Knife steel made in USA

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don1911

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Jun 26, 2015
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If a knife is made in USA, that does not necessarily indicate the steel was made in USA. Is that true?
So if a type of steel (440 for instance) can be made in both USA and china, How can I be sure I'm getting a better made steel than what is made in china?
I'm still knife hunting and seeing so many steels like D2 that sometimes seem to be made in various countries with a wide range of qualities.
I had been buying only 1095 with knife companies that say made in America. But that is a pretty short list and limits my choices.
Any suggestions?
 
If you get a steel type that's only made by an American manufacturer (Crucible - anything CPM, Carpenter - CTS steels, etc) you're good to go.
 
Made in USA or Assembled in USA?

With the state of world trade, it's not unheard of to have a knife assembled in one county from parts made in other countrues.
 
sometimes US knife steel is shipped to China

sometimes everything is made in China

sometimes everything is made in the US

none of the above guarantees anything about the actual blade performance, its more in depth then just where the steel is made. Its how they are processed.

the wide range of qualities has more to due with heat treatment.
 
To answer your question.. Yes a knife can be "made" or simply put.. assembled in the US and have a steel that is foreign. One example is my Hinderer Harpoon Spanto. Made in the USA but the steel (M390) is not American. Or the same goes with a lot of Kershaws. Made in the US but a lot of them have Sandvik steel.

If you want to fully support American, some good choices would be Emerson, Chris Reeve, Survive! Knives, and many more. Just do research on where certain steels are made and research manufactures. There are plenty of choices out there
 
Maybe the better question is, what kind of knife (and in what budget) are you hunting for? I haven't personally found that country of origin is so black-and-white with regards to quality - and steering clear of discussing politics of origin - so it may be easier to discuss options or look for suggestions that fit your needs?
 
DeadboxHero said:
sometimes US knife steel is shipped to China

sometimes everything is made in China

sometimes everything is made in the US

none of the above guarantees anything about the actual blade performance, its more in depth then just where the steel is made. Its how they are processed.

the wide range of qualities has more to due with heat treatment.
Click to expand...

This. Crap or quality can be made in any country. It's just not that simple.
 
DeadboxHero said:
sometimes US knife steel is shipped to China

sometimes everything is made in China

sometimes everything is made in the US

none of the above guarantees anything about the actual blade performance, its more in depth then just where the steel is made. Its how they are processed.

the wide range of qualities has more to due with heat treatment.
Click to expand...

^^
and the performance of the tool is directly related to the geometry (of blade & handle).
 
Thanks for info. Not as simple as I was hoping for. But good info to help me look at it more like I should. Thanks.
 
In the case some of the of 10XX steels we see used, if the knife makers are buying from certain suppliers to the custom and small production knife sector, chances are the supplier had the steel made in Germany. I can't speak forproducion companies,btu in the custom knife biz,thesteelswilltyoicially come from the US, Japan, Germany, Austria or Sweden.
don1911 said:
If a knife is made in USA, that does not necessarily indicate the steel was made in USA. Is that true?
So if a type of steel (440 for instance) can be made in both USA and china, How can I be sure I'm getting a better made steel than what is made in china?
I'm still knife hunting and seeing so many steels like D2 that sometimes seem to be made in various countries with a wide range of qualities.
I had been buying only 1095 with knife companies that say made in America. But that is a pretty short list and limits my choices.
Any suggestions?
Click to expand...
 
You are asking about flour when you ought to ask about the baker.

Here's a way to start: Find a good maker. Depend on him or it. A bad or mediocre maker can ruin the best raw materials. A good maker uses good materials and knows how to get the best out of them.
 
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