Looking for manufacturer information.

[Dardwizzle]

Hi Guys, I am fairly new to this forum and I don't believe that I have posted yet, and to that, I am not sure if I am asking this question in the right area. Hopefully if not someone will be kind enough to direct me.

I own a small home based business specializing in Survival / Prepper / Tactical Gear and I sell a TON of Folding Knives.

What I am trying to find out is, there is one knife in particular that my customers seem to absolutely love, and I have sold out each time. The problem is, I have a few customers asking me about who the manufacturer is, etc. I know that they are in the category of knives designed in the US, possibly parts made in the US, but they are shipped to China for assembly but the problem is that there is no manufacturer name on the knife, there is no manufacturer indicated in the specifications and any description of the knife and noone has it listed under any manufacturers name. I am hoping that some one here may know and point me in the right direction either with the makers name, or perhaps some website that I might be able to use to look this kind of info up.

The knife is as follows.

REK 8.5" FIRE FIGHER SPRING ASSISTED FOLDING KNIFE

SKU / Model RT-4501-FF

If I had to venture a guess I would say that the "REK" should be a hint, however the only REK I found pertaining to knives is Razor Edge Knives which is a knife sharpening company, and not a manufacturer.

I would really appreciate any help or direction you can provide.

Many Thanks!

Darwin

 

[Hickory n steel]

How much do you acquire and sell them for ? Because that sound lime your typical 5-10$ 100% made in China flea market assisted opening knife that can probably be unmarked as well as had under multiple names such as m-tech , tac Force, wartech, rabbit,and tac extreme to name a few.

 

[Petunia D. Feeble]

I think that's the same knife that the motorcyclist used recently to help a lady get out of a wrecked car. There was a post about it recently.

Pretty sure it's an M-Tech knife. If it's not branded M-Tech it's still almost certainly the same manufacturer.

 

[Dardwizzle]

How much do you acquire and sell them for ?

Through my distributor I get them at cost for between $4.99 - $5.99 and I sell them all day between $12-$14. While my reasoning for asking is as I mentioned about, the other reason is because I list knives that I get in on a Sales Group on Facebook, and some guy replied to my listing with all this BS on how no one will buy that because they are "cheap Chinese junk knives not worth the cost of shipping" which was quite rude of him to write that in the first place as it's very ignorant of him to sit there an bask my listing as I started my business because I am pretty sick and I need the money to supplement my Disability Income so that I can eat and pay for my medicines etc. But aside from that, these knives maybe made in China, but they are far from cheap crap, I mean you can not compare then to a custom made knife, or like a high end Kershaw or something, but that is not the market for these knives anyway.

I recall reading something where a lot of the knives that are "manufactured" in China are actually designed here in the US, the parts are made here, and that they are just assembled in China. Is there any truth to that?

Lastly, these knives as you guys mentioned such as MTECH, TAC-FORCE, WARTECH, TAC Extreme, (Never heard of Rabbit), while they may not be a high end knife, they (in my opinion as well as the opinions of many people who have written reviews on them, all have excellent reviews. They are excellent EDC knives, and in fact, I recently closed a sale with a local Fire Dept to provide them with 50 TAC-Force Spring Assit Rescue Pocket Knives, and also a local Police Dept with 20 MTECH Spring Assist Rescue Pocket Knives, and in both cases, everyone loves, them, and some of the Firemen have actually used them in a Rescue situations to help extract a victim from a bad car accident. They used the Window Breaker and the Seat Belt Cutter and we surprised how well they worked and are very amazed at the build quality.
all tt
So while I appreciate your answer to my questions, I am hoping you can also enlighten me on the follow up questions above.

Thanks guys for the very fast reply, I really appreciate it!

PS - One last question, does anyone know where all these knife resellers purchase their TAC-Force, MTECH, Master Collection etc from? I have been trying to figure out a way to bypass my distributors and go straight to the source, if I can ever find what or where that is.

Thanks!!
Darwin

 

[Dardwizzle]

How much do you acquire and sell them for ?

