I am not sure how I eased into buying foreign, but somewhere along way, I became alright with doing so. I am and was raised in military town USA (San Antonio, TX) where at one time we had SIX military bases in our city, and a huge retirement community of retired military.
In the 60s, many would not carry German made knives due to their experiences 15 or so years earlier. Still too recent. So no Boker, Puma, Eye, or anything like that. Ditto the same with Japanese made anything. And while Case, Buck, Schrade, etc., were everywhere, that represented the total offerings around here. It was somewhere in the early 70s when I received my first Boker as a gift from my Dad. That was his signal that it was OK.
Somewhere in the early 80s I bought myself a Gerber Silver knight, marked as made in Seki Japan. I was careful to make sure I didn't lend that to the wrong person. It was a great knife, and was as well made as my benchmark for all things folding, Case. I still have it, and even with 100,000 on it, the knife still locks up great with no wobble. That knife was followed by a Kershaw Whiskey Gap. Ditto on the performance. So I started carrying foreign made, offshore made products from countries we had gone to war with (!!!) 40 years ago.
Somewhere along the way (late 70s or so) of my blue collar life as a carpenter/contractor, the landscape started to change in tool offerings. There was a new company called "Makita", followed by "Hitachi" and there were a couple of others, too. They weren't much cheaper than their American counterparts, but they were much better made for the most part. Still, they were banned from most job sites due to their country of origin. That was almost 40 years ago...
But the offshore made tools showed up with useful features that weren't on American made tools. American tools were using the same designs and were using the same tooling that they had used for 20 years with little or no innovation. The new tools used better materials and were finished better than Porter Cable, Rockwell, etc. American tool manufacturers responded by thinking that the only difference between their tools and the offshore offerings was the price. So, they cheapened the quality of the tools they made to hold the line on their pricing. Polished aluminum cases on drills and saws became painted cast metal of some sort. Good fit and finish disappeared. They were still good tools but now they were too much money for what you got. All of us blue collar guys that make living with their tools want something good out of the box that will last. All of us would pay more if we got more, but we wouldn't pay more to get the same product that was lesser or equal quality. We believed in American workers, American business, and figured that once they got tired of getting their butts kicked by foreigners, they would start turning out superior products and we would all come home.
Their response was not what was expected. Instead, they tossed QC out the window, and like some knife manufacturers today, you do the QC for them, and are thrilled when you get a "good one". (You know, the same knives we got in the 70s all day long from Case and Buck.) As their tool quality became questionable and their prices high, they pushed us away from their products. And nothing will tick you off more as when money comes out of your pocket when you buy a tool and it fails you. In my case as a self employed, that simply means not only did that tool fail, but it cost me money, time and effort to take up all the slack it caused when it failed. Like most of me and mine, I will gladly pay more to get more because quality and reliability out of the box is the big factor for me.
Manufacturers did another end run. Since they saw that they had bridged the gap of "redneck America" and were selling offshore made tools of all types at our supply houses, they moved manufacturing off shore. They were sneaky at first, and that caused a ruckus when they were found out. So they dropped the pretense and said that their foreign line was to compete with the foreign invaders and they would still manufacture the main tool lines of their professional grade tools in the USA. Well, that went away too, and soon there were almost no tools made in the USA as it was simply too profitable to make them overseas and ship them over.
Sadly, they screwed that up, too. American bean counters put more pressure on their offshore counterparts to bring in the same products at a cheaper price point. They have to answer to their stockholders after all, and us idiots that were buying their tools to literally make a living with were a second or third consideration. So now we have few (if any) tools that aren't boutique quality (think GEC, et. al) made in the USA. After meeting tool rep after tool rep, the response is always the same. It was our fault as consumers that made the tool manufacturers lessen their quality and then move overseas. Too much pressure on pricing from us, and pressure from stockholders for profits on the other side. Now just about all power tools and hand tools are made offshore.
Any of this sound familiar?
Anyway, I had never bought a knife from China until I started haunting this forum. I had no idea there was such a thing as a high quality Chinese made knife. So about 4 years ago, I jumped in with a medium priced locker that was highly recommended here in the General Discussion area. It is a great knife and although I have beat the snot out of it, it is still a favorite. About that time I received a Remington branded knife that was made offshore. I would carry it, but decided it would make a great knife for my tool bags. Over a period of a few months, it went into my pocket as a sturdy knife with good ergos and a great steel for a folder.
Still uncomfortable with this whole arrangement (while being a complete hypocrite in using all foreign made tools all day long) I held off on buying any Chinese made knives. I decided to jump in when I couldn't look at AGR's wharncliffe folder any longer. What a knife! Then I bought the same case with the zulu spear in it. Same excellent quality, and very resonably priced. Good working knives with good steel, a few notches above the usual 8CrMo whatever.
Then I got his Barlow. Excellent knife. And when purchasing a knife for my nephew I decided to try a RR for myself just before Christmas. I was surprised not only at the quality of build but at the quality of components. The blade steel is good, the fit and finish are great. I would have been really pleased if I had bought a domestic knife and the quality was this good.
So now I guess I am in the soup. I will still buy patterns I like that have something I need and pay the cost of a USA made knife. I just bought a Queen 4" stockman, but it had rounded bolsters (talk about pocket friendly) and D2 steel. Tough to beat that. But for an unusual pattern, an old pattern out of manufacture, gifts, every day carries, or for work you don't want to exposed an old favorite to, I will probably be looking more and more to the offshore offerings.
Sorry to be so long winded, but this whole issue is strangely confusing and troubling to me just like it was when I bought my first Makita tool. As silly as it sounds, I felt like I was doing something wrong. Since this topic comes up one way or another in one form or another, I think you guys know what I am talking about.
Robert
it too is black, I like this and it's an inexpensive very well made Asian knife, this also could still be around in a century. Answer to the question are they worth it? Yes if they please you and will endure.
