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Marbles vs. Rough Rider

Someone mentioned that Marbles and RR are remarkably similar. I'm not sure about all Marbles knives but I know there 5 inch toothpicks are down right exact. In fact so are the toothpicks by Raging Bull, a small TM own by Gary Gycom. His small batch knives are made in the same factory as the Rough Rider knives.

The difference between RR and Marbles is about $5-7. For that difference you're getting a Marbles shield and blade etch but not much else. The Rough Riders have the same blade, with the same profile, same steel, etc. The scales use the same bone used on other RR but not used on RR 5 inch toothpicks. The bolsters are the same triple ring nickel-silver bolsters.

Quality wise the knives are the same. The only difference is the name on the knife and the box they come in. When you get right down to it, the SMKW Rough Rider factory in China is becoming to Chinese produced knives what Camillus was to American made knives. (Those familiar with all the Case, Ka-Bar, Robeson, etc knives that were subcontracted to Camillus know what I'm getting at.) Basically Scratch a Colt or a Marbles, and you'll find a Rough Rider at a higher price tag.

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Replies to This Discussion

Permalink Reply by J.J. Smith III on April 28, 2011 at 9:22

One "feature", of Rough Riders, that is seldom mentioned, is that SMKW will find an "old" discontinued pattern and have it remade in the RR line.

Permalink Reply by Tobias Gibson on April 28, 2011 at 9:51

They do have that ability. One such example is their locking "work knife" which is a copy of the old Case Locking Sodbuster. No one lese is making a current locking sod buster. If you're a person who uses a soddy for an EDC the RR locking is definitely worth a try.

They are also turning out the best copies of the old Camillus rigging knife. The fit and finish is much better than the Colonial version and at half the cost. Both have 440A blades.

Then there is the current Stroke Of Luck line. Those are simply beautiful knives. I'm glad they did a five inch toothpick in that one.

In MemoriamPermalink Reply by D ale on April 29, 2011 at 6:07

Thanks Ivers .. mine is an early "3 screw" version of the No. 1 .. vintage 1899 ~ 1903 .. quite possibly touched by Webster's own hand !!! Good luck finding another one on E-bay !!!

Ivars Duntavs said:

Oh here I found all Marbles axe's, your axe I think is here too!

Permalink Reply by Billy Oneale on May 4, 2011 at 9:26

Most of the current Marbles I have are good little imported knives. I have never seen any of the stag bone scales that are on mine on a Rough Rider. Most of mine are also large frames. Both brands are good imported knives in my opinion. I am looking to buy some USA made Marbles in the future.

Permalink Reply by Steven Matthew on January 14, 2013 at 20:33

You guys are sure making me smart

Permalink Reply by Chuck Parham on June 14, 2013 at 5:51

I notice that Marbles uses a lot more stag than RR. I like both brands but would like to see more stag in RR even though the price would be higher. They don't need to make everything stag but a series once in a while would be nice. They could be similar to the Coal Miner and Moon Shiner series which were both very well received.

Permalink Reply by Steve Hanner on June 14, 2013 at 8:34

Didn't Rough Rider just introduce a line of appaloosa bone handled knives? Is that new? If Marbles is stag maybe a line of RR's could be that bone?

Permalink Reply by Chuck Parham on June 14, 2013 at 11:10

Yes, they have recently come out with a white and a red Appaloosa bone knife in the Trapper pattern. I believe it is in SMKW's June catalog.

Steve Hanner said:

Didn't Rough Rider just introduce a line of appaloosa bone handled knives? Is that new? If Marbles is stag maybe a line of RR's could be that bone?

Permalink Reply by Tobias Gibson on June 14, 2013 at 11:20

Yes, Steve. RR did just introduce appaloosa bone. I think it is actually in two colors.

As for the Stag (and Pearl) for that matter, RR has offered knives in both handle material in the past and they were well received. The problem is the price of both products sky-rocketed and so those offering were discontinued.

I think one of the reasons is that they use both materials in other product lines, especially the Colt line.

The stag on the fixed blades is an entirely different scenario as most of the fixed blades with stag are coming out of Pakistan and not China. I think it is cheaper to acquire the Pakistani stag (and Damascus) steel. I also think much of the stag on the Pakistani knives is nowhere near as good as the stag found on the old Chinese made RR or any of the American made Stag handled knives.

Below: Rough Rider Second Generation Stag Peanut, Toothpick, Stockman

Permalink Reply by Chuck Parham on June 14, 2013 at 11:25

Those are truly beautiful pieces, Tobias! Rich color and great texture.

Tobias Gibson said:

Yes, Steve. RR did just introduce appaloosa bone. I think it is actually in two colors.

As for the Stag (and Pearl) for that matter, RR has offered knives in both handle material in the past and they were well received. The problem is the price of both products sky-rocketed and so those offering were discontinued.

I think one of the reasons is that they use both materials in other product lines, especially the Colt line.

The stag on the fixed blades is an entirely different scenario as most of the fixed blades with stag are coming out of Pakistan and not China. I think it is cheaper to acquire the Pakistani stag (and Damascus) steel. I also think much of the stag on the Pakistani knives is nowhere near as good as the stag found on the old Chinese made RR or any of the American made Stag handled knives.

Below: Rough Rider Second Generation Stag Peanut, Toothpick, Stockman

Permalink Reply by Chuck Parham on June 14, 2013 at 16:30

Sorry Steve. That's a BROWN bone instead of white. They are shown on Junes catalog from SMKW on page 42.

http://www.smkw.com/webapp/eCommerce/products/Rough+Rider/Rough+Rid...

The Brown is RR1405 and the Red is RR1406.

Chuck Parham said:

Yes, they have recently come out with a white and a red Appaloosa bone knife in the Trapper pattern. I believe it is in SMKW's June catalog.

Steve Hanner said:

Didn't Rough Rider just introduce a line of appaloosa bone handled knives? Is that new? If Marbles is stag maybe a line of RR's could be that bone?

Permalink Reply by Tobias Gibson on June 14, 2013 at 18:37

On the other side of the equation is a couple Marbles knives I own. They're not stag but the stag bone looks really nice