All About Pocket Knives

I picked up a pair of Rigid Knives both have real nice burnt stag delrin handles. Seeking to learn more about when they were made. I have read a few older forums on Rigid Knives but I can't seem to pinpoint when these were USA made by United Cutlery.
Box & sheath Apache Lockback RG 73 Box Pocket Lockback RG 85

They look almost like they could have been made by Bear MGC. I've never seen that particular style before.I have a couple of Rigid knives but they were made in Santee California and Japan.

Upon further review (ebay research) these appear to have been made and issued in the 1990s. Several examples of Rigid Knives on ebay.

Here is a picture of a Rigid brand knife that was made by Canal Street. I believe this one was manufactured sometime between 2008 and 2014.

Here are my Rigid knives:
R-9 Apache.
Rigid bowie with engraving.
Rigid USA
RG-1 made in Japan
RG-23 made in Japan

The original Rigid knives were semi custom knives made by 2 guys working together. They are over built tanks like the first one shown above by k7k.
It was a short lived venture of a few years only and since then the Rigid brand has been used by numerous manufacturers in USA & Japan.
The original Rigid knives are the only true Rigid knives.
kj

I found a web listing by Jim Parker's which informs the handle is staglon, stamped oval shield, and Camillus manufactured in 1997.

https://www.worthpoint.com/worthopedia/ ... -250782840

I have a few original Rigid fixed blades. Great knives but awfully heavy with all that thick brass in the guard and butt. Rigid also made some kits, where you could put your handle on their finished blade. Got a clip and drop point kit from Ebay for less than $15 several each years ago. These have the 440C blades stamped Rigid, more like 1/8 inch thick rather than 3/16 thick on the factory models. No brass on the butt. Makes a much lighter knife to carry on hunting trips.

tallguy606 wrote:I have a few original Rigid fixed blades. Great knives but awfully heavy with all that thick brass in the guard and butt. Rigid also made some kits, where you could put your handle on their finished blade. Got a clip and drop point kit from Ebay for less than $15 several each years ago. These have the 440C blades stamped Rigid, more like 1/8 inch thick rather than 3/16 thick on the factory models. No brass on the butt. Makes a much lighter knife to carry on hunting trips.

The folders are just as heavy which is why I stopped carrying mine.The one in the third pic is nice and light(relatively)but I don't really like the lack of handles.

Rigid is one of my favorite brands. I love the top-lock that were made in Japan. These are heavy very well made knives. They can take a beating. The Photos are a mix of Rigid and Parker top-locks. I need to update the photo's I have about 4 or 5 more.

Of the two Rigid knives I have, this one looks most like yours. Pretty sure it was made by Camillus in the early 2000s.
This one made in China.

This is from Yahoo Answers;


I don't know much about that specific knife, but I know a bit about the brand.

Rigid was started in the early 70's by a few knife makers working for Buck knives. They decided to branch off and start their own company with their designs.

They specialized in hunting knives and slip joint folders with nice fit and finish. Most of their knives used a lot of brass and hardwood, and used 440C stainless steel. They were more about aesthetics than functionality. Regardless, many people used their knives to great effect.

Their shop closed in the mid-late 80's and the trademark was then bought by United Cutlery. United Cutlery then began using the Rigid name on some of their own line of products. Everything from cheap knives, to "high end" limited production USA made blades.

The original Rigid brand were all made in the US. They were based out of California at first, and then later moved to Arkansas. These will fetch the highest price from a collector.

When United Cutlery bought Rigid, they kept producing some of their knives in the US at the Canal Street Cutlery shop in New York (another company United owned). These blades are still desirable, and will fetch a high value because they are only done in limited runs.

They also began producing knives over seas in Japan. Blades stamped with Japan won't fetch very much money, but some people may still be looking for them.

They then moved overseas production out of Japan, and now the cheap blades are produced in either China or Taiwan. These do not have much value at all.

Original vintage Rigid knives are popular with some collectors. Depending on the quality of the knife and/or sheath. First check to make sure yours is stamped on the blade that it was made in the USA. US made vintage rigid knives can sell between $100-$200.

Of course, this is a niche product, and the only people who would be wanting to by it are collectors of the brand. Find the right buyer that knows and loves the product, and he might pay more.

I have to question the accuracy of this statement regarding the ownership of Canal Street. If it's true, it sure is news to me.


"When United Cutlery bought Rigid, they kept producing some of their knives in the US at the Canal Street Cutlery shop in New York (another company United owned). These blades are still desirable, and will fetch a high value because they are only done in limited runs."

Phil, I too zeroed in on that statement. For me, if one statement is suspect, the entire thing is suspect. I think the author may have some generalities correct but the specifics are suspect. I'm about 98% sure the 72 clone I posted was made by Camillus.

The earliest Rigid fixed blades had rosewood or walnut scales, held on with two brass pins. They came in a black leather fold-over sheath (very much like Buck Kalinga sheath). I remember buying a Sidewinder model new about 1974 for $35. Later they omitted the two pins in the handle (I bought a used Ripper model, no pins, one scale fell off). And the sheath was not black but natural leather color. So I always thought pins/black, and no pins/natural leather, but I have seen some for sale that have mixed these elements, so.....don't know if any features changed between California and Arkansas.

Not wishing to muddy the waters, but I was shown and almost bought, two German-made four blade Congress knives with round bolsters and genuine stag handles. Both were marked "RIGID" and if I remember correctly, they had a RIGID shield on them. The knives had spear, sheepfoot, pen and coping blades.

This was in the early 90's.

The elderly gentleman, who was deteriorating from Lou Gehrig's disease, was asking a hundred each. I almost bought them just to help him out.

I've seen no mention above of any German-made knives.

Charlie Noyes

Here is the link to the Yahoo information. You can see it was posted 4 years ago and the name of the person that posted it. I have no way to verify if his information is correct or in error.

https://answers.yahoo.com/question/inde ... 110AAXRFYq


Then from a 1993 SMKW catalog I have found there were no listings for Rigid knives in the index, however among the listings for United Knives there is an entire page of Rigid Knives. We know from Mr. Tobias that United is an Umbrella company and has likely been that way for years.

Brand
United Cutlery
Owner/TM
United Cutlery
Country, Place of Manufacture: Global/USA
Product notes: United is an umbrella organization which produces a variety of cutlery in every pattern. The line includes fantasy and movie blades replica, low-end and mid-range quality swords and knives. Some knives and swords are "show only, especially their low-cost stainless steel swords. Most production is in China (PRC) but they also produce items in Taiwan and Spain as well as other countries. Being an educated consumer will vastly improve your chances of enjoying a purchase from United cutlery.

Only my guess here and certainly not fact, but at some point and time SMKW owned the United trade mark and they outsourced knives produced by various manufacturers both foreign and domestic. That is why there is such a variance of quality in the United knives. The same maybe true with the Rigid trade mark. That trade mark and has been owned by more than one entity at various times and the manufacturer and the quality of the knife varies with the company that was outsourced to build the knives. Some maybe German, some maybe Camillus, some maybe Bear & son, foreign, etc. Hard to be certain. Too bad a knife doesn't have a date on it. That would really help when you are trying to figure out how actually made the knife.

I have a Rigid Trapper Goucho R-55 made in the 1980's with Original box see my LDF Knives store in the AAPK Take a look Hard to find those!!