Country of Origin; does it matter to you?

Nellem said:
Do you know the history of Chris Reeve and the Sebenza? And what about LionSteel (you sell them BTW)? Fällkniven, Rockstead, Victorinox, ...

When it comes to custom knives just from South Africa you will be hard pressed to beat André Van Heerden, André Thorburn, Des Horn, Rob Brown, ... (there are so many). Neill Schutte from SA just won the Best Fighter Award at Blade Show. Owen Wood is ex-SA.

Do the US have a better blade making history/tradition than Japan?

Let us not confuse patriotism with quality.

Steve Jobs - the über perfectionist - was happy to let the Chinese make iPhone, iPads, etc. Why? Because excellence comes not from the soil the factory was build on.
Click to expand...

Well, the guy you responded to runs a web knife store that specifically only sells USA made knives so I don't think its in his best interest or would even bother to entertain your point of view.
 
My thoughts. If you look into surfing you will discover that back in the day some big name guys( Al Merrick ) started to shape surf boards by way of computer. All boards were hand shaped in the day. Now you take some other guys board that was hand made from start to finish, measure it, shape it all by computerized machinery. You just stole some guys sole/art. Greed.
Now, send that same manufacturing to china where there is no EPA to tell you how to make foam, resin, dust created by the shaping process, you can kiss the artist goodbye. Go to Costco for your next stick. It has already happened in what was a fairly clean industry.
Knives are next. That cool American blade will impress the hell out of your great grand kids some day, because they wont have the option.
 
Nellem said:
Let's say you and I share the exact same value system but I live in a country that you don't like. I am working hard to make a living in my country making good quality knives. Per your argument you will not buy my products because you don't like the government I live under ... a government I did not choose?

In too many minds the world is binary ... everything is black and white.
Click to expand...
Correct. I do not want my money supporting the economy of your country. Not a because of you but because of your country.
 
Stays Sharp said:
The Chinese can build anything to anyone's specs. Alot of the crap products that gave them that bad reputation has something to do with companies' decision to save money also.
Click to expand...

How about the eastern span of the bay bridge?
 
after 2 US made and 7 made in china my answer is a resounding - YUP!
only US made for me from now on, all my china made fails in one way or the other. (blade play & lock issues)
 
I have knives made here, Japan, Taiwan, and China. It isn't a huge factor to me. I prefer states made stuff, but it's definitely not a deal breaker. As long as it's quality I don't care if it's made on the moon.
 
ZachFowler45 said:
I have knives made here, Japan, Taiwan, and China. It isn't a huge factor to me. I prefer states made stuff, but it's definitely not a deal breaker. As long as it's quality I don't care if it's made on the moon.
Click to expand...

I'd pay extra for a knife made on the moon. Like, a lot extra.
 
Catrepair said:
Most if not all of the fed. projects prohibit Chinese materials. sometimes India too.
structural steel inspection/ndt is my trade.
Click to expand...
Funding was secured via HBRR and TIFIA Federal programs .Not factual information and I am sorry for spraying a little brake cleaner on this thread.Lets try to keep the nuts and bolts of this thread on topic.Sorry about veering off topic, but my relatives worked on both the Golden Gate and original Bay Bridge.
San Francisco-Oakland Bay Bridge Controversially Made in China
The decision by California transportation officials to hire a Chinese company June 08, 2014 article
Yes it matters to me!
 
Last edited:
salmonkiller said:
Funding was secured via HBRR and TIFIA Federal programs .Not factual information and I am sorry for spraying a little brake cleaner on this thread.Lets try to keep the nuts and bolts of this thread on topic.Sorry about veering off topic, but my relatives worked on both the Golden Gate and original Bay Bridge.
San Francisco-Oakland Bay Bridge Controversially Made in China
The decision by California transportation officials to hire a Chinese company June 08, 2014 article
Yes it matters to me!
Click to expand...
The article you linked validated my point. "Against the code"
 
Yes it matters .
I personally believe in supporting your own.

