Do your morals have any impact on your knife purchases?

I do see where your coming from, I also like to keep an open mind to further discussion. I hope I didn't come off too abrasive.
RedLynx said:
I'm pretty sure we see where each other is coming from, but I'm always open to more discussion.
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I wouldn't purchase kives from companies or individuals who have been shown to be dishonest.

Like others, I wouldn't buy knives from people who are racist or otherwise bigoted.

I would never purchase a knife with modern or "antique" or "pre-ban" ivory. I can accept mammoth ivory only. Stag is fine. Horn is ok, depending on the source.
 
shinyedges said:
Does it matter if the company you purchase your knife from has shady practices? Or is owned by an individual who has below average integrity? We all know that no one is perfect, were all human. But a continued display of a lack of morals isn't a mistake, does it bother you to support such a person with your money?


This isn't about any company or person, just curious how fellow forum members feel about it.

Mods i wasn't sure where to put this so move if necessary.
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Yes, my morals impact what I buy. But your morals don't. What you and I think are important issues are probably different.
 
Please don't tell me what my morals do or do not guide me on purchasing. Thanks for your post
sodak said:
Yes, my morals impact what I buy. But your morals don't. What you and I think are important issues are probably different.
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Fair enough, good post thanks.
Nixelplix said:
I wouldn't purchase kives from companies or individuals who have been shown to be dishonest.

Like others, I wouldn't buy knives from people who are racist or otherwise bigoted.

I would never purchase a knife with modern or "antique" or "pre-ban" ivory. I can accept mammoth ivory only. Stag is fine. Horn is ok, depending on the source.
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Maybe I wasn't clear. Your morals guide your decisions. My morals guide my decisions. I may or may not agree on what you think is important.
 
Ok I get you. True not every one has the same morals. But in general people usually classify lying, deceiving, and misleading to make a business profitable as immoral.

There is a generally accepted moral boundary that most people can agree on.
sodak said:
Maybe I wasn't clear. Your morals guide your decisions. My morals guide my decisions. I may or may not agree on what you think is important.
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shinyedges said:
I do see where your coming from, I also like to keep an open mind to further discussion. I hope I didn't come off too abrasive.
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Not at all no worries. I agree with you pretty much 90%. I think the only difference is for me right-wrong/moral-immoral aren't always the same. Usually I think they are, just not always.
 
Shinyedges,I am beginning to think you have at least one maker specifically in mind. Specifics of who are probably best left out, but the specific "immoral" behavior might be examined by most folks to make a decision on the purchase of anything.

As has been mentioned people would have a sliding scale but also a different, all over the place scale for what is essentially a business decision.

As I said before, rock stars into Satanism would not prevent me from buying their product. What I didn't say is that I'm a religious man and that I think that that life choice is a horrible, immoral thing. I just think it is their business and has nothing to do with their product.

So, many, many factors come into play.
 
There is prime examples of dishonest makers I can think of. But I've specifically made it clear I don't intend to focus on any single maker or company. Just hear where different people stand on makers or companies who are dishonest and liars.
davek14 said:
Shinyedges,I am beginning to think you have at least one maker specifically in mind. Specifics of who are probably best left out, but the specific "immoral" behavior might be examined by most folks to make a decision on the purchase of anything.

As has been mentioned people would have a sliding scale but also a different, all over the place scale for what is essentially a business decision.

As I said before, rock stars into Satanism would not prevent me from buying their product. What I didn't say is that I'm a religious man and that I think that that life choice is a horrible, immoral thing. I just think it is their business and has nothing to do with their product.

So, many, many factors come into play.
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I agree with you sometimes things get fuzzy but I try to keep it simple.
RedLynx said:
Not at all no worries. I agree with you pretty much 90%. I think the only difference is for me right-wrong/moral-immoral aren't always the same. Usually I think they are, just not always.
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Now that I understand the root issue, allow me to challenge the premise of the original question. People are mistaken if they think it is their sense of morality that is dictating their decision to not buy from a "dishonest" knife maker. Or at least you're not consistent in letting your sense of morality rule your consumerism. I would hazard to guess that most here would say it is immoral to treat women as property, not give them freedom to vote, or even drive cars. If you agree and are of the mind to not buy products from people who would do such things, then you would not buy gasoline as most of it comes from the middle east where women indeed are treated as property, not allowed to vote, or even drive cars (except for a few countries and recent events). Okay, so you have no choice when it comes to gasoline, I suppose it means your morals dictate your purchases only when you are able to do so or when it's convenient.

