Can China made produce a good blade?

[KingMC]

Yes, they can. Yes, they already do. Yes, you have to be kinda selective to find them.

 

[22-rimfire]

AG has been importing a lot of his knives from China and Japan. I do believe he pays attention to the quality. Before China, it was mostly Japan and Taiwan.

 

[Bob W]

AG has been importing a lot of his knives from China and Japan. I do believe he pays attention to the quality. Before China, it was mostly Japan and Taiwan.

The new Taiwan-made version of the Hunters Scalpel is at least as good as the old Japanese version. The grinds are more precise, the knife is less rattly in the sheath, and the steel is better. And all for the same price.

 

[Bigfattyt]

That's interesting. Do you know which particular brands? I have to admit I'm not sure I like traditionals being mass produced in China. I'll have to get over that

Interestingly there is a news report on right now here about China's swing toward high quality and high tech manufacture.

AG Russel has traditional knives made there. Very high quality for the price. And I mean that. The quality was amazing on the example I had for the price.

Especially when compared to comparable US made traditionals in that price range.

 

[ichor]

Got my first pocket knife when I was 6 years old ( my dad was a butcher...not a meat cutter) I own a lot nice of knives made by just about any company you can name, at least a 100 or so. My curiosity got the better of me, after reading so much about Chinese made knives, so I ordered pocket knives made by Enlan, Sanrenmu, and Ganzo. After examining them very closely, for the usual, fit and finish, mechanical performance and lock up, blah blah, and playing with them for a month (no "hard use" of any kind), I'll be damned if I can come up with anything negative to say. Fact is...they're pretty damn nice. Shrug

 

[Inazone]

It is sometimes difficult for me to remove politics from my judgement of Chinese products, but I can usually do so and instead consider only the following:

1) As has been stated time and again, some of the worst products coming out of China are those built for American brands to fill their lower-priced product lines.
2) Quality manufacturing costs money, from materials to equipment to skilled workers, and if the American company can't guarantee any of those, they need to at least employ strict quality control methods.
3) Given a big enough sample size of the same products, you will find duds. However, when it comes to something relatively simple such as knives, which the consumer/user can determine quickly on his or her own as having or not having flaws, it then calls into question how an established American knife company like Gerber (the go-to BFC whipping boy) can skimp on materials AND let huge numbers of crappy knives through QC to reach retailers . . . unless they don't specify materials and/or don't employ any proper QC methods.

Other than a few novelty purchases as a kid, I didn't really start buying knives until a few years ago, but in that time, any knives that have either failed through light use or come to me significantly flawed were made in China. Some had functional issues right out of the box (Gerber, CRKT, Coast, Kershaw) while others (Gerber, MTech, Smith & Wesson) failed during the course of normal, generally light use. To be fair, the only two companies I contacted for warranty service were Kershaw and CRKT. Kershaw promptly sent me a replacement knife, while CRKT told me I was out of luck because my knife was a discontinued model (still readily available from dealers two years later) that they no longer had parts for. The latter was a knife with so many flaws, some serious, that no QC professional ever would have let it leave the factory. Luckily, the dealer replaced it when CRKT would not, and the replacement is flawless.

Meanwhile, from a smaller sample set, my knives made by Chinese companies in the first place (Kizer, Harnds, Ganzo) have so far proven reliable, which is what I consider the ultimate determining factor of a good knife.

 

[Stays Sharp]

It's all about what specs companies want. They want top quality specs, they pay higher. Let's be honest here, companies go to China to save as much as possible on labor and on materials.

 

[leghog]

Unfortunately, threads like this one never end well. Too much emotion and not enough facts. As a general rule, however, those who speak the loudest know the least. So take whatever's said here with a grain of salt.

That's really rich, coming from you on this topic. Best laugh so far today. Thanks!

 

[leghog]

that's your decision, of course. But it doesn't have anything to do with the quality of the knives. Quality along with cost are what matter most to me. Ymmv.

that's the problem.

You have no ideal what the cost really is....just the cost to you and today....

That is typical blind consumerism at it's finest.

bingo!

 

[trojanc1]

Try Sanrenmu, you will find that quality.

 

[bld522]

That's really rich, coming from you on this topic. Best laugh so far today. Thanks!

You're welcome. I'm glad I'm able to start your day off with a smile. Anything meaningful you'd like to contribute to the topic this morning? As a brief reminder, we're talking about whether China can produce good knives. So far, I've yet to hear anyone who has personal hands-on experience with knives manufactured in China say they can't. But who knows? Maybe you'll be the first . . .

 

[craytab]

If over site is stringent can a quality blade come out of China?

Of course. To think otherwise would be ignorant....

 

[leghog]

QUOTE=bld522;15152653]

Unfortunately, threads like this one never end well. Too much emotion and not enough facts. As a general rule, however, those who speak the loudest know the least. So take whatever's said here with a grain of salt.

That's really rich, coming from you on this topic. Best laugh so far today. Thanks!

You're welcome. I'm glad I'm able to start your day off with a smile. Anything meaningful you'd like to contribute to the topic this morning? As a brief reminder, we're talking about whether China can produce good knives. So far, I've yet to hear anyone who has personal hands-on experience with knives manufactured in China say they can't. But who knows? Maybe you'll be the first . . .[/QUOTE]You know my position. My experience with Chinese knives show them to often be crap and often copies./intellectual and commercial trademark theft. So corrupt an overly stringent QC program is required to consistently get what you pay for, otherwise you can't trust you are actually getting what you contract for or what your are told you are getting.

But then again, you already knew my position; however, back to my original comment --- you are one of those how speak the loudest and most often on this subject. Just look at the recent thread you started on this very subject.

 

[KenHash]

A good blade can be made anywhere no matter the stigma the territory has. IMHO the only reason china had a reputation for poor quality was because that was all they were commissioned to build for the longest time. China is very much the new japan. In fact I would say they are advancing at a rate that puts japan to shame.

Could you provide some evidence to support this claim? Because frankly I think it's nonsense. Well to do Chinese consumers seek out Japanese cutlery and scoff at domestic ones.

 

[bld522]

Of course. To think otherwise would be ignorant....

Or more likely, wishful thinking by those who just can't stand the truth. The fact is, most of them have been around here long enough to know that they don't have a leg to stand on if they attack the knives themselves. There are just too many of us now with hands-on experience that know fantastic knives can and do come from China. So they have to go after something (or somebody) else to try to pull posts like this one off topic or get them locked. That's about the only strategy they've got left. And they're always easy to spot. They're the ones that talk about everything BUT the knives.

 

[mhanlen]

So I just did a few reviews of some ganzo knives. The 722 really impressed me. I even put it through a bunch of abuse. So the answer I think is- they can.

https://youtu.be/ybsbG6i4XdQ

 

[davek14]

 

[bld522]

My experience with Chinese knives show them to often be crap and often copies./intellectual and commercial trademark theft. So corrupt an overly stringent QC program is required to consistently get what you pay for, otherwise you can't trust you are actually getting what you contract for or what your are told you are getting.

Please do regale us of the Chinese-made knives you personally have owned and evaluated so I know which ones to avoid. Thanks.

 

[mhanlen]

That bad huh?

 

[bld522]

Could you provide some evidence to support this claim? Because frankly I think it's nonsense. Well to do Chinese consumers seek out Japanese cutlery and scoff at domestic ones.

Could you please provide some evidence to support yours?