Is Boker doing a disservice to it's customers?

[leghog]

Don't know I haven't been fooled into purchasing one but on the same site it states the following

Many companies offer different, levels, of brand, lines etc. Boker Plus is obviously not Boker Tree Brand Classics, at least it's obvious to me, but I don't rely on others I do things myself.

Pete

It could EVEN MORE CLEARLY state "Country of origin..." under "Handle Material: Poly" in the knife's description rather than having that info in the FAQ two clicks deeper than the home page and not where any knife descriptions are.

Home -->About Us-->FAQ. Knives are on several pages but origin is on the FAQs page only accessible through the "about us" page. ONCE one knows that, there is no confusion, but if one doesn't know that, and I venture to say the VAST majority of the Boker site's visitors do not know that,....

The solution to clear up any potential understanding is extremely simple. Do you truly think Boker doesn't know that?

We're just repeating ourselves. I'll stand by my statement that Boker is being specious regarding countries of origin and by doing so is, indeed, doing disservice to its customers and potential customers, and I'll be done with this. This isn't a new concern. Boker could EASILY correct this, if Boker would just choose to do so. Boker has chosen otherwise.

 

[shecky]

FWIW, I own a couple Boker Plus traditionals. Very good, btw. Anyhow, they are clearly, if discreetly, marked "CHINA". Underneath the kick of one of the blades. It's a nice, inconspicuous place to put the identification.

 

[Stich2442]

I may be wrong but I would think the most of the cost of a pocket knife would be the labor. If the knives made with Chinese parts were actually made in the same Boker factory in Germany the cost savings would be very little which isn't reflected in the much lower costs of these knives.

So I'll give two examples

In my mid 20's I developed something for a larger corporation, a very good product, they then took my specs, approached another large corporation and said, can you produce this product to these specs, if so we will buy this product from you at all our accounts. Now I am no longer needed to produce said product. Now corporation #2 mass produces the skilled part of the labor so completely unskilled labor can be used to produce a similar product at many other facilities, producing a similar product, not exactly to the same quality, but the corporation really doesn't care because now their labor force is expendable. So now instead of having 5 or 6 skilled workers, you can have 3 or 4 unskilled workers, or increase production and have 10 unskilled workers and still costing them less than having the 5 or 6 skilled workers. The skilled part of the job was basically outsourced and now as long as you can open a box, that is all the skill that is now needed.

Another example say you are using the the same labor force, the cost of the labor is the same , but widget #1 materials cost $10 and widget #2 cost you $1 to produce because the labor on the outsourced parts is so low, you are not paying any benefits etc. you can carry that over to your customer. More than likely you will sell 10 of the cheaper made widget#2 to ever widget#1 and the profit margin you are making on the cheaper made widget is probably greater than the profit on the higher quality widget.

Pete

PS Leghog just to let you know Case on one of their product lines hides the fact that it is outsourced over seas, it makes no reference and hides the fact of its country of origin, yet on its home page proudly states handcrafting pocket knives in the USA since 1889

 

[leghog]

PS Leghog just to let you know Case on one of their product lines hides the fact that it is outsourced over seas, it makes no reference and hides the fact of its country of origin, yet on its home page proudly states handcrafting pocket knives in the USA since 1889

And they are wrong to do hide such to give the impression something is not what they hope the unwary will believe it is. One doing so does not excuse the other doing so. Just another reason I won't buy contemporary knives.

 

[SAK Guy]

........

PS Leghog just to let you know Case on one of their product lines hides the fact that it is outsourced over seas, it makes no reference and hides the fact of its country of origin, yet on its home page proudly states handcrafting pocket knives in the USA since 1889

Nooooooooo!

 

[rma100]

So I'll give two examples

In my mid 20's I developed something for a larger corporation, a very good product, they then took my specs, approached another large corporation and said, can you produce this product to these specs, if so we will buy this product from you at all our accounts. Now I am no longer needed to produce said product. Now corporation #2 mass produces the skilled part of the labor so completely unskilled labor can be used to produce a similar product at many other facilities, producing a similar product, not exactly to the same quality, but the corporation really doesn't care because now their labor force is expendable. So now instead of having 5 or 6 skilled workers, you can have 3 or 4 unskilled workers, or increase production and have 10 unskilled workers and still costing them less than having the 5 or 6 skilled workers. The skilled part of the job was basically outsourced and now as long as you can open a box, that is all the skill that is now needed.

Another example say you are using the the same labor force, the cost of the labor is the same , but widget #1 materials cost $10 and widget #2 cost you $1 to produce because the labor on the outsourced parts is so low, you are not paying any benefits etc. you can carry that over to your customer. More than likely you will sell 10 of the cheaper made widget#2 to ever widget#1 and the profit margin you are making on the cheaper made widget is probably greater than the profit on the higher quality widget.

Pete

PS Leghog just to let you know Case on one of their product lines hides the fact that it is outsourced over seas, it makes no reference and hides the fact of its country of origin, yet on its home page proudly states handcrafting pocket knives in the USA since 1889

You mean they haven't been Handcrafting Pocket Knives in the USA since 1889? Are we discussing Traditional Cutlery here, or International Business and Economics?

 

[meako]

FWIW, I own a couple Boker Plus traditionals. Very good, btw. Anyhow, they are clearly, if discreetly, marked "CHINA". Underneath the kick of one of the blades. It's a nice, inconspicuous place to put the identification.

Discretion is the better part of sales volume.

 

[leghog]

You mean they haven't been Handcrafting Pocket Knives in the USA since 1889? Are we discussing Traditional Cutlery here, or International Business and Economics?

Absolutely nothing traditional about Tec X from Case. As far as I know, the knives aren't even marked Case anywhere.

 

[rma100]

Absolutely nothing traditional about Tec X from Case. As far as I know, the knives aren't even marked Case anywhere.

I never mentioned a word about Case Tec X. And they're not marketed as Traditional. This the Traditional Folders and Fixed Blades forum. W.R Case & Sons has, and continues to, produce Handcrafted Pocket Knives in the USA since 1889.

 

[Lee48]

There used to be a law here in the USA that country of origin had to be displayed on the product somewhere. There could still be such a law and, like many laws, the controlling authorities choose not to enforce it. In any event, I like to know stuff. Tell me honestly is it "Made in _______" or is it "Assembled in _______ of Foreign and Domestic Parts". No problem which it is, I just like to know.

I can't find a pair of shoes "Made In the USA" anymore due there being almost zero domestic tanneries in existence anymore. But there are numerous "Assembled in..." pairs available. And while I don't particularly like it that the US tannery industry and all the associated tannery jobs are pretty much dead, I'm okay with being told straight up where my 11EEs are coming from.

Being assembled in-country from pre-manufactured parts obtained from other countries is not the same as being manufactured from raw materials obtained from other countries. That's like me trying to claim I made a jigsaw puzzle that I just bought at Walmart and put together.

I'm not that hard to please, really. Just tell me honestly. And don't write "Germany" on a product made of several parts, all of which are manufactured in total in another country and just put together like a jigsaw puzzle in Germany.

 

[knarfeng]

All the arguments have been stated and this thread is ready do be done. All that is happening now is that the discussion is becoming heated.

Thread closed.