I would suggest that it really isn't about morality at play here but the product itself. You bought yourself a painting that you thought came from an artist with extensive training and experience who spent a decade contemplating the universe in a monastery and gains his inspiration from long treks into nature. Then you find out it's only a dog dragging his butt across a canvass. It's still the same painting but it's all a lie. It's not the product you thought you were buying. It doesn't have the same provenance.

If I bought such a product, I would feed defrauded also and I would not buy the product. Finding out that the knife "designed for special ops" was actually inspired by a prison shiv makes a world of difference with regards to the product. But it's about the product, not about morals -- people just do not want to feel ripped off and defrauded.
 
I will not buy a knife from a company that engages in shady practices or is owned or run by someone who has a shady background or current life. Period. There are too many good companies run by upstanding people to even think about supporting those on the dark side.
 
I tend to agree with you in that this really isn't a moral issue as much as some seem to think it is. However, re the gasoline example, it begs the question of whether we are, in fact, compromising ourselves for the sake of convenience. In countries like the U.S., that do not have a very well-developed public transport system, many people need to purchase gasoline for their personal vehicles, if for no other reason that to get to and from their place of employment to put food on their tables. It could be argued we aren't doing that for the sake of convenience, but pure necessity. I'd actually prefer the U.S. had better public transportation so that, as in many other countries, driving and owning a personal vehicle would not be a necessity. But, it is what it is. And what it is, is necessity. I suppose you could limit yourself to jobs that are only within walking or biking distance, but the job market in your area may not allow for that.

Rey HRH said:
Now that I understand the root issue, allow me to challenge the premise of the original question. People are mistaken if they think it is their sense of morality that is dictating their decision to not buy from a "dishonest" knife maker. Or at least you're not consistent in letting your sense of morality rule your consumerism. I would hazard to guess that most here would say it is immoral to treat women as property, not give them freedom to vote, or even drive cars. If you agree and are of the mind to not buy products from people who would do such things, then you would not buy gasoline as most of it comes from the middle east where women indeed are treated as property, not allowed to vote, or even drive cars (except for a few countries and recent events). Okay, so you have no choice when it comes to gasoline, I suppose it means your morals dictate your purchases only when you are able to do so or when it's convenient.

I would suggest that it really isn't about morality at play here but the product itself. You bought yourself a painting that you thought came from an artist with extensive training and experience who spent a decade contemplating the universe in a monastery and gains his inspiration from long treks into nature. Then you find out it's only a dog dragging his butt across a canvass. It's still the same painting but it's all a lie. It's not the product you thought you were buying. It doesn't have the same provenance.

If I bought such a product, I would feed defrauded also and I would not buy the product. Finding out that the knife "designed for special ops" was actually inspired by a prison shiv makes a world of difference with regards to the product. But it's about the product, not about morals -- people just do not want to feel ripped off and defrauded.
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Yes, they do.

I will not buy from Strider due to their lies.

I will not buy from BM because of their misconduct with Spyderco regarding the trademarked hole.

I will not buy from Kershaw/ZT because of the unacceptable attitude of their loudest representative and his massive negative effect on the knife community.

I will not buy from Hinderer because of his sales practices.

I will not buy anything Chinese because of what it represents.

Knives are special to me. I do not look at most products this way, but knives are a window into my soul. My knives are bought with love, and so I must be at peace with their origins.
 
I gotta say, I wish more company reps gave away free knives to people for no reason at all, which had a massive positive effect on this community member. But that's all I'll say about that.
 
J85909266 said:
Yes, they do.

I will not buy from ....

Knives are special to me. I do not look at most products this way, but knives are a window into my soul. My knives are bought with love, and so I must be at peace with their origins.
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You seem to have missed shinyedges' "no brands" requests.
 
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