Chinese quality and offerings better than North American?

I would rather buy American just to support my own country but I have plenty of chinese manufactured goods that are really products. They have proven they can make good product if the buyer is willing to pay. Where I think the chinese got the bad rap is when someone wants a 4 blade stockman with bone handle and want to retail it for $6 at the gas station counter. China can make that product and then they take a beating for making crappy products.

Another hobby, flashlights, is flooded with the vast majority of top brands making outstanding torches in China.
 
Boats said:
LOL. How naïve is it to not recognize that international trade and politics are inextricably intertwined EVERYWHERE? Those that blithely dismiss that there is a larger and overarching political dimension to this topic, just because of their own purchase history "proving" otherwise, are delusional.
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Here in GKD, I don't care whether you think I'm naive or not about international politics. In Political I might.

But please do go on anyways. I like yer 5 dollar words. :D
 
I would have to say that China is making some great knives right know but when I buy a knife I am buying almost as much for CS and what the company represents.
I can get on the phone right now call Benchmade and have them send me a free new clip for my 710. Probably arrive in less than 4 days.
Spyderco, I sent in PM 2 because it was off center (anal I know) and had it back in less than 10 business days for the cost of $13 including shipping.
I have seen ZT over and over go out of their way for their customers.
CRK, I think just the name alone speaks for itself.
Busse, break your knife, get a free one or at least store credit of equal value, no questions asked.
As far as I know Reate/Kizer (insert foreign company name here) dont offer that level of service.
Also for the price of many higher priced Chinese made knives I can pretty easily get a midtech from amazing custom makers at the same price.
Just my .02 opinion, Cheers
 
My grandfather would never buy something from Japan; has something to do with a war :rolleyes: In the 80's 90's Sakai was making excellent knives for people like Al Mar, Blackjack, and Cold Steel; I have a few. Knock offs from Japan were rife in the 70's.

The USA will probably come up with a real light sabre; well thats if the UK doesn't beat them to it :p. Probably have them made in India, or even North Korea once its iron curtain has fallen.

What is also interesting is what Company actually owns a knife manufacturer. Not aways who you think.
 
How about this:

I can't gripe about the loss of blue collar jobs and manufacturing if when making a purchase and I'm presented with an option to buy American and don't.
 
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GermanyChris said:
How about this:

I can't gripe about the loss of blue collar jobs and manufacturing if when making a purchase and am presented with an option to buy American and don't.
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That's how I see it as well. I have no doubts about the quality that the high-end Chinese companies are capable of now. For me, though, it's as much about who I choose to support as it is about bang for the buck. I'd rather support companies that don't seek to pay as little as possible for labor.
 
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It is quite a big faux pas to mix "made in" and "made by" these days.

The CNC machines definitely don't care where they are but if the person punching the numbers in has spent 30 years of their life making knives you have more pull than a person at a pop up company that in 2 years will dissolve, rename itself and then start making car parts, and then in 2 years dissolve, rename itself and start making medical supplies.

Unfortunately that fluid business model is kind of what China is really good at now; it's the way their system is structured. It's great if you're a guy with some bucks and a great idea that you need to get to market but not so great for the institutional memory and company history.
 
I agree with Charlie Mike, with a tip of the hat to Greenjacket for providing such a solid basis for this overall discussion. I have several high end CNC midtechs and appreciate them very much. Nonetheless, they are still basically just machines made by machines and, to me, meant to be used rather than collected. I don't care where they come from (although my 2 main edc' are Southards). What bothers me is that increasingly few people care anything for what Greenjacket referred to as "soul". To me, that special something simply can't be brought to life by computers or machines no matter how well done. Call me old fashioned, but the only knives I really have an attachment to are made primarily by hand, especially when obtained directly from the maker. You can get very nice "handmade" knives right here in the US for the same price as high end foreign mid-techs. I wish more folks would try that avenue rather than get caught up in the latest fashion supporting more computer jocks (wherever they may be) than honest bladesmiths.

Sorry for the tangent - this discussion just hit a nerve. Ultimately, to each his own.
 
