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Chinese All-Stars!!! V.2
- Thread starter blixxx
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- Jun 28, 2012
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Precisely. It seems most BF members believe the rest of the world care about US made knives and hate Chinese knives like we do. But many foreigners treat US knives and Chinese knives the same; foreign imports.
We aren't the only country that can a good knife you know...
It depends on what you consider good knives and for what you are going to use them for. I have an Italian made SigTac Rangemaster knife that is awesome! I also love my H&K Ghost, which I got as a beater knife and boy does it get beaten. Both good knives in thier own right. I have a few knives that are US made (Benchmade, Gerber) and they are great knives. I am more likely to use the SigTac or the Ghost for hard use, just because I don't want to chance the thought of ruining the other knives. Plus my Benchmades and Gerbers are mainly work knives, not utility knives.
I guess I can sum it up as, for hard use its the Ghost and the SigTac. For putting my life on the line, its the Benchmades and the Gerbers.
I guess I can sum it up as, for hard use its the Ghost and the SigTac. For putting my life on the line, its the Benchmades and the Gerbers.
You might wanna switch it up because I think some of your "beaters" are now discontinued, so they should retire in the safe?
Knives made by Chinese companies only? Does that include Chinese companies that profits off of creating identical knock offs/counterfeits of more popular higher quality knives?
Yeah.
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That's pretty much what Modern China is known for; counterfeiting and creating knockoffs via short cuts and cheap steel, so why even bother thinking about them? Now if it was back in during the old days of China (pre-communist), where they had respectable quality of craftsmanship, then that would be a different story. Sucks for those private knife making companies that tries to go above Modern China's standards as the world is seeing China with a certain opinion of how China is screwing up across the board. Better that the private companies leave China in order to make a name for themselves outside of China.
Ok, so you don't have any knife models you wanna share?
My list of Chinese brand favorites:
1. SRM 962 -- looks like a Vex but with Axis-type lock. (And no, I don't care about "stealing" designs or even patent infringement, since US patents are not extra-territorial -- i.e., SRM could not legally import their Axis-type locks into the US, if in fact they do infringe.)
2. Bee/Enlan EL01, EL02, EL03C, EL04 and EL06-- though I hate those proprietary pivots.
3. Ganzo G701, G702, G704, G710, G711 and G712
4. Navy K607, K631 and K632
I was not impressed with the Inron 803, which might have an outline similar to a Hinderer but nothing else much like one and is too thin to be comfortable in hand. I've bought, sold, traded and given away other knives from the above list of brands, none of which were bad knives. But the ones I've listed are my favorites that are still available.
1. SRM 962 -- looks like a Vex but with Axis-type lock. (And no, I don't care about "stealing" designs or even patent infringement, since US patents are not extra-territorial -- i.e., SRM could not legally import their Axis-type locks into the US, if in fact they do infringe.)
2. Bee/Enlan EL01, EL02, EL03C, EL04 and EL06-- though I hate those proprietary pivots.
3. Ganzo G701, G702, G704, G710, G711 and G712
4. Navy K607, K631 and K632
I was not impressed with the Inron 803, which might have an outline similar to a Hinderer but nothing else much like one and is too thin to be comfortable in hand. I've bought, sold, traded and given away other knives from the above list of brands, none of which were bad knives. But the ones I've listed are my favorites that are still available.
Just so you're aware, the Sigtac Rangemaster is a sleeper. Lion Steel made them for Fox, who then sold them heavily reduced to Sig to unload them. I know at one point you could buy them as cheap as $40, ehere as a similar design from Lion Steel would normally bring hundreds of dollars more. Very good knives, and I don't know what they make their liners out of but they don't seem to wear out.
I miss mine. I was gifted it by a buddy and later gave it back. He recently got murdered randomly and his sister took off with all of his belongings and lost it.
China is the fastest growing economy on the planet by a mile; they're hardly "screwing up across the board". As for good quality knives made there look no further than CS, Kershaw, Kabar, Spyderco, the list goes on and on. The folks manufacturing for many of those companies are extremely competent in the processes and quality control, it just depends on whether the client wants to pay for the best or just "alright".
