Knife Manufacturers You Avoid

From my personal experience,

I dont care much for SOG as the blade play and the action and overall ergonomics dont really do it for me.

Some kershaw particularly the whirlwind, it sure flies open, but the thumbstud, lockbar, and handle need improvement.

The BM mini griptillian and griptillian before wilkins grips have less than desireable handles.

The only gerber I have owned was a multitool and I did like it but my sister had a mini fast draw and it was awful in more ways than one could list.

I also will throw in a list of companies I do particularly like and why.

I like benchmade, the real BM not H&K or any of their other lines although verdict is still out on the lone wolf stuff since i havent seen any. I very much so like their blue and black classes in the higher end stuff category.

I like ZT, CRK, and spyderco as well for the quality and for the customer service.

I like the microtech products, especially their older lines and have owned or own a ATCF, LCC, UDT, kestrel, daytona, and currahee. But, their customer service is probably the worst in the business and those damn tri wing screws.
 
Chinese Gerbers--actually most any knife made in China with the exception of Byrd.

Anything made by Ontario. Dull knives that are hard to sharpen and handles that don't fit.

CRKT. Dull knives that can't be sharpened and a bewildering array of designs to help confuse the issue as much as possible.

Anything over $40. I've spent way too much on knives in the past. These days, USA made Buck knives do me a better job for a lot less money.
 
Glad to see I'm FAR from the only person that was singularly unimpressed by Gerber. Bought one cheapo knife (fortunately with a gift card). It's possibly the worst knife I own outside of some $2 wholesale folders. Sticky to open, impossible to flip, can't hold an edge to save its life, just all around poorly made.

Also haven't been impressed with any of the Cold Steel products that I've bought (excepting the plastic knife, which is surprisingly fun to play with), and the products seem to be overpriced; by and large I have found something better for all of their products. Spear came dull, knives came dull, grind was AWFUL and took me days to fix to the point where the products would take an edge...

I like my CRKT M16, but can see where people wouldn't. Grind style isn't good for people who are not left-handed. Steel is decent but not great, and while I like the design, it's not as comfortable or good as my Benchmade knives.

Brands I DO like:

Hanwei (mainly swords). By and large, with a few exceptions, solid products on a budget. They have their problems, but given what you pay, I've been 100% happy.

Benchmade. I am a fanboy. Love the AXIS lock, love the 154CM, and they have a lot of designs I like. Also, in defense of HK, I own a Benchmade HK knife which is one of my very favorites. It's SO smooth to open, and has held a shaving edge for a year now, without much of ANY retouching, and that's with getting used as an EDC virtually every day, including some whittling. Sweet little knife.

Haven't tried Kershaw, but that's on the list.

Spyderco, I hear a lot of good things. Most of their designs do not appeal, but I'm 20 minutes away from the factory and outlet store, so I'm going to give them a check over next month when I get my next paycheck, and probably get addicted.

Just got a BRKT from a fellow forumite. Great knife. I think Mike Stewart is a jerk, and his business practices have been quite questionable, but I will not deny he makes great knives, and I will be buying another one when I get a chance. Just not from him; I'll stick to making my BRKT buys second hand.

I think it's interesting to note which manufacturers get noted for bad quality (Gerber), which get knocked for being overpriced (SOG), and which just get knocked for personal issues such as design (seen a lot of CRKT hate, but not much of real substance). Surprisingly good thread, considering the topic potential for flaming.
 
I avoid any knife made in China. I have had bad experiences with them. I do not care what brand they are, just anything made in China.

I wish that articles I read about knives in magazines would specify whether or not that particular knife they are talking about is made in China. It would save me the trouble and disappointment of finding the knife and learning it is made in China.
 
Got a question on the Gerber knives. Are the Gerber knives that you all are saying that are no good American made, or are they made over seas?

I bought a Gerber Prodigy, which is the lowest price American made knife they offer. And while I will be the first to admit that is no ESEE, It is not trash either....
 
I have an old Gerber Paul folder. I have always liked that one ... just sayin'. Other Gerbers I have owned, not so much.
 
low96hb said:
Got a question on the Gerber knives. Are the Gerber knives that you all are saying that are no good American made, or are they made over seas?
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The paraframe is made overseas, but I had two other models, whose names escape me, that were made in the US that I was less than impressed with. I sold one and gifted the other and I dont remember their names. Gerber was the first name brand I got into but now they just dont appeal to me in design or quality at least from my experience. My cousin's s30v freeman hunter has held up well though.
 
