Chinese made knives - in the future...

HappyDaddy

HappyDaddy

Joined
Dec 21, 2013
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I'm not particularly interested the notion that China=bad. I am interested in what place folks think China will have in the future. It seems pretty clear that there is a growing willingness among manufacturers in China to produce high quality products, either for themselves or as contractors for foreign makers. While I don't yet own a Reate, the consensus certainly seems to be that the quality is high. I recently bought a CKF Morrf 4. As I understand it, the components are made in China and assembled in Russia. The quality is first rate. Many US manufacturers have lines made in China, generally their less expensive ones. My experience, primarily with Kershaw (but also Spyderco), is that the workmanship is quite good. My question is - where do folks see China going in the coming years? Will there be companies challenging the better US makers in quality and output? Will it ever challenge Japan and Taichung as a well known center for quality workmanship?
 
High quality knives with competitive prices, low quality crap, and everything in between. Chinese manufacturing is really stepping up, but that's to be expected with any country developing. If I recall from high school history class, US products were to considered to be junk in the 19th century and now I've bought a lot of overpriced junk German/Italian knives. Times change
 
Chinese people are just people at the end of the day, and capable of quality as much as anyone else... The corporations and market(s) will dictate the focus.

Companies like Reate, and Kizer, and even Real Steel are showing the shift in the Chinese market toward better quality oriented knives, though the market, regulations, and costs of production will also ensure plenty of low quality stuff will still be produced in that area as well...
 
Japanese products were similar years ago when I was a kid (1950's) and have been highly respected for many years now. Just a matter of time.
 
The quality will keep improving, I think. Look at the Kershaw/Emerson collaborations, pretty good quality. For me it is mostly a question of blade steel though.
If the flashlight market is at all similar, the Chinese will probably do great things in the near future.
 
Quality is mainly a question of money. If you want something made cheaply, there's probably a manufacturer in China that can make it cheaper than manufacturers in most other countries. But no matter where it is made, cheap is cheap. I can still remember the cheap Barlow style pocket knives my grandfather bought at the local hardware store 50 years ago. They were made in America, but the quality was not that much better than the cheap Chinese knives you'll find in stores today. Chinese manufacturers are certainly able to produce high quality goods, but there has to be a market wiling to pay the price. Once you add the costs of higher quality materials and better quality control, coupled with the inconvenience of working with a manufacturer halfway around the world (miss-communication, shipping, lead time, etc.), there's no longer such a huge savings over manufacturing in the USA, especially if automation can be used in the manufacturing process.
 
High quality Chinese knives produced by Chinese companies are not cheap enough to for go the customer service that American companies provide
 
Many of the brand names you'll see on this site make a big chunk / all of their products in China. I'm not against it, and I own and like many Chinese made knives. My only beef is a few of the older brand names that quietly switched their production to China and let older customers go righ on believing their products were still made in the USA and pay premium prices for their confusion. I don't really need to name names. A couple companies like Spyderco and Kershaw I think are really good with keeping their product lines separate and avoiding confusion. Not many people have beef with the Spyderco Tenacious.

As far as the products themselves, China has come a long way just in the last few years, and they've really upped their game. I have $7 pocket knives that have a fit and finish comparable to $100 and $200 knives, and that should scare the snot out of any manufacturer. I think that whoever builds a better mouse trap deserves the success, but you can also see the cycle of manufacturing as it went from USA-->Japan-->Korea. As each country raises its standard of living, it rests on its laurels and becomes less competitive, and China is next in line for that. As that happens, you'll see the pendulum swing the other way. It might even be happening now.

As labor here becomes cheaper and made in USA becomes competitive, I think we'll finally be able to bring sexy back. There's a few companies here who already are :)
 
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There is always going to be a market for cheap but above average quality products.
A goose may be laying golden eggs
But if its not going to be priced comfortably
At a point where the regular joe could reasonably afford,
Then One might as well look elsewhere for better deals.

So the future of just what the market would look like
Actually lies with the clever or not so smart decisions
Made by the majority of openly accepting consumers.

