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Bx2

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Jan 13, 2017
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Hi all, I have been lurking for a while now and decided to make a post about something that bothers me. Please correct me if I am wrong, but is it too much to ask when spending upwards of $100 (sometimes a lot more) for a knife to not be made in China? I know there are some higher end Chinese made knives but I am not talking about them. I am talking about American companies exporting blades to be assembled or just flat made from start to finish in a Chinese factory. Also i'm not just a USA made only guy, I know there is quality around the globe. However when companies are sending their products to be made in China and then not really transferring those savings on to us the consumers it just boils my blood. Ganzo knives are a heated topic around forums some I see. But if China can put out a decent (by decent I mean on par with US companies up to 50 bucks or so) knife for $15 and other huge name brand companies are putting out the same quality knife (craftsmanship and material) for $60 it really annoys me. I no longer even consider buying knives anymore if they are 80 bucks and made in China. There are plenty of ones I like and do a little research on and if I see China I cross them off my list. Sorry for the rant and rambling on but I just wanted to get others opinions. Just an FYI I am not a knife snob and can appreciate a $30 high value knife as much as a $400 knife.
 
I think if the quality is there i dont care where it is made. Things cost more to make in the usa. And there are a lot of knives that are usa made that are under a hundred. They may not be exactly what you want but things rarely are. But to expect that usa companies should be able to make the same knife at the same price as china i dont think is even possible. If it were, there wouldnt be so many chinese knives in the first place. I think its generally known and in most cases expected that if you are dead set on buying american knives you are going to pay a premium for that. Prices are only going to go up too.
 
Thank you for your input. Yeah I agree knives made in the US cost more, and to make the same knife in the US would be more expensive than the exact copy made in China. It's just I see a lot of very similar material knives made in China, for an US company, and they're asking $100 for them when a Chinese company is pumping out the same knife (essentially) for $15. So my question is why the huge gap for essentially the same knife, made in the same country. The only difference is one is made in China for an American company and the other is made in China for a Chinese company. Same quality and materials. For example Boker Kwaiken is $100 they want for a knife made in China with Aus 8 steel. I see too many knives like this, Cheaper to at best average steel (8cr13mov) blades made in china and they want over $100 for them. Well I like the looks but for $100 I will buy a vg10 or s30v made any where else. For example Spyderco makes a lot of knives under $100 not in China with better steel than 8cr13mov so why would anyone want to buy CRKT, Boker, Cold Steel just to name a few. I would pay more for the Boker kwaiken with USA stamped on the blade. That knife made in china with a run of the mill blade is not a $100 knife in my opinion, and its just one of many I used it as an example.
 
Making a bigger profit, why not? The knife would be as the same quality as if it were made in the US and a lot cheaper to the company(of course using same materials) it just makes sense from a business point of view, the more money they make, the more we get as consumers, they can expand lines, make LE, sprint runs etc. I remember reading when Porsche came out with the Cayenne, it offended the Porsche purists and the core of the sports car brand, but 911's were not giving them the profits they needed, the sales of the Catenne sky rocketed and that allowed porsche to bring new technology, race inspire technology to the 911, in other words the Cayenne made the 911 market grow to be better, we not see it but its a win win situation
 
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Thank you Grandmaster. I see what you're saying. I just expect them to pass a little more of the savings to the consumer. Let them make a bigger profit. But when you're charging more for a knife that has aus 8 steel made in China than Buck is for a knife with s30v steel made in America i'm going to scratch my head and say WTF. Or that spyderco is for knife made in Japan with VG10 etc etc. It just puzzles me.
 
By the way I am not trolling, it may seem that way with the negativity but I feel that I have a legitimate reason to ask the questions and be aggravated at the companies doing this. So if you can keep the smart remarks to a minimum I would appreciate it. I am fairly new to the hobby and just looking for answers.
 
Anyways I guess it's a lost cause. People would rather crack jokes and be an arse than take a legitimate question seriously. Thank you to those who did try to respond with reason. Sorry if I asked a dumb question or was too negative for fan boys.
 
