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Daniel Dorn said:
If only there was always a correlation between price and quality, what a simpler world it would be.
Marbles from china?
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If only there was always a correlation between price and quality, what a simpler world it would be.
I thought they only did stainless? I'd like one in carbon- that said i LIKE this brand of slipjoints because they are cheep, well made and the blades pretty good- they have a 'hardness test' mark on the blade and will sharpen up very nicly and hold an edge better then any other cheep knife i've ever had (except an opinel....)
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Marbles has never made a folding knife. They have always been subcontracted. They do, however, continue to manufacture the fixed blades, as far as I know. At least the fixed blades are U.S. made. Bark River, founded by a former employee, has been doing some OEM work (for Blackjack - another former employee) so they may be making some Marbles models as well. Gerber is also heavily into the OEM manufacturing business. Honestly I don't know.
The Queen-made Marbles slipjoints were a financial disaster. Because they ordered up proprietary models in small quantities, the prices were simply untenable. Most had to be closed out at a loss. The Marbles Chinese slipjoints are made in the same factory as the Remington and Rough Rider. I think the Rough Rider probably have lower prices. So that will get you the same knife for less money.
Get used to the idea that our production knives will one day be made almost entirely in China. It isn't that far in the future. Even U.S. made knives are made with a meaningful percentage of Chinese-made parts. As far as I know, all the screws used in knife production come from China.
The Queen-made Marbles slipjoints were a financial disaster. Because they ordered up proprietary models in small quantities, the prices were simply untenable. Most had to be closed out at a loss. The Marbles Chinese slipjoints are made in the same factory as the Remington and Rough Rider. I think the Rough Rider probably have lower prices. So that will get you the same knife for less money.
Get used to the idea that our production knives will one day be made almost entirely in China. It isn't that far in the future. Even U.S. made knives are made with a meaningful percentage of Chinese-made parts. As far as I know, all the screws used in knife production come from China.
I have 3 Rough Riders and 2 Marbles made in China. The Marbles are a bit better in overall apperance and finish. The bone material is decidedly better than the Rough Rider. The bone material has more texture and color. Your right about the price, I paid 20 bucks for a Marbles Sunfish and Sowbelly stockman, while the Rough Riders are around 7 bucks. I would say the extra cost can be seen between the two products.
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I paid $9 including shipping (SleazeBay) for a Chinese Marbles sowbelly stockman back in the early part of this year. For the money it's not a terrible knife. The springs are weak and the blade steel is thin, and one blade is decidedly crinked to allow the other blades to close, but they're all evenly spaced. I haven't done enough cutting with it to see how the edges hold up. Fit & finish is "okay", with some roughness across the backs of the springs and (brass) liners. Handle material is pretty but a little cheezy. It does have match strike nail nicks, and pinched & threaded bolsters, which floored me on a knife of this price. It's hard to complain for the money spent. On the other hand, I haven't run out and bought any more...
-- Sam
-- Sam
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That's encouraging. It's good to know that you can spend more and get more from a Chinese product. That isn't always the case. Thanks for the input.
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Very true. Gorgeous knives, but I'm not paying a bill and a half for a production trapper.
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I just got my Marbles slippie today in the mail.
This one , to be exact.
Thoughts ? Well I am not an expert by any means but I know what I like.
I like to pretend it is not made in China but... what are ya gonna do. The price was right on the money.
It is bigger than I thought it would be , this is one full sized slipjoint. Very solid feel.
The scales are very nice jigged bone , made to look like stag - to be honest they did a great job.
Overall F&F is right on for a 22$ knife , hard to complain there.
Sharpthangs mentioned that the Y split was unusual ? I have never seen this type of backspring before but then I have not owned a lot of slippies.
The 3 blades were nice and sharp right out of the informationless box , no play , nice snap , not much else to say.
The case smelled odd at first , like chemicals...
I wish this was an American made knife , I would love to believe this knife was made by American crafstmen and loved every step of the way but , then again I cannot afford to drop half a paycheck on a knife every time I want or need a new one.
In the end that's what will get to many knife users/collectors , if quality can be met with price then a sale is made.
This one , to be exact.
Thoughts ? Well I am not an expert by any means but I know what I like.
I like to pretend it is not made in China but... what are ya gonna do. The price was right on the money.
It is bigger than I thought it would be , this is one full sized slipjoint. Very solid feel.
