Country of Origin; does it matter to you?

903lew said:
I've thought some more about this.

A lot of people love buying from what they consider to be "their" people, which is only natural. However; IMO this is sort of counter-productive. America became the industrial powerhouse of the world not due to a robust internal market but due to outstanding quality and value. When my father was wee (1950s) "Made in USA" meant fresh, grand and world-beating. Also, it cost slightly less than "Made in [Old Europe]". But somewhere along the line several things happened. Not so much that American good became worse but rather that the rest of the world caught up.

America is the third country to benefit massively from a world economy. Before the US it was the UK and before that it was...China.

Nu, this is coming from a historian, so pardon the tangent. But once upon a time "we" in the west were the knock-off producers. Porcelain is called "China" in English due to Anglo-Saxon producers making cheap knock-off porcelain and marking it as "China", thus parasitising on an Eastern "brand". Sound familiar?

Today, IMO, the best consumer-grade porcelain is made by Villeroy & Boch in Northern Europe. Some of the best knives are made in the US and some others in Europe, Taiwan, Japan. One day I foresee knifemaking going full porcelain, no reason to suspect it won't. I, for one, look forwards to genuine Chinese designs made by genuinely Chinese companies. They are getting there and for me as a user, much like previous generations and tableware, this can only be a good thing.
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IMHO US manufacturing, benefited from so many factories being bombed out overseas during the World Wars. Having an untouched and bolstered manufacturing base from these wars and the, natural and human resources at home to back them up to dominate the world market place.

Since the renewing of China's most-favored trade status in the 90's, manufactures closing their factory doors in the US went fast Forward, giving away their lead.
 
Nellem said:
When you know a company is well run by people that shares the same values as yourself it would be wrong not to support such a company irrespective of where it is based. By supporting such people in "hostile" environments you strengthen good in an atmosphere of evil. How I see it.
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In respect to Chinese products, this is not true, not even close. It's unfortunate, but they don't carry the same values as we would in our free countries because of the vast censorship and the input from their environments as they are raised in that demographic. We do not support the people of that country when we buy products, They are Communist and the government realizes that monetary benefit, Not the people. MAtter in fact, the people are abused by their government in the "Name of the People." It's twisted....

The problem is people fail to really understand that dynamic and think in depth...
 
Yes, I try to stay from Chinese and Taiwanese made blades. I've had experience with these lesser expensive models and haven't had much luck. In fact I've seen one break in my partners hand! I know many manufacturers use less quality materials (Yes I'm aware some...SOME companies use good materials, though it's few)and have them made there as a way to keep the cost down for all of us. I'd rather spend a bit more and get a higher quality product, in fact if I can spend money on something that backs our domestic work force then I'm a huge fan of that. (Yes I'm aware that not all the materials are from here) Plus being in law enforcement I can say Ive seen that old saying you get what you pay for show up in the equipment we use. (Or choose not to because of quality) Just my $0.02

-Rp13
 
My worry with buying even legitimate China made knives is that I worry that the same factories that are reducing legitimate products are the same factories that are producing the fakes that frustrate me to no end. Call it paranoia, or whatever you like, But I would be surprised if this wasn't the case. for that reason alone I choose not to support the knife producers in China.
 
Wish I could afford to buy a US made bicycle like I can afford to buy US made knives. They're just too expensive.
Cannondale was the last hope and they sold out.
 
I prefer to buy USA made especially, if I am going to spend over say 60 dollars on a knife. However i also just got my new kershaw cqc-7k made in china and i love it also. To sum it up it a definite positive but you still have to weigh out other criteria such as size, price, design, and weight
 
Not a huge deal for me. I generally try to buy as many knives made in America as possible, but if its a good knife, and I want it, I don't have a big problem with it being made in a different country
 
It depends on the price for me. I honestly can't see myself spending $200+ on a Taiwanese spyderco when I can find a western knife in the same price range.
 
I have a few foreign made knives, dragonfly, starmate, and some sak's. but the rest are US made and I try to stick with that. I've seen too many friends neighbors and family lose their jobs to outsourcing. And most of the time it's not for costomer affordability, the price of the outsourced product stays the same, the manufacturing cost goes down, and corporate profit goes up. This practice is not in my interests.
 
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