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Rough Riders and other SMKW House Brands

When the Combat Ready Knives came out by SMKW I thought "Those would be the Tactical Rough Rider's if Rough Rider made tacticals.

This got me thinking. Perhaps we should have a discussions where we could discuss other SMKW house brands. I'm not sure there would be enough traffic to sustain an separate group but this might increase traffic to this group.

Smoky Mountain Knife Works House Brands include:

American Hunter

Benchmark

BW Custom (sort of, Brian Wilhoite owns it and he works there)

Cannon Cat’s Eye

Chief

Colt

Colonel Coon

Combat Ready Knives

Cripple Creek

Fox –N-Hound

Indian Head

Marbles

Mykel Hawke (sort of, His knives are made by SMKW)

Ole Smokey

Sawmill Cutlery

Wild Boar

Tags: American, BW, Benchmark, Boar, Cannon, Cat’s, Chief, Colonel, Colt, Combat, More…

5 members like this

Replies to This Discussion

Permalink Reply by Billy Oneale on June 12, 2013 at 21:58

Well, I have at least one by all those except, Combat Ready, ole smoky and Sawmill Cutlery. The only thing I have by Mykle Hawke is a couple of survival cards.

Permalink Reply by Chuck Parham on June 13, 2013 at 5:43

Awesome! Thanks for compiling this list Tobias! It's always nice to know where things come from and what company may own a particular brand, especially in today's markets. I'll by American, Japanese, Chinese, England, Germany, or even B.F.E. as long as it is a well made product. A great warranty as those offered by Rough Rider, Essee, and a few others also is a consideration in buying a product. I won't by junk, even American made junk. That only serves to subsidize shoddy workmanship and corporate greed. There are lots of well made knives, you just have to know what to look for. Word of mouth is not only the best advertising but also the quickest way to kill a bad product or company. I have knives made by a lot of the major manufacturers. I also have a few pieces of junk that I bought when first contracting the dreaded knife collector syndrome. I keep them as not only a reminder but they are also excellent teaching tools when introducing someone to knives and collecting.

There are so many knives on the market and most people have no idea where they come from or who carries them. Are these companies self owned? Are they a division of another brand? Are they owned by a third party and contract them out? To many knives and so little information!

Tobias, you are a great source of information. I have recently been doing and cataloging my results as well as archiving your info to help me become better informed to different apsects and subjects of knives and collecting. I enjoy sharing my knowledge with others as I'm sure you do. Thanks for your tireless efforts to educate the rest of us who don't have a lot of experience....yet.

Permalink Reply by Steve Hanner on June 13, 2013 at 8:26

Recently, I was "fortunate" enough to get a Colt stockman knife. Well its my first one..to be honest, I never tried the brand and had no Colts in my collection. Much to my surprise, It is a really great knife..bone handled, some excellent bolster features(ringed, pinched, slanted) Designed not just a 3 blade but also with a leather punch and a round shield with a really great picture of a young colt rearing up. And get this.. comes in a cool box with a magnet that closes and features a picture of Sam Colt on the inside. Not bad for the money!

Permalink Reply by Steve Hanner on June 13, 2013 at 9:44

One other thought I had..I wonder if SMKW could allow Reviews of knives that people buy right on the website? I was thinking kind of like Amazon. I know this opens a up the proverbial can o' worms they may not want but it might be a way to comment on everything you get that might be theirs..just thinking out loud...again...

Permalink Reply by Tobias Gibson on June 13, 2013 at 10:36

I also wish they did this. I could see the need for a few safe guards, such as "Verified SMKW Purchase" and the right to pull articles that slam a product for country of origin or type of blade steel , especially if that is part of the product description.

And hey, if they don't want to allow reviews, they should at least let us build a wish list so we can point family members at it when they say "what do you want for Father's Day/Christmas/your birthday/Sadie Hawkins Day/etc.

Permalink Reply by Steve Hanner on June 13, 2013 at 14:20

Ok How about "Baby Steps" I know there is a Facebook like, but what about other Social media Like Twitter or even better, just a plain ol' "like" right on the SMKW Web site? That way at least, if you have purchased a Yellow composition Rough Rider Stockman that you enjoy, you can go to the website and give it a thumbs up!

I would prefer reviews too... there can be a lot of good information from just the average user or collector.

Tobias Gibson said:

I also wish they did this. I could see the need for a few safe guards, such as "Verified SMKW Purchase" and the right to pull articles that slam a product for country of origin or type of blade steel , especially if that is part of the product description.

And hey, if they don't want to allow reviews, they should at least let us build a wish list so we can point family members at it when they say "what do you want for Father's Day/Christmas/your birthday/Sadie Hawkins Day/etc.

Permalink Reply by Jan Carter on June 13, 2013 at 15:52

How about this option for reviews, we do them here and share to Facebook :)

I like the wish list idea, Tobias have you spoken to anyone about incorporating that?

About the list. Aren't some Colonel Coon's made by Queen? Are they contracted out to Queen by SMKW? Do they contract any more of the house brands out?

Permalink Reply by Tobias Gibson on June 13, 2013 at 16:15

Yes SMKW Colonel Coon's were made by Queen. I assume this is still happening. I'm sure the Queen folks will chime in if I'm wrong. As for the other USA made SMKW brands. From what I know/understand:

1) Case/Colt knives: obviously by Case.

2) USA made BlackJacks. Even when SMKW owned the BlackJack TM the knives were made by KnifeWare, the current maker.

3) USA Benchmark balisongs: Bear & Son.

4 USA American Hunter: Silver Stag

5) Cripple Creek: I'm pretty certain they were also a Queen product but may have been GEC.

SMKW house brand knives that are made in El Salvador are made under contract by Condor. (mostly Machetes and large fixed blades)

Permalink Reply by Steve Hanner on June 13, 2013 at 17:13

They showed American Hunter on the show. I did not know too much about them but the knife, a fixed blade, as I remember was quite attractive!

Permalink Reply by Tobias Gibson on June 13, 2013 at 21:19

If the American Hunter is under $30 assume it is made in Pakistan or China. If it is over $70 it is probably American made.

Permalink Reply by Billy Oneale on June 13, 2013 at 22:12

I have 2 Cripple Creeks that were made by GEC instead of Queen. The 2 or 3 American Hunters that I have are made in Pakistan and are the cheaper ones.

Permalink Reply by Tobias Gibson on June 14, 2013 at 6:18

Billy your Cripple Creeks pretty much confirms then that they are a GEC product and not Queen. Thanks for the info, I'll update my notes.