Through my distributor I get them at cost for between $4.99 - $5.99 and I sell them all day between $12-$14. While my reasoning for asking is as I mentioned about, the other reason is because I list knives that I get in on a Sales Group on Facebook, and some guy replied to my listing with all this BS on how no one will buy that because they are "cheap Chinese junk knives not worth the cost of shipping" which was quite rude of him to write that in the first place as it's very ignorant of him to sit there an bask my listing as I started my business because I am pretty sick and I need the money to supplement my Disability Income so that I can eat and pay for my medicines etc. But aside from that, these knives maybe made in China, but they are far from cheap crap, I mean you can not compare then to a custom made knife, or like a high end Kershaw or something, but that is not the market for these knives anyway.

I recall reading something where a lot of the knives that are "manufactured" in China are actually designed here in the US, the parts are made here, and that they are just assembled in China. Is there any truth to that?

Lastly, these knives as you guys mentioned such as MTECH, TAC-FORCE, WARTECH, TAC Extreme, (Never heard of Rabbit), while they may not be a high end knife, they (in my opinion as well as the opinions of many people who have written reviews on them, all have excellent reviews. They are excellent EDC knives, and in fact, I recently closed a sale with a local Fire Dept to provide them with 50 TAC-Force Spring Assit Rescue Pocket Knives, and also a local Police Dept with 20 MTECH Spring Assist Rescue Pocket Knives, and in both cases, everyone loves, them, and some of the Firemen have actually used them in a Rescue situations to help extract a victim from a bad car accident. They used the Window Breaker and the Seat Belt Cutter and we surprised how well they worked and are very amazed at the build quality.
all tt
So while I appreciate your answer to my questions, I am hoping you can also enlighten me on the follow up questions above.

Thanks guys for the very fast reply, I really appreciate it!

PS - One last question, does anyone know where all these knife resellers purchase their TAC-Force, MTECH, Master Collection etc from? I have been trying to figure out a way to bypass my distributors and go straight to the source, if I can ever find what or where that is.

Thanks!!
Darwin

 

[Hickory n steel]

Through my distributor I get them at cost for between $4.99 - $5.99 and I sell them all day between $12-$14. While my reasoning for asking is as I mentioned about, the other reason is because I list knives that I get in on a Sales Group on Facebook, and some guy replied to my listing with all this BS on how no one will buy that because they are "cheap Chinese junk knives not worth the cost of shipping" which was quite rude of him to write that in the first place as it's very ignorant of him to sit there an bask my listing as I started my business because I am pretty sick and I need the money to supplement my Disability Income so that I can eat and pay for my medicines etc. But aside from that, these knives maybe made in China, but they are far from cheap crap, I mean you can not compare then to a custom made knife, or like a high end Kershaw or something, but that is not the market for these knives anyway.

I recall reading something where a lot of the knives that are "manufactured" in China are actually designed here in the US, the parts are made here, and that they are just assembled in China. Is there any truth to that?

Lastly, these knives as you guys mentioned such as MTECH, TAC-FORCE, WARTECH, TAC Extreme, (Never heard of Rabbit), while they may not be a high end knife, they (in my opinion as well as the opinions of many people who have written reviews on them, all have excellent reviews. They are excellent EDC knives, and in fact, I recently closed a sale with a local Fire Dept to provide them with 50 TAC-Force Spring Assit Rescue Pocket Knives, and also a local Police Dept with 20 MTECH Spring Assist Rescue Pocket Knives, and in both cases, everyone loves, them, and some of the Firemen have actually used them in a Rescue situations to help extract a victim from a bad car accident. They used the Window Breaker and the Seat Belt Cutter and we surprised how well they worked and are very amazed at the build quality.
all tt
So while I appreciate your answer to my questions, I am hoping you can also enlighten me on the follow up questions above.

Thanks guys for the very fast reply, I really appreciate it!

PS - One last question, does anyone know where all these knife resellers purchase their TAC-Force, MTECH, Master Collection etc from? I have been trying to figure out a way to bypass my distributors and go straight to the source, if I can ever find what or where that is.

Thanks!!
Darwin

A lot of these cheap Chinese knives aren't utterly useless for edc as long as you have loctite, my brother goes through them every couple months when enough screws fall out that they no longer function. They'd last a lot longer for him if he would just Buy some loctite, other than that the Steel usually takes a pretty good edge and is easy to sharpen.

I'm sorry but I have no clue where places get their knives from, maybe you could ask your local army surplus store where they get stuff from.