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that's what they're known for, but that's not all they are.
they make nice, original things just like anyone else. hell, my nicest, and most expensive watch is 100% Chinese. it's an old Chinese company that makes very high quality manual movements in nice watches. 100% in house design and manufacture
Not trying to be rude, but I believe an unemployed veteran in America lives better than an employee working 10+ hours a day in China...
Now coming back to the original topic, I was quite impressed of the Sanrenmu 763. It is well made and an original design (except for the axis lock, of course, but this may be subject to endless debates considering there are many American companies using variations of the axis-lock themselves).
Here is the Sanrenmu 763:
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I think that this is a huge extradition. IMHO most even US based BF members absolutely do not care, where things made, just get them as cheap as possible. And yes there are many countries, where good knife can be made as long as they have access to a good steel.
Alex, with all due respect, I would love to know where this information come from?
Also, I can be wrong, but I have an impression that most BF members live in US. And IMHO any US resident owes our veterans a lot for their service to us, I do not think that we owe anything to people of People's Republic of China. They do not owe us anything as well.
I hope I didn't offend anybody with my post and didn't violate any rules more than others posting in this thread.
GronK
Gold Member
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You're not being rude. You're just completely off the mark. Your statement above, if not based on first hand observations in both the US and China, is meaningless and doesn't have any connection to either the OP or my comment you responded to. Have a nice day.
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I'm not American (I'm South American), and I used to own an outdoors equipment shop that solde knives. So here are my two centavos on how a foreigner sees this.
The US, Germany, Switzerland and other countries have earned a reputation for high quality knives and firearms. So most folks here who can spend the money, try to get a knife from one of those countries. Even if a US made Spyderco costs double MSRP, it will sell well. Uninformed customers, or those who still believe some 19th century knife myths, will refuse to believe there can be QC issues with a centuries old German brand or that a Taiwanese knife can be any good. I've had customer happily take home knives that I'd have returned just because they trusted the brand and country of origin (I was always honest about flaws, the knife collector circle is rather small here).
I sold tons of Byrd folders, Tenacious, and similar stuff which were usually bought by guys who were into knives and did a bit of internet research. Some of them couldn't afford a US made knife, or couldn't justify EDCing it, so they looked for good performance at a lower price and went for Rat-1, Tenacious, Cara Cara, budget Kershaws, etc. People who knew nothing about knives and weren't interested in quality but rather cool looks and low price, would flock to cheaply made Chinese folders (a local distributor rebrands them and packages them nicely).
In a poor country like mine, you really have to love knives to EDC something like a Sebenza. Most workers make (a lot less) less than a thousand dollars a month, start factoring in taxes, rent, food and other expenses and you'll soon understand why inexpensive Chinese knives that perform well are popular here. Imports are heavily taxed and limited by our government, that drives prices up even further.
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So the trolling level is reaching critical mass here. The thread was started to discuss good Chinese made knives, not rag on everything about China. Seriously people, grow up.
That said, I have quite a few Chinese knives that I love. They are capable or making an excellent knife. Once they up their QC game, they will easily match US and Taiwan for product quality. Most of the knives from SRM, Enlan, Inron, and Ganzo offer excellent value for the price. The only thing I hate about Chinese knives is that they don't have warranty usually (unless they were contracted for an American company).
That said, I have quite a few Chinese knives that I love. They are capable or making an excellent knife. Once they up their QC game, they will easily match US and Taiwan for product quality. Most of the knives from SRM, Enlan, Inron, and Ganzo offer excellent value for the price. The only thing I hate about Chinese knives is that they don't have warranty usually (unless they were contracted for an American company).
GronK
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That's certainly possible. They may even come up with some original designs and innovations. When that time comes, though, the price will probably also come near to matching that charged for the offerings of other countries.
As for trolling, any time the subject of Chinese knives comes up (or Strider or Cold Steel or "worth it") there will be negative opinions expressed. Shout "Haters!" and "Trolls" all you want but it's just folks who you don't agree with. Respond or ignore but it will continue to happen.