About Pakistani Knives

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Shorttime said:
Is it possible that the knives made for export are substantially different than the sort of thing that's made for domestic sale?
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Possibly, but I really don't know, having never been to Pakistan myself. My point wasn’t that Pakistani knives are good.

My point was only that if they were well made, by hand, with low tech equipment, they’d be every bit as good as other highly regarded knives made with low-tech production.
 
Years ago, I'd often have a Pakistani traditional in my pocket. For the price, they were usually okay. Versus whatever other hardware store special or even a SAK, I had no real complaints. Here are the only ones I still have hanging around. They are probably the most recent ones I picked up too, maybe 2010?

Life is different now. My enthusiasm has slowly grown and I've just gotten into better stuff. Now on the budget end, China is hard to beat. Beyond action or fit and finish, the steel quality is very good. This is a big place where Pakistani knives have trouble. Most Pakistani knives I've used have had softer steel. I get that people over there are often using older or more traditional technology, but the Chinese are using modern technology to get decent stainless like 9Cr18Mov, D2, 14C28N, 154CM, etc. closer to 60HRC.

Sure, it takes a bit more work to sharpen them but they'll cut for days on every hour you get with the average budget blade from Pakistan.

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Steven65 said:
That is true. However when you hear "Pakistani knife" it's probably going to result in some scam, or some lies...
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This is a real problem. To be fair, there are bad actors in lots of markets around the world. We've seen American companies lying or being shady about their outsourcing, where something is made or "assembled", etc.. The better companies in China I referenced above, like WE and Kizer, still have to overcome stigma caused by all the companies making counterfeits or lying about steel over there.

Sadly, I can share a personal story involving Pakistan. When I was new to Instagram, and coming from the community here, I got snowed by a "custom knife maker". Their profile looked legit. They spoke English well enough. They made it seem like they were located in the United States. They promised a custom in 12C27 at a decent price and I said "okay". When I got the package, I was surprised to see the international shipping.

Opening it, the fit and finish were not as good as the pictures. It was very rough around the edges. There were gaps, etc. I used files to test the hardness and it was somewhere around 35HRC. 😮 The guy got real squirrely when I called him on it. He offered to send a replacement for free but I just wanted to return it. The return shipping was more than I paid for the whole knife! How in the world they make such a scam work is beyond me... Thankfully, I used PayPal and was able to get a full refund through them.
 
KenHash said:
Far from "everyone". I avoid China made knives on principle. I know many other who do as well.

You can't compare Pakistan and China on manufactiring capability or capacity either.
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Obviously Pakistan is no china. Thought I made that clear in the last sentence. However it’s not impossible that there are some great knife makers in Pakistan, that one gets noticed and appreciated here leading to other makers and then suddenly they don’t have such a bad reputation. I mean they do have to cut things in Pakistan as well so I’m sure there’s some there making usable working knives.
 
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mitchnola said:
Obviously Pakistan is no china. Thought I made that clear in the last sentence. However it’s not impossible that there are some great knife makers in Pakistan, that one gets noticed and appreciated here leading to other makers and then suddenly they don’t have such a bad reputation. I mean they do have to cut things in Pakistan as well so I’m sure there’s some there making usable working knives.
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Can you name one great knifemaker in Pakistan? I know I can't. So despite being solely speculation, I too tend to think that there are, if for no other reason that Pakistan has a long
history of making knives and swords. Today there are at least 17 knife companies in the city of Wazirabad, considered the "knife center" of Pakistan.
But, if high quality Pakistani knives exist, clearly don;t make it to the overseas markets. The present Pakistani knife industry focuses on low production cost, and knives that, in my opinion concentrate mainly on appearance (handle material, blade finish, file work, etc) rather than fit, finish and functionality. Pakistani knives have a poor reputation but understandably so.
 
KenHash said:
Can you name one great knifemaker in Pakistan? I know I can't. So despite being solely speculation, I too tend to think that there are, if for no other reason that Pakistan has a long
history of making knives and swords. Today there are at least 17 knife companies in the city of Wazirabad, considered the "knife center" of Pakistan.
But, if high quality Pakistani knives exist, clearly don;t make it to the overseas markets. The present Pakistani knife industry focuses on low production cost, and knives that, in my opinion concentrate mainly on appearance (handle material, blade finish, file work, etc) rather than fit, finish and functionality. Pakistani knives have a poor reputation but understandably so.
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Your point is 100% correct.
Wazirabad knife industry is focused on low production cost.
 
