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Featured Comment by Tobias Gibson on April 18, 2012 at 10:42

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.

Comment by Robert Burris on April 18, 2012 at 8:09

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.

Comment by robert benton on April 17, 2012 at 19:41

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.

Comment by Robert Burris on April 16, 2012 at 13:06

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.

Moderator Comment by J.J. Smith III on April 16, 2012 at 12:09

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? 

Featured Comment by Tobias Gibson on April 16, 2012 at 10:24

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.

Moderator Comment by J.J. Smith III on April 16, 2012 at 10:00

"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.

Moderator Comment by J.J. Smith III on April 16, 2012 at 9:51

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.

Featured Comment by Tobias Gibson on April 15, 2012 at 19:59

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

Moderator Comment by J.J. Smith III on April 15, 2012 at 19:27

Found this on YouTube.  Carver talking abour Rough Rider knives.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=K5KaeWq5w4U&feature=relmfu

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