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Rough Rider’s Genuine Affordable Stag!
Genuine Affordable Stag!
I own very little stag. When it comes to Stag on a USA made knife, I normally can’t afford it. When it comes to stag on a global knife, it has always reminded me a poorly jigged plastic.
Over time, I brainwashed myself into thinking stag looked like poorly cut tree bark and decided not to bother with it. It was either thinking that, or developing an unhealthy medical condition known as stag envy.
Upon mentioning to Steve Koontz and Tony Watkins of Knives Live TV that I've developed a liking for Peanuts, Mr. Koontz recommend I pick up the RR663, the stag peanut, because they were being discontinued. That was enough to make me buy Rough Rider 665 Stag Toothpick a 663 Stag Peanut and now I think I’m going to regret my stand against buying stag if I'm unable to get any more of these Rough Rider Stag knives.
These two affordably priced small pattern pocket knives are on par with American made knives that cost 3-4 times the price. The stag is simply beautiful. There is no mistaking it for bone, Delrin and poorly cut tree bark. And the finish is simply fantastic. The brass pins, liners, shields, and bolsters all line up beautifully with securely attached stag scales.The spines of both knives are also smooth with very little grooving as you pass your finger from side to side.
Blades have a excellent walk & talk, however, if you’re use to the half stop on a Case peanut, you won’t find it on the Rough Rider; the blades on both knives snap to the full open or closed position. On a plus side, the small pen blade on the peanut is not nearly as hard to open as it is on my Case peanuts! Those who own Case peanuts, know what I’m talking about! Stay & play is also excellent. Blades open and stay where they need to be with little or no wobble. And as you can expect with almost all Rough Rider knives, the blades are made with 440A “Razor Sharp” Stainless steel with an HRC right at 56, making it on par with the blade steel used by Victorinox and Case knives.
If you’ve never thought about taking the Rough Rider Challenge, and you like Stag, then maybe it’s time you took the plunge. But you better not wait long if you’re hoping to purchase quality, affordable stag knives. Rough Rider has discontinued Stag production and currently has no plans to ever make knives with stag handles again.
This decision may make the Rough Rider Genuine Stag knives be the first Rough Riders to go from being a Collectible to an actual Collector’s Items*. From what I understand, they only made two runs of the Stag knives. The first run had the round horseshoe shield and the second run the propeller shield as seen in my examples. The knives normally sold for around $15. Most are already out of stock and SMKW and Blue Ridge, meaning all existing stock is being sold in the secondary markets, often at double the original selling price.
Now maybe that is just a temporary spike in price or maybe it is a sign of things to come. Who knows? What I can say, is I’ve seen the same thing happening to the Rough Rider Pearl knives and the Moonshiner Series. Wait around if you want to, but I think affordable quality stag maybe be gone before you know it. I’m going to try and grab some more before it is too late!
Specifications:
Pattern: Peanut
Pattern Numbers: RR 663
Length, Closed : 2 7/8inches
Blade Steel: 440 A Razor Sharp Stainless Steel
Blade Main: 1 ¾ in clip
Secondary: 1 in pen
Tang: RR horseshoe tang stamp
Handle: Stag
Bolsters: Nickel Silver, ringed
Lining: Brass.
Pins: Brass
Shield : RR propeller
Specifications:
Pattern: Small Toothpick
Pattern Numbers: RR 665
Length, Closed : 3 inches
Blade Steel: 440 A Razor Sharp Stainless Steel
Blade Main: 2 in California clip
Secondary: N/A
Tang: RR horseshoe tang stamp
Handle: Stag
Bolsters: Nickel Silver, triple ringed
Lining: Brass.
Pins: Brass
Shield : RR propeller
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* Collectible: a collectible is something made for the purpose of collecting. This has no bearing on the actual quality or quantity of the item. Often reproductions or commemorative items are considered collectible. They rarely go up in value.
Collector’s Item: Normally, an older, out of production item with a known appraised value and a demand that out strips current product availability.
See This and all my Rough Rider Knife Reviews at Rough Rider Reviews
Replies to This Discussion
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Permalink Reply by Billy Oneale on
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Toby, I have both those and the RR445 toothpick with the horseshoe shield. those are the toasted stag and the 445 is a more natural stag. They are great knives. That is a really good review as usual. The stag has always been hard to find in the RR line.
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Permalink Reply by Tobias Gibson on
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Thanks for the update Billy. I knew there were two lines of Stag. Didn't know they were that different.
Isee the original toothpick was single ringed on the bottom bolster!
Billy Oneale said:Toby, I have both those and the RR445 toothpick with the horseshoe shield. those are the toasted stag and the 445 is a more natural stag. They are great knives. That is a really good review as usual. The stag has always been hard to find in the RR line.
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Permalink Reply by J.J. Smith III on
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I only have whittlers from the first series of RR stag. Looked more like the old Euoropean stag.
I was able to pick up the entire set of second series stag. Much improved.
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In MemoriamPermalink Reply by Robert Burris on -
Tobias, that was a great review and some fine little stag knives you have there. I noticed that Schrade has a line of stag knives right now. SMKW has them for sale in their Chirstmas catalog.
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Permalink Reply by Jan Carter on
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Billy,
Thanks for the heads up on the RR stag peanut, bought one yesterday for a friend
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Permalink Reply by Steve Hanner on
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Great review Toby, I read through though and was amazed at the fact that Rough Rider, one of the most popular brands, and the peanut certainly a favorite too although don't know for sure if its Top 10 in sales, and no more stag? I mean I wonder what the reason would be? Certainly not because its not a sale-able item. Shortage of stag, difficulty exporting? I mean they must have a reason. Any idea?
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I understand it to be a shortage.
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I think it is three fold. One the price of stag is up. SMKW came into a really good deal on stag a few years back making it pretty plentiful and now they need to buy new stag which is in higher demand and therefore in short supply at the moment. And finally, I think they are using the stag for other SFO projects, such as the Colt/Case collaboration, other Colt knives, and SFO from Queen and Case. which will be more profitable per piece. Basically a good chunk of it will be shrewd business decisions of putting the stag on knives that will turn the best profit. Sucks for Rough Rider but on the other hand if SMKW doesn't make money in other brands, there won't be a Rough Rider brand either.
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I agree with that, Toby. I know they supply the stag for the Queen City and the Robesons.
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We can hope and pray that either Mr. Koontz manages to bag his limit in India Stag in the near future and their is enough to go around for some future Rough Riders. Same thing for the sudden lack of pearl on the way. I'm guessing the pearl shortage or price increase is also in the same boat. Of course the crappy economy isn't helping any either!
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The second gen RR stag series is over 3 years old. It first came out in the middle of 08, best as I recall.
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Wow shortage it is. I never would have really guessed that would be the reason, but it makes sense to move the stag you do have to more profitable pieces. Higher prices for the stag that is available makes it hard to put on a low end piece and keep it there. Economics...driving knife styles....who would have thought!
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