Do your morals have any impact on your knife purchases?

Oprah made you want to rip your arm off, just so you would have something to hit her with.

Now Ellen is hilarious.
 
I haven't watched her much but she does seem funny. And I love Portia de Rossi... she snagged a winner there, the lucky girl.
 
There are a plethora of threads regarding strider, search for the thread spark started it compiles a lot of info.
atavist said:
Weighing in ultra late but for what its worth.

... not sure what dishonesty everyone is talking about with Strider? I'll do some looking and find the other related threads on my own...
However, when I was stationed at Camp Pendelton back in the early 2000's a lot of guys were carrying Strider and I never saw one fail... granted they are ugly (IMHO) but a knife is a tool first.. so I went by their shop which wasn't far away cash in hand wanting to see their shop(as a curious young knife maker) and was shocked at the extremely rude reception.

My primary deterent when buying a knife is if they make outlandish claims (all steel has limits) or if they act like they are the keepers of the grail.

As to other companies that market their knives as weapons.... well I do this as well so that in itself is obviously not a deterrent for me... as a combat vet a blade is to me first and foremost a weapon. So marketing a knife designed for combat as a knife designed for combat (or historically designed for combat) is simply extolling the fact that it is designed to withstand combat.
... unless of course its a skinner or kitchen knife.
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I like the way you think , it should be that way for everyone.
Sulaco said:
I got through about half of page three so no clue where this topic is now, but my morals dictate every thought, every word, every action and every choice I make.
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Good post, those things you list make you irate also bug the hell out of me. I'm an army vet stolen valor definitely is up there for me to cross a maker off my list.
Dacus_Nomadic said:
Yeah, morals and scruples do dictate a lot of decisions I make regarding knife brands. I won't buy anything other than USA Made, Canadian Made, German Made, or Swedish Made. I don't respect companies that outsource their knife production, then still charge premium prices for their knives made in China or Taiwan. Also, dishonesty regarding Stolen Valor, false performance claims, and fake testimonials really make me irate.
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She needs that money in her account to increase her interest she gains on her billions of dollars.
RedLynx said:
Really? That's a shame. She's worth so much I was hoping the expenses came out of her own pocket.
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wow, 11 pages REALLY fast!

Yes, the behavior of the maker/manufacturer will affect my decision to purchase. Yes, it will be a sliding scale based on the two questions below. No, I won't deeply investigate every maker in detail ahead of time unless I have doubts in advance. I prefer to spend my recreational dollars domestically because it has a multiplier affect, and I would like others to buy my blades as well. Seems only fair. But it would be absurd to hold every atom of the product to that standard, for instance.

I think people often answer this question from two distinct points of view:

1) does the behavior of the maker affect the purchaser? Do they hurt or offend YOU? Is YOUR warranty going to be honored? etc.

2) is the purchaser willing to economically support a maker who hurts or offends others? giving someone your money supports their business AND personal interests (if they are an individual or small company). Are you willing to support 'bad' people in the world?

Both concerns are valid. #1 is selfishly practical. #2 is a more 'moral' question, which only makes sense in the context of 3rd parties.

I have no qualms about passing judgement on others regarding how I spend my own personal money, and try to hold myself to the same standards.
 
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Maybe thats my problem. I hold everything up to my standards too. But all you have to do is see a couple pictures of my ex girlfriends to realize my standards arent all that high.
 
To be honest, I tend not to pay too much attention to the morals of the companies or people who make my things.
My fear is that if I was to take a look at this closely, I would find find a lot of disappointment in practically everything I own.
Not just knives.
Cheers
 
Good post,
daizee said:
wow, 11 pages REALLY fast!

Yes, the behavior of the maker/manufacturer will affect my decision to purchase. Yes, it will be a sliding scale based on the two questions below. No, I won't deeply investigate every maker in detail ahead of time unless I have doubts in advance. I prefer to spend my recreational dollars domestically because it has a multiplier affect, and I would like others to buy my blades as well. Seems only fair.

I think people often answer this question from two distinct points of view:

1) does the behavior of the maker affect the purchaser? Do they hurt or offend YOU? Is YOUR warranty going to be honored? etc.

2) is the purchaser willing to economically support a maker who hurts or offends others? giving someone your money supports their business AND personal interests (if they are an individual or small company). Are you willing to support 'bad' people in the world?

Both concerns are valid. #1 is selfishly practical. #2 is a more 'moral' question, which only makes sense in the context of 3rd parties.

I have no qualms about passing judgement on others regarding how I spend my own personal money, and try to hold myself to the same standards.
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The saying goes Ignorance is bliss( not intended to insult you). I agree you would find a lot of disappointment. I understand your point.
macknife12 said:
To be honest, I tend not to pay too much attention to the morals of the companies or people who make my things.
My fear is that if I was to take a look at this closely, I would find find a lot of disappointment in practically everything I own.
Not just knives.
Cheers
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shinyedges said:
The saying goes Ignorance is bliss( not intended to insult you). I agree you would find a lot of disappointment. I understand your point.
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I guess that would by my question to you. You seem to be passionate on this topic and that is awesome. I have no problem with it as I once felt the same way. But I wonder do you only feel this passionately about knives or does this concept affect your other purchasing decisions too? The reason I ask is because this being a small community its pretty easy to get the dirt on makers when they screw up. And we tend to take it more seriously because it is something we feel passionate about. But do you scrutinize the purchases of other items? For me another key reason I stopped involving myself in the ethical argument is because I took it too far. I let it consume every single purchase I made. And at some point it gets pretty hard doing detective work for every single purchase I was making. Were my jeans made in a sweat shop? Was my car assembled by US workers even though its a japanese owned corporation? was my laptop assembled by a toddler? Is my coffee fair trade certified organic? Are my kids diapers made from recycled paper? And did all of the owners of all these companies lie on their taxes? Sorry to run off the rails, Im just wondering how far do you go with this? I couldnt imagine putting every purchase under a microscope and surviving. And on the flip side I would feel I was being biased if I only put knifemakers under the gun.
 
