Rough Ryder Classic Carbon pocketknives

[Briar Lee]

Very nice knives, and I completely understand the attraction to well made utilitarian devices. These are very nice. But as to your puzzlement "the Chinese have figured out a way to sell some article related to knives at such a low price I cannot see how it’s possible", I'm pretty sure that you know the answer. It's why I now avoid, whenever possible, buying any Chinese products. I'm just glad that I bought those Chinese counterfeit DuPont lighters already!

The Sheffield England knife trade died before I was born. There is little left of it in Soliningin and Seki City. Case probably makes the most qualify folders on earth in Lancaster Pennsylvania.

I have my grandfather’s last Hammer Brand knife. It has a stamped bolster, and hollow plastic handles. Even Pakistan knives are better today.

I dug out a large JP Miller custom skinner I bought for $20 in 1993 that would cost at least $500 to replace today, and finally sharpened it to a razor’s edge from pommel to tip with my $15 Chinese Diamond rod sharpener. Most of Miller knives are 1095 but this one is some kind of incredibly hard tool steel, likely D2.

An Englishman, a German, a Japanese or an American could make the new higher end Chinese cutlery. They used to.

But there’s really no market for it at the price they had to charge.

These gadgets would not get made, except in China.

And thy have to pay more to the craftsman who make these. That part of human nature never changes.

 

[RustiePyles CPG]

My Rough Rider Tortoise shell Barlow.

 

[Briar Lee]

The modern pocketknife is like the modern pen, watch, pipe, and lighter in that their basic form and function haven’t changed in a century and fifty or sixty years ago most men carried them and now it’s a rarity a man has a good pen, a ticking watch, a refillable lighter, or a good sharp pocketknife on his person.

They also were victims of a race to the bottom.

Excellent retractable pens, pocketknives, watches and lighters sell for a trifle today. But few buy them and fewer yet carry them.

My $15 RR Barlow arrived today and I’m certain my father never in his life owned a better Barlow. The blades are heavier. Every conceivable bell and whistle that can be put on a Barlow is on my new knife, right down the gimped bolsters to minimize pocket wear and one bolster embossed so you can know which side is up in the dark.

The only concession to economy is the use of solid yellow delrin for the scales.

Since I was eight years old, the prime purpose of carrying a “Sure Enough Geniune Barlow” is to show it off to a friend.

Wait until my buddy JC sees my new Barlow.

 

[bullet08]

Never buy a CCP made item when there is an alternative. Why? Simple. They understand capitalism better than anyone. Only way to make sure they are not a threat to anyone is to stop buying their good. When they are at mercy from capitalism, they will become more willing to play nice.

 

[Briar Lee]

Never buy a CCP made item when there is an alternative. Why? Simple. They understand capitalism better than anyone. Only way to make sure they are not a threat to anyone is to stop buying their good. When they are at mercy from capitalism, they will become more willing to play nice.

True story time

About thirty or so years ago high dollar figurines were popular. In our county was an artistic lady named Effner who had the talent to make molds where there were angels and children of breathtaking beauty.

She got a bank loan and set up a doll factory making figurines that sold then for many hundreds of dollars. Most of her employees were related to her.

Her extended family soon began to build new houses and buy expensive cars and were living large, until the fad of five hundred dollar ceramic dolls seemed to fade.

Her son in law, the manager of the enterprise, flew to Taiwan and took along some of her molds, about twenty years ago. He told me their cost to make a doll fell from an average of about a hundred dollars or more for some dolls, to under ten dollars for better detailed dolls.

And he said if he’d been brave enough to do business on mainland China the cost would have been much less, but the odds of having the product counterfeited higher, and it was overall too scary for him to deal with the mainland Chinese factories.

Everybody except him and his mother in law had to find other jobs.

And it seems that eventually the price of Effner dolls has became a sort of commodity.



Those dolls are pure luxuries, sort of like a bragging rights fancy Barlow knife.

For what ever reason the Chinese are the only affordable makers of intricately hand made trinkets on earth.

But as my friend claimed, while the Chinese are the most careful and artistic workers on the planet they never in a million years could make the mold.

 

[captpat]

For my knives it's about the steel, I've had too many knives that looked good but the blade steel was crap. @Briar Lee please come back and update us on how the knife is holding up in everyday use -- in a year or so

 

[Briar Lee]

For my knives it's about the steel, I've had too many knives that looked good but the blade steel was crap. @Briar Lee please come back and update us on how the knife is holding up in everyday use -- in a year or so

The ones I carry won’t get hardly any use.