Engr Abaid said:
About Pakistani Knives.
Let me explore you with some information. Different people have different opinions. As I am Pakistani, I lived and grow in a city called as city of cutlery city of knives. As I observes on different platforms that Pakistani knives craftsmanship are being insulted. Being a protective about my culture I want to tell this.
If we talk about quality, no doubt the quality of USA knives are excellent. They have extraordinary materials. USA knife industry is advance and expensive.
Reason for cheap prices of Pakistani Knives.
Cheap labor and cheap methods and cheap energy resources
Reasons behind lack of quality
Limited Material Options
Advance machinery is not available
Little profit margin
This is all about.
With the time, Knife market is growing and managing the quality
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The issue that we have as consumers is we have no way of knowing a good knife from a junk knife without buying it and using it.

So even if there are good Pakistani knives the risk of getting a dud is to much to bother.

Where for example Chinese knives that suffer the same stigma now have reputable brands that produce good stuff.

So someone somewhere needs to get a reputation for making even serviceable quality knives. Before you get a decent buyers market.
 
I have a lot of sympathy for the OP. I won't say that Pakistani knives are all garbage; there are, I hope, some people in Pakistan who really do love knives and take pride in craftsmanship. That's a universal thing, and good knives can be made in pretty primitive conditions, it doesn't take a big shop floor with dozens of CNC mills and particle metallurgy steels.

It's just unfortunate that virtually all of the Pakistani knives we see in America are low-quality, high production volume souvenir trinkets.

Maybe the OP will be the one to turn it around one day and earn his country some respect for its knives. That'd be a thing to be proud of, and I wish him the best.
 
Welcome to Bladeforums sir. Its nice to see international members participate.
Pakistani blades seem to focus on the looks and design of the knife. There doesn't seem to be much care towards the blade materials and proper heat treat. Their reputation would improve with users if they improved their blade materials and heat treatment.
 
Engr Abaid said:
Your point is 100% correct.
Wazirabad knife industry is focused on low production cost.
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Welcome to the best Knife forum.....Are you a knife .maker ? I'm sure there are plenty of solid performing knives made locally in your area.....I'd love to see some locally made blades.......Not the crap that sold by the ton
Enjoy the ride here.....
Best
 
V-1 said:
Welcome to Bladeforums sir. Its nice to see international members participate.
Pakistani blades seem to focus on the looks and design of the knife. There doesn't seem to be much care towards the blade materials and proper heat treat. Their reputation would improve with users if they improved their blade materials and heat treatment.
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Thank you sir
 
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jfk1110 said:
Welcome to the best Knife forum.....Are you a knife .maker ? I'm sure there are plenty of solid performing knives made locally in your area.....I'd love to see some locally made blades.......Not the crap that sold by the ton
Enjoy the ride here.....
Best
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Sir I will definitely show you some good blade other than normal materials. Working. Thank you. I will try to learn from this community.
 
madcap_magician said:
I have a lot of sympathy for the OP. I won't say that Pakistani knives are all garbage; there are, I hope, some people in Pakistan who really do love knives and take pride in craftsmanship. That's a universal thing, and good knives can be made in pretty primitive conditions, it doesn't take a big shop floor with dozens of CNC mills and particle metallurgy steels.

It's just unfortunate that virtually all of the Pakistani knives we see in America are low-quality, high production volume souvenir trinkets.

Maybe the OP will be the one to turn it around one day and earn his country some respect for its knives. That'd be a thing to be proud of, and I wish him the best.
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Powder metallurgy is Not available in Pakistan
 
It's a double edged sword -

The biggest problem with the Pakistani knife industry is the tendency / need to work toward the lower price points. Everyone works to the level they're paid for. The importers have very low price points, so that forces the the Pakistani knife makers to work to a low standards. So you get things like tack welded tangs, quick water quenches, etc..... It wouldn't be hard for the Pakistanis to make decent knives, their tools are essentially what most makers were working with up through the early 90s. But the need to work toward that bottom end never stops.

The other problem is "brand recognition". They are known for low end stuff, and that stigma is extremely hard to get rid of once it's on your brand. I've seen some Pakistani smiths do really nice work in the $200-300 range, but it sells poorly because everyone goes "It's Pakistani", and then the makers that were trying to do good work, fall back into making sub standard knives to keep afloat.

China had the same problem years ago too. Hanwei, and a few others were making great products in the early mid 2000s, but they could never get a toe hold till guys like AG Russell, etc... gave them their blessing as good knives, and people dared to try them.

Whether that will ever happen with Pakistan remains to be seen.

Also, a third problem is design. Not everything has to be random pattern damascus covered in 90% filework. Try simple steels like 5160, 1080, etc..... and try things like 80's - 90's ABS style Bowies. Pakistan still gets great stag, woods, and horns, use that. Simple, natural, and clean are what they should try for.
 
Have to admire the thick skin of the OP. I wish him and his countrymen well, even if I don't want any knives from there unless and until the game is upped considerably to the point that good is normal and not so good the exception. Though not likely, a Pakistan knife would land here before any from China.
 
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