I don't equate half-stops with quality necessarily but I do like half-stops on working knives. As for that useless cap lifter and without modification, in the name of science I will undertake a sample bottle of every make of bottled beer made that I have access to and see if/when I can open it. I will of course dispose of the contents properly and report back to you with my results...or die trying. lol I too like the RR CC whittler in yellow comp, it is even sturdier than my Case Seahorse which I really like using around the home. Thanks Tobias for another excellent review and follow-up on the CC II series.
I've been getting really good results with forced patinas by putting the vinegar in a mister and just misting the blade and letting it sit over night. Thanks for the good content.
I appreciate the knife chat videos Tobias. You've really turned me on to Rough Ryder knives and SMKW as well. I've got a small but growing collection of these blades! Thanks for what you do. Atb Sean
It seems when Rough Rider copies a traditional pattern they tend to build them more robust. That is not bad thing but, turns out a few issues like the cap lifter having issues. The split back whittler is really not the same as a Case Seahorse. The Rough Rider has brass a spacer between the springs. The two Seahorse Case knives I have don’t have a spacer between the springs. That is why they are such a slim built knife. The secondary blades are much slimmer too. The Case is more like a sleeve board with a slight bend in the middle. Coping blades are for trim carpenter work. They are used for trim work as a complement to a Coping saw. The short blade is handy for the final trimming of wood trim after it was back cut using a Coping saw to get a better fit. It also is used for small trim that a Coping saw can’t easily cut because of its small size. It makes a perfect complement to whittler. ✨🔎✨
Excellent review. You inspired me to test each of my RR camp knives and my RR Tailgate Trapper on a bottle of Heineken just now. All three of my older RR533 camp knives worked well. The Tailgate Trapper did the job. My Marbles camp knife also worked. However, the caplifters on CC2 and Kamp King, as you demonstrated, are poorly designed and do not work. Also, my large RR camp knife in tiger stripe has the same bad design. So that is THREE in a row that are flawed in the same way. RR needs to address this issue, for sure.
Great video, I carry the classic carbon swayback whittler every day. After I heard the way your pen blades snap, I am going to give it a good cleaning and oiling and if that doesn't work, I may have to contact SMKW. Keep up the great work, you're an inspiration
Wonderful video. You make a good point about the cap lifter, does not make sense that SMKW did not fix the cap lifter in the classic carbon model after all that feedback on the kamp king. I guess that means SMKW does not know what constant improvement means, sigh. There seems to be a pattern, like they have problems with cap lifters in general recently since their RR Reserve 004 bar back also has a terrible cap lifter design. Much appreciate you writing the name of the music at the end.
Hey Tobias, if you’re ever doing a patina again i’ve found that heating a small jar of white vinegar for a minute then dipping the blade will get you a nice dark color in a few minutes
Thanks, Some of the really old videos make me cringe when I see them. On the bright side, the really bad ones inspire me to revisit the knife or the topic.
Maybe the guys in the custom shop could get to fixing all those caplifters. Lol. I like the look of the patina. There’s a guy on RRFB who patinas with hot coffee, gets a real dark look.
I ordered the new swayback whittler just today. I don’t mind two pen blades, I don’t have to stop and sharpen as often carving detail work. I usually end up reproducing them quite a bit. I have the other carbon whittler with the yellow scales as well.
Apparently SMKW has changed their policy regarding calls complaining about QC with Rough Ryders. I recently received a bad RR and was told that they did not offer replacements and that I would have to send it back at my cost and reorder. If the first knife was deemed by SMKW to actually be defective (and not just a cosmetic problem such as a double-struck "R" on the bolster), they would refund the return shipping.
I have a yellow one that has the same problem as your first black one. They told me the same thing they told you about returning both. Currently awaiting the replacement.
I love the Whittler immensely and find it to be the perfect EDC-knife. So the yellow one and the micarta version ended up in my collection. I am pretty sure I would buy it again when RR would come up with a different cover material. Shame about the Camp Knife though, it seems to be awefully wide too. :-(
Well at least the second knife opened and closed correctly. I agree would prefer a coping blade instead of 2 pen blades. The patina turned out nice. I agree there is no excuse for a cap lifter that doesn't work.
I am pretty sure all SMKW carbon steel knives have stainless back springs, as nice as back spring patina can be it doesn't bother me than much. I still really wish I had the surplus income to go towards knives right now, that classic carbon 2 whittler is almost exactly the knife I have been wanting for quite some time.
