Knives and where they are made

And this is why I regret not owning a Spyderco yet. Every time Sal posta, it makes me want to purchase one just because he responds to threads like these.

I've spent way too much on knives this month but I'm definitely going to budget something for a Spyderco next month. Good thing that next month is only 3 days away. :D
 
Well spoken Sal. Thank you once again for joining us.

I think the Seki made knives are good quality and have no problem buying them.


Sal, what models are made in Italy?
 
AmadeusM said:
So if it's not made by Americans, it's not good enough? Are thus non-Americans subhumans not deserving to make a living?

Threads like this are not about quality, but about nationalism and we know who the lowest common denominator is with those sentiments.



Mods, move this to Political.
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Not sure where you're from, but I'd be willing to bet that your government has programs to encourage comsumption of locally produced products. Are products not made in your country substandard? Are people not from your country sub-human? Are your citizens blinded by nationalism? Your comments seem to indicate a distaste for Americans and our government far more than the comments in this thread indicate any bias on our part. Are we not allowed the same practices and opinions as your country and your citizens?
 
Wow thanks for chiming in Sal. It's much appreciated.

That's really what I'm trying to get here is more knowledge. In the past people like my dad and grandfather would never buy anything not made in America. Times are changing and I'm not enough of an econimist to know the pros and cons of global business.

I appreciate all who have responded so far.

Thanks Sal also for responding. I don't know of any other company where the owner would come in and comment on a thread, let alone a thread like this one.

I have to agree with kylekim, the kind of post that Sal made makes me want to go buy Spyderco's right now. ;)
 
Joe Dirt said:
I wonder if the companies (like Benchmade, Spyderco, CRKT etc.) are into doing business overseas because they NEED to or because they want MORE MONEY?

Like could Spyderco still survive and make a nice living by making everything in the USA, or would they go out of business if they didn't have stuff made in China or Japan? My guess is they would do just fine.

Unless a business NEEDS to do it to stay afloat I think it's wrong. I really doubt Benchmade needed to have their red line made in Taiwain. I think they did it purely to make MORE money on each knife sold.

If it's true........it's sad.
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I don't understand the problem with a business wanting to make more money.

The business ultimately consists of people and I just don't see an issue in general with people wanting to make more money.

Businesses are not charitable organizations.
 
All of the knives in my collection or in my User Rotation are either made here in the USA, Japan & Germany. I do prefer USA made stuff because I do like making jobs for my brothers/sisters here in the states. But the Spydercos I have that are made in Seki City Japan are of superb quality. Also when I add Germany to the list I can also put Switzerland right in that same slot. The German & Swiss blades/multitools I have are great.

The Spydercos & Benchmades which are made here in the USA are far and above my favorite knives period. I will not use anything from China if I can at all keep from it. I do not want to sponsor tyranny in any way, shape or form. Thumbs are up for Golden Colorado made Spydercos :thumbup:
 
It's not a question of quality. It's concern that all manufacturing is moving to the far east.
I can't say I will only buy American Made Knives. Bark River and other American made knives have great customers in Australia, Singapore, Europe, etc.
I wouldn't hesitate to buy knives from those countries. China has laws against almost any manufactured import from outside its borders. I don't want a knife made by virtual slave labor in China where workers are paid $1.00 a day and work in dangerous conditions.

Don't make it into a jingoistic thing when its not.

I think this issue has many sides and should be considered rationally, courteously, and calmly.

Thanks
 
I own and operate a small machine shop in Georgia. I don't make knives but I do make parts and pieces for everything from packaging machinery to porta-potties. In my experience, damn near everything imported from Japan costs MORE and is of equal or higher quality than a similar product made in the States...especially machine tools. I'm sure there are companies there that make junk same as there are in the US but not much of it gets shipped here. The same goes, to a lesser extent, for Taiwan. I've NEVER seen anything from China that impressed me from a quality standpoint...don't get me wrong, I own a ton of stuff made in China, but it was purchased because it was either good enough to do the job or they were the only show in town. Try buying your kids toys for Christmas without buying from chinese manufacturers.

Someone was wondering why a US outfit would use a Japanese steel in their knife. Over the past decade, I've bought literally tens of thousands of pounds of stainless steel....I've NEVER seen any marked "made in the USA'...and most of it IS marked. Most of what I buy is 303 and 304 bar stock, plate and tubing, not suitable for blade making of course, but it's marked Japan, Spain, Taiwan, Korea sometimes even Finland but never USA.
 
Mr Glesser, kind of you to give these information! But you didn't answer clearly to the question "Is it for survival or more profit purposes?". Do you think that Spyderco couldn't survive of the competition if hadn't go outside the USA?:confused:
 
If going of shore for the manufacture of their knives allows a company to be more competitive, thus helping it stay in business, then I am all for it. The American side of the company supplies jobs for Americans, and that is good.

From what I have seen it won't be long before almost everything is made in China, or other countries with low pay. In time China will start having to pay their workers more and then it will be countries like Vietnam that start to take over manufacturing. We will someday be having this discussion about knives made there.

If the product is good then I don't have a problem with where it is made. If it is crap then I also don't care where it is made, I won't buy it.
 
Keith Montgomery said:
If going of shore for the manufacture of their knives allows a company to be more competitive, thus helping it stay in business, then I am all for it. The American side of the company supplies jobs for Americans, and that is good.

