custom knives in china

K

kungfucowboy

Joined
Oct 27, 2008
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290
I finally found a site like blade forum for china (where i'm living). i was just hoping to find someone who knew where to buy materials at but i stumbled across some amazing makers

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you can find more by this same guy here http://bbs.52dao.cn/thread.php?fid=34

other awsome makers here http://bbs.52dao.cn/index.php?cateid=29

i was a little surpised that there is a decent knife making culture here now i just need to make my wife help me read the whole forum and find out when and where they have knife shows :D
 
I'm not surprised. Their metallurgical technology is advanced enough to send stuff into space, and their capitalistic economy has created enough rich people who can afford such knives. It's just a matter of time before somebody there figure out there's a market for high quality traditional chinese style custom knives. Let us know what you find, will you?
 
Not everything that comes out of China is low quality, and with 1.3 billion people, there is bound to be some talent.

Those are nice knives.

Kevin
 
The etching on that first knife reminds me of some of the etching seen in a few of Tim Britton's slipjoints. Really nice stuff.
 
Dag-nabit said:
Not everything that comes out of China is low quality, and with 1.3 billion people, there is bound to be some talent.
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True. Furthermore, the technology involved in making really good knives isn't cutting edge (ahem!). In fact, it's one of the oldest technologies in history, and not particularly isolated to any one part of the globe. China's recent great advances have not been in knife technology specifically, but in mass manufacturing technology.

Which makes me curious about the knives, though. Are these, in fact, custom knives? China's economy has advanced unbelievably in the last twenty years, but I am still skeptical that such a niche domestic market can be very healthy there as of yet. I can see stuff like this being factory produced for foreign consumption quite easily.

Can anyone provide translation?
 
shecky said:
True. Furthermore, the technology involved in making really good knives isn't cutting edge (ahem!). In fact, it's one of the oldest technologies in history, and not particularly isolated to any one part of the globe. China's recent great advances have not been in knife technology specifically, but in mass manufacturing technology.

Which makes me curious about the knives, though. Are these, in fact, custom knives? China's economy has advanced unbelievably in the last twenty years, but I am still skeptical that such a niche domestic market can be very healthy there as of yet. I can see stuff like this being factory produced for foreign consumption quite easily.

Can anyone provide translation?
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While their technology is not specifically geared toward consumer cutlery, it's easy enough to repurpose metals used for other high-tech applications. China makes replacement parts for airplane wheels, and guess what, BG42 was designed as ball bearing material for such purpose. IF Chinese knifemakers have access to the local steel used for their ball bearings, it will be about as good as BG42. Nothing to sneeze at.

The market might not be mature yet, but the potential is certainly there.
 
The Chinese have been working metal for about two thousand years longer than americans. I can totaly beleive they could have custom knife makers.
 
99f250 said:
The Chinese have been working metal for about two thousand years longer than americans. I can totaly beleive they could have custom knife makers.
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I wonder how that fits into the communism thing. I know we all get the wrong impression from our media, and have no true freaking idea what life is like in a communist country.

But how do you contribute to the collective and be a custom maker of knives?
 
ron_m80 said:
I wonder how that fits into the communism thing. I know we all get the wrong impression from our media, and have no true freaking idea what life is like in a communist country.

But how do you contribute to the collective and be a custom maker of knives?
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they probably don't work for the collective 24hrs aday
 
I wonder how that fits into the communism thing. I know we all get the wrong impression from our media, and have no true freaking idea what life is like in a communist country.

But how do you contribute to the collective and be a custom maker of knives?
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actually having lived here for 2 years i haven't seen much comunism, honestly i have to say it's more like extreame capitalism under an authoritatiran (and corupt espescially at the local/provincial level) governement. nobody lives in and works in comunes anymore.
 
This make me chuckle a little; did anyone genuinely believe they had no premise for good craftsmanship?. :D

Even the firearms are not bad these days or perhaps that should be again?.
Norinco is not contraband here, and we're seeing increasing imports and interest.

Their lever-action shotguns are particularly good apparently, however we do not get their SLRs due them being banned or pistols.
 
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