The Seahorse Whittler’s are nice. I wish Case would crank out a few in yellow and black delrin in CV for those who want a good user at a more affordable price.
I have both. The yellow and black whittler. And I love them. I prefer them over the case seahorse whittler. The 2 small penblade are much more useful than a coping blade for whittling. IMHO! The Swayback is much more stronger then the seahorse.
Here’s my opinion on halfstops- yeah I like when a knife has halfstops, it feels good to open and close and I like the safety aspect of it, BUT, as far as “quality” goes, to put a halfstop on a blade, you have to grind down the butt end of the knife flat so it engages the backspring perpendicularly, right? So by grinding material away to make a half stop you are thus taking material away from the blade where it needs is to help with blade wobble in the open position. (The extra material giving the blade more contact between liners thus helping keep it sturdy) It’s been my experience that knives with halfstops tend to be more prone to blade wobble… what do you think?
The patina looks good but it's pretty bad when you have to start grinding on a new knife and SMKW starting this new policy on their RR 's return/replacement kinda sucks, oh well
my gripe is the awl blade. all of the Rough Ryder awls are given a fingernail knick that is cut too deeply into an already thin section of the blade; when you try to make a hole into a piece of soft wood, the blade snaps off at the knick. It sucks.
Norm from Cheers told me the carbon steel is better imo if you carve ,stainless if you are a lazy lad and I agree on your selection on the camp knives. One day I will show my collection. How come no one uses gun bluing to darken ?Seems it would be better as it protects from pitting.
I cannot Imagine how rough rider can produce a good looking pocket knife from $10 - $25. Just think about manufacture shipping and distribution cost. It is amazing to me. Obviously we give up steel quality for cost. But for me they are just fun to play with.
Another interesting look -see into the Rough Rider collection ! We all know that they are manufactured in Cina, but I wonder who really owns the company ?
I'll wind up getting the swayback whittler in the end, no doubt, but the main blade looks awfully thick. This seems like an emerging trend with Rough Ryder - a tendency to err on the excessively chunky side, which wasn't always the case. They can make a refined split backs after all, the RR155 and especially the 375 being just great for the money. The latter has a coping blade too, but both are stainless. Sigh. :-)
Alas, After 25 years I decided to call it a day on my website. I just wasn't willing to cough up another $450 to renew it. I do have the infiormation available and if I can find a more affordable way to provide the info, I will put it up again. If there is anything you were looking for,let me know and I will see if I can get you the answer.
@@dp505knives , I’m thinking I’m might try and do something with it on Facebook my other option is to see if Patreon can handle something like the page.
Half stops put shock stress on the back spring it doesn't need. If your injuring yourself with a slip joint, then you are using it wrong. So learn to use the knife properly! The seahorse whittler is excellent and one of the pen blades can be altered to be a coping blade. A nice tight working knife pattern 👍
Not a huge fan of the Micarta they used in this series would have loved something a little more old school to go with the Carbon steel like a bone handle. My half hawk was pretty poorly made but the Barlow and Canoe were pretty good. I would consider buying another camp knife if they would fix the cap lifter.
I have several I’ve carried for years. Now it might be that older ones were better built or that I’m not as rough with my knives. But I have to agree with you. Some of the newer ones look great but just aren’t making the grade.
The Marbles “Canterbury” camp knife is one of the few I regret buying. It’s a door stop. It’s so big, it looks like a clown version of a camp knife. Bigger is not always better.
Three thumbs down! Probably my most disliked video to date! WooHoo! But nobody backed up their thumbs down with a comment explaining why the thumbs down! (Except maybe zero4U) 😂
Do you mean the Rouggh Ryder 's with the "R" on the bolsters? If so they are readily available at numerous online retailers including SMKW and Chicago Knife Works. I think Heinie Haynes sells some of them in Europe. There are also several eBay retailers that stock older Rough Ryders with the R. Rough Ryder stopped putting the big R on the bolster about 2 years ago, but there are plenty still out there.
The CC2 series are definitely lesser quality than the first in yellow composition. The single blade half-hawk I have is very poorly made . It was not sharp, has gapping and the micarta handles are already starting to curl up.
I prefer the yellow comp. I don’t know why but I’m just not crazy with how the black micarta looks and feels. I like it more in the RRR series. That micarta looks and feels much better.
see also: ua-cam.com/video/5_b2LaNNsGo/v-deo.html
I don't equate half-stops with quality necessarily but I do like half-stops on working knives. As for that useless cap lifter and without modification, in the name of science I will undertake a sample bottle of every make of bottled beer made that I have access to and see if/when I can open it. I will of course dispose of the contents properly and report back to you with my results...or die trying. lol
I too like the RR CC whittler in yellow comp, it is even sturdier than my Case Seahorse which I really like using around the home. Thanks Tobias for another excellent review and follow-up on the CC II series.