shinyedges said:
I like the way you think , it should be that way for everyone.
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Why should it be that way for everyone? Does everyone have to make all of their decisions based solely on moral motivations? I don't have a problem with anyone doing that, but I also don't have a problem with anyone choosing knives based on price, personal taste, perceived investment value, or the flip of a coin.

I have bought knives from some of the "bad" makers mentioned, do you think that makes me a bad person?
 
I am not looking for OP approval.

Would like to think that I have moral fiber and go from there....fi, after 911 I purchased a new American made vehicle.

I have been a knife collector for 28 years, and the approach and veritas of many makers and companies have been revealed to me over time....

So....I go with the moral truth that has been revealed to me and may not be revealed to the masses....does that make sense?

Best Regards,

STeven Garsson
 
I haven't read through this whole thread but what I would say for myself is +1 to anyone who has mentioned STEEL COMPANY steel. The STEEL COMPANY just seems like kind of a shady corporation, before during and after WWII. I just really don't want them to have my money. Though I do like KNIFE COMPANY... who's recieved my money... and then used it to buy STEEL COMPANY steel to put into their knives... though I did not buy a knife with STEEL COMPANY's steel in it.

I would say I also prefer to buy American when it comes to a knife I would really depend on. If not American, it's important for me to know that the maker loves what their doing. I own a fallkniven f1 and love it. It seems like the fallkniven company is passionate about knives and it's evidenced buy the beautiful and functional products that come out of their factories.

Randall's has a great line on their website about believing a reliable tool can be made in an American factory at a price working folks can afford. I think there's some good companies doing that right now and we are lucky to have our pick of great knives. I am not averse to non-American products by any means though. I'm really impressed with the fit and finish of the Kershaw cryo for examples and the Spyderco Tenacious.

Update: I updated and edited my post to remove any negative comments to the companies I named. They have been replaced by STEEL COMPANY and KNIFE COMPANY. I want to see this discussion keep going and not get closed.
 
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Good questions,
My morals guide every choice I make not just my knife purchases. I don't go digging information on every item I buy, that task would require ALOT of time. If I stumble onto information or its brought to my attention that a company or individual is morally lacking and profiting from it I will not support them buy giving them my money. While I'm oblivious to supporting scumbags by buying there products is one thing, knowing someone is a scumbag and still supporting them with my money is another . I guess what I'm saying is if I'm aware of something i find to be wrong or immoral I'm morally obligated to do something about IF I can. Not buying there products is just about all an average Joe can do.


So no, I don't hold knife makers to a higher standard than anyone else. The same goes for anything i purchase.

When it comes to products made in other countries sometimes I have no choice due to location, finances, sect..

BUT if I have a CHOICE I choose to not support sleeze balls, liars and the like.

PURPLEDC said:
I guess that would by my question to you. You seem to be passionate on this topic and that is awesome. I have no problem with it as I once felt the same way. But I wonder do you only feel this passionately about knives or does this concept affect your other purchasing decisions too? The reason I ask is because this being a small community its pretty easy to get the dirt on makers when they screw up. And we tend to take it more seriously because it is something we feel passionate about. But do you scrutinize the purchases of other items? For me another key reason I stopped involving myself in the ethical argument is because I took it too far. I let it consume every single purchase I made. And at some point it gets pretty hard doing detective work for every single purchase I was making. Were my jeans made in a sweat shop? Was my car assembled by US workers even though its a japanese owned corporation? was my laptop assembled by a toddler? Is my coffee fair trade certified organic? Are my kids diapers made from recycled paper? And did all of the owners of all these companies lie on their taxes? Sorry to run off the rails, Im just wondering how far do you go with this? I couldnt imagine putting every purchase under a microscope and surviving. And on the flip side I would feel I was being biased if I only put knifemakers under the gun.
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bpeezer said:
Why should it be that way for everyone? Does everyone have to make all of their decisions based solely on moral motivations? I don't have a problem with anyone doing that, but I also don't have a problem with anyone choosing knives based on price, personal taste, perceived investment value, or the flip of a coin.

I have bought knives from some of the "bad" makers mentioned, do you think that makes me a bad person?
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For me my morals are more important than any knife or product. You make your own choices, some people just don't care about right or wrong and simply do whatever they want that's there choice.

My opinion is all people should be guided by morals. The world would be a lot better off, but that won't happen. Morals have taken a back seat to
Greed
Desire
Personal pleasure
What's cool
And a long list of other things in today's society.
 
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