From what I have seen it won't be long before almost everything is made in China, or other countries with low pay. In time China will start having to pay their workers more and then it will be countries like Vietnam that start to take over manufacturing. We will someday be having this discussion about knives made there.

If the product is good then I don't have a problem with where it is made. If it is crap then I also don't care where it is made, I won't buy it.
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There's an ugly side to this equation. It means that U.S. companies become concerned with the politics of the countries they are invested in. That leads to pressure from these companies on the U.S. government to intervene in foreign politics. Ultimately, this can lead to U.S. soldiers dying in places most Americans couldn't even find on a map. That doesn't mean that I think outsourcing is evil. It's not a political statement either in favor of isolationism, or an attempt to describe current or recent events either. It's just a reality that this has happened in the past (Central America, as an example), and will happen increasingly in the future as U.S. companies are tempted to invest in regions of the world that aren't politically stable.
 
Dimit78 said:
Mr Glesser, kind of you to give these information! But you didn't answer clearly to the question "Is it for survival or more profit purposes?". Do you think that Spyderco couldn't survive of the competition if hadn't go outside the USA?:confused:
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i'm not meaning to butt in and answer for mr. glesser, but from what i got of his post it seems that he just wants to offer more diverse products, so spyderco is a more well rounded company to reach more "end line users"



I must say that if thats the goal, he's hit it. i've got a kiwi for dress up, a pair of enduras for camping, couple of natives for EDC and even some byrds for beaters. im even thinkin of getting a firebyrd for par-tay;)
 
Thanx for the kind comments. In reality, I work for you, so explanation is not unrealistic. We're a pretty transparent organization so the more you know, the better we look. ;)

Hi Rifon,

On the question of making money; I guess it depends on the balance of "making more money" or "making better product". Making money is necessary in order for a business to survive, but many businesses focus on the former, the result being a lesser product, or "less value" to the ELU. In the long run, IMO, providing the most value for a fair price, has the best long term survival, but lower short term return.

Underaged, The Volpe is made in Italy and there are several other products in the works that I cannot mention at this time.

Dimit, For us it depends on the size of company that we wish to be. We could survive doing any one or combination but it will govern the size. We find that we function best at a certain size (number of employees) and we need what we have to maintain our current size.

Also try to keep in mind that most companies, I would guess, control outsource quality in the sme manner that we do. We create and control the designs that are made. Eric and I are in the factories working with the makers to control our high quality standards.

sal
 
buckg said:
Not sure where you're from, but I'd be willing to bet that your government has programs to encourage comsumption of locally produced products. Are products not made in your country substandard? Are people not from your country sub-human? Are your citizens blinded by nationalism? Your comments seem to indicate a distaste for Americans and our government far more than the comments in this thread indicate any bias on our part. Are we not allowed the same practices and opinions as your country and your citizens?
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And what can I say about your comments when I consider that I am 4th generation American, born and raised, who lives in Minnesota?

Don't bet. You will lose money. :jerkit:
 
Here's another angle: perhaps the American labor is overpaid, with a huge sense of entitlement? Perhaps that's why the folks in Detroit are not doing so well? Perhaps it is smarter to think in terms of innovation and markets than protectionist/isolationist policies?
 
I like to buy American. That said I buy what I want. Quality of manufacture and design are more important to me when buying a knife than country of origin is.

The world of knives is a rich one. I dream of one day traveling around the world. When I do, I have a plan to collect knives from the various countries I visit. I want to buy a Spanish Navaja, Brazilian Sorocobana, Finnish Puukko, Tibetan Thee, and French chef's knives. I also want to buy a Thai dha, Zulu Assegai, Dayak Mandau, Moro Barong, and several other blades that I can't remember at the moment. If I limited myself to American blades I would miss out on these wonderful blades.

I'm just glad that we have the choice to buy American. Several industries are so thoroughly dominated by Chinese-manufactured products that you either buy Chinese or do without. Thanks to the success and innovation of companies like Spyderco and Benchmade we have extremely high quality knives and don't have to settle for poorly made imports.
 
kamagong: Thanks to the success and innovation of companies like Spyderco and Benchmade we have extremely high quality knives and don't have to settle for poorly made imports.


Must be the reason they are my favorite knives!
 
Another great thing about America....is that We started the Internet, and can now come freely to wonderful forums like this to express our opinions and have a good time with each other. :)
 
AmadeusM said:
Here's another angle: perhaps the American labor is overpaid, with a huge sense of entitlement? Perhaps that's why the folks in Detroit are not doing so well? Perhaps it is smarter to think in terms of innovation and markets than protectionist/isolationist policies?
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Hmmm. Guess I misunderstood your first post. As for this post, you are both right and wrong. Labor unions have bankrupted GM. GM spends more on entitlements than they do on making cars. However, without some level of protectionism, we'll loose a lot more than just manufacturing. Take, for example, a high tech company like Intel. Intel has manufacturing facilities all over the world. Nothing new there. However, the trend in the last couple of years is to develop design facilities in India, China, and other Asian countries where an engineer with a master's degree earns less than a factory worker in Detroit. Even Andy Grove, long-time CEO of Intel, has said that the government must take steps to prevent this trend by developing programs to keep engineering jobs in this country. If we loose our engineers (because there are no jobs for them), we loose our ability to innovate. At that point, we'll just loose. And don't say that American engineers just have to be better. To be better, they'd need superior intelligence. Must be some of that nationalism creeping out in your argument. :jerkit:
 
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