well i went to my favorite knife dealer today-The Knife Place in lakeland fl to get a storage pouch for one of my knives.he had just taken in some RR,s and Steel warriors in on trade i picked up a large RR dogleg trapper in the trapper series and a Steel Warrior peanut with rams horn handles,Got both of the knives for $5 each both have not been used Not Bad

Yesterday was a review of the Coal Miner Series

Today it is a look a RR Genuine Stag.

Both Reviews are at Rough Rider Reviews

Nice Trapper, Ron.  And I don't even collect Trappers!

Thats a looker alright - I have been carrying a RR Trapper every day for the past 6 months & I use it everyday - edge has held up great - before I retired from knifemaking & would get $450.00 to build a 2 blade Trapper - & to think these RR's can be built with this quality & sell for 5/10/20 bucks is beyond my DNA - tom 

I normally don't buy a lot of pearl, but I do kinda like the black pearl.  I recently picked up the black pearl peanut.  Its an older pattern but it looks pretty nice.  As the "Always Ready" blade etch.  I not sure if that was just on the first run or not.

Pattern number was RR237.  It came in the old yellow box. The picture doesn't do the knife justice. The small pen blade is a bit tough to open, but to be honest the pen blade on my Case Peanuts are even harder!  All in all I('m very pleased with it.

The Black Pearl is one of the better looking pearls.

Has anyone heard from Craig, lately?

No, I have not heard from Craig, Some times we have medical problems. I had some myself. We can just hope everything is fine.

Only pearl that I have is the gunboat canoe.

That sure is prety, J.J.

Finally got to check out the new RR moose. Very nice knife!,the dealer that i get most of my knives from has them in the same bone as pictured here on the RR forum and the smooth brown bone in the outdoorsman series,I am getting one next week.  

Robert, when you get your Moose, please come and join us at the group "Box Full of Knives" in the sub-group "Moose Pattern Knives". You could post a picture of your new Moose knives and chit chat with other members that have had the Moose Pattern bug bite.

got to wonder about some of the Colt knives vs. RR vs. Remingtons made in China.  The similarities are striking!  Same with the Marbles, and few other SMKW house brands.

Robert, you are correct.  And while it is good business strategy to slap a more recognized brand name on a product it  kind of irks me.  An example is below.  Red bone "Marbles" and two Rough Riders.  The best of the three is also the least expensive.  The red bone Marbles came in an orange box and included a inexpensive black pouch.  I think it normally goes for around $17-20.  Has a marbles shield and blade etch.  The knife comes in different types of bone or plastic handles but all run about $5 more than the Rough Riders.  

As a person who likes the 5 inch toothpicks, It is kind of aggravating to see the same knife, being made and marketed under different brands and with "special collectors" packaging.  I just want the knife, not the fluff which causes needless mark-up.

The second knife is a RR and is part of the Long Rifle Series.  Normally goes for around $15-18 because of  the tin packaging.  Same knife, just in smooth bone with different shield and blade etch.

The third knife is the RR stroke of luck. Same profile, same quality as the other two, but with reverse frosted blade, different style bolsters, but still the same basic knife.   However it goes for $12-15.

It would not be so bad that one company makes 4 different brands but atleast they could be 4 different knives. You just have to take it as it comes and try to enjoy the knives. I try do a little homework on a knife before I buy it. I think you are studying them to.

You're correct, Robert.   When I realized the Marbles  5 inch toothpicks were overpriced Rough Riders.  I was upset.  Had there been significant differences in the knife, it would've been different.  Bottom line, is they just different colored bone handles and they have one in imitation tortoise shell.  The marbles knives are all exactly the same except the handle material.  There is more variety in the Rough Riders and they cost less.

I'm tempted to buy the Marbles toothpicks but when I see the price, it just irks me.  And then I kick myself.  Were talking a difference of $3-5!  Not that big a deal in the grand scheme of things. 

The brands are all made in the same place. I don't think SMKW would want to have to chase quality control on 3 or 4 different factories. It's all about the sale of knives and making money. As for most of the old Marbles before they went bankrupt, you won't find the same scales on other knives. And the MSA Marbles are getting harder to find. I did buy a Cattle Knife in stag bone the other day and it is basically a RR. here is a pic of it. I still like it even if it may be a RR in disguise. One correction to what I said, The Tortoise shell is the same as on other brands. That's a great looking collection of toothpicks, Toby. I really like the large toothpicks.