I've been getting really good results with forced patinas by putting the vinegar in a mister and just misting the blade and letting it sit over night. Thanks for the good content.
I pity the fool who puts a non functional cap lifter on Tobias's camp knife.
I appreciate the knife chat videos Tobias. You've really turned me on to Rough Ryder knives and SMKW as well. I've got a small but growing collection of these blades! Thanks for what you do. Atb Sean
I thoroughly enjoyed the magazine style of this episode. Thank you. And nice job with the white vinegar. What a result.
It seems when Rough Rider copies a traditional pattern they tend to build them more robust. That is not bad thing but, turns out a few issues like the cap lifter having issues. The split back whittler is really not the same as a Case Seahorse. The Rough Rider has brass a spacer between the springs. The two Seahorse Case knives I have don’t have a spacer between the springs. That is why they are such a slim built knife. The secondary blades are much slimmer too. The Case is more like a sleeve board with a slight bend in the middle. Coping blades are for trim carpenter work. They are used for trim work as a complement to a Coping saw. The short blade is handy for the final trimming of wood trim after it was back cut using a Coping saw to get a better fit. It also is used for small trim that a Coping saw can’t easily cut because of its small size. It makes a perfect complement to whittler. ✨🔎✨
I love the new intro song. I love the damn honesty too. Keep up the good work sir. It's not a failure it's one of a kind 👍🏽
Excellent review. You inspired me to test each of my RR camp knives and my RR Tailgate Trapper on a bottle of Heineken just now. All three of my older RR533 camp knives worked well. The Tailgate Trapper did the job. My Marbles camp knife also worked. However, the caplifters on CC2 and Kamp King, as you demonstrated, are poorly designed and do not work. Also, my large RR camp knife in tiger stripe has the same bad design. So that is THREE in a row that are flawed in the same way. RR needs to address this issue, for sure.
Will be interesting to see how the cap lifter turns out after grinding
Great video, I carry the classic carbon swayback whittler every day. After I heard the way your pen blades snap, I am going to give it a good cleaning and oiling and if that doesn't work, I may have to contact SMKW. Keep up the great work, you're an inspiration
Wonderful video. You make a good point about the cap lifter, does not make sense that SMKW did not fix the cap lifter in the classic carbon model after all that feedback on the kamp king. I guess that means SMKW does not know what constant improvement means, sigh. There seems to be a pattern, like they have problems with cap lifters in general recently since their RR Reserve 004 bar back also has a terrible cap lifter design. Much appreciate you writing the name of the music at the end.
Them whitler knives look really well put to gether.nice vid thank you.atb paddy 👍
About the patina, you can also use mostard. Put it on, let it sit and wipe off. Also an easy way to create a pattern on your blades.
Great video Tobias!! I just got the stockman in from this series, and will be doing a video on it in the future. Thanks!!
Hey Tobias, if you’re ever doing a patina again i’ve found that heating a small jar of white vinegar for a minute then dipping the blade will get you a nice dark color in a few minutes
Thanks, for the good word on the RR 533, really nice camp knife.
I teally like the older ones (533) better than the newer ones they came out with.
Another great video, Tobias. Enjoying your extensive back-catalogue.
Thanks, Some of the really old videos make me cringe when I see them. On the bright side, the really bad ones inspire me to revisit the knife or the topic.
Maybe the guys in the custom shop could get to fixing all those caplifters. Lol. I like the look of the patina. There’s a guy on RRFB who patinas with hot coffee, gets a real dark look.
I ordered the new swayback whittler just today. I don’t mind two pen blades, I don’t have to stop and sharpen as often carving detail work. I usually end up reproducing them quite a bit. I have the other carbon whittler with the yellow scales as well.
Apparently SMKW has changed their policy regarding calls complaining about QC with Rough Ryders. I recently received a bad RR and was told that they did not offer replacements and that I would have to send it back at my cost and reorder. If the first knife was deemed by SMKW to actually be defective (and not just a cosmetic problem such as a double-struck "R" on the bolster), they would refund the return shipping.
Oh oh, that does not sound good.
Not surprising. I love RR’s, but a decent percentage of them have cosmetic flaws. They’re cheap, so you just take your chances.
I have a yellow one that has the same problem as your first black one. They told me the same thing they told you about returning both. Currently awaiting the replacement.
