u/akiva23

Rough Rider Blue Dragon Barlow and a Frost White Smooth Bone Trapper.

The Barlow looks awesome. Really nice action for a budget slippy. Snappy but not as loud as my modern slip joints from RR. The bolsters on my specific example were a little bit different lengths between the front and back. Not massively different but big enough to notice. The seller i got it from already got a replacement in the mail so fingers crossed the bolsters are better while maintaining the otherwise excellent fit and finish. Transitions are smooth everywhere. Spring sits flush in all positions. Center pin is a little proud but in an intentional way. They're flush everywhere else.

For the trapper i have to say not too shabby at all either. Some people like to give Frost shit and I myself didn't really really like any of the modern knives I've owned from them but their traditionals are very very decent. Action isn't as snappy as the RR. In fact, going from half stop to fully open, its a bit lazy especially on the spey blade. It has gotten a bit better since unboxing so suspect it will continue to improve as it breaks in but i don't expect it to ever be a walk and talk monster.

Otherwise the fit and finish everywhere else are very close to perfect. Comparable to the RR though slightly off center unlike the RR. It's also flush everywhere and the smallest of gaps between the spring and liner near the pivots. Barely noticeable..but it does let light through. I did win this one from a giveaway though so i really can't complain. Most importantly the bone on my example is GORGEOUS. I don't know if they're all like this but mine has a really good smattering of speckles from the bone's pores that doesn't really come through on the photos as well as I'd like.

I actually won it from a whatnot giveaway a while back and have just been putting it. I'm just going to keep hitting it with mineral oil and scrubbing it with some aluminum foil for now just to remove the bulk of the rust because thats what i have on hand.

The action actually isnt as bad as i was expecting so i think it should clean up nice. Any other common household products you guys recommend? I hear a paste of baking soda works pretty well. I also have access to Dremel so i can hit it with a wire wheel but i don't want to be too hard on the cheap old plastic scales.

Also, whats the best way to get on that channel the blades sit in? I can probably flatten the foil to get in there but is that really the best way? And near the pivots between the blades and liners? That might be too tight for even the foil.

I don't have much other information on the knife so if anyone can ID it too that would be great. It has a tang stamp on the pen blade that says USA but i can't tell if there are any others under the rust currently

Rough Rider Zombie Nick Elephant Toe. It's my first toe knife. I've actually been waiting for Rough Rider's Cinnamon Bone Fish to come back in stock but i saw this and couldn't resist the novelty of it. I'm pretty sure it's also out of production so i didn't want to miss out if i had regrets later and i got it for a decent price.

The action on the small blade was fine out of the box but honestly pretty bad on the main blade. It felt pretty stiff and gritty. I've been cleaning and oiling it and it's slowly getting better. Actually decent now but still not that glassy smoothness like my other slip joints. I suspect it has something to do with that coating wearing away as it breaks in and gunking up the pivot.

Still a really cool novelty. Love the spear points. Love the fat chonkiness. Thonks open and shut despite the gritty action. Cute shield. Impossible to lose. It's got some charm and it just makes me more excited for when i can grab a toe knife with better fit and finish. Oh only other issue is the fatness means it doesn't play nicely with the slots in my knife case. I do have a couple other large knives like my ad-15 so maybe its time i get a seperate case for my "fat boys"

Like the title said, i got this last week because I thought it was real classy looking for such a cheap knife. Im sure the steel is nothing to write home about (probably 440a) and the handles are just some sort of synthetic but they still feel real nice and smooth. Reminds me of the bakelite they used to make everything out of in the 70's.

I'm super impressed by the overall fit and finish for such a cheap knife though. Noticably frittier action than my other slippies but still pretty smooth and im comparing it to ones that run between 30 and 60 bucks. The backspring has very very minor stepping in the closed position but perfectly flush when open with zero gapping. Perfectly flush on the pins and shield too and the brass and black colorway just looks so classy.

Would recommend if you're into or interested in getting into slip joints or sod buster patterns but want to give it a try before spending Case money on one. Or if you just need a couple more bucks to hit free shipping somewhere. Even came wrapped in parchment paper which is a nice touch for an ultra budget.

Edit: i double checked Amazon and according to them the steel is actually 7cr17. A little nicer than 440a IMO. Also i forgot to mention there is a small amount of side to side wiggle but its very minor and nothing im going to complain about for a 12 dollar slipjoint. It also came perfectly centered but i don't know if they're all like that. Walk and talk is good and snappy

TLDR: am i stinky?

I typically wax or oil my micarta because i prefer that saturated look. One day one of the sides got sucked dry. Not gradually over time like i expected. Not a huge deal because im just gonna rewax it but still kind of surprising.

My best guess is i keep it in my coin pocket and thats the side i keep against my leg. Must also have experienced some sweat from the summer heat i guess.

I got my first Rosecrafts a few weeks ago (the loosahatchie jacks). And i absolutely adore them. Sent roscraft an email just to tell them how happy i was and how beautiful i found the Dapper jigging. Also mentioned how I would like to see it on the Beaver Creek or Elk River because i love sheeps feet.

This was the response i got.

These are the budget versions of the stormcutters EDCGripper put out.

Flat ground 14c28n drops shut and some nice little touches for a budget blade. Notably the titanium clip and mirror polished liners with internal lockbar relief. Nice spot to put your thumb with decently defined jimping and some fat thumb studs.

This is my first time getting these sorta G-mascus scales and i expected them to feel pretty smooth or feel more like a normal g-10 but they have a pretty grippy texture. Similar to a very fine grit sandpaper IMO. You can see in the fourth pic it's somewhat a similar profile to my Vision FG but just a hair longer if that's your jam.

Carbon Fiber covers with the standard 440a Rough Rider uses. The real cool thing about the scales is that the chunks of CF are in a sort of clear resin so when you look at it from the side you can see the pins going down through the handle and it really gives them a lot of visual depth. I assume the hexagonal shield is supposed to resemble an ice crystal/snowflake.

Last photo is comparing the spine with the Rosecrafts I posted last week. Obviously the fit and finish on the RC is a lot better. But considering the RC MSRPs for 3 times as much that's understandable. Otherwise the finishing is actually really nice for a 20 dollar knife the Pins, shield and transitions between the scales and bolster are all pretty much perfectly flush and the blade sits center with no rap. The only real fault is that bit of gapping on the spring and its only near the pivot. Pretty sweet. Walk and talk is still good. My only other RR slippys currently are Aptas (modern) so this left a good impression.

basically looking for reviews from the slipjoint community because amazon reviews aren't always reliable. they're like 15-16 bucks.

if you have something else you'd recommend instead i'm looking for something that has a pocketclip so i don't have to dig into my pocket whenever i want to grab my knife. though i am open to just getting one with a grommet so i can leave a lanyard hanging out like an "anchor" if its really the way to go.

Snuck these into my "what im carrying today" post this morning but i actually just got these in the mail last night and wanted to get a nice picture of them up on the sub. They're my first Rosecrafts.

Last photo is a size comparison with some normal sized barlow like objects. Left to right is Novelty Knife Co, two Rosecrafts and a Swisstech.