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

[HwangJino]

The only knives from the us I have are chris reeve...

Mostly japanese, 1 german, 2 Portuguese and 1 nepalese.

Every country has cheap and quality. Searching is the fun part of any hobby.

 

[cards94]

florida oranges are US made. everything else i'm not sure of even if it says made in the US.

 

[Nic S.]

i think the laws on the books regarding what "made in usa" means need to be rewritten (if it's any kind of law in the first place...). As it stands now i'm pretty sure you can have a knife fully manufactured in china, shipped disassembled to america, put together by some minimum wage slave in a warehouse and they can still slap a "made in usa" logo on it.

sog??

 

[stabman]

As it stands now I'm pretty sure you can have a knife fully manufactured in china, shipped disassembled to america, put together by some minimum wage slave in a warehouse and they can still slap a "made in USA" logo on it.

Someone missed out on history class.
Slaves don't get paid.

 

[Jegred2]

I think companies should do what some of the bigger ones are doing, make knives in USA and overseas. Lets them cater to a larger audience. As long as I can afford it, I'll be buying USA made. If not USA then preferably european. As it stands I'd rather have US workers getting my money and hopefully in turn supporting other americans with their spending also.

@pigmonkey
I know some products that are assembled in the USA but made mostly overseas no longer falsly stamp their products with USA anymore. Leatherman doesn't add the stamp anymore because of laws in CA that don't allow it. I think in most other places there have to be a certain percentage of parts made in the US.

 

[cards94]

I think the laws on the books regarding what "Made in USA" means need to be rewritten (if it's any kind of law in the first place...). As it stands now I'm pretty sure you can have a knife fully manufactured in china, shipped disassembled to america, put together by some minimum wage slave in a warehouse and they can still slap a "made in USA" logo on it.

i think you hit the nail on the head. maybe alot of these knives that are so called "made in the US", are just assembled here from the parts that are manufactured and shipped from another country. custom blades could be different but where is the steel coming from?

 

[fzla226]

sog??

Sog doesn't put made in the US on anything as far as I know. Just "assembled" in.

 

[Lennyo3034]

So you're saying it's ok for people to encourage folks to buy from China but it's not ok for people to encourage others not to buy from China? That's an odd way of going about it. I apologize if I'm challenging an established justified norm...

Edit: P.s. it's not "most" threads. It is just the one involving China which is very few threads (I believe only 2 or maybe 3 threads. The rest of the others are completely unrelated).

2nd Edit: I'm out. Both side made their thoughts and points. To continue it would be a redundancy.

I posted earlier in this thread that I try to buy American, and that all my knives are made in USA.

I am Chinese and will confirm that many Chinese perceive Chinese made products as inferior, especially when it comes to tools. However your ideas of slave labor are a bit far fetched. Many of my family members are factory workers, and somehow they always have time to spend with me after work when I visit. They have the energy to take me places, and look damn more healthy than my fat ass. The lower end "slave factory workers" make about 1000 yuan a month and they struggle with that amount (10 yuan a month is a joke). The more well-off of my relatives (on the other side of the family) roll around in S-classes (real estate or insurance agents).

I'm sure workers were treated far worse in the past, and maybe a few still are, but thats a thing of the past. After all, China wouldn't be the only country guilty of attrocities in the past (Native Americans anyone?). The fact that our rights right here in this country are in jeopardy right now is testament, but that's another issue entirely.

As for announcing mistakes in the factory, I work in US aviation industry, and I if a mistake is made, every single other person working the operation will know about it immediately, as well as supervisors and production planners. This is to prevent recurrence of the same mistake.

 

[ericvar101]

All my knives are made in USA. I buy Benchmade, ZTs and Spyderco knives made here in Golden Colorado. I hear good things about the Spydies made in Tiawan but I cant get my self to do it. its important to me to buy and drive American. I like looking at my blade and seeing "Golden Co US" on it. I dont want knives made in Japan, China or Tiawan, its not just about if their quaility knives or not. at least to me.

