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.

Yep, you can over do it, I guess.

You guys are doing a great job keeping the forum going - I thank you for that - MY wife has been having serious health issues & with 6 kids I have been a little busy - I closed down my big web site I used for my engraving - I'm still engraving but it's now a part time deal - No longer doing any firearms - just knives & motorcycle parts for old customers - So keep up the good work - this is one of the few places on the net that we can talk about RR & Marbles knives & not be looked at like a your one step below a bull fighter - again - good job - I look in often - just haven't posted in a while - tom

sorry to hear about your wife tom our prayers our with her and you and your family.you do what you need to and we all well help out to keep the site well and going .if you need anything please let us know we are all family here... 

thanks so much - she has MS - no cure for the damn stuff - it went away for about 25 years or so then about a year ago it came back like a tornado - We have been married almost 49 years - I have always been very protective & able to help fix stuff that comes along in life but with this stuff I'm helpless - every couple of years they come up with something that gives hope but nothing has really helped - the latest stuff  cost $4,000.00 a month! no miss print 4 grand a month & it, like so many of the other snake oils they have come up with can have major side effects  - some times the cure is worse than the problem - tom

Like Stephen said, she will be in our prayers. 

Do let us know if there's anything that we can do.

Tom, that is very bad news about your wife, I am sure she will be on the prayer list for many of our members. I am so sad to hear about that. Tom, we try to make this a knife collector site for all nice collectors. Whether or not you are a high dollar collector or a person that loves knives and wants to collect them but with their income can't afford the high dollar knives. I think this is a place for all nice knife collectors and we are glad to have you.

Tom, You have my prayers for your family.

Tom my prayers are with you and your wife.  It is hard for many to understand just how physically, spiritually and emotionally draining living with a chronic life threatening diseases can be. It takes a very strong will to endure such a devastating illness such as MS.   Stay strong  and may the Lord's blessing shine down upon you and your wife and may His love you bring both of you the strength, courage and inner peace to cope with this horrible cross you must bear.

Here are some photos of the white bone  on my latest Rough Rider purchase.   To me the flecking shows a lack of recent quality control.  I've kept the knife because of the price but the quality of the smooth white bone is not what it used to be or that of the recent Marbles line.

Top is the one with the good blade, bottom the one with the bent tip.

Close up of the unbleached bone.

The back sides of the two barlows.  Again the top knife is the one with the good tip.

Three knives, and older small barlow, the sowbelly and the big daddy barlow.  The barlow doesn't even seem to belong with the other two knives.

The Marbles white bone barlow is much cleaner.   As a big, big fan of Rough Riders and as someone who often pushes peoiple to take the Rough rider challenge, I'm hoping that SMKW can kick a few tails and get the quality back into this line of knives.  Even if it requires a price hike of a few dollars to get the fit and finish back to the way it used to be, they will remain on of the best bargains on the market.  If the quality continues to slip, they'll lose my vote as the best traditional patterns of the global marketplace.

Just uploaded my review of the RR1192 Once in a Blue Moon Folding hunter.  This is the 5 inch lockback.  This is only the second 5inch LB I've ever bought. It isn't a pattern I collect or carry yet  I took one look at this one when I was at SMKW and I had to buy it.

http://blindkat.hegewisch.net/RRR/rr1192.html

Tobias,

I am surprised that you see an issue with RR quality on the smooth white bones.  One of the things I have always admired about RR is their ability to create quality knives

Jan,  I guess the real problem is that it seems to stand out compared to all the other WSB I own, including that other 12 RR.  The other night they were selling similar WSB on Knives Live TV and it wasn't called White Smooth Bone, they called it "Pepper bone"  They actually commented on the quality of the black flecks in the white smooth bone.  

(Above:Rough Riders, Below US Classics and a Frost Trapper)

(Above the U.S Classics, Below Marbles Scrimshaw and a RR after market Scrimshaw)

It sounds like the have a batch of bone that is different from what they are use to selling.

Okay what is going on!  I just saw Rough Riders being sold on Cultery Corner Network!  I've seen the Colts and the Marbles in the past but I've never seen Rough Riders, the housebrand of SMKW, being sold there.  First a Stroke of Kuck 6 blade stockman and then the Orca Dive knife.  At no time did they identify the Rough Rider brand.

it sounds like they are using two different kinds of white bone a bleached bone and a pepper bone.is that right?

Well, I have very recently became the owner of three Rough Riders. I took advantage of the SMKW promo with discounted knife costs, reduced shipping, and a free knife roll with the purchase three or more RR's. Having never even handled a Rough Rider before, I wasn't quite sure what to expect, especially at that price point. Was I ever in for a surprise!

These are GOOD knives! Good fit and finish, sharp right out of the box (maybe I was just lucky, but all three were sharper than a new Queen toothpick that I recently purchased!, just darn good traditional design pocket knives. I will try to get my own pictures up on all of my posts as soon as I get some camera issues straightened out, but the three Rough Riders that I bought were:

1. Outdoorsman Series Swing Guard Lockback

2.Big Daddy Barlow - White Smooth Bone Handle

3.StoneWorx Large Toothpick

I am very very impressed with all three of these knives. These are the first China knives that I have ever bought, I do believe, and I must say - I don't care where they came from, these are good knives! Since I an the type of guy that still carries a pre-Cheetah Case swing guard from the late 70's - early 80's (police duty knife pre one hand openers) and keeps a 70's Queen Big Chief that I bought new in my tackle box, rest assured that I'll see how the Rough Riders hold up over the long haul. But at this point, they appear to be a lotta bang for the buck, and I definitely got my moneys worth from SMKW.  nuff said...