I've become very leery of current Rough Ryder production. I think they are having a bit of QC issue. Hopefully it'll bounce back.
@@KnifeChatswithTobias the replacement was better and acceptable imo but still the main blade wasn't centered as good as the other 2 colors I got.
I love the Whittler immensely and find it to be the perfect EDC-knife. So the yellow one and the micarta version ended up in my collection. I am pretty sure I would buy it again when RR would come up with a different cover material. Shame about the Camp Knife though, it seems to be awefully wide too. :-(
Well at least the second knife opened and closed correctly. I agree would prefer a coping blade instead of 2 pen blades. The patina turned out nice.
I agree there is no excuse for a cap lifter that doesn't work.
I am pretty sure all SMKW carbon steel knives have stainless back springs, as nice as back spring patina can be it doesn't bother me than much. I still really wish I had the surplus income to go towards knives right now, that classic carbon 2 whittler is almost exactly the knife I have been wanting for quite some time.
I have the Whittler too, i wish it had small coping blade in place of one of the pen blades.
I'll have to seek out a Case, i like the slimmer handle.
The Seahorse Whittler’s are nice. I wish Case would crank out a few in yellow and black delrin in CV for those who want a good user at a more affordable price.
I have both. The yellow and black whittler. And I love them. I prefer them over the case seahorse whittler. The 2 small penblade are much more useful than a coping blade for whittling. IMHO! The Swayback is much more stronger then the seahorse.
I've never had a Chinese beer, but I'm guessing their bottles have tiny little caps. lol That cap lifter rant was awesome, buddy. Cheers.
Almost bought one of those scout knives. Glad I picked up the classic carbon II Barlow instead.
Here’s my opinion on halfstops- yeah I like when a knife has halfstops, it feels good to open and close and I like the safety aspect of it, BUT, as far as “quality” goes, to put a halfstop on a blade, you have to grind down the butt end of the knife flat so it engages the backspring perpendicularly, right? So by grinding material away to make a half stop you are thus taking material away from the blade where it needs is to help with blade wobble in the open position. (The extra material giving the blade more contact between liners thus helping keep it sturdy) It’s been my experience that knives with halfstops tend to be more prone to blade wobble… what do you think?
The patina looks good but it's pretty bad when you have to start grinding on a new knife and SMKW starting this new policy on their RR 's return/replacement kinda sucks, oh well
Carbon steel looks great! Well done
Glad you like it!
my gripe is the awl blade.
all of the Rough Ryder awls are given a fingernail knick that is cut too deeply into an already thin section of the blade; when you try to make a hole into a piece of soft wood, the blade snaps off at the knick. It sucks.
This is a fair complaint. Especially as it doesn't need to be that deep. The match strike also adds to the issue.
Norm from Cheers told me the carbon steel is better imo if you carve ,stainless if you are a lazy lad and I agree on your selection on the camp knives. One day I will show my collection. How come no one uses gun bluing to darken ?Seems it would be better as it protects from pitting.
I cannot Imagine how rough rider can produce a good looking pocket knife from $10 - $25. Just think about manufacture shipping and distribution cost. It is amazing to me. Obviously we give up steel quality for cost. But for me they are just fun to play with.
Slave labor.
The tiger stripe camp knife looks different than this one . Are you going to grab it ? Its twice the price though .
I have it. I’ll be doing a review soon.
Another interesting look -see into the Rough Rider collection !
We all know that they are manufactured in Cina, but I wonder who really owns the company ?
What is the difference between Classic Carbon and Classic Carbon 2? I looked on SMKW and they have the same specs.
Calssic Carbon comes with Yellow Comp handles and Classic Carbon 2 has Black Micarta Handles.
@@KnifeChatswithTobias ah ok.
I'll wind up getting the swayback whittler in the end, no doubt, but the main blade looks awfully thick. This seems like an emerging trend with Rough Ryder - a tendency to err on the excessively chunky side, which wasn't always the case. They can make a refined split backs after all, the RR155 and especially the 375 being just great for the money. The latter has a coping blade too, but both are stainless. Sigh. :-)
I find the action on a knife without half stops is far more satisfying.
I do prefer it on the screwdriver for increased leverage, though.
I modified the cap lifter myself and have primarily shifted my collection purchases toward CASE. Is your Pocket Guide to Knives still Available?
Alas, After 25 years I decided to call it a day on my website. I just wasn't willing to cough up another $450 to renew it. I do have the infiormation available and if I can find a more affordable way to provide the info, I will put it up again. If there is anything you were looking for,let me know and I will see if I can get you the answer.