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low96hb said:
Got a question on the Gerber knives. Are the Gerber knives that you all are saying that are no good American made, or are they made over seas?
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I'm talking primarily about the over seas models, but even the US made ones are not as well made as they used to be. I came to that conclusion after handling a few new Gator folders, compared to the older one I have from when they were first out, the new ones are quite loose with a good bit of play, and one had a grind that was pretty far out there. The US ones don't seem all that bad, and maybe I just have my older Gator on a pedestal, but its ones of the stoutest folders I've owned for being such a simple design.


damnit now I want to head to Cabelas and look at some more US made Gerbers :cool: Always fun to compare knives.
 
mickeyblueyes said:
I tend to only like USA made products with one exception, Spyderco in Japan. I do not have any use for Clamshell prepackaged knives sitting on the wall off mass merchandizers. I also HATE that TRUE VALUE has stopped selling CASE knives and are selling cheap imitation overseas made junk. I argued with a store clerk about it ,he did not understand you only draw the type of customer you have by the stuff you sell. People that want quality will pay for it, if they are not smart enough to sell it ,well thats a shame.
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Case and True Value are once again dealing with each other. If the store owner does not know he can check his TV warehouse or deal direct with Case.
 
EricV said:
I'm talking primarily about the over seas models, but even the US made ones are not as well made as they used to be. I came to that conclusion after handling a few new Gator folders, compared to the older one I have from when they were first out, the new ones are quite loose with a good bit of play, and one had a grind that was pretty far out there. The US ones don't seem all that bad, and maybe I just have my older Gator on a pedestal, but its ones of the stoutest folders I've owned for being such a simple design.


damnit now I want to head to Cabelas and look at some more US made Gerbers :cool: Always fun to compare knives.
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The US made Gerbers are for the most part, just fine. Two that I am particularly fond of are the Folding Freeman Hunter (S30V) and the drop-point Gator (154CM). Admittedly, I did have to re-profile and tune-up the Hunter, as the grind was all over the map and the centring was off as well. The Gator, however, was good-to-go right out of the box.

I suppose that it is because I remember the glory days of Gerber, that I will always give them a second chance.
 
dtownknifekid said:
The paraframe is made overseas, but I had two that were made in the US that I was less than impressed with. I sold one and gifted the other and I dont remember their names. Gerber was the first name brand I got into but now they just dont appeal to me in design or quality at least from my experience. My cousin's s30v freeman hunter has held up well though.
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You had American made Paraframes? I thought all Paraframes were made overseas. Are you talking about the Gerber Harsey Airframes? If so, they are quality. I miss mine.
 
red1965 said:
SOG (just plain fugly), Buck folders (except the 110), Gerber (How the mighty have fallen), Bark Rver (owned a couple, they make great paperweights ), Frost (one word, Dymondwood), Taylor Brand (I am fan of S&W firearms, but the knives, not so much) and last but not least, Kershaw (they have great knives, but their designs just dont appeal to me)
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560 is my favorite of the buck folders, but it's basically a 110 with a different handle.
 
I see that Gerber is copping a good kicking here, but back in the day, they made some exceptional quality knives. I have a thirty year old Gerber "Bolt Lock" folder which is user, not a safe queen, and it is one of the better knives in my modest collection.
Having said that, I would not buy a modern Gerber regardless of price.

Another one to avoid in the apparent Boker knock off brand "Boker Magnum". I bought a stag handled "Boker Magnum" 4 blade Congress at the big auction site, thinking it was genuine Boker, and that I had a bargain at $45. What arrived was a junk knife that I wouldn't give away to my worst enemy.

Seller disappeared off line within hours of the sale, naturally. :mad:
 
BlueyM said:
Another one to avoid in the apparent Boker knock off brand "Boker Magnum". I bought a stag handled "Boker Magnum" 4 blade Congress at the big auction site, thinking it was genuine Boker, and that I had a bargain at $45. What arrived was a junk knife that I wouldn't give away to my worst enemy.
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Boker is kind of weird that way--they sell EVERY class of knives, from the junkiest junk (Magnum) to really high-end top-shelf products (Tree Brand).
 
Gerber is one I have learned to avoid ever since I got their Presto 3.0 and it had tons of blade play and when I tried to fix it the pivot screw head just broke off!

I used to have a CRKT M16 and it was fun but overall not impressive and I hated the edge grind and steel so I avoid CRKT now because that steel is in a ton of their knives.

Basically most Chinese made knives. I can deal with overseas made knives if the quality control and tolerances are tight, but Chinese made knives just seem to slip by that a lot more than Japanese or Taiwanese made knives.
 
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