 

[Dardwizzle]

I'm sorry but I have no clue where places get their knives from, maybe you could ask your local army surplus store where they get stuff from.

Ok, No worries, I just thought I would throw it out there.

I would like to ask something though, let's get past the loctite for a sec, and the fact that they are made in China. Why exactl y does everyone consider these as being "Cheap" knives. Other then the price being low. Is it because they are assembled in China? Again, I am asking about that because I has read somewhere that many of these "China" knives, as pretty much all Designed here, parts, are made here, but they are assembled in China. Is this true or is this false information I was given? I also have to ask because I have many TAC-Force knives, and many MTECH Rescue Knives, and i am far from easy on them yet, I have never had one loosen or fall apart or anything. As far as I have seen, they are constructed with Stainless Steel Blades and Liners, some have Aluminum Handles while some have Stainless Handles. They have a nice hand feel etc.

I am not sure if you guys are comparing them to some high end, or custom knives, which is really an unfair comparison. Obviously once someone get's spoiled be a gorgeous custom knife, I can imagine at that point every knives will be cheap lol..

Anyway, if you could help debunk that info regarding the assembly in China but design / parts made here. I would appreciate it. I just want my facts straight


Cheers

 

[Petunia D. Feeble]

It's the fit and finish. They tend to be poorly put together. Certainly when compared to a high end knife, but even when compared to Chinese produced Kershaws and Byrds that are much closer in price.

Why buy a questionable knife made of mystery materials by a no name company that's going to fall apart unless we literally glue it together when we can buy a quality knife, with a warranty, materials that are clearly named, a solid build quality and a manufacturer that we know and trust for just a few dollars more.

Seriously, the Byrd Cara Cara 2 FRN is usually just $20. So is the new Kershaw Spoiler. Both will take a serious beating.

 

[Hickory n steel]

It's not the price they cost or where they're made, it's the general quality.
They often have major blade play unless you tighten them to the point of not opening properly.
When they do have solid lockup without blade play you have to loctite every screw or they'll fall apart in short order and obviously the blade will loosen back up in a couple of days.

By the way, there may be a few knife brands that are assembled in China with domestic parts ( I believe some hen and rooster traditional pocket knives are assembled in China with German components ) but in general most of this low cost stuff is 100% made in China.
Mtech knives are supposedly designed in America, but I have no clue who comes up with this stuff.

 

[Dardwizzle]

It's the fit and finish. They tend to be poorly put together. Certainly when compared to a high end knife, but even when compared to Chinese produced Kershaws and Byrds that are much closer in price.

Why buy a questionable knife made of mystery materials by a no name company that's going to fall apart unless we literally glue it together when we can buy a quality knife, with a warranty, materials that are clearly named, a solid build quality and a manufacturer that we know and trust for just a few dollars more

Seriously, the Byrd Cara Cara 2 FRN is usually just $20. So is the new Kershaw everySpoiler. Both will take a serious beating.

Sadly, what still does not answer the question I had in my last reply. I am asking if someone could please help me with those questions if anyone knows the answers, I would greatly appreciate it.

While I do understand what your saying, but it also sounds like you have been spoiled and have been around high quality knives for quite some time, there fore of course any other knife if purely inferior. I am completely the opposite. I have never really owned a knife of high quality. But, before I worry about you all trying to convert me to the quality of knives, please allow me to explain something. I am not a collector, nor a high end distributor or reseller. I own a business called Eutopian Trader LLC. I started this business to help me subsidize my Social Security Benefit so that I could help pay for things like food, everyday living expenses, medications, etc because I got sick in 2009 and have likely over a million in medical debt.

My business was kind of started by accident as I found this dealer set of knives that when priced out, even if I sold everything that came in the set for $3.00 each, I would still make money. Well it did not take me long to sell out, and the quality of the knives we kinda cheesy, but I figured, if I did it once, I could do it again, and again, and again. That's when it dawned on me that I am I am on Disability and it's kind risky selling knives to people, especially over the internet or a mobile app, as I can not verify their age. So I decided to be safe and I created an LLC and Eutopian Trader LLC was born.

