Do you care where your 150$+ knife is made ?? I do...

[bubbaskyjacker]

I support the American office worker so I ONLY buy from companies whose offices are in the U.S. but do their manufacturing in the PRC.

Kinda falls inline with the cousin theory

 

[James Y]

The knives I buy and use are from Switzerland, the US, Japan, and Taiwan. I have one of Spyderco's Byrd knives (the hawkbill) which is nice, but I have no interest in WE, Reate, Kizer, etc., products. Not necessarily because they're from China, but because I'm just not 'feeling them'. I have no German or Italian knives, so I can't comment on them, though I have handled some German-made knives several years ago, and wasn't overly impressed. That's not to say that all German-made knives are that way, only the ones I saw and handled.

To me, it's not the country so much as the manufacturer, and the model(s).

Jim

 

[Jhansenak47]

I buy foreign knives, just not from the PRC.

 

[sgt1372]

I buy American when I can, I may not be able to control the origin of all my products but I do make a conscious effort to support our businesses. Nothing wrong with patriotism.

No there is nothing wrong w/being patriot in the economic and political support of our country. We are all blessed to have had the good fortune to be born (or otherwise entitled to live) here.

What is not "ok" is the expression of patriotism in the guise of hegemony and racism which is what I often think is happening when people here and elsewhere declare that they will ONLY buy and support American businesses.

Like the ill conceived tariff war now being waged by our administration and the debate over an irrelevant border wall, nothing good can come of it.

 

[marcinek]

How would I get on BF if I didn’t have a phone So yes I am forced to buy a phone

let’s be real, what computer is made in America? None at the time so unless I decided to live like a caveman , I have to buy technology that is made in China. Forced .

You are saying that on a forum stuffed to the gills with people whose deepest desire is to be somehow teleported into a "survival situation" in the woods with only their trusty blade and their wits to help them survive. Whole subforum devoted to it.

 

[whp]

Without going down the rabbit hole too much, but it's because of a lot of reasons. One of those is that American workers want to be paid livable wages. It's a craft that requires skill (learned) and ability (natural talents). That costs money. China has a much larger labor pool to tap into and has an artificially devalued currency to make it even more inviting for offshore investments in manufacturing. Compound this with investment in high technology that does not require the laborious handfitting of generations past, and you end up with a very nice knife at a substantial savings.

Taking the big bad communist boogeyman out of the equation, it works out well for a lot of people from a purely capitalist point of view. The US manufacturer can produce high quality product at an affordable price. The Chinese worker finds themselves in good, steady work. The knife buyer spends less money for comparable quality. Manufacturer= Worker= Buyer= Happy. Divorced from politics, that's successful capitalism.

Wait, that doesn't seem full on fair, right? Capitalism shouldn't be so black and white. What about the American worker? What about the manufacturer who either produces stateside or is now competing with a reputable Chinese competitor or worse a Chinese competitor who uses gray market tactics to counter compete with the US manufacturers designs? Well, now we have stumbled upon on one of the reasons for those "evil" MAP policies everyone likes to growl "Let the market decide!" through frothy gritted teeth.

It's a global economy. History has proven that isolation to globalism works against economic growth. China is top dog in manufacturing because they have lots of capital in the forms of LOTS of workers and a government that will stack the deck to retain what they can. The thing is that its not sustainable forever. Chinese wages are going up. Chinese standards of living are increasing. Devaluing the currency isn't working and the country has shown the worst growth period in over a decade. At some point, the market WILL decide.

That said, I'm about quality. I buy a lot of ZT knives. That's not so much because of their county of origin but because they cost a lot of money and I can handle them locally first before I buy. I have NO problem with a Chinese Spyderco. I will also say that much of Boker's Chinese line is comparable if not superior to their German stuff. So for me, it's not about price. If a particular item is made better in China than in Connecticut, I'm going to by the Chinese version. A price savings is just gravy. I'm not in this hobby to save money.

Thanks for a thoughtful discussion. I understand and agree with most of this information. One question I have about this. How does MAP pricing protect American manufacturing interests? I thought one manufacturer explained that it was to protect some retailers (b and m) from low cost competitors(internet). I thought that company s position is that MAP pricing does result in increased profit per item to the company but merely benefits the vendors. Probably not true for all companies with MAP policy.

 

[marcinek]

No there is nothing wrong w/being patriot in the economic and political support of our country. We are all blessed to have had the good fortune to be born (or otherwise entitled to live) here.

What is not "ok" is the expression of patriotism in the guise of hegemony and racism which is what I often think is happening when people here and elsewhere declare that they will ONLY buy and support American businesses. Like the ill conceived tariff war now being waged by our administration and the debate over an irrelevant border wall, nothing good can come of it.

Owwww.....that post was going really well...then womp womp.

 

[shinyedges]

That's a conversation for the political forum, I won't respond with my opinion on the subject.

 

[danbot]

No there is nothing wrong w/being patriot in the economic and political support of our country. We are all blessed to have had the good fortune to be born (or otherwise entitled to live) here.

What is not "ok" is the expression of patriotism in the guise of hegemony and racism which is what I often think is happening when people here and elsewhere declare that they will ONLY buy and support American businesses.

Like the ill conceived tariff war now being waged by our administration and the debate over an irrelevant border wall, nothing good can come of it.

IBTL!

 

[Steely_Gunz]

Thanks for a thoughtful discussion. I understand and agree with most of this information. One question I have about this. How does MAP pricing protect American manufacturing interests? I thought one manufacturer explained that it was to protect some retailers (b and m) from low cost competitors(internet). I thought that company s position is that MAP pricing does result in increased profit per item to the company but merely benefits the vendors. Probably not true for all companies with MAP policy.

