Quality of Rough Ryder stainless steel.

Don't normally buy "cheaper" knives but really do like the traditional look of some Rough Ryder models so thinking of dipping my toes in.

I know a lot here like them as per the Rough Ryder thread and wondered what their steel was like. I know it's either going to be a 440a or 420 stainless and for the money that's absolutely fine. I've some older knives in these steels and some of them are more than acceptable whereas some just don't sharpen well or hold an edge at all. So obviously heat treat is key.

My question is whether the steel Rough Ryder use in their folders falls into the former category ie sharpen up well and hold an edge for an acceptable period?

Good question ,sorry can’t help with an answer,I’ve got a bunch of the Rough Rider/Queen/Marbles stable of pocketknives but I’ve never sharpened any of them,certainly cut paper well mine are all purely display collectibles.

I have a couple in stainless and think it's 440a it takes an edge and holds it reasonably well , the carbon one I have is supposed to be a variant of 1095 or similar and I prefer it to the stainless as it seems to take a better edge . I have a D2 roughrider as well and I've never needed to touch it as it seems to stay keen no matter what I do with it . Probably be a pain to sharpen when the time comes through as most D2 stuff is .

Thanks Bladesmith, if its similar to Cases Tru-sharp I'm happy with that for EDC.

like nrj I have a fair amount of RRs mainly as collectables but also some as my EDCs . I find all of mine to have as near as dammit great fit and finish and overall nice quality although apart from some stropping Ive never used them that much as to need sharpening . All I would say is that Ive been carrying a knife of sorts for over 60 years now and if I had access to something like most Rough Ryders back in the 1960s I would have been ecstatic ! Its horses for courses and for the quality you usually get for the price you cannot go wrong and of course as long as you use whatever type of knife within its limits taking into account build quality , blade steel etc .