There are excellent craftsman all over the world but to me that's not the point. I only own one knife not made in the USA which is a Spyderco Sage2 and it's just a matter of time before it is sold or traded.
 
Haze said:
That statement in bold is just not true at all. Machine shops and knife workshops are the same all over the world and are just as capable as each other. I have seen mind boggling craftsmanship from all sorts of places in the world. There is really nothing exclusive to the US in that regard.
What the US does have is a large number of knife companies, individual makers and societies/organisatiuons (like the ABS and Knife Rights) as well as a solid knife culture. There are many firsts and much broken ground to come from the US knife industry, there is no taking that away from the US but don't let yourself get carried away with it. :)
Click to expand...

It is just an opinion with no disrespect to anyone intended. Part of my statement was not true for sure though as we do sell one knife made in Italy!
 
Nellem said:
Do you know the history of Chris Reeve and the Sebenza? And what about LionSteel (you sell them BTW)? Fällkniven, Rockstead, Victorinox, ...

When it comes to custom knives just from South Africa you will be hard pressed to beat André Van Heerden, André Thorburn, Des Horn, Rob Brown, ... (there are so many). Neill Schutte from SA just won the Best Fighter Award at Blade Show. Owen Wood is ex-SA.

Do the US have a better blade making history/tradition than Japan?

I have seen amazing knives made from every country but do think when done right no one can beat out what is done in the US. This also includes the latest innovation in designs and technology. I actually met a custom maker from South Africa while at Blade Show. His work was astounding, so trust me I am not trashing other counties with my statement or saying no one can do it but the U.S.

Let us not confuse patriotism with quality.

Steve Jobs - the über perfectionist - was happy to let the Chinese make iPhone, iPads, etc. Why? Because excellence comes not from the soil the factory was build on.
Click to expand...

I have seen amazing knives made from every country but do think when done right no one can beat out what is done in the US. This also includes the latest innovation in designs and technology. I actually met a custom maker from South Africa while at Blade Show. His work was astounding, so trust me I am not trashing other counties with my statement or saying no one can do it but the U.S. As for the history of Chris Reeve, apparently I have to do my homework because I don't know where you are coming from on that (if you want to PM me on it I would love to know). Well aware of Lionsteel. There is a very good reason that we broke our U.S. Made policy for them but it will be short lived. Amazing knives though and we have a ton of respect for them! All in all it comes down to a matter of individual opinion and choice. We like quality knives made in the USA and we are hoping other people do to. We are also hoping to keep more production from American knife makers here in the U.S. and less overseas. I don't see how that can be wrong?
 
I like USA knives, or at least USA companies. I love Spyderco, but some of their best stuff is made in Taiwan.
 
Nellem said:
Let's say you and I share the exact same value system but I live in a country that you don't like. I am working hard to make a living in my country making good quality knives. Per your argument you will not buy my products because you don't like the government I live under ... a government I did not choose?

In too many minds the world is binary ... everything is black and white.
Click to expand...

I definitely see your point here.

But (and I'll classify this as a friendly debate, or not even a debate, because I don't think it'll turn into any sort of argument which we'd all like to avoid) I've also seen the other side of this coin... I have friends who work in a factory producing goods for the U.S. in a certain overseas country (not China). They work in terrible conditions, are paid little, and the factories themselves are not up to code... a fact which resulted in some of my friends sustaining injuries when the roof caved in on them.. The other problem is, I know my friends there would see very little, if any, of my money. I would be supporting their economy, but I know I wouldn't really be supporting them, or their families, but instead, perpetuating the conditions they live in. For that reason I try not to buy clothing/et al produced by this country (which thankfully is fairly easy to do).

I want my friends there to make a decent living, but I already know unless I can truly put my money in their hands, it isn't really helping them. Just my two cents.
 
You must log in or register to reply here.
Back
Top