As time has gone on, I started replacing the cheap-o knives with nicer ones. Right now I pretty much exclusively sell, well, all the knives that apparently no one here is a fan of. That all started because I because selling FireFighter, EMS / EMT, and Police themed knives. I then started to get more and more regular customers who request specific knives that they want to add to their collections.

I enjoy selling these knives. They are prefect for the average person who is not yet into the high quality knives, or don't have the money to indulge on such knives. Don't get me wrongm I do have some customers who have asked me to special order some hugh end knives, but the people that ask for those really only come around once in a while. I could never stay in business like that.

I have been using and now selling the TAC-FORCE, MTECH, Master Collection, WARTECH, and others for quite sometime now, and I have yet to see one fall apart, break, deform, screw pop out, or in anyway become unusable. I find their build quality to be quite and the materials quite good. However, it really all boils down to personal preference which is not at all the reason for my post and the questions I have asked. However, you do have me confused as you said

"Why buy a questionable knife made of mystery materials by a no name company that's going to fall apart unless we literally glue it together when we can buy a quality knife" This has me completely baffled. Every TAC-Force, MTECH, Master Collection, WARTECH, DarkSide knives I have purchased, their materials are not a mystery. They have always used either Stainless or Carbon Steel, Aluminum, and / or some use ABS Handles but I don't sell those. The names I mentioned are not no name companies, in fact they are very well known, and lastly, I have yet to have any of those knives fall apart and I have put them throw hell because I am not very graceful when I bust out one of my knives. As well, I have sold hundreds of these knives over time, and I have yet to have one complaint about the blades becoming lose, handles falling off or breaking, screws becoming lose, bushings wearing, blades bending, play in blade, cracking, or breaking, spring assists not working, or locks (Liner or Lockback) no longer functioning.. Like I said, I have sold hundreds of these and have a very large customer base who is not afraid to let me know is something was wrong with them. I am not trying to say that you guys are wrong/ I am just saying that with the hundreds I have sold I have yet to see any such issues, and in fact, TAC-Force happens to be one of my favorite knives, and appears to be the same for my customers and I have a hard time keeping them in stock and for a Micro Home Business I usually bring in anywhere from 10-20 at a time, and I personally inspect EVERY single knife I bring in to my inventory so that I know when they are purchased and I send them out they are 100% free of any and all defects.

Having said that, I just do not understand why that came up in the first place as I came here looking for some help with a completely different issue.

Hopefully someone can please help me with this question... "I recall reading something where a lot of the knives that are "manufactured" in China are actually designed here in the US, the parts are made here, and that they are just assembled in China. Is there any truth to that?" I would greatly appreciate it.

I hope someone could entertain my questions atleast Thanks Darwin

 

[Petunia D. Feeble]

To answer your question, no, I do not know of any knives assembled in China from domestic parts.

It doesn't make any sense. Labor savings would be mostly offset by the cost of shipping back and forth. Plus you lose the "Made in USA" selling point.

Designed in America, but manufactured in China is pretty common though.

 

[Petunia D. Feeble]

Congratulations on the successful business by the way. Accident or not it must be nice to be your own boss.

M-Tech knives and their kin are often frowned upon here because they've no real merit as a tool. For an EDC knife, one used to complete cutting tasks over and over without fail, there are just better options out there.

We've not been "spoiled" by higher end knives. We've done product research and made the choice to spend our money on products of higher quality.

That said, M-Techs still have their place in the market. They're fun. A 4 bladed tactical knife with flashlight, firestarter and bear/raggedy hooker repellent for $12.99 clearly isn't meant for processing cardboard, but it can still be enjoyed by someone while watching a JCVD film in their mother's basement.

I play poker on occasion with a guy that has hundreds of them. He loves them! It's a more sensible collection than spoons at least.

 

[jeffsenpai]

Is this the model knife your referring to? A quick google search shows this.

As for the origin, it is likely made in a Chinese factory, by a company that the average American could not even pronounce. There is a rather large place in the market for these low cost knives. Best of luck selling these.

Keep an eye out for new budget knives from Kershaw. They have been releasing some lower end folders that are around the price point you sell at. If you could get your hands on those, you could advertise Kershaw's excellent warranty as well.

 

[Dardwizzle]

Ok, I get where your coming from and thank you BTW.

To clarify, the majority of the knives that I sell do go to collