Are U.S. Knives Really Better?

C

Confederate

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I recently bought five CRKTs, two (M16-14LE) made in the Tiawan, and three (M16-14SFA) made in the US. None of them were seconds. One would expect the US issues would be better, but not in this case.

The Tiawan issues (M16-14LE) had titanium-coated blades with rich, beautiful dark lusters, like you'd see on a blued revolver. The US issues (SFA) had dull, more muted looks. To make matters worse, there was a thumb print on the top of the left side of one of the knives, and indications of another print on the other side! The LAWKS on the Tiawan issues also were smoother.

I was able to polish out the thumb print, but not the shape. It's not worth returning any of the knives; it's just that the Tiawan issues were better constructed, had better plating and were smoother.

Now I can't tell anything about blade hardness, but the grind itself on all three US knives seem noticably superior.

Finally, the mini catalog in each US knife advertised AutoLAWKS features on the SFA, yet the knives themselves had standard LAWKS.

Is it possible that someone repacked the knives or do things like this just happen? Again, there was nothing to indicate that any of these knives were seconds. And they are good knives. It's just that the Tiawan knives seemed better.
 
I can't comment on the knives that you got, but I have looked at, and own a couple ( Kershaw and Bucks ) that were both made overseas.... There is absolutely nothing wrong with the ones I have... The workmanship is very good. I am all for buying U.S made products and keeping jobs here, but the sad fact is that more and more stuff is made overseas and in Mexico and I don't think it will ever change for the better. The Japanese have been making quality cars for years while the U.S cars were crap.... So theres no reason that some of the stuff can't be of good quality. Its just hard when you open up a knife and its stamped Taiwan or China
 
The question that you should be asking from your experience is:

Are CRKT U.S. knves really better?

I have no idea about CRKT knives, but I believe that, yes, U.S. make knives are usually better than imports.
 
Remember, the Japanese were making the best knives in the world, when the rest of the world was pretty much throwing rocks at each other!
 
In my experience, some of the very best and worst knives I've owned have been made in the U.S. There is variation in quality of knives made in any country, the U.S. is no exception.

There are makers in Japan who produce product that is equal to the best the U.S. has to offer. There is also some crap that comes out of there, but in recent years that is far less common than 30+ years ago. Switzerland is another overseas country where top-notch knives are produced. But usually when people talk about U.S. vs. overseas manufacturers they mean knives made in an Asian country, Japan, Taiwan, or China, three very different places.

What are the materials, who/what is the maker/manufacturer? How good is the QC? How good is the design, and how much passion does the maker(s) have?

I think it's almost impossible to say which country's knives are the best on the planet. There are too many variances in manufacturers, QC, execution, etc. I could say that generally, more quality knives are made in the U.S. than comes out of China, but the world is fluid. Obviously, any makers or manufacturers who take their knife product seriously, and understands that proper execution, will make the best knives.
Jim
 
I agree with James Y. I do not think you can generalize by country in which the knife was made. Each country has companies that make good products and companies that make crap. That includes both China and the U.S.

I have a Chinese made knife that has excellent fit and finish and decent edge holding. I have a US made knife that has none of the above. But I also have a Chinese made knife that is junk. And I have a US made knife that is great.

Quality is not controlled by the country of origin. It is controlled by the company that makes the product.
 
Quality cannot be controlled by individual countries, but it can be limited, severely, by the lack of expertise. That and the fact that workers are working for slave's wages.

How did my US knife make it out the door with a thumbprint on the blade? Either someone wasn't looking or they were looking the other way. Many of the Chinese still harbor a hatred of the US and they're more likely to let things slide, depending who they are.

Many companies have specs, or standards. That's why a McDonalds in one location tastes like one in another. That's why it surprised me to find the disparity between the two knives.
 
The US made good knives for about 50 years from 1900 to about 1950, then it went downhill and up again for a few firms in small niche markets like Spyderco and Benchmade.

I think the basis of the US cutlery industry was based on an unsusiantable premise i.e. import tarrifs against Sheffield cutlery in the main and cheaper products from the Austro-Hungarian Empire. After the tarifs stopped high quality Sheffield made cutlery in the US market, the US made low quality knives and sold them at high prices and imported the same from Germany and other places.