Bx2 said:
Hi all, I have been lurking for a while now and decided to make a post about something that bothers me. Please correct me if I am wrong, but is it too much to ask when spending upwards of $100 (sometimes a lot more) for a knife to not be made in China? I know there are some higher end Chinese made knives but I am not talking about them. I am talking about American companies exporting blades to be assembled or just flat made from start to finish in a Chinese factory. Also i'm not just a USA made only guy, I know there is quality around the globe. However when companies are sending their products to be made in China and then not really transferring those savings on to us the consumers it just boils my blood. Ganzo knives are a heated topic around forums some I see. But if China can put out a decent (by decent I mean on par with US companies up to 50 bucks or so) knife for $15 and other huge name brand companies are putting out the same quality knife (craftsmanship and material) for $60 it really annoys me. I no longer even consider buying knives anymore if they are 80 bucks and made in China. There are plenty of ones I like and do a little research on and if I see China I cross them off my list. Sorry for the rant and rambling on but I just wanted to get others opinions. Just an FYI I am not a knife snob and can appreciate a $30 high value knife as much as a $400 knife.
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Chinese labor is cheap, if you combine it with U.S labor to market, distribute, develop the product it simply costs more.
 
Of course it also depends on volume. If a knife maker makes 10,000 knifes the cost of materials is going to be spread over 10,000. But if he only makes 1000, the cost goes up per knife. So if Buck makes 10,000 knives in china the cost per knife goes way down. So it's simple economics.

Quality is a whole other question though. Not everything made in China or elsewhere is junk. A lot is, but not all. When I was a teen (don't ask) Japanese cars were considered junk. Look at them now. So it goes. I depends on the company contracting with a overseas factory and what standards they put on the factory. If they demand quality products and enforce it, then they will get it. If they don't, well, the factory will make it as cheaply as possible. That increases their profit.
 
I don't buy Chinese knives out of principle. Unfortunately us americans have enough junk in household goods that were made in China
 
In theory that $100 knife made in China could be $200 if they made it anywhere else.

Personally I have nothing against Chinese manufacture, but I prefer to avoid outsourced products. I'll happily drop $200+ on something from an original Chinese brand like Rike or Kizer but I try to avoid Chinese-made CS, Kershaw, etc. The difference, I think, is that the first category are serious knifemakers who happen to be in China, and the second are companies sending manufacture to China to save money.
 
I avoid purchasing products from companies that use what is effectively slave labor to create huge profit margins for a handful of executives and marketing people. Lets say that a hypothetical knife costs $3 in materials, $5 in intellectual property and $.15 in sweat shop labor, and its being sold for $75, I'm going to pass every time.

If you are going to argue the point that cheap outsourced knives are good because they enable more people to own them, you defeat your own point when most of the cost, even if it is relatively low, is pure profit. Expensive junk is why too many people are working several jobs to feed their families. I support fair knife trade and fair knife prices.
 
The only Chinese knife I own is a Spyderco cat. From the dozens I own, it's ashamedly one of my favorites, although I hate the steel.
If this knife were made in Golden CO, I'd gladly pay their price.
 
I like the Spyderco Cat but, you're right, the steel is lacking.

Now, let's look at another Spyderco product. The Tenacious. Once again, the steel is not the best but the knife is a fantastic buy and very popular. A wonderful gateway knife for Spyderco. It is my understanding that the decision to source the Tenacious overseas was because the Golden CO plant was near full capacity. Sal had to make other arrangements because of it. Moving production overseas is not always about greed.
 
China may be capable of making a good knife, but I still just see them as serviceable budget knives and will always look to another country whenever possible.
I guess it's because They can offer higher end materials for a lower price.
 
There are plenty of options out there. If you don't like a company's business practices, you don't have to buy the product. Sometimes it can be a little frustrating, but how you handle the situation is entirely up to you.
 
I have zero issues with US companies making knives in China as long as they did not start in the US and move manufacturing there for profit. Spyderco is a good example. Their Chinese made knives were brought to market as a value line and they did not move US made knives there.

But in reality, the Chinese have just as much skill and ability to equal the quality of US made products. The reason we only see cheap products is that is what sells and what we expect. I have some Chinese high end audio gear that was designed and manufactured with zero US imput. The company loves audio and they make an extremly high quality product.
 
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