You weren't "just lucky", Steve.  When it comes to import knives, Rough Riders are heads and shoulders above the competition.  SMKW (the fine folks that own RR) take pride in producing patterns that are traditional as well as seldom seen patterns.

Best part about Rough Riders, apart from what you've mentioned, is the fact that if you carry one and it gets "lost", it doesn't cost an arm and a leg to replace.

Steve, those are nice Rough Riders and you made a good choice of patterns. I really like that Big Daddy Barlow in white bone. Hey I heard you mention your tackle box, well we are having a "Fishing Photo Contest" in the Outdoor Group, please come join us and enter as many photos as you like. Good luck with those Rough Riders.

My annual Rough Rider Appeal. Feel free to contact them on Facebook in support of my plea or to make your own plea.


1) I’d like to see the five inch toothpick in White Smooth Bone. I would also like to see it in the Blue moon series and the new purple smooth bone.

2) A white smooth bone bartender would also be a great little knife.

3) I’d like the see the scout knife in the Outdoorsman, Moonshiner, and Coal Miner series. The pattern is a natural for all three series.

4) The small 3 inch lockback similar to RR137 needs to be released in more handle materials. It’s a great little knife.

5) The marlin spike in blue or purple smooth bone would also be great.

6) How about a buzzsaw trapper (saw blade instead of spay blade) for the Trapper series

7) How about a basic pen knife similar to the Case Eisenhower, but instead of small pen blade have a small nail file or pair of scissors.

8)  I'd like to see an armed forces seires, based on the  Scout, Marlin Spike and Electician,   The Scout knife for the Army and Marines, the Marlin Spike for the Navy and Coast Guard, and the Electrician for the Air Force.  I suppose we could debate other patterns but for me it has to be  anything but  the damn Trapper.

Hi has anyone in the RR group ever used or owned a ceramic blade knife, i recently purchased a timberline ceramic folder with carbon fiber handles and black pearl inserts on the blade pivot and thumb studs, nice little knife but not cheap for a chinese made knife. Robert Benton

I am a traditional knife collector so I wouldn't know anything about it but some of our members might. Good luck with it.

For the toothpick fan.  Finally got around to picking up the green smooth bone 4 inch toothpick.  Still need to buy the 3 inch peacock green toothpick (RR062) but for now the lime green will do.  Seriously thinking of picking up more smooth green bone.

Left to right:  RR 1174 - lime green, RR 453 - peacock green, RR1174 - Stroke of Luck

As each knife is from a different series, they each have different shields.  When I pick up the 3 inch peacock green I'm going to shoot for run with the propeller shield.

I've also got the red smooth bone in the 4 inch toothpick (RR 452)  THe only other Rough Rider 4 inch toothpick I'm aware of is  the Brown Jigged (RR 451).  

IMO It is a dis-service to the pattern the Rough Rider seems to ignore the 4 and 5 inch toothpicks.    But then again maybe I'm the only one who buys the pattern.  I guess on the bright side, I'm shelling out a lot fewer dollars collecting standard and large toothpicks than say the Trapper and muskrat collectors!

Hey, is the large one a 5" toothpick? Miss Jan was looking for a Rough Rider 5" toothpick.

Robert,

Yes th elarge one is 5 inches, closed (9 inches opened)  Rough Rider makes a total of  five 5 inch toothpicks.

See:  http://blindkat.hegewisch.net/RRR/RR-lg-toothpicks.html

L-R  RR526 - Sawcut Bone, RR 917- Stoneworx, RR 711 Rifleman, RR1059 -  Stroke of Luck, RR 731  Long Rifle.

I also have several other Globals 5 inch toothpicks.  Still have dumped $70-100 in a USA made.  

Among other Companies making them is  Buck's Bill Lowen "I'm Hooked" toothpick, in blue smooth bone with the Bass shield.

anyone have any of the RR,s with Bark Pearl scales? I remember seeing them in the SMKW catalog acouple of years ago, are they still being made?

The smoky mountain knife works current catalog (page 42) offers a bark pearl medium stockman for $16.99. The catalog picture is not that clear. Does anyone have pictures of any of the bark pearl series of knives?

I have a couple of Benchmark knives with ceramic blades. I have not used any except for a paring knife I bought for my wife. It worked really good for a while. My wife would wash it in the dishwasher and it developed some small chips in the cutting surface. Debra really liked it. It was a white blade which stains really easy. 

Jay,

I've got one of the bark pearl whittlers.  Nice scales but one of the back springs broke when setting it up for pics.  Bee a couple of years, didn't think they were still in production.

JJ. I had a Queen knife back spring brake, they replaced the knife. I wonder what SMKW would do?

Robert, my experience has been they will honor their warranty so if the backspring broke, then they will honor it unless it was altered in some way such as file work or such.

I'm sure that they'd replace the knife, just not sure if they still carry it in the Bark Pearl.

I've never had a problem with one of their knives, just wondering.