@@KnifeChatswithTobias the section of who owns who was a good resource. I have your address, I may send you a letter in the near future with proposal.
@@KnifeChatswithTobias I would be interested in this too. How long is it? Cost when available?
@@dp505knives , I’m thinking I’m might try and do something with it on Facebook my other option is to see if Patreon can handle something like the page.
I like the white one the best.
Half stops put shock stress on the back spring it doesn't need. If your injuring yourself with a slip joint, then you are using it wrong. So learn to use the knife properly!
The seahorse whittler is excellent and one of the pen blades can be altered to be a coping blade. A nice tight working knife pattern 👍
damn toby is made about them cap lifter i havent heard him like that before, but h has a serious point, ii love this channel
Not a huge fan of the Micarta they used in this series would have loved something a little more old school to go with the Carbon steel like a bone handle. My half hawk was pretty poorly made but the Barlow and Canoe were pretty good. I would consider buying another camp knife if they would fix the cap lifter.
I stopped carrying rough ryder knives.
I learned they are for collecting not using, I have 3 rough ryders that are broken from using.
I have several I’ve carried for years. Now it might be that older ones were better built or that I’m not as rough with my knives. But I have to agree with you. Some of the newer ones look great but just aren’t making the grade.
Morale of the story... Go camping with canned beer!😂
I’m a “FlaschenKinder” all the way. I want my beer from a glass bottle or a proper Stein.
Tobias is the Canterbury camp knife Bottle opener good?
I thought it was but now I’m going to have to double check it. I’ll let you know.
Okay I just checked it again. It works but it is a little tricky. You have to get it lined up
Perfectly with one of the points of the crown.
@@KnifeChatswithTobias So barely.
The Marbles “Canterbury” camp knife is one of the few I regret buying. It’s a door stop. It’s so big, it looks like a clown version of a camp knife. Bigger is not always better.
Great video Tobias.
kids yellow mustard works fine as a patina fixer.
half stops are nothing but the tang squared up lol its not difficult to make but i do like having it
I love camp knives but i doubt any will ever be made that are better than my 20 yo edc sak boy scout huntsman.
Maybe Chinese bottle caps have a different profile! Kidding, of course.
Well it’s looking like I’m going to throw the towel in with rough ryder knives!!!!!!!!
Naw, Pete, say it ain’t so!
@@skcamerican hey SU how are ya!!!!
@@jerseyknifeguy6382 Hanging in there, Pete. You? So you going to quit collecting RRs? I don’t believe it.
They don’t want to change the big R on the bolster!!!!! They aren’t listening to the customer I may have to throw the towel in!!!!!!!
It’s happening soon. Even Brian Wilhoite has come out and said the days of Big R are numbered.
I agree - ugly with a capital U.
Three thumbs down! Probably my most disliked video to date! WooHoo! But nobody backed up their thumbs down with a comment explaining why the thumbs down! (Except maybe zero4U) 😂
How can I purchase r knives?
Do you mean the Rouggh Ryder 's with the "R" on the bolsters? If so they are readily available at numerous online retailers including SMKW and Chicago Knife Works. I think Heinie Haynes sells some of them in Europe. There are also several eBay retailers that stock older Rough Ryders with the R. Rough Ryder stopped putting the big R on the bolster about 2 years ago, but there are plenty still out there.
The CC2 series are definitely lesser quality than the first in yellow composition.
The single blade half-hawk I have is very poorly made .
It was not sharp, has gapping and the micarta handles are already starting to curl up.
A knife with half stops is not a guarantee to quality it is only a guarantee that it has half stops.
Uhoh....the cap lifter isnt good!!! Do like the series otherwise!!!
I prefer the yellow comp. I don’t know why but I’m just not crazy with how the black micarta looks and feels. I like it more in the RRR series. That micarta looks and feels much better.
Caplifters that can't lift a cap, hmm how to call them? Non-caplifters? Stupid? Thank you for the review Tobias.
👍👍🤠🤠
You went through the whole video without even showing us that the caplifter not working!
I have another video of it not working on the Kamp King. They still haven’t fixed it.
see the video where the cap lifter was tested: ua-cam.com/video/5_b2LaNNsGo/v-deo.html
@@KnifeChatswithTobias Got it. Thanks for taking the time to refer me to it.
@@tyroneshoelaces9742 , no problem. Thanks for pointing out that I didn’t show attempts at using it.
Just say no to rough ryder knives
Thanks