 

[K.O.D.]

I have knives made in the US, Japan, and Taiwan. All are quality. Spyderco's Taiwan factory makes excellent knives. Nothing but satisfied with my Gayle Bradley.

 

[cards94]

All my knives are made in USA. I buy Benchmade, ZTs and Spyderco knives made here in Golden Colorado. I hear good things about the Spydies made in Tiawan but I cant get my self to do it. its important to me to buy and drive American. I like looking at my blade and seeing "Golden Co US" on it. I dont want knives made in Japan, China or Tiawan, its not just about if their quaility knives or not. at least to me.

all my knives so far, with the small collection i have, are made in the US. i've been looking at that delica 4 though and it's tough not to try it out.

 

[Kansas Mike]

As for announcing mistakes in the factory, I work in US aviation industry, and I if a mistake is made, every single other person working the operation will know about it immediately, as well as supervisors and production planners. This is to prevent recurrence of the same mistake.

I too work in the US aviation industry and agree with this 100%. Because I am a US factory worker (United Steelworkers) I also buy mostly US manufactured goods (Chevrolet, Filson, Danner boots, Spyderco, Benchmade, Case, Queen, etc.). Alot of the clothing I buy is also US made. Alot of brands (i.e. Carhart, Ely Cattleman, Duluth) have a portion of their goods made here.

 

[SaintlyBrees]

I think the laws on the books regarding what "Made in USA" means need to be rewritten (if it's any kind of law in the first place...). As it stands now I'm pretty sure you can have a knife fully manufactured in china, shipped disassembled to america, put together by some minimum wage slave in a warehouse and they can still slap a "made in USA" logo on it.

Actually, that is a common misconception. No offense intended, but it is an urban myth that is heard a lot, but is not true. Check this link (some pertinent quotes below):

Complying with the "Made In USA" Standards

What is the standard for a product to be called Made in USA without qualification?

For a product to be called Made in USA, or claimed to be of domestic origin without qualifications or limits on the claim, the product must be "all or virtually all" made in the U.S. The term "United States," as referred to in the Enforcement Policy Statement, includes the 50 states, the District of Columbia, and the U.S. territories and possessions.

What does "all or virtually all" mean?

"All or virtually all" means that all significant parts and processing that go into the product must be of U.S. origin. That is, the product should contain no — or negligible — foreign content.

What factors does the Commission consider to determine whether a product is "all or virtually all" made in the U.S.?

The product’s final assembly or processing must take place in the U.S. The Commission then considers other factors, including how much of the product’s total manufacturing costs can be assigned to U.S. parts and processing, and how far removed any foreign content is from the finished product. In some instances, only a small portion of the total manufacturing costs are attributable to foreign processing, but that processing represents a significant amount of the product’s overall processing. The same could be true for some foreign parts. In these cases, the foreign content (processing or parts) is more than negligible, and, as a result, unqualified claims are inappropriate.

What items should manufacturers and marketers include in analyzing the percentage of domestic content in a particular product?

Manufacturers and marketers should use the cost of goods sold or inventory costs of finished goods in their analysis. Such costs generally are limited to the total cost of all manufacturing materials, direct manufacturing labor, and manufacturing overhead.

In addition to the site I linked, there are many, many other sites that explain this as well. You can also use a "qualified" label, for example - "Made in USA of U.S. and imported parts." or "Couch assembled in USA from Italian Leather and Mexican Frame.". But a simple "Made in USA" MUST meet the standards quoted and linked above.

Hope that clarifies the issue regarding parts and assembly.

 

[Magnumfloyd]

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.

Absolutely on chainsaws I run nothing but older USA made poulan saws.

 

[Morrow]

No politics please. We have a dedicated forum for that.

 

[leghog]

So you have been there and personally witnessed all these atrocities? It's his money he can spend it where and with whomever he chooses.

