Just saw this.....Bark River is no more?

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mitchnola said:
I think he’s right in the strictest sense of the law. Primarily because the steel is the foundational basis of a knife so according to the law it also must be sourced in the US.

However in reality and even in the law there’s a lot of grey area for interpretation etc. Not to mention it’s a law that’s rarely enforced as Blues Blues just mentioned.

I think this is a situation where yall are both right. It’s not simply a black/white situation. It falls in the grey area that leaves a lot of room for objectivity.
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I edited in the wording I was looking for. The material or part has to go through a substantial substantial transformation in the US
 
DMG said:
Not exactly.
What if iron ore is mined in Canada and smelted in the US?
What if it is smelted in Canada and the iron is mixed with the other components of steel in the US?
What if it is made into steel in Canada then cut into blades and heat treated in the US?

The knife will still be made in the US because the materials underwent a substantial transformation in the US
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Glen Juntunen said:
Good questions.
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www.ftc.gov

Complying with the Made in USA Standard

Do you promote your products as “Made in the USA”? Under the law, some products must disclose U.S. content. For others, manufacturers and marketers who choose to make claims about the amount of U.S. content need to know about the FTC’s Made in USA Labeling Rule and Enforcement Policy Statement...
www.ftc.gov www.ftc.gov

Example: The silicon used in a microchip within a computer is an early input into a computer’s manufacture and is likely to constitute a very small portion of the final product’s total cost. On the other hand, the wood in a less complex product like a wooden table is a direct and significant input. Whether the wood in a table is imported would be a significant factor in evaluating whether the finished product is “all or virtually all” made in the U.S.
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Like the silica in the above example, the cost of manufacturing the steel is much more than the cost of the ore. So ore can come from anywhere, but must be made into steel in the US, if the knife is to be marked "made in USA"
 
knarfeng said:
www.ftc.gov

Complying with the Made in USA Standard

Do you promote your products as “Made in the USA”? Under the law, some products must disclose U.S. content. For others, manufacturers and marketers who choose to make claims about the amount of U.S. content need to know about the FTC’s Made in USA Labeling Rule and Enforcement Policy Statement...
www.ftc.gov www.ftc.gov


Like the silica in the above example, the cost of manufacturing the steel is much more than the cost of the ore. So ore can come from anywhere, but must be made into steel in the US, if the knife is to be marked "made in USA"
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I tell ya what, applying this standard to all the knives claimed to be made in the USA would cause havoc in the industry. We suddenly would have far less than we would like!
 
DMG said:
Settle down buddy. My wife is wondering what I'm laughing about over here.
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I'm punch drunk from monitoring the thread, and I've only had one Scottish ale. I'll be back after a single malt or something to revive my senses.

Carry on. Frank will keep all of you on the straight and narrow until further notice. ☺️
 
Blues said:
I'm punch drunk from monitoring the thread, and I've only had one Scottish ale. I'll be back after a single malt or something to revive my senses.

Carry on. Frank will keep all of you on the straight narrow until further notice. ☺️
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Before ya go neat or on the rocks?
 
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mitchnola said:
I tell ya what, applying this standard to all the knives claimed to be made in the USA would cause havoc in the industry. We suddenly would have far less than we would like!
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Agreed.

And to further muddy the waters, if provision is made by PERCENTAGE OF TOTAL COST of sale, steel cost is low enough in total build price to qualify as made in USA. Handle material might be another story.

Either way, my takeaways are:

1. Honesty and transparency are important above all else.

2. Im still claiming (though I never use it as a selling/marketing point) that my knives are made in the USA though some of the raw materials may not be. I try whenever possible to use USA made raw materials, and can do so in most cases.
 
knarfeng said:
www.ftc.gov

Complying with the Made in USA Standard

Do you promote your products as “Made in the USA”? Under the law, some products must disclose U.S. content. For others, manufacturers and marketers who choose to make claims about the amount of U.S. content need to know about the FTC’s Made in USA Labeling Rule and Enforcement Policy Statement...
www.ftc.gov www.ftc.gov


Like the silica in the above example, the cost of manufacturing the steel is much more than the cost of the ore. So ore can come from anywhere, but must be made into steel in the US, if the knife is to be marked "made in USA"
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I think cutting steel to shape, grinding it, heat treating it and then assembling it into a knife may be enough for the "substantial transformation" clause. I bet it has been litigated, I'll ask my brother where to find the case law.
 
J. Doyle said:
Agreed.

And to further muddy the waters, if provision is made by PERCENTAGE OF TOTAL COST of sale, steel cost is low enough in total build price to qualify as made in USA. Handle material might be another story.

Either way, my takeaways are:

1. Honesty and transparency are important above all else.

2. Im still claiming (though I never use it as a selling/marketing point) that my knives are made in the USA though some of the raw materials may not be. I try whenever possible to use USA made raw materials, and can do so in most cases.
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As you absolutely should because more important to me than any of that other crap is your knives come with American blood, sweat and tears in its soul!
 
mitchnola said:
Good point, and in regards to my previous post, how often is the ftc conducting investigations on any product much less knives? Apparently it does happen though if it happened to ka-bar.
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To my knowledge, Kabar didn't get investigated or accused of impropriety. they just complied with the change in law at the time it went into effect. I also don't know how long they had been sourcing German produced steel prior to being required to take "USA" off their knives under the new law.
Most likely, at the time they started using German steel, the law allowed for marking made in USA if a certain percentage of manufacturing processes were performed here when sourcing raw materials like sheets of steel internationally
 
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