Asian knife makers market to american Companies

DaveH

DaveH

Joined
Dec 2, 1999
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Does anybody how pervasive this is?

I just received an SMKW catalog the other day, and I usually don't recive that catalog. I'm surprised that when I look at some models, other than very small stylistic changes, CRKT looks like Colt, looks like Uzi, looks like Gerber, looks like Fury, etc.

It's like one big company is asia made essentially one kind of knife, then drill and extra hole here or there, then market it to the next company, and so on ad finitum.

Is that what's happening?
 
Yep. More like a lot of smaller companies. This has been going on for a while. Asia covers a large area. Buck has some knives made in Tawain and AG Russell has some made in Japan. They do it for less money and after some practice their quality can get quite good. This is just an example of an economic situation that has been going on for a long time. When I was young I remember how we used to make fun of that crummy little car called a Honda. Now I wouldn't drive anything unless it was made in Japan. In fact it would be a challenge to find any so called domestic car that wasn't mostly made in Japan. I'm not saying that it is good or bad, it's just what has been happenning.
 
That's true. There's only a handful of manufacturers producing knives for any number of the brands out there.

Here's a reverse example - the Al Mar Operator made here in the USA(Camillus?)
 
"In fact it would be a challenge to find any so called domestic car that wasn't mostly made in Japan."

This is not true. More the opposite. Japanese branded cars are increasingly made in countries outside of Japan.
 
I guess my point is not that it's happening. It's that if I'm Buck say, why would a market a knife from asia that looks almost like a Fury?

Why would they let their brand get "diluted" by lookalike knives?
 
It's like one big company is asia made essentially one kind of knife, then drill and extra hole here or there, then market it to the next company, and so on ad finitum.

Is that what's happening?
Click to expand...

Pretty much.

Very often, they sign a contract with Company X to manufacture Company X's knives (or cars or whatever) for them. Company X think's they're getting a great deal. Then, their Asian buddies take Company X's design, Company X's tooling, even Company X's materials, drill and extra hole here or there, and market the same product to the next company.
 
At the BLADE SHOW in Atlanta this June we say a whole table full of blatant cheap! knockoffs of many well know custom knives including Crawfords, Mayos, etc selling for $3 each!!!!

I told the guy he sucked..........he just looked at the floor while explaining that he didnt make them.......... :(
 
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