Lots of countries make lots of great knives. I'm interested in all of them!
 
We lost so many US knife makers of Slipjoints it makes me sick .So I buy a Case or Two a year the rest made in the USA except for some RR.
 
clearkevin said:
Hey Guys
I recently raise this point in a video and was surprized by the reaction thought I would bring it up here. First I'm Canadian so buying knives from my home country is not an option. That said I do tend to prefer North American made stuff. But (and its a big but) I am really loving the overseas high end stuff. Kizer with their colaborations Reate with high end high quality offerings, We Knife Company, Rike knives, and even a few others. My grip is this other than ZT I don't see a lot of US manufacturers even trying to compete in this market where is the US version of the We Knife Company 601? Or CKF Morf, or the Reate Torrent. These are all designs I love and just don't see much by way of a US made option again other than ZT. Midtech's don't help much because they are way more expensive these days plus they are nearly always just plain Ti with a stonewash on everything (and now many US makers are having Chinese manufacturers make their midtech/ high end production). One last thing which is price point is not the main thing as ZT can produce amazing stuff for just over $200. So it seems for a time at least I'll be satisfying my urge for titanium frame locks by going to overseas sources (that is after I get a 4 max).
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USA or any west country can not compete with China in production . The Chinese have a very cheap labor force , in general do not take care of the ecology during the production, which is a very large cost to the West ,and many other things ...They have strange laws, and you can not sue them .If You still sue someone there .... process through the courts will last for years .... The bad thing is they started to make high-quality and competitive products in recent years ....On the other hand western products are much overpriced .
 
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whitty said:
I know this forum has people from all countries on it so I will try to word my response with out offending anyone.

To the OP, you said:

"My grip is this other than ZT I don't see a lot of US manufacturers even trying to compete in this market"

Benchmade, Southern Grind, Hinderer, Emerson, Hoback, Chavez, Strider, Chris Reeve and now even DPX is working furiously to make their first folder in the USA. These companies are growing and trying to make their knives more available to the public.


My personal issue with any knife coming out of China is that there are also a ton of Counterfeit knives coming from the same country. These fakes have identical looking boxes even with the makers actual address on them. The markings on the blade are almost perfect. These are being made in China and shipped everywhere. This garbage hurts U.S. manufacturing. I personally have no way of knowing that some of these factories that are now making these higher end knives did not get their start making knock offs. Until the counterfeit market from China goes away there is no way I will support a single product from their.

Just my 2 cents.
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Damn how could I have forgotten Southern Grind?! Probably the most "soul" of any knife I carry! American as apple pie and as southern as Pecan pie, cant go wrong with that.
 
I have nothing against country of manufacture for any particular knife and I find many of Reate's and Kizer's models very appealing, however I have used geography as an arbitrary method of limiting the pool of knives I would like to buy. I'm slowly working my way through western Europe (currently discovering French cutlery) and will eventually make it to Asia...
 
I've figured out exactly what I need and like in an edc knife ( knives of the current trend just don't do it for me )
And know that my needs in an edc knife are fulfilled perfectly by American companies at an adorable price.
If I did need or like tactical folders of the current trend I might have to try a company like kizer because of budget, and because people seem to like the quality.

I wouldn't feel good about it though, because If I can get a Chinese knife for the same price as an American knife I will always buy American, but honestly I wouldn't have to choose anyway because buck and case make exactly what I want at prices I like.
 
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I'd rather buy a nice knife for a good price, and I'm not going to support a specific company because it's American. The hurrdurr American made has soul and is superior to asian-made knives argument is bull. I could easily say American knives have no soul and European/Asian ones do based on their history. After trying Reate and now buying a Kizer I don't see myself buying another ZT in the forseeable future.
 
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Seilu said:
I'd rather buy a nice knife for a good price, and I'm not going to support a specific company because it's American. The hurrdurr American made has soul and is superior to asian-made knives argument is bull. I could easily say American knives have so soul and European/Asian ones do based on their history. After trying Reate and now buying a Kizer I don't see myself buying another ZT in the forseeable future.
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+1 too much ethnocentrism here
 
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