How do you like the Cattle Knife, Billy?  I'm thinking about pickign that one up.  I also like they Scrimshaw series they're doing.   I might grab the one with the Raccoons on the handles.  Glad you like the toothpicks.  I keep asking when they'll be making more in the RR line, but the answer seems to be "Never".  I'm still debating on picking up a couple more of the Marbles large toothpicks but it just doesn't seem to be the same.  I like it better when the knife I get from Marbles is only branded by Marbles.  I think I'm a victim of knowledge.  Knowing both brands are made by the same company, in the same factory with the same quality control makes it hard for me to buy a more expensive knife simply because it has a different brand name stamped on it.

Not Rough Riders but two of my favorite modern Marbles, the Fisherman's tool and the Fly Fisherman.  I think the Fly Fisherman is actually an old Case pattern, not sure.     But the cool thing about both, is currently there is onle one comapny making them.  And that is Marbles.

Billy, who makes that cattle king, I sort of got lost between all the different companies. Looks like a Colt. Thats one ya'll left out and I think its made there to.

Robert, the cattle king was one of Marbles new lines.

Toby, most of the Marbles I have are imports, but were still owned by Marbles. This was the first Marbles that I have bought since SMKW got the rights to the Marbles name, which happened a year or so ago when they went bankrupt. The knife is well made with good fit and finish and good snap. I didn't even see much light through the backsprings.

Here is a new ( to me) Rough Rider Cuttin Tool. I had never seen this one, but I bought it for a good price on ebay. It even came with a storage pouch, just like Marbles brand. ( Imagine that) It's a neat little pattern.

Here are a couple of Moose Rough Riders that I bought recently. Robert, See what you did to me? One is a Once in a Blue Moon Moose that is 3 1/2"  in the closed position. The other one is a Blue Swirl Moose that is 4 1/4" in the closed position. Both of them are good knives, especially for the price point.

I almost forgot my new Stoneworx knife. This one is a 2 7/8" lockback Barlow. I guess that Rough Rider decided to add some new patterns, since this is RR1164

Billy, I love Barlows, and the fancier the better and that looks like a fancy one. The Moose's are nice, check out the swedges on the top of the blades, something some expensive knives seem to have forgotten. Once you start Moose hunting you just can't stop...lol

ever one who buy's rough riders get all the stag they made heard little bird told me  

Billy, I also had to jump on the baby barlow LB.  Grabbed it and the Armour-hide  Tiny Toothpick at the same time.  I had no intention of buying but when Knives Live offered the free KLTV/SMKW church key to go with a purchase for free, on top of $5 shipping on any order, I had to go for it.

PS, I'm also a person who thinks they need to re-release the armor hides as Armadillo jigged bone.  The whole samari thing is just too steel warrior for me.  And while I think Steel Warriors are a decent knife, I don't want the lines between RR and Frost to get blurred.

I love those fancy Barlows. I wish their toothpicks were larger. I am missing alot not veiwing their TV show.

Robert,

You and me both on the toothpicks.  They only make 4 or5  four  inch toothpicks and only 5 five inch toothpicks.  I've got around 8 or soo of the babies but i really like the standard and the large toothpicks.

We need to start a petition for more large frame  Rough Rider Toothpicks.

Toby

They read this forum daily my friend, don't think they don't. We don't need a petition just get more people to sound off. The tooth picks I've gotten are maybe 4 inch and on the light side. They need a full size.

I would also like to see a full sized toothpick please.  In Tobacco bone if I could

I saw them, but thought the price was 14.99.

Haven't posted for a while.  Many of you already know I made it down to SMKW  a week or so ago.  I actually tried not to buy any Rough Riders figuring I could buy them later.  Still I had to visit the booth.  As I was there I saw the Once in a blue moon 5 inch lockback.   I really don't care much for the 5 inch LB but I saw this one and it started my RR spending spree.  I'll post others later.

Nice packaging and really nice nylon pouch with horizontal and vertical carry options.

Nice reverse frosting, very nice dye job, very positive lock, and terrific profile with the swedge on the blade and slanted bolsters.

Another vier of etch and the swedge on the blade.  The knife has a slimmer profile than my Bear & Son 5 inch LB (my only other 5 in lockback) but still feels great in the hand.  The RR 1192 goes for $11.95.  At that price it is a steal.  If you're a fan of 5 inch LB or just want to see if you like the pattern, I'd say snatch this one up.