I don't think people in China have any hatred for the US, far from it. I'm sure given the chance many people in China would like to live in or visit the US and there is no shortage of American products like films, music and fashion in China. As for letting things slide, the average Chinese worker is more concerned about making a buck then seeking revenge for something that happened before his father was born and he dosen't know or care about.
 
Most industralized nations are capable of making knives of excellent quality; they simply have to make the effort. While many knives coming from China are in fact junk, I've seen many well made knives that were made in China. Buck's line of China made knives is a good example. IMO, the U.S. and Japan seem to make the best knives.
 
I didn't mean to suggest that the Chinese are involved in vendettas against the US; rather, that the work ethic is different, and is compounded by the views that many Chinese have of the US.

One Chinese supplier was recently asked why he had allowed food products to be shipped to the US with known carcinogens. He shrugged as though it were no big deal and replied, "Americans have good health care!"

Oversight by people who know how to make the knives, how to heat treat the blades and set quality control stations to catch missteps.

There are many knives coming out of China that look and work flawlessly. The one thing we can't readily spot is maltreated steel.
 
I'm putting my foot down and only buying knives made on Earth! Other planets might have similar craftsmanship and lower prices, but there's no way I'll ever use a knife that came from Uranus!

That statement about Japanese knives being made before other cultures were using steel knives is a strong one. Any facts to back it up? This is the same Japan where people were using sand for a source of iron when folks in England, Germany, and Sweden were mining ore, right?
 
after spending small fortunes on busse, kiku, emerson, etc... i was skeptical about china made knives. but for $21 shipped, i tried a byrd (spyderco) pelican. wow! f+f was good and blade was sharp! i don't know about the steel (8cr13mov) but for $21 i think i got a good deal! i prefer usa and seki spydies but if i break or lose my byrd wtf! i just baught a $750 custom fsh (busse) and will probably be afraid to cut anything! (safe queen)
 
I too am unsure about the longterm durability of 8cr13mov steel, but for the price I paid, my Benchmade Vex is an incredible user. I'm very partial to American made knives, and I love the more mystical aura of Japanese blades, but due to the great qual control of some of the better manufacturers, I'm having a hard time not liking a few of the Chinese made models, at least for using, never for show or prestige:D:D
 
I have a half dozen or so Byrds and I have found the fit and finish to be quite good. In my mind the argument is not so much whether China can produce a good product, but rather whether or not the dollars are better spent locally.

In a thread similar to this in another forum, one fellow suggested that every dollar sent to China, has the real possibility of returning in the form of a missile. At first I laughed at the thought, but after some thought, I'm not laughing now.
 
as a union carpenter, i try to buy union made or at least made in usa! however, more and more companies are going global! hard to find anything not made in china now days! thats why although i will buy some things that are cheap and made in china (byrd), i don't mind spending my bigger puchases on good old made in the usa (busse!). it is too bad this export of usa jobs seems to be a trend that will only get worse. god bless the usa!!!
 
scale6 said:
Remember, the Japanese were making the best knives in the world, when the rest of the world was pretty much throwing rocks at each other!
Click to expand...
Care to elaborate?:rolleyes:

As for the original question...

James Y said it very well.
 
Confederate said:
Quality cannot be controlled by individual countries, but it can be limited, severely, by the lack of expertise. That and the fact that workers are working for slave's wages.

How did my US knife make it out the door with a thumbprint on the blade? Either someone wasn't looking or they were looking the other way. Many of the Chinese still harbor a hatred of the US and they're more likely to let things slide, depending who they are.

Many companies have specs, or standards. That's why a McDonalds in one location tastes like one in another. That's why it surprised me to find the disparity between the two knives.
Click to expand...

I'm not following the logic of that second paragraph. Your US-made knife has flaws because the Chinese hate the US? :jerkit:

I agree with your last paragraph. A company has standards for what it will or will not allow out the door to the customer. (Granted sometimes things slip through that should not.) But those standards are controlled by the company. There sure have been a lot of satisfied Byrd customers. That's because Spyderco sets and maintains high standards for their US, Japanese, and Chinese operations. I believe it is the same with Benchmade. Good companies, high standards, good knives reqardless of where they are made.
 
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