- Joined
- Dec 5, 2005
- Messages
- 44
I would like to open this question up to feedback, but it doesn't belong in the other thread about Chinese copies, because this has to do with the flip side of the equation...while many bemoan (and rightly so) the copying and counterfeiting of blade designs by manufacturers in China, there is another thing that is happening that may not have occurred to folks.
There are people working for slave wages under terrible conditions to produce some of this stuff, that is why it is so cheap. More to the point, many of the Chinese artisans who are actually very good at making excellent high quality cutlery, who design their own work, who are not part of big companies, with large names, who are not breaking any rules of copyright, etc. are getting lumped in with the rest of the group you are talking about.
To say that "China = Thief" as some say in the china copy thread say, it seems a bit, well it speaks for itself.
I don't know how many of you have had the honor of having met Uncle Bill (may he rest in peace) from Himilayan Imports, who was an early mentor to me, but it seems to me that what was happening to Nepal's Kamis is very similar to what is happening to China's cutlery artisans. They were originally caught in a cycle of producing cheap tourist junk, to the point where the actual traditional culturally important art was almost lost. But Uncle Bill and family and friends created a place for Kamis to produce the real actual thing and Blade Forums was a large part of that success, if I recall correctly.
So my question to finally get to the point, is this:
I understand there is a distrust of Chinese products, I myself support and contribute to any maker that can truly bear the name, MADE IN USA. I have often paid much more to own knives (and many other products) that I know were made in the USA. It is getting more rare, to find "made in the USA" on anything and I value it more and more.
However, isn't one way of fighting counterfeiting or knock offs, for the US knife community to start to actually support and endorse the production of truly traditionally crafted Chinese cutlery, original designs by individual artisans? To support a place similar to HI, where individual craftsmen can sell their own work?
This thought occurred to me recently, as I was trying to find a Jian sword that is suitable for both practice and cutting that is actually designed by someone in China who uses these swords in daily practice. I would love to give my money directly to the guy who made the thing, or a collective group they are a part of, instead of some large mass produced firm or something designed by a famous martial artist which is then mass produced.
So, I am basically looking for sword maker who can make blades for 150-300 US dollars...a very simple basic design...tempered high carbon steel, wood handle, simple sheath.
In reading the thread about Chinese copies, it seems to me that America has not said it is interested in the real thing that China could easily produce for US buyers, instead of the junk and copies. Chinese cutlery, looking back not too far into history, is some of the best cutlery the world has ever seen.
When I go to Chinatown in Los Angeles or NYC and look at all the terrible junk swords that are sold for higher prices than it would cost to produce the actual real thing, I think that Americans are to blame as well.
It would be nice to restore honor to both sides of this equation.
Or at least have a conversation about it.
There are people working for slave wages under terrible conditions to produce some of this stuff, that is why it is so cheap. More to the point, many of the Chinese artisans who are actually very good at making excellent high quality cutlery, who design their own work, who are not part of big companies, with large names, who are not breaking any rules of copyright, etc. are getting lumped in with the rest of the group you are talking about.
To say that "China = Thief" as some say in the china copy thread say, it seems a bit, well it speaks for itself.
I don't know how many of you have had the honor of having met Uncle Bill (may he rest in peace) from Himilayan Imports, who was an early mentor to me, but it seems to me that what was happening to Nepal's Kamis is very similar to what is happening to China's cutlery artisans. They were originally caught in a cycle of producing cheap tourist junk, to the point where the actual traditional culturally important art was almost lost. But Uncle Bill and family and friends created a place for Kamis to produce the real actual thing and Blade Forums was a large part of that success, if I recall correctly.
So my question to finally get to the point, is this:
I understand there is a distrust of Chinese products, I myself support and contribute to any maker that can truly bear the name, MADE IN USA. I have often paid much more to own knives (and many other products) that I know were made in the USA. It is getting more rare, to find "made in the USA" on anything and I value it more and more.
However, isn't one way of fighting counterfeiting or knock offs, for the US knife community to start to actually support and endorse the production of truly traditionally crafted Chinese cutlery, original designs by individual artisans? To support a place similar to HI, where individual craftsmen can sell their own work?
This thought occurred to me recently, as I was trying to find a Jian sword that is suitable for both practice and cutting that is actually designed by someone in China who uses these swords in daily practice. I would love to give my money directly to the guy who made the thing, or a collective group they are a part of, instead of some large mass produced firm or something designed by a famous martial artist which is then mass produced.
So, I am basically looking for sword maker who can make blades for 150-300 US dollars...a very simple basic design...tempered high carbon steel, wood handle, simple sheath.
In reading the thread about Chinese copies, it seems to me that America has not said it is interested in the real thing that China could easily produce for US buyers, instead of the junk and copies. Chinese cutlery, looking back not too far into history, is some of the best cutlery the world has ever seen.
When I go to Chinatown in Los Angeles or NYC and look at all the terrible junk swords that are sold for higher prices than it would cost to produce the actual real thing, I think that Americans are to blame as well.
It would be nice to restore honor to both sides of this equation.
Or at least have a conversation about it.
