Custom vs Production vs Chinese

[Hkwinger]

Are there any hard fast rules distinguishing custom vs mid tech vs production and the value each bring. Of course I can appreciate a unique hand made piece over a mass produced item.

I have recently collected some Medfords and I am considering the Production Praetorian.

I watch Youtube videos and it looks like most if not all makers use CNC machines. So whats the difference between Rexford (or any custom builder), Medford, Benchmade, and WE knives, besides who is doing the original design and final assembly?

To me I thought custom meant better quality, but over the years I have seen some poorly hand built customs and amazing productions.

Lastly, I read some the comments on the Production Praetorian video just posted on YT. I know Medford is not the most poplar guy in the world, but most people think that the $390 price is outrageous and many suggest a new price point of $200. Then I saw a Shabaz video posted today on a $300+ knife made by WE knives and he said that he thinks that it is not a bad value and some searching shows most WE knives are accepted as good values between $150-$300 even though they are produced in China.

I know that the scale of money is subjective and a $500 knife is affordable to one person and $150 may be too high for a different person. My question is what is your opinion regarding the value added to a knife being a custom (whatever that means) vs a production made in China, vs a production made in the US.

 

[powerslave]

As I see it Medfords, Rexfords etc. are not customs but hand made knives because they are build how maker wants them to be built. Real custom knife at least for me is when I tell maker what I want and he makes it for me in his own style but it will be what I wanted.

 

[adamlau]

That is how I see it as well. A custom is fully specified by you within the confines of the ability and materials available to the maker.

 

[Hackenslash]

If this is intended to be a serious discussion we might want to make certain that "Chineese" isn't spelled incorrectly and rhymes with cheese. Seriously. Spell it right if you don't want to automatically be assumed of holding a racial bias. Nobody who's American or Canadian likes "Mericans" or "Candians". Maybe start all over with a spell check?

 

[clearkevin]

I generally have similar expectations for all higher priced knives high end/limited production midtech and custom I expect close to perfection for anything over 150-200. One difference I do appreciate is the ability to speak with a maker or designer and make requests or specifications for some options. If I compare say my reate torrent to my f3 they are very different but both amazing quality and I would have similar expectations of both.

 

[goldie]

The only thing I dislike about the knives from China is their resale value, which seem to plummet like a used Hyundia.i have a We,Reate, Kizer, and a few others, and have noticed you really take a hit when you decide to sell them, as opposed to a sebenza ,for example. As nice as they are , I'm going to try not to buy them in the future unless I really know I'm going to keep it.

 

[Phixt]

The only thing I dislike about the knives from China is their resale value, which seem to plummet like a used Hyundia.i have a We,Reate, Kizer, and a few others, and have noticed you really take a hit when you decide to sell them, as opposed to a sebenza ,for example. As nice as they are , I'm going to try not to buy them in the future unless I really know I'm going to keep it.

A lot of people might reply to this saying they only buy knives they use, but I'm in the same boat with you on this one. I stopped myself from buying a Stedemon Shy IV after reading some neg reviews regarding detent and washers. I also shy away from this sweet looking knife because of the sale KC keeps offering on them - what's that tell ya? Like you said, the Sebenzas I always want to buy from other members here have gone up in value since the original purchase; ones like Night Sky with the sapphire and whatnot. I often consider resell value just like with guns.

I have a WE and it's pretty solid, but I'll restrict my future made in China purchases as well. Buying a Reate isn't in my wheelhouse - if I spend that much on a folder it's not going to be made in China, regardless. If anyone here hasn't checked out Olamic, I really like their customization options. I think they're accepting offers on their Wayfarer model right now.

 

[HappyDaddy]

Interesting question. To my way of thinking, a knife is a pretty simple piece of equipment. As long as the tolerances are appropriately tight, and the various doohickeys (pivots, washers, bearings, detent, lock...) function well, there isn't a whole lot of difference among them (aesthetics aside). Any of the entities mentioned by OP are perfectly capable of achieving equally well made knives. They're all also capable of screwing up.

 

[Phixt]

Interesting question. To my way of thinking, a knife is a pretty simple piece of equipment. As long as the tolerances are appropriately tight, and the various doohickeys (pivots, washers, bearings, detent, lock...) function well, there isn't a whole lot of difference among them (aesthetics aside). Any of the entities mentioned by OP are perfectly capable of achieving equally well made knives. They're all also capable of screwing up.

I feel like the ability to take a Sebenza apart and put it back together again--with a single allen key--so that it performs exactly like it did when it came from the factory is noteworthy.

 

[KELAMA]

I have recently collected some Medfords and I am considering the Production Praetorian.

Lastly, I read some the comments on the Production Praetorian video just posted on YT. I know Medford is not the most poplar guy in the world, but most people think that the $390 price is outrageous and many suggest a new price point of $200. Then I saw a Shabaz video posted today on a $300+ knife made by WE knives and he said that he thinks that it is not a bad value and some searching shows most WE knives are accepted as good values between $150-$300 even though they are produced in China.

I know that the scale of money is subjective and a $500 knife is affordable to one person and $150 may be too high for a different person. My question is what is your opinion regarding the value added to a knife being a custom (whatever that means) vs a production made in China, vs a production made in the US.

^ I think you'd be much better off, ignoring many of these self-serving YT commenters.

Buy what "you" like! FWIW: the fit and finish/craftsmanship on my Medford Praetorian Ti, was superb. It was just too big and impractical for my needs. If I were still up in Idaho, I would've kept it!

As far as your inquiry regarding, Chinese maker's vs. U.S. makers:

I will only buy/support U.S. knife maker's (especially those whom hire our Veteran's), to satisfy my passion for knives.

 

[Hkwinger]

If this is intended to be a serious discussion we might want to make certain that "Chineese" isn't spelled incorrectly and rhymes with cheese. Seriously. Spell it right if you don't want to automatically be assumed of holding a racial bias. Nobody who's American or Canadian likes "Mericans" or "Candians". Maybe start all over with a spell check?

Fixed. Seriously. No offense intended. Must have pressed the key twice accidentaly. Not sure how one could pull "racial bias" out of a simple typo but I suppose its my fault, and in the times that we live in, I should have been more careful not to offend.

Lets stick to original topic.

 

[Hickory n steel]

If you want something very specific, you can go with a custom, but you have to pay a lot of money.
Regular production knives cost a lot less and can range from opinel, Victorinox , or mora to high end production knives that cost hundreds of dollars.
Then there are Chinese production knives ( assuming your talking about the legitimate ethical companies ) where those who really care about features and materials can get what they like for much less money. Not all of them are just budget blades though.

High end production knives aren't my thing, but weather a knife is made in china or the US, and weather its production or custom what really matters is customer service and warranty.
I would never spend even 100$ on a knife from a company without a good warranty or customer service ( no matter how much better it's supposed to be ) when one can spend as little as 20$ on an American made Buck that you can send back and get fixed or replaced for free if you ever have an issue.
People just need to do their homework and make sure their going with a company who stands by their products and treats their customers right.