Do the ethics of a knife maker/company matter to you?

Status
Not open for further replies.
alaskanativeson

alaskanativeson

Joined
May 2, 2007
Messages
312
Do you take the ethics of a knife maker or company into account when you consider purchasing one of their products? Do you believe it's something to consider or not? Why or why not?

I've heard some people say all that matters to them is that they get a well designed, well made knife, that they don't care about whether the company is a good company or not. I'll admit, I'm opinionated as hell. What's more, I believe there are two opinions in this world: My opinion and the wrong one. When I'm looking at buying a knife I usually don't look too much at a company or how they run their business. However, I will say there are times when something pushes me over the top making me refuse to do business with them. Strider knives is one such example. Regardless of the support he gets from many in the knife community, his lies about his military service in order to make a name for himself sickens me and I won't give his company any of my money.

Some people are that way with Cold Steel. I'd agree that their founder is not my cup of tea but I still buy things from them. What things Lynn Thompson have done might not be the best but he hasn't screwed up so badly I refuse to give him my business.

What do you think? Does a business's ethics matter to you? Do you think they should?Why or why not? I am posting this here to have a reasonable discussion about beliefs, not to have a pissing contest about any one company. If you want to mention a specific company or person, feel free to do so, but let's not turn this into a hate flame war. Reasonable people should be able to have disagreements without resorting to childish behavior.
 
Yes of course it matters to me.

This is why I buy Spyderco products, even though most of the blades are as ugly as sin. Sal is a great guy and the company rocks. :)
 
alaskanativeson said:
What do you think? Does a business's ethics matter to you?
Click to expand...

Absolutely! Knives are my hobby, and as such, I can afford to be picky. I won't give my hard earned money to a company without ethics. In my experience, companies without ethics are much more likely to end up screwing their customers in the long run. Take a second to really think about it. Why would a company without ethics NOT screw their customers? I can't answer that one! Can anyone else?? I can, however, think of a myriad of reasons why a company with ethics would not!;)

Regards,
3G
 
Put me down as another picky customer. If somebody or some company is, in my opinion, a scumbag I won't voluntarily deal with them. I don't care what they've got, or how much they're selling it for, they won't get my money. Simple as that.
 
Yes. Thats why more and more, my folders are becoming Spydercos, and my Fixed blades are becoming RAT Cutlery's and KABAR/Beckers
 
Nowadays, with all the junk on the market, business ethics is pretty much an oxymoron, however with knife companies in general, I have been pleasantly surprised. One need look no further than Sal Glesser, to find an ethical and responsible individual who gives back to his community and country. The Buck family also comes to mind as good people.

Where Mic Strider is concerned, I have heard a number of negative things, but the quality of his knives and customer service sure ain't one of them. I hear where you are coming from, Alaska. Having served myself, cock and bull stories are best left in the mess, which is where Strider should have left his. However, the man has never done anything to me personally, so I will withhold judgement.

I believe that as a whole, the knife manufacturing community provides good value and service, at least IMO.
 
A knifemaker's ethics would have to be really whacked for me to care. I buy knives not to pat the knifemaker on the back, but because they appeal to me and are things I would consider useful and a good value.

What the heck are knifemaker ethics, anyhow? What do Strider's tall tales have to do with his wares? Or Lynn Thompson's supposed crocked business practices? If they sell the goods I want for a price I agree with, that's all the ethics that really matter. Any ethical problems they may have, real or imagined, with other folks, don't affect me and are not my concern.
 
Yes, they do matter. The company does not have to be PERFECT though, for example, although I have never actually bought any cold steel products I am not against the idea. I will not however, buy from a company such as ontario. Spyderco has come up a few times already on the good side, and I will agree with that. RAT cutlery are excellent from what I have seen, and several of their products are on my list of knives I want.
 
shecky said:
A knifemaker's ethics would have to be really whacked for me to care.
Click to expand...

shecky said:
What the heck are knifemaker ethics, anyhow?
Click to expand...

How would you know if a knifemaker's ethics were "whacked" if you don't even know what they are?:rolleyes:

shecky said:
What do Strider's tall tales have to do with his wares?
Click to expand...