Good question, and I will admit I threw it in there as a barb. It was less about how MAP pricing affects manufacturers and more about how people love the Capitalism Crutch as long as it supports their needs. I think MAP does play a role, a smaller one, but that's too much of a tagent for this conversation, I think.

 

[sgt244]

It's not that easy anymore.
Sure 20 years ago, maybe even 10 years ago it actually mattered where that blade was made, but today it's not WHERE but WHO is producing those blades.

I believe a very reputable company today will generally have very good quality control regardless where the blades produced, assuring a certain standard of quality.

I still prefer a made in the USA knife personally, but you'll certainly pay for that. I dont think the general public care or pay attention to something like that, which is why they outsource a ton...although I guess a lot of knife guys dont mind a $150 knife made elsewhere as I'd imagine a $150 knife being a hard sell for a non knife kinda person or just the person buying 1 for a camping trip here and there.

I'd take USA produced over anything else though
..if I had a choice...

 

[marcinek]

IBTL!

The decrying of hegemony and racism was fine, and, typically, it is the hegemony and racism that get these threads shut down. The flag waving and chest beating and generalizations start and they go pear shaped.

Actually it would be refreshing if for once, somebody just said "Well, I just don't like them Chinese people." At least it would be honest.

The cloners? I wan't nothing to do with them. Even the companies who "got better" as one member recently claimed. No thanks.

Otherwise? It's a global economy, and the cousin theory is correct. Not buying from KAI hurts the KAI team here in the US. ANd China will make us exactly what we want. The last couple years have proven that....everyone has seemed to forget that a couple years ago the "anti-China" defense was "Well they can only make junk."

No doubt someone will argue against my points by posting a pic of the US flag...

 

[HappyDaddy]

You are saying that on a forum stuffed to the gills with people whose deepest desire is to be somehow teleported into a "survival situation" in the woods with only their trusty blade and their wits to help them survive. Whole subforum devoted to it.

Can you recommend a knive for such a situation? I don’t think that’s been discussed before either.

 

[Pilsner]

Can you recommend a knive for such a situation? I don’t think that’s been discussed before either.

Well, that would either be a Case Peanut or a Smatchet, depending on skill level. Both made in the US, natch.

 

[danbot]

The decrying of hegemony and racism was fine, and, typically, it is the hegemony and racism that get these threads shut down. The flag waving and chest beating and generalizations start and they go pear shaped.

Actually it would be refreshing if for once, somebody just said "Well, I just don't like them Chinese people." At least it would be honest.

The cloners? I wan't nothing to do with them. Even the companies who "got better" as one member recently claimed. No thanks.

Otherwise? It's a global economy, and the cousin theory is correct. Not buying from KAI hurts the KAI team here in the US. ANd China will make us exactly what we want. The last couple years have proven that....everyone has seemed to forget that a couple years ago the "anti-China" defense was "Well they can only make junk."

No doubt someone will argue against my points by posting a pic of the US flag...

For me, it has nothing to do with racism. Scumbags come from all races and cultures. My reasons are largely political, and as we all know, that can't and shouldn't be discussed in this forum. I have a hard time separating Chinese business from Chinese politics because they are so closely linked.

So, I choose to avoid buying from them whenever the choice is mine.

 

[bubbaskyjacker]

You are saying that on a forum stuffed to the gills with people whose deepest desire is to be somehow teleported into a "survival situation" in the woods with only their trusty blade and their wits to help them survive. Whole subforum devoted to it.

Sorry I don’t follow your statement ? Nor do I believe the majority want to be forced ina survival situation.

Do you or don’t you care where your knife is made ? If you don’t have a preference great ! If you do what is it ?

If not on topic please refrain from attempting to be a troll , no one is forcing a response here.

 

[jill jackson]

Otherwise? It's a global economy, and the cousin theory is correct. Not buying from KAI hurts the KAI team here in the US. ANd China will make us exactly what we want. The last couple years have proven that....everyone has seemed to forget that a couple years ago the "anti-China" defense was "Well they can only make junk."

Same argument was used for years about Japanese goods. Then Japanese goods started to be high quality. Now Japanese manufacturers are firmly intertwined with the USA and it's died way down.

 

[danbot]

The decrying of hegemony and racism was fine, and, typically, it is the hegemony and racism that get these threads shut down. The flag waving and chest beating and generalizations start and they go pear shaped.

Actually it would be refreshing if for once, somebody just said "Well, I just don't like them Chinese people." At least it would be honest.

The cloners? I wan't nothing to do with them. Even the companies who "got better" as one member recently claimed. No thanks.

Otherwise? It's a global economy, and the cousin theory is correct. Not buying from KAI hurts the KAI team here in the US. ANd China will make us exactly what we want. The last couple years have proven that....everyone has seemed to forget that a couple years ago the "anti-China" defense was "Well they can only make junk."

No doubt someone will argue against my points by posting a pic of the US flag...

I also think that a lot of times some people play the racism card in an attempt to shut down opinions that they simply do not like.

 

[Ajack60]

There's a couple of reasons, my first choice is to buy American made knives. Being able to trace the history of the maker/company is interesting to me. I grew up with Kershaw, still but them even though they're not an American owned company anymore. And then there's the unsettling thought in my mind that when I buy a foreign made product, am I also condoning that countries regard to the way people are treated?

 

[SpySmasher]

The U.S. is the new U.K.
Japan is the new U.S.
China is the new Japan.
Pakistan is the new China.

FROM A KNIFE MANUFACTURING STANDPOINT.