My son uses the one in the original post like a shovel.

He’s used it hard for a week, and last night I tried to sharpen it, and I must say it was still shaving sharp.

We’ll see how it goes.

 

[Briar Lee]

About all pocketknife steels.

Fifty years ago almost every quality pocketknife was made in Germany or the USA of high carbon (1095) steel. The Japanese made cheap ones of 440 stainless.

440A used to be the benchmark cheap stainless. 440B was good enough Randall used it, 440C was the top end, mostly from custom makers and Buck.

German knives are so expensive you seldom see one, but they’ll still be of something approximating 440C.

Most quality American made stainless knives have been 420 HC steel for thirty or forty years.

Rough Ryder and all the other bargain Chinese knives start with 440A, and this Classic Carbon series is a Japanese steel (where made now who knows) called T-10 that was made for Japanese traditional swords. It’s supposed to be a little better than 1095 high carbon steel, and the blades are obviously quite a bit thicker.

They all work.

Even the bottom of the gas station barrel Pakistan knives are useable, today.

When I was in college the Paki knifes were so soft they didn’t sharpen.

 

[bullet08]

True story time

About thirty or so years ago high dollar figurines were popular. In our county was an artistic lady named Effner who had the talent to make molds where there were angels and children of breathtaking beauty.

She got a bank loan and set up a doll factory making figurines that sold then for many hundreds of dollars. Most of her employees were related to her.

Her extended family soon began to build new houses and buy expensive cars and were living large, until the fad of five hundred dollar ceramic dolls seemed to fade.

Her son in law, the manager of the enterprise, flew to Taiwan and took along some of her molds, about twenty years ago. He told me their cost to make a doll fell from an average of about a hundred dollars or more for some dolls, to under ten dollars for better detailed dolls.

And he said if he’d been brave enough to do business on mainland China the cost would have been much less, but the odds of having the product counterfeited higher, and it was overall too scary for him to deal with the mainland Chinese factories.

Everybody except him and his mother in law had to find other jobs.

And it seems that eventually the price of Effner dolls has became a sort of commodity.

View attachment 249339

Those dolls are pure luxuries, sort of like a bragging rights fancy Barlow knife.

For what ever reason the Chinese are the only affordable makers of intricately hand made trinkets on earth.

But as my friend claimed, while the Chinese are the most careful and artistic workers on the planet they never in a million years could make the mold.

See, the point of this story is, he saved his ass and everyone lost job. Just like US textile industry. So who won? At least it wasn't CCP in this case.

Unlike your friend, a lot of people will take their business to mainland China. We give up jobs, CCP make money, CCP use that money to develop and mass produce new weapons. Threaten South China sea.. See where this is going? Scary thing is, this admin isn't doing anything about it.

Sure there are things we have to have and no one makes them any more but CCP slave workers. But a pocket knife? And as a "show off"? Some things just don't make much sense. May I suggest some GEC knives? That's show off. Not $20 enemy's trinkets.

 

[Briar Lee]

More Chicom Deviltry

The Chinese are so good at making small, intricate luxury goods the majority of Mont Blanc pens for sale today are counterfeits.

Last year I paid $20 for a “Rollerball Lacquer Luxury Pen” and after a month or so this perfect counterfeit of a JFK Mont Blanc arrived. Nothing at all on the eBay advertisement had any Mont Blanc trademarks, and this was sold as a generic pen.





If I didn’t own a couple of known genuine thirty year old Mont Blanc pens these would not be detectable as fakes.

The originals have a more subdued high dollar glow instead of a glossy shine.

In other words, the Chinese spend more time polishing the counterfeits.

 

[Briar Lee]

Today I got in the mail a $22 Cinnamon Bone Classic Carbon Large Cotton Sampler that might just be the neatest, coolest, and fanciest pocketknife I’ve ever owned. If this were a custom it would fetch hundreds of dollars. There is not a fault anywhere to this trinket. It is flawless in every way.

Now if I just had some cotton to sample.



How Dey Do Dat, for $22?

This is a large piece of pocket jewelry that came razor sharp.

 

[SBC]

I've found the RR slipjoints to punch above their weight, in the past (although a canoe I got my son was a nailbreaker), but I'd not seen this Classic Carbon line.

You prompted me to check what the guys over at BladeForums are saying, and sure enough, they're confirming your opinion.