Lower production cost has always been the key.
If china has a game plan for knifeworld domination,
It won't be too long to see rivals buckling under
The numbers game.
For now the win-win situation seems to be oem.

This is the age of information
Just how long can anyone hope to keep anything a business secret?
Outsourcing may be the way for now.
Just maybe someday in the near future,
Mega chinese corporations might
Be buying over the more successful international brands
Which have been marketing their oem produce.

The one with the most technological superiority and know how, advances.
Science would surely win the day!
The day when one no longer seeks advancement
or have no longer the will nor the means to improve,
Had better simply call it a day.

China will innovate and try to succeed because
It is not just about the money
But more importantly,
It is about a people and a nation
That seeks pride and prestige
For recognition and praise
To seal their prominance and place under the sun.

The form of knives from tomorrow
May no longer resemble the likeness
In which we are familiar with.
Just think, or it in the historical context,
That the chinese had invented paper, gunpowder, chinaware and silk fabric.
Who is to say, that they can't come up with.something
Far cheaper and ecologically safer to manufacture and dispose?
Dare i think otherwise, for china's somewhat domineering role
in determining the future production of knives as man's oldest tool?
Just my 2 cents rant.
 
I've gotten a few good quality budget knives from Chinese companies but, this...

TheOutdoorNerd said:
My only beef is a few of the older brand names that quietly switched their production to China and let older customers go righ on believing their products were still made in the USA and pay premium prices for their confusion. I don't really need to name names. A couple companies like Spyderco and Kershaw I think are really good with keeping their product lines separate and avoiding confusion. Not many people have beef with the Spyderco Tenacious.
Click to expand...

And that is the fault of the companies buying the names.


It's all been said. The Chinese have cranked out low end stuff and will continue to do so while making more quality stuff as well just like other countries have.
 
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I don't know what future role Chinese made knives have in the global market but I do know what role they will play in my use: zero.
 
I think we are seeing the rise of a new power in the knife making world. I give it another 10 years before china is no longer synonymous with feelings of low quality. We are all ready seeing a huge growth in quality and IMHO its only a matter of time before they are regarded as highly as Japan and USA. In some cases I think the quality of certain chinese brands to actually exceed that of many well respected brands. IMHO certain stigmas and prejudices simply havent worn off which takes time. IMHO if people can pay $600-$2000 for a russian knife and rejoice about it there is no reason the same should not be done for a chinese knife.
 
Chinese makers will continue to make things (including knives) that make them money.

Just like everybody else.

There is no "grand scheme" going on other than that.

It's worth adding, I think, that I have the utmost respect for those folks who only buy Made in the USA, and tell us so on their Made in the USA computers and smart phones.
 
The Chinese manufacturing industry is maturing quickly and producing a wide variety or levels of quality as people in the US would see it. It is just a matter of time before there are a lot of Chinese branded knives that are considered very good. There will continue to be a market for lower priced knives as probably the majority of consumers would see little difference and are focused on price and appearance.
 
It's also worth noting that the Chinese economy has declined of late and it may be time to start focusing one's angst at one of the other emerging economies, like one of the others in BRICS.
 
onojoe said:
High quality Chinese knives produced by Chinese companies are not cheap enough to for go the customer service that American companies provide
Click to expand...

There is the fact that Chinese companies don't really have a presence in the USA. You get customer service only if the Chinese-made cutlery is distributed and branded as an established Western brand. But that is likely to change in time. Remember, at one time Panasonic, Sony, Honda, Toyota, Canon, Nikon and other Japanese companies had no presence in the US. And at one time Japan was looked upon as making inferior copies of Western products--Nikon became popular when they made cameras that copied the Zeiss Contax and Canon was known for making cameras copying the Leica design.

Eventually Japan stopped copying and started innovating and their reputation was made. I expect the same out of China.

Some day, those cheap knives from SRM, Elon, Ganzo, etc., might be collectors items, just like the Japanese-made Zeiss and Leica replica cameras and trinkets marked "Made In Occupied Japan".
 
In the future? I think the Chinese knives will all have lasers.

But I still will not buy them.
 
If they used better steel and dropped the weight of their knives by a couple of ounces then they would be on to something.
 
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