Knife articles and listicles are full of good brands and models. You can take your pick of Benchmade, Spyderco, Buck, Cold Steel, Gerber, Zero Tolerance, Kershaw, and a million and one other brands. Models are just as frequently quoted – you have the 100 Folding Hunter, the Gator, the Griptilian, the Delica and Paramilitary, and many others.
This short article is going to take a slightly different position. It’s going to dive into two other good pocket knife brands that you should know if you’re serious about collecting and getting value for your money’s worth.
Rough Ryder (AKA Rough Rider)
Depending on when you became familiar with the brand, it might be either Rough Ryder or Rough Rider; today it is the former.
This is a good pocket knife brand that you simply must know if you love traditional pocket knife patterns and quality craftsmanship.
Rough Ryder makes traditional pocket knives in stockman, congress, trapper, barlow, sowbelly, canoe, and other classic patterns, something that most other knife makers don’t do anymore.
Two that do that come to mind are Case and Great Eastern Cutlery, or GEC. The problem is that both Case and GEC knives cost an order of magnitude more than Rough Ryder knives.
What’s worse is that, not only are Case and GEC knives more expensive, but the gulf in quality is just not there to justify it.
Rough Ryder pocket knives are made with exceptionally high-quality handle materials, such as jigged bone, horn, antler, mother of pearl, and semi-precious stones, as well as other materials like alloys and G10.
If that weren’t enough, they disclose the blade steels. Many are made with cheap stainless steels, but some are made with much higher performing alloys like T10 and D2.
That’s more than could be said for Case, which uses marketing jargon to obscure the true chemistry of the “Tru-Sharp” steel it uses. Corrosion-resistant though it may be, we don’t know what’s in it.
The one caveat is that these are Chinese made knives. But trust us; they are very good Chinese knives.
All in all, for the craftsmanship and value they offer, there are simply no true competitors to this brand. If you collect classic pocket knife patterns, you really must have a Rough Rider in there.
Byrd
Byrd knives – this is another good pocket knife brand if you are a fan of Spyderco but not the price.
Whereas Spyderco knives can routinely cost north of $100, Byrd knives are typically a small fraction of that cost, yet they still sport the same basic design and aesthetics, by and large, of Spyderco knives, such as holes in place of thumb studs, and leaf-shaped blades.
The other thing is that Byrd uses quality steels and materials, but at a much lower price point. Basically, Byrd is Spyderco on a budget.
Where to Check Out Knives from These Brands
While these are two good pocket knife brands that are solid alternatives to Case, GEC, and Spyderco, there are countless others that also deserve your time and attention. You can learn more about these and other great brands online at White Mountain Knives. Take a look at what’s in their collection and see if there’s something for you today.