Great job  Tobias, cant wait to see what all came home

Well I see that this month they have a large toothpick in the RR line, part #RR917. Thanks SMKW for the knife.

That would be the Stoneworx Toothpick.    I got one of those the first time around and it was terrific.  f anyone picks it up let me know what you think.   what I like most about it is that is has the most Turquoise in it.  Most of the others Stoneworx knives  run on the Red Jasper side.

i have not posted in a while but i recently picked up a colt ct323 large moose in brown stag bone, i am very impressed with this knife very well built it is a bit larger than th rr moose which is next on my list any one else have one of the colts.

Found this on YouTube.  Carver talking abour Rough Rider knives.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=K5KaeWq5w4U&feature=relmfu

Nice that he is plugging RR but he doesn't seem to know much about pocket knives.  The buck is a 420HC and isn't too bad a knife.  I'll agree it is more due to name recognition that it cost more than a Rough Rider.  Here is a nice review Rough Rider vs Eye Brand: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=xO4uGeDEzE0

She's a carver, not a collector.  For general use 420 is fine, but the 440 that is used in RR is appearantly closer to the specs in a fixed carver.  As much sharpening as I do on my whittlers, RR's hold up among the top 3.

"Take the Rough Rider challenge".  That has been the pitch from SMKW for a long while now, buy one and try it out and you'll be impressed.  That being said, I took the RR challenge several years ago and was very impressed.  I tried an Eye-Brand" whittler and was sorely dissappointed.  Loose and ill fitting blades and poor allignment of the handles left a taste in my mouth.  This knife sits on my desk as a reminder not to buy a knife that I can't hold first.  I liked the Eye Brand before I actually held it.  I intend to stay far away from them until I can see improvement in their builld.

JJ,

I know what you mean but sometimes it is just a faulty product.   I recently purchased the Marbles Scrimshaw Grand-daddy barlow (the one with the Raccoons, on the handle - I like Raccoons)  When I bought it, I had the opportunity to hand select it and got the best best matching sides possible.    Very impressed it.  I also knew that it was just an upscale Rough Rider.  Having handled it and really liking they way it felt, I decided to order a Rough Rider "Big Daddy" Barlow, also in the White Smooth Bone.

Well the Rough Rider showed up and boy was I disappointed the White bone was badly flecked with gray marks.  I know this can be the case with natural bone so i could live with that but to make matters worse, the tip of the blade was bent!  Had I not already bought close to 100 Rough Riders, that Barlow would've been my first and last purchase.

I immediately called Smoky Mountain Knife Works and told them what happened.  After telling them the price,  they said to hang on to the bad knife and they would d send a new one out. If they new one wasn't up to snuff then send both knife backs and they refund the purchase and mailing charges.  They live up to their guarantee and then some.

The new knife arrived three days later.  It still had more gray flecks than my liking but the blade was perfect.  I compared it to my other white smooth bone knives and realized, that the flecking really wasn't much different than many of the others; so that problem was more my imagination than anything else. (what do you expect for $7.49 -- perfection?)

This is only the second knife that has been an issue for me.  My only worry is that both issues were within the last 4 months.  I'm guessing both of these knives were part of the reason why SMKW took that little road trip to China to check on quality control in their factory.

I guess the moral of the story is don't throw an entire brand under the bus over one bad knife unless the company that makes it is unwilling to stand behind their product.

It's a good company that will go all the way for a sub $10.00 knife.  Won't mention the company (On the open forum) that I bought the EyeBrand from but do you think I got any satisfaction on my $5o.00 purchase? 

Tobias, that's funny, because I like those specks in the white bone. I have never hit a bad Rough Rider, I know that it is possible. I like to hear the way SMKW took care of your problem. Hey, Robert Benton, I bought a large Colt Moose and I find it very well made. I may buy more this fall for Chirstmas presents.

Hey,Robert Burris,The colts are indeed very well made.if you decide to buy more for Christmas presents the recipients will be very pleased. and i agree about specks in white bone i like them also.

Yea Robert, I guess everyone likes different things. I like the white bone handles without the specks also. I like them both ways. Those Colt knives are hard to beat for the price.

I'll have to take pics of the two barlows so you can see what I mean.  In the case of the one barlow the specks are about what I expect.  On the other it is over the limit and makes for an ugly handle.