Knives Made in the U.S. Where do we stand?

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whitty

whitty

Dealer / Materials Provider
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So I try to keep tabs with new knife designs being manufactured in the U.S. and what is being designed and then shipped over seas for production. It is a very tough market to track. I want to believe we are seeing more of a trend/demand for knives made in the U.S. but would love to know what you guys think? I know there are people on this forum from all over the world, so I would love your feedback too!

Is knife production starting to trend back more to the U.S, is it the same as it has been for the past few years, or is it moving more overseas?
 
Well, I don't question the patriotism of businesses for seeking relief outside of the profit-destroying american bureaucracy.

If a product meets my standards of quality and economy, I'll buy it regardless of origin.
 
Well I think most knife and gear guys always want to see production coming back to America more and more. The companies try to do that as much as they can, many companies offer knives made in the U.S. and overseas so they can reach the market of the average person or the more budget minded person. If a company can afford it then they will try to move as much production to America. I have no problem with overseas knives, as long as it is a brand I recognize so I know that there is quality control such as Kershaw. For $20-$30 I am not going to complain if it is made overseas as long as the quality is there. (Obviously U.S. products will generally have higher quality levels). I think my first two sentences answered your question more directly.
 
As long as "Made in the U.S.A" is what it meant years ago vs. stuff being made here cause we're cheaper than "Made where it used to be cheaper but now they're economies are thriving"
 
The markets for both USA made and overseas made knives both seem strong to me. I can't speak for specifics, but it's definitely obvious that companies like Spyderco and Kershaw/ZT have more demand than supply for many of their USA made knives. I think there will always be a demand for USA made tools, regardless of what they are. Most Americans don't care if their cell phone was made in Korea, their laptop was made in Japan, their shoes made in Mexico, or their T-shirt made in Cambodia. But when it comes to their tools, many want theirs USA made, be it a chainsaw, wrench, flashlight, or knife.
 
raybateson said:
Well, I don't question the patriotism of businesses for seeking relief outside of the profit-destroying american bureaucracy.

If a product meets my standards of quality and economy, I'll buy it regardless of origin.
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:thumbup:

Couldn't have typed it any better myself.
 
I simply don't care where a knife is made, as long as the quality's there and I'm getting my money's worth. The best build quality, fit and finish and general quality control out of all the brands I own has been on my Taiwanese Cold Steel blades - I own Benchmade, Spyderco, Kershaw, and others, too. I've never owned a Taiwanese Spyderco, but I hear those are great, too.
 
Planterz said:
The markets for both USA made and overseas made knives both seem strong to me. I can't speak for specifics, but it's definitely obvious that companies like Spyderco and Kershaw/ZT have more demand than supply for many of their USA made knives. I think there will always be a demand for USA made tools, regardless of what they are. Most Americans don't care if their cell phone was made in Korea, their laptop was made in Japan, their shoes made in Mexico, or their T-shirt made in Cambodia. But when it comes to their tools, many want theirs USA made, be it a chainsaw, wrench, flashlight, or knife.
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Very true, and I like my work boots made here. :D
 
If I buy a US, Germany, UK or French labeled brand, I expect it to be home made or at least strictly controlled by the brand if some or all of its production is outsourced. Brands that are quality focused are able to achieve outstanding quality at amazing prices this way. Among US brands, A.G. Russell is the best example for this, as far as I know. Cold Steel, also (but I don't love their knives as much...)
 
Generally I prefer my products to be come from USA, but I do find that products made in other countries tend to have good quality as well.
I guess it depends on what I'm buying. When buying a t shirt I'll try to find USA, but that's a little difficult now a days.
Electronics I look for Japan, S. Korea, USA, Taiwan, then lastly China if there are no other options.
For a Knife, I look for USA, Japan, S. Korea, Taiwan, then China. Again I try to find a USA blade if I can, but many times, they are out of my price range.
I do have a few USA made Benchmade's (Grip, and Mini Grip) which I love, and use. But I also have a few Chinese produced Kershaw's, and Spyderco's
That are excellent quality. I prefer USA made blades, but i'm not opposed to an overseas made knife if it is good quality.
 
I don't see any good reason to support a company that outsources it's production to a cheap workforce. But there are plenty of good reasons to support a company that designs and produces its own products. The closer that company is to my home the better!
 
I try to buy "Made in USA" as often as I can not because of perceived quality (ahem, cars) but because I'd like to do what I can do support our failing economy. With knives I feel USA made knives are competitive in both a performance and price standpoint, so every knife I own is USA made. With other items its not necessarily the case. A USA made bench vise costs easily 10X as much as a made in China one. I ended up buying a well used one off the bay.
 
International production weather foreign or by domestic capitol creates competition and can drive quality, I'll buy quality weather I spend $50 or $500.
 
I do my damnest not to buy from China for all products I can (will do my best!). Reasons are because 1. I don't like how China is run when it comes to making things and short cuts that the public wont know until it bites us in the arse and 2. out of principle because I don't like how China restricts their people and other reasons. I understand that kershaw has strict quality control with their products across the board but cheap workers = do they really care about what kershaw thinks/believes in (as in are they loyal)? Or are they "caring" because of how the managers in China discipline the workers a la how they discipline harshly a slight mistake while making ipads, forcing the worker to stand up and announce their error publicly in front of all other workers.

So no, I don't want to buy anything from china to the best of my ability unless it's A. Traditional, genuinely hand-made using China's old day high crafting skills where you can see the pride in the products B. Privately owned Chinese company that bucks the normal manufacturing culture mentality and do their damnest to show pride in the high quality attention to details and workmanship of their products, you know, like what America tends to do.
 
I have knives both American made and foreign made. I think foreign made knives can be both very high quality and very high value (Spyderco, Kershaw). However, I do prefer a knife to be made in America. If two knives were exactly the same except one was made in China and the other in America, I would buy the latter. I don't know how much, but I would even absorb a reasonable price increase. I think both markets are growing, but I do think the desire for American made is growing faster.
 
I've already seen Chinese demand for made-in-America products being mentioned several times across news articles and other places because the Chinese has a quiet distrust of China's own quality control. That speaks volume.
 
Too many things aren't made in the USA so you have to buy foreign made. Too quality knives made in the USA to buy foreign except for the occasional Japan made Spyderco, I am "USA all the way!":D:thumbup:
 
gooeytek said:
I don't care where it's made. If something is made well, they'll get my money.
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So you're ok with a product made by enslaving children that works 18 hours days for 7 days a week, eating only rice and sleeping on concrete floors only as long as the quality of the product is top notch? Guess it's a case of "the end (product) justifies the mean".
 
raybateson said:
Well, I don't question the patriotism of businesses for seeking relief outside of the profit-destroying american bureaucracy.

If a product meets my standards of quality and economy, I'll buy it regardless of origin.
Click to expand...
My feelings exactly.

LadyEarth said:
So you're ok with a product made by enslaving children that works 18 hours days for 7 days a week, eating only rice and sleeping on concrete floors only as long as the quality of the product is top notch? Guess it's a case of "the end (product) justifies the mean".
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This is a common misconception. While abuses can and do happen - in the US as well - the vast majority of evidence shows how commerce greatly raises the standard of living in underdeveloped countries. The whole "a rising tide lifts all boats" kind of thing.

When the Roman empire fell, one of the principal evils that came out of it's fall was that the roads fell into disrepair and became dangerous to travel on, and commerce was reduced to a trickle. That entire part of the world suffered greatly for the next several hundred years. Commerce is very, very important. It benefits everyone.
 
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