I'm about to do a little early Christmas shopping and pick up a handful of these as gifts. Thanks for the heads up!

 

[Briar Lee]

I've found the RR slipjoints to punch above their weight, in the past (although a canoe I got my son was a nailbreaker), but I'd not seen this Classic Carbon line.

You prompted me to check what the guys over at BladeForums are saying, and sure enough, they're confirming your opinion.

I'm about to do a little early Christmas shopping and pick up a handful of these as gifts. Thanks for the heads up!

I’d read about Cotton Samplers for forty some years and never actually saw a one.

The regular stainless 440A Rough Ryder Cotton Sampler is small. This is a moose. You could use it, but it’s made to say Lookit my Cotton Sampler.

These come in the nicest flapped magnet closure knife chest sleeved boxes I’ve ever seen any knife coms in.


Look at all the super high dollar little details on mine:

 

[Briar Lee]

Smokey Mountain might wind up the last knife maker on earth.

As a kid I used to buy $1.49 fishing knifes branded Imperial as I remember.

The bottle opener made the stainless blade weak, it was hard to sharpen them, and the little whetstone to sharpen hooks on the side fell out quickly.

But look how Rough Ryder has improved the fish knife, with glow in the dark handles, full length hook sharpener, magnetic disgorger, and modern 440 stainless. Only $18.

 

[Briar Lee]

My final Classic Carbon RR came today.

It’s a medium stockman with a Sowbelly shaped handle.

Only $18. This knife would have cost almost that fifty years ago from Case, and this one has thicker blades and the new one has higher polish and better detailed workmanship.

 

[Briar Lee]

A real life use report on Classic Carbon knives.

My annex office building flooded, and my wife ordered two ancient sections of old carpet to forever begone from her sight and presence.

These were two huge end pieces that were maybe 16 by 12 feet each, good heavy carpet, and utterly soaked.

My son and I were trying to roll up the first piece and it was ungodly heavy.

He asked do you have a pocket knife?

I replied I do but I don’t think it will cut all that heavy stuff.

I let him use my RR Classic Carbon Canoe, the big clip blade. It was exactly as it came from the box.

Geezus.

It was like using a zipper. He cut up both sections into manageable size pieces.

And, it’s still sharp.

 

[sablebrush52]

​

 

[SBC]

T10 is good steel. Similar to the most classic carbon, 1095, but may hold an edge a tad better, and may be a tad tougher.

Of course it's all in what you want. Some guys want a steel that you can hardly dull, like D2, or even the 440s, but obviously there's a direct inverse correlation between edge retention and ease of sharpening. They are two sides of the same coin. If you can hardly dull it, then you can hardly sharpen it.

1095, T10, and even 420HC (which Case markets as TruSharp) all strike a preferred balance between ease of sharpening and edge retention.

I recently got in a bunch of these Classic Carbon Rough Ryders to give away (a couple canoes, a couple stockmen, a trapper, and a number of others), and although I haven't used any, I sure am pleased with the steel, and am mostly pleased with the fit and finish.

The only critique that I could make to fit and finish is that the blade centering could be better in a few of them. Only one of the bunch is perfectly centered, but several are close enough to not be touching the sides, which is good enough for me. A few of them are touching the sides, but even they are acceptable for the price because they are not pressing hard against the sides. What I really don't want is a blade fitted with pressure against the side, and none of these are that bad.

Definitely recommended for the price. Blade centering notwithstanding, you can't get steel this good at this price anywhere else.

 

[troutface]

I try to avoid Chinese goods, but my curiosity got the better of me and I just ordered a stockman.

 

[mawnansmiff]

The Sheffield England knife trade died before I was born

What utter claptrap.

Pocket and penknives are still being made in Sheffield. Because you aren't aware of them doesn't mean they don't exist.

I have a very large collection of old Sheffield pocket knives (Sheffield is my home city) and in my pocket I have a vintage (19th c) Taylor's 'Eye Witness' brand 2 blader and the company are still hand forging pocket knives....as are several other manufacturers.

Pocket Knives - Taylor's Eye Witness - Brands

taylors-eye-witness.co.uk

Pocket Knives Made by Arthur Wright of Sheffield | SteelCityCutlery.com

Pocket Knives Made in Sheffield at Arthur Wright's workshop in carbon steel. Pocket knife making at its best.

www.steelcitycutlery.com

Jay.