Hard to see it because like in the garment industry in some places, the gates are locked. Workers are led out of a fenced compound in the morning, bussed to the factory, bussed back in the evening, gates are locked, repeat. I have seen that. Doesn't take a rocket scientist to figure it out.

There are more slaves extant today than anytime in man's history. Not saying all Chinese manufacturing is slave dependent, but much manufacturing across the world is.

We really should try to be as aware as possible of who is actually supported by the goods we buy. Why support the ChiCom nation with your hard earned cash? Of course you are free to just as I am free not to, but be able to answer for yourself why you are ok with yourself doing just that.

 

[stabman]

I often have to make compromises as to what country makes the knives that I buy.
I often must buy knives made in the USA, because not enough are made here.

 

[cards94]

Hard to see it because like in the garment industry in some places, the gates are locked. Workers are led out of a fenced compound in the morning, bussed to the factory, bussed back in the evening, gates are locked, repeat. I have seen that. Doesn't take a rocket scientist to figure it out.

There are more slaves extant today than anytime in man's history. Not saying all Chinese manufacturing is slave dependent, but much manufacturing across the world is.

We really should try to be as aware as possible of who is actually supported by the goods we buy. Why support the ChiCom nation with your hard earned cash? Of course you are free to just as I am free not to, but be able to answer for yourself why you are ok with yourself doing just that.

i buy American when i can afford it like with certain knives, but we all know it's impossible not to support chicom nation. knives are one of the few things i do my best with.

 

[Adrenaline_6]

I don't see a problem with buying Chinese knives or any other country for that matter. If the quality is satisfactory for the price point then it is worth buying. This makes our USA manufactured products even better in the long run. It's called competition. That's what our economy is based on. So what, now that we aren't as competitive as we used to be, we are going to change the rules? That's bs and as you can see from the auto industry debacle, it doesn't work either.

What people tend to forget is every country started this way....INCLUDING THE USA. To get on a high horse and say we are better than another country while forgetting that our path was the exact same one they are taking, just on another timeline is pure ignorance and a big reason why most of the world has a lot of dislike for us. It's blatant bigotry and hypocrisy. I agree with earlier posts, while I am sure there are some atrocities out there, conditions will and have been changing for the better. This eonomic development would never have happened without trade with the US and other developed countries buying their products.

 

[mqqn]

I posted earlier in this thread that I try to buy American, and that all my knives are made in USA.

I am Chinese and will confirm that many Chinese perceive Chinese made products as inferior, especially when it comes to tools. However your ideas of slave labor are a bit far fetched. Many of my family members are factory workers, and somehow they always have time to spend with me after work when I visit. They have the energy to take me places, and look damn more healthy than my fat ass. The lower end "slave factory workers" make about 1000 yuan a month and they struggle with that amount (10 yuan a month is a joke). The more well-off of my relatives (on the other side of the family) roll around in S-classes (real estate or insurance agents).

I'm sure workers were treated far worse in the past, and maybe a few still are, but thats a thing of the past. After all, China wouldn't be the only country guilty of attrocities in the past (Native Americans anyone?). The fact that our rights right here in this country are in jeopardy right now is testament, but that's another issue entirely.

As for announcing mistakes in the factory, I work in US aviation industry, and I if a mistake is made, every single other person working the operation will know about it immediately, as well as supervisors and production planners. This is to prevent recurrence of the same mistake.

Thank you Lenny - nice to have actual facts from someone who knows what is going on.

China is a very large place with a lot of people.

I try to buy USA made products, including knives, when I have the choice. Sometimes I will try a product that is made elsewhere, many times you have no choice.

I do prefer and have found my USA, Japan and German made knives to be superior to the Chinese made knives, but most of the Chinese made knives I have were not made to be high-quality so it is perhaps not a fair comparison.

The Kershaw knives I have experience with that were made in China are all top notch, they belie their origin and cost.

best

mqqn