The scales are very nice jigged bone , made to look like stag - to be honest they did a great job.
Overall F&F is right on for a 22$ knife , hard to complain there.
Sharpthangs mentioned that the Y split was unusual ? I have never seen this type of backspring before but then I have not owned a lot of slippies.
The 3 blades were nice and sharp right out of the informationless box , no play , nice snap , not much else to say.
The case smelled odd at first , like chemicals...
I wish this was an American made knife , I would love to believe this knife was made by American crafstmen and loved every step of the way but , then again I cannot afford to drop half a paycheck on a knife every time I want or need a new one.
In the end that's what will get to many knife users/collectors , if quality can be met with price then a sale is made.
Wow, this is an old thread coming back!
And ironically, this last week, I decided to try one out of curiousity.
It was the swell end whittler in stag bone handles. It was of the double spring variety. very similar to the new case seahorse whittlers. Two springs riding on the master blade. Not a true split spring (split back), where the spring is split for both the smaller blades, but remains intact for the master blade. Now the inside liner was the same steel as the backsprings and also divided all the way up through the back, between the backsprings. The only visible problem with this was the tip of it tended to, "pop up" some, upon opening and closing.
Now the fit and finish was very good for what it was. Even better than many american made knives. However, there was one bad, very noticeable defect. One of the bolsters had a bad "indent", just over a 1/4" long, by almost a 1/16" deep. Other wise it was very good. Now, the master blade had a problem, which many slip joints suffer from. The heel of the blade was not tall enough to keep the master blade from touching the inside of one of the backsprings. Hence it causes a dent in the edge, about 1/32".
The 440A blades were very sharp, very impressive out fo the box.
However, after testing it. The master blade proved to be a little on the "soft side". I whittled a point on a seasoned piece of ash and the blade cut well and deep. Until after a little use, than it proved to have a poor temper.
I even used my fingernail to scrape the rolled edge (on the master blade, the place that was touching the inside backspring, causing the dent) almost back to its original place. I also strioppe dthe edge on ym jeans and it helped to restore the edge.
440A, is decent steel, when properly tempered, much more so than 420, and Aus-6. However it's qualities seem to lack in this knife
Overall, its a pretty knife, very attractive, but as a user, its still a little below parkers old Japanese made knives (from the 70's and 80's).
I would venture to say though, unlike the pakistan made knives. These could give many others a "run for their money", if they improve a little!
And ironically, this last week, I decided to try one out of curiousity.
It was the swell end whittler in stag bone handles. It was of the double spring variety. very similar to the new case seahorse whittlers. Two springs riding on the master blade. Not a true split spring (split back), where the spring is split for both the smaller blades, but remains intact for the master blade. Now the inside liner was the same steel as the backsprings and also divided all the way up through the back, between the backsprings. The only visible problem with this was the tip of it tended to, "pop up" some, upon opening and closing.
Now the fit and finish was very good for what it was. Even better than many american made knives. However, there was one bad, very noticeable defect. One of the bolsters had a bad "indent", just over a 1/4" long, by almost a 1/16" deep. Other wise it was very good. Now, the master blade had a problem, which many slip joints suffer from. The heel of the blade was not tall enough to keep the master blade from touching the inside of one of the backsprings. Hence it causes a dent in the edge, about 1/32".
The 440A blades were very sharp, very impressive out fo the box.
However, after testing it. The master blade proved to be a little on the "soft side". I whittled a point on a seasoned piece of ash and the blade cut well and deep. Until after a little use, than it proved to have a poor temper.
I even used my fingernail to scrape the rolled edge (on the master blade, the place that was touching the inside backspring, causing the dent) almost back to its original place. I also strioppe dthe edge on ym jeans and it helped to restore the edge.
440A, is decent steel, when properly tempered, much more so than 420, and Aus-6. However it's qualities seem to lack in this knife
Overall, its a pretty knife, very attractive, but as a user, its still a little below parkers old Japanese made knives (from the 70's and 80's).
I would venture to say though, unlike the pakistan made knives. These could give many others a "run for their money", if they improve a little!
I know lots of people poopoo on china knives, but I believe they serve a good purpose. If you have young kids that you are trying to get into knives, I would not give them an expensive American made knife right off the bat. Especially if they are going to either beat the heck out of it, or lose it like I did when I was a kid. They need something to look forward to when they are responsible enough. Just my opinion.
kreole
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Probably not worth bumping a thread from 2005..
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