EL PASO, Texas (KTSM) – RoseCraft Blades has earned a well-deserved reputation for making quality traditional slipjoint knives — the type of knife you can imagine your father or grandfather carrying back in the day.
But guess what?
The Tennessee-based knife company also makes modern folders.
I recently got my hands on one of RoseCraft’s modern knives – a RoseCraft Walleye with black-and-gray striped G10 handles, a black-coated modified clip-point blade and a liner lock.
Let’s go through a few details on the knife. It has a 3.1-inch blade, is 4 1/2 inches closed, 7 1/2 inches open and weighs 3 1/2 ounces. Those are some of the measurables.
The knife has a flipper tab on the back and ambidextrous thumb studs for a couple ways to open it.
The flipper tab works great and the blade jumps out when you use that method. As for the thumb studs, I am a “slow roller” kind of guy who has never quite mastered flicking a knife open using that method.
The knife feels good in hand with what amounts to a finger groove for your index finger when the knife is opened up.
It also has some nice thumb ramping on the back of the blade with some jimping (small notches for a better grip). That allows you to choke up and really control the blade while you are cutting.
The Walleye really feels like a solid work knife. I’ve been carrying it around for more than a week and have used it to cut some ropes after moving a desk in my son’s pickup truck.
One other detail – it has a reversible ambidextrous pocket clip and is set up for right-handed carry out of the box. On the other side of the knife, there is a cutout area where the pocket clip goes if you want left-handed carry. That cutout area feels a little abrupt without having a filler tab or screw to cover it up.
That is about my only criticism of this knife.
The Walleye comes in two flavors on the RoseCraft website. The other version has black-and-green striped G10 handles and a stonewashed blade.
They currently list for $59.99. If you use the code “BigRedEDC” from my friend’s YouTube channel, you can save 10 percent.
A note: The Walleye was part of a box of knives that Big Red EDC sent me to check out around New Year’s and review for my column.
A little bit about RoseCraft. The company has been around since 2021.
Its knives are designed in the United States but manufactured overseas, mostly in China. RoseCraft has gained a strong reputation with excellent quality control.
The RoseCraft website says the company is planning to build a manufacturing facility in the U.S.
Here is a link to RoseCraft Blades and a link to the Walleye.
Here is a link to Big Red EDC’s YouTube channel. I have said this multiple times: JB, the creative force behind the channel, has been a tremendous mentor and guide to me in this EDC hobby. If you like pocket knives, flashlights and other EDC gear, check out his channel.
Here are some other YouTube channels on EDC gear that I find informative and entertaining:
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