Do You Buy From Regional Manufacturers?

1

1635NAV

Joined
Nov 20, 2013
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3
New Member, first post. Have enjoyed reading the forums here for several years, great people and interesting topics. My interest is traditional folders and fixed blades, and sometimes modern hunting and hiking blades. I don't have the budget for custom knives but I try to buy American when I can. I like to buy from regional manufacturers or importers. I feel a connection to these companies, often located in small historic towns with much cutlery history. Locally, I buy Ontario, Ka-Bar and Utica. Across the border in PA I buy GEC, Queen and W R Case. It makes the knife purchase more pleasurable for me, and nicer to own. I feel I'm helping my neighbors, however distant. I feel a connection somehow to these knife companies.

Does anyone else feel the same way? Do you buy Bear and Sons in Alabama or Buck in Utah? Do you buy from the many companies in the Pacific northwest? What is your favorite regional manufacturer or knife store/importer? If you can, post a picture of your favorite regional knives. Thanks. :)
 
Being a very proud Texan, I would love to buy some regional Texas knives but nobody makes em' except custom makers. There is Mooremaker, but they aren't really made in Texas(although they might have been at one point) and made by other companies. For some reason this doesn't sit well with me because when you look at their website it appears that they are made in Texas (at least to me) so I find it misleading. One manufacturer of their knives is Bear and Sons, which I own one of and is total junk, so I wouldn't touch another with a ten foot snake pole. Basically all my knives come from the northeast nowadays. They seem to really have the whole knife thing down. Welcome to the forums.
 
I buy regional knives. The region is Pennsylvania! I happen to live elsewhere, but that's where they make the knives!
 
Alas and alack, Buck Knives is no longer my neighbor, having moved from El Cajon, a town quite close to San Diego, to Idaho. (But I still enjoy and buy Buck knives.)

When I was a young man, I lived in the Los Angeles area and I had a thing for Buck knives. I think partly because they were a Southern California company.

But, these days I am much more focused on the knife itself than on where it was made. Although the vast majority of the knives I own were made in the US, I also own knives from a number of other countries.
 
knarfeng said:
Alas and alack, Buck Knives is no longer my neighbor, having moved from El Cajon, a town quite close to San Diego
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I lived spitting distance from El Cajon over in Sante Ysabel, near Julian. Never bought a buck while I was there though.
 
I pick up Sheffield knives when I can get 'em :)
 
1635NAV said:
Locally, I buy Ontario, Ka-Bar and Utica. Across the border in PA I buy GEC, Queen and W R Case. It makes the knife purchase more pleasurable for me, and nicer to own. I feel I'm helping my neighbors, however distant. I feel a connection somehow to these knife companies.
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+ for Ontario. I don't live in NY anymore (now in MA) but I do like some of the Ontario offerings and have collected a few of their folders. Notably the RAT and RAT II. They are fairly inexpensive knives but I have others to use for edc. It just feels good to have a little piece of home.
 
Traditional knives only, please.
 
Oh... the US are far far away - but I really like the america makers :)

But yes, I really like the buy german makers, as well as austrian, czech or the swiss ones - I´m pretty in the middle of Solingen, Mikulášovice, Trattenbach, Ibach etc etc etc ... So yes - I really like buy from local manufacturers !
 
Redbeardo said:
Being a very proud Texan, I would love to buy some regional Texas knives but nobody makes em' except custom makers. There is Mooremaker, but they aren't really made in Texas(although they might have been at one point) and made by other companies. For some reason this doesn't sit well with me because when you look at their website it appears that they are made in Texas (at least to me) so I find it misleading. One manufacturer of their knives is Bear and Sons, which I own one of and is total junk, so I wouldn't touch another with a ten foot snake pole. Basically all my knives come from the northeast nowadays. They seem to really have the whole knife thing down. Welcome to the forums.
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I am pretty sure Knives of Alaska are made in Texas. Just FYI.
 
jc57 said:
I buy regional knives. The region is Pennsylvania! I happen to live elsewhere, but that's where they make the knives!
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Right on man!

I would love to buy Maryland made slipjoints, but the only one I know of off the top of my head was from Larry Nowicki, and he made that slipjoint to see if he could do it (he did it very well too). Reading the Blade price guide, I didn't see any Maryland factories, but a few importers in the Baltimore area. I haven't fully devoured my copy of Levines 4th guide, mainly because it is information overload, but I am guessing it will have more detailed information on any Maryland factories. I am not sure of any custom slipjoint folder makers in Maryland.

I'm guessing that as far as factories go, we only have Pennsylvania and New York for current manufacturers :o.
 
Redbeardo said:
I actually checked a bit earlier and yes they are made in Texas. I think some of these companies must be geographically confused. Someone should send them a map.
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The owner and president of the company is living the dream. I spoke with a dealer of theirs at a gun show as I really don't see the brand that much at all. Surprising to me as a fellow Texan that is known to hunt, camp and haunt the gun stores and shows myself.

I had heard that he was a really dedicated hunter, and Alaska really hit his sweet spot. However, he was unhappy with the quality and design of the knives he found available, so apparently (going on what the dealer told me) he decided to make his own line of knives for the dedicated hunter that does a lot of the processing of game himself. His knives show their heritage if usefulness to the actual hunter as some of his blade designs (no matter how the they are hafted) are quite old. He has combined some very European traditional designs on some knives with modern materials, and then has used knives that were designed as tools for specific use (such as capers, etc.) for his other offerings.

He doesn't make any pocket jewelry like CASE, GEC or others. His gear is all work stuff, made for constant use and tough conditions. It is very utility looking to me, so I don't have any of it. I hunt, but not with that kind of dedication.

The nod towards Alaska just showed where his prefers to hunt and fish.

http://www.knivesofalaska.com/about.asp

Robert
 
midnight flyer said:
The owner and president of the company is living the dream. I spoke with a dealer of theirs at a gun show as I really don't see the brand that much at all. Surprising to me as a fellow Texan that is known to hunt, camp and haunt the gun stores and shows myself.

I had heard that he was a really dedicated hunter, and Alaska really hit his sweet spot. However, he was unhappy with the quality and design of the knives he found available, so apparently (going on what the dealer told me) he decided to make his own line of knives for the dedicated hunter that does a lot of the processing of game himself. His knives show their heritage if usefulness to the actual hunter as some of his blade designs (no matter how the they are hafted) are quite old. He has combined some very European traditional designs on some knives with modern materials, and then has used knives that were designed as tools for specific use (such as capers, etc.) for his other offerings.

He doesn't make any pocket jewelry like CASE, GEC or others. His gear is all work stuff, made for constant use and tough conditions. It is very utility looking to me, so I don't have any of it. I hunt, but not with that kind of dedication.

The nod towards Alaska just showed where his prefers to hunt and fish.

http://www.knivesofalaska.com/about.asp

Robert
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That is very cool to know, thanks for sharing that. They do have a few knives that do interest me. Maybe I'll pick one up one of these days.
 
I would if any were made locally. Not counting the custom makers in southern Ontario, although I might contact one of them one day.
 
Actually, I don't consider CASE and GEC to be "pocket jewelry".
 
New York








(The one on the left is a Camillus Lineman's Jack if you can't read the tang)
 
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