. The other three knives are marked on the blades.
The 3 1/2" Rough Rider was the cheapest, about $10. For that price it seems to be a good knife. The walk and talk is not bad. No half stops. The blades are straight and the secondary blades are parallel when open. Note that the main blade is very thick for the whole length instead of just at the tang. Unlike the other three knives, Rough Rider has inserted a brass spacer inside the liner so that the blade well is wide enough for the blades. I have carried and used this knife more than the others because I like it more. So far it has held up to light work.
The 3 1/2" Marbles was about $20 and it is a bit more substantial than the Klaas or the Rough Rider. It looks good. the walk and talk are good; the secondary blades have half stops, the main does not. The main blade is straight. The two secondary blades are not straight and spraddle like a new born calf's legs. I have used the main blade a bit, but I just do not like the crooked secondary blades.
The 3 3/4" Colt was about $20. I really wanted to like that knife. The size and shape are just about perfect, and I think it looks good. I really like the size and shape of that main clip blade. Unfortunately, it was awfully hard to open it to admire or use it. The blade well is just not wide enough for the three blades. When fully closed the main blade must be forced between the secondaries, then it is jammed so tight that I could not open it without a coin. I ground down the shoulders on the secondary tangs to made more room. That helped but still too hard to open. I noticed that the main blade tang was a bit flared out on one side, so I ground that off. That maybe helped a bit, but still too hard to open. So I took a jeweler's file and rounded the corners on the main blade tang. Finally I could open it with my thumbnail! Did I mention that the secondary blades were spraddled like a new born Colts?
This little review is a bit of an experiment for me: took longer and is longer than I intended. First time I have created a new topic here.
The 3 1/2" Rough Rider was the cheapest, about $10. For that price it seems to be a good knife. The walk and talk is not bad. No half stops. The blades are straight and the secondary blades are parallel when open. Note that the main blade is very thick for the whole length instead of just at the tang. Unlike the other three knives, Rough Rider has inserted a brass spacer inside the liner so that the blade well is wide enough for the blades. I have carried and used this knife more than the others because I like it more. So far it has held up to light work.
- Klaas, Rough Rider, Marbles, Colt
The 3 3/4" Colt was about $20. I really wanted to like that knife. The size and shape are just about perfect, and I think it looks good. I really like the size and shape of that main clip blade. Unfortunately, it was awfully hard to open it to admire or use it. The blade well is just not wide enough for the three blades. When fully closed the main blade must be forced between the secondaries, then it is jammed so tight that I could not open it without a coin. I ground down the shoulders on the secondary tangs to made more room. That helped but still too hard to open. I noticed that the main blade tang was a bit flared out on one side, so I ground that off. That maybe helped a bit, but still too hard to open. So I took a jeweler's file and rounded the corners on the main blade tang. Finally I could open it with my thumbnail! Did I mention that the secondary blades were spraddled like a new born Colts?
