It's like that some people only choose to accept what they want to hear, and some people only say what others want to hear. I don't want to discuss political issues too much... As for knives, you will find that more and more Chinese made knives, more and more designers and family businesses choose to cooperate with Chinese OEM factories in the market., We can win their trust not only by low price, but also by product quality and reputation. In fact, I envy you in the United States. You can buy knives with good design and quality at a very appropriate price. In China, we may have to pay more price for some reasons, because most OEM knives are not sold in China. This is a trend. Friends, look at the $200 to $500 knives. You will find that many are OEM in China. Think about the same CNC knives made in the United States. How much will you spend? You can imagine that this is a kind of competition. Nowadays, many American knife companies have also improved the quality of their products. Think about the quality of the knives in your hands ten years ago and compare them with the current ones. What prompted such progress? You can think about it. Without Chinese OEM, knives manufacturers may increase their prices every year according to the cost, and the quality will stagnate, because when you want to buy knives, you have no choice but to choose their products.
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Could these Chinese knives really be that good?
- Thread starter AshesFall
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I actually 100% agree that without the explosion of well made, mainly Chinese produced knives of the past decade, the US companies would still be treading water or worse. Nostalgia aside the knife market is much better for the buyer these days.
Chronovore
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Here's the thing. Big governments sometimes do very bad things. The Chinese government is no exception. From Mao's Great Leap Forward to the current treatment of religious minorities, there has been a lot of bad over the years. Unfortunately, our government is also no exception. Most of what it does and most of what it spends is far outside of its constitutional limitations. It has meddled in the affairs of many other nations, whether by influencing elections, arming extremists, or outright invading and occupying them. It also created the economic situation that promoted outsourcing and stifled domestic manufacturing in the first place.
Now, I'm not saying that the two governments are equal. The point is that (1) things are not so black and white and (2) the ultimate effect of where a person chooses to spend knife money is largely negligible with respect to influencing any of the offending issues in either nation. People actively seeking such change would be vastly better served by political activism in places other than Blade Forums. A third and general point is to remember that neither people nor knife companies are necessarily representative of their governments or ruling establishments.
There’s absolutely no prejudgment in what I’m saying and I’m not accusing you of committing genocide. I don’t need to go to China to know that the Chinese government is actively murdering religious minorities and interfering with the sovereignty of a world-recognized independent nation. It’s likewise no coincidence that China is investing in ICBM technology that can circumvent US defense systems. No company in China is private because the government is so centralized and powerful that they can force entities to do whatever they (the government) wants them to do, or shut them down otherwise. Again, China maintains an absolute advantage over most of the globe when it comes to manufacturing most things, including high-end electronics. As such, I am forced, to a degree, to do business with Chinese companies. However, if I can find an American-made alternative with similar fit and finish at a similar price point, then I’m going to buy that knife over something made in China.
That said: the real pride in this case is you. You’ve spent the entire thread basically espousing nationalism by explaining to us all how much better China is at manufacturing than the rest of the globe while also shilling for Chinese companies and becoming near-belligerent when someone states that they’d rather buy domestic. So, who’s paying you to play this fiddle?
First, I never stated the issue was without nuance, I’m just not going to discuss that nuance in a forum when I can explain my situation flatly and without regard to complexity; it’s a simple explanation.
Second, I never stated the Chinese people or the Chinese knife manufacturers are representative of their government. What is absolutely true is that the money spent on Chinese goods is still taxed and then taken and used by a corrupt government. Simply put: there are no real private entities within China, because the government controls every aspect of that company’s growth. In the US a company can still protect its customers from the desires of an overreaching government without regard for extreme consequences.
Finally, activism and product purchasing choices aren’t mutually exclusive. You can take part in activism and limit your business dealings with genocidal countries at the same time. I’m not trying to take down China with my lack of business; I’m simply choosing not to allocate hard-earned funds to a company who then pays taxes to a government who uses the money to fund genocide.
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