My answer is in regards to "tall tales" in general, and doesn't apply to any knifemaker in particular: Gee, I wonder!:rolleyes: Would "tall tales" possibly help to sell knives that might not get sold otherwise? Could "tall tales" get you into certain circles you might not otherwise be able to enter? Are you really unable to grasp this, Shecky? If so, I pitty your lack of understanding of basic marketing.

Regards,
3G
 
People define ethics differently. Someone's ethics might relate to their knife business and they might not. For things that don't relate, it depends on what they are. If the owner in involved with something really bad like child molesting, planning terrorist attacks against the US, murder, etc. then I don't care how good his knives are.

Business-related ethics such as not giving the customers the knives they buy is one to avoid if you don't want to loose your money.

I don't consider Cold Steel's hype to be an ethics issue. In my experience their knives can do what is advertised, though I've not gone so far as to stab and chop up my car or use a bunch of folders as monkey bars, nor do I intend to. People here seem to hate his "tactical" advertising, but I don't see that as an ethics issue.

Then there is the one about a company making a knife that you don't like. I just don't dwell on the knife and don't buy it. Most companies have models I like and dislike.

If you don't do business with a company because they have hype in their advertising or have some products in their line you don't like, and apply that to everything you buy, that will eliminate almost all factory-produced products on the market.

The thing I really don't get is when people get rid of knives they own because they get mad at the maker. If I own a knife it is mine, not the maker's.
 
I was actually asking myself the same question the other day.

The reason for this was a thread on the automatic/switchblade forum where a Jewish member was considering a Rob Dalton knife but at the same time had a feeling of Rob Dalton being racist.

I believe there were clear evidence presented in the above thread that Mr. Dalton indeed is racist as other members posted Dalton knives with extremely offensive engravings.

To mention a few; an SS engraving with the obligatory eagle, The letters AB and 666 inside a clover leaf referring to the Aryan Brotherhood...

As I understand it, Mr. Dalton is a biker and I somehow can understand his interest in certain sub-cultures, crosses, chains and stuff like that but the above for me was a real turn-off and I will never ever support a business like that.
 
I generally allow the companies to operate in a moral grey area, but not anything obviously immoral. I make a real effort not to support companies that treat their workers poorly, etc, although this is virtually an impossibility at this point. Fortunately, the higher tier of the knife world is operated by a much more ethical and sophisticated group of individuals than, say, the clothing market in general, so it's not hard to find these people.

I'm not claiming that none of the major manufacturers have not done anything immoral, but as far as I know, Kershaw, Benchmade and Spyderco haven't, which are my main brands, and neither has some of my other brands, CRKT, Mcusta, Al Mar, SOG and so on. Several of these companies do things I find questionable, but in my limited knowledge, none of them have done anything that's outright evil.
 
Yes they matter to me. A company's business dealings should be fair and ethical and give credit where credit is due. However I can accept the usal my knife is the best claim, without calling out other specific companies or knives, because that is just simple marketing.
 
YES, the ethics of a maker or company DO very much matter to me!!! That is of paramount importance to me.
 
I have been considering a Strider but I did not know about the business with lying about a military career, that is an unforgivable sin. To me that is one of the lowest things anyone can lie about.

I also will not buy from anyone who sells counterfeits. I am not talking about design but those who steal names and trademarks. So many designs are so commonly copied by so many people I wouldn't be able to buy a knife if I did that...lol.
 
They matter to me as well. That said one thing you have to remember is we live in a world of instant news and flying rumors. More often than not rumors become reality over night. Some times a maker makes a comment and it is taken out of context. Later that maker finds himself having to back peddle and apologize. Some makers are too proud to apologize for something they feel is B.S. and have them selfs been offended by hotheaded comments so they say get bent. I watched this happen with 3 makers in the past couple of years and a few bad apples kept aging things on following the makers all over the forums starting arguments. The sad thing is many forum mod's expressed their opinions all over the net and made things worse. Now you rarely see these makers on the forums and we are to blame.
 
Absintheur said:
Strider military career,
Click to expand...
standard.jpg
 
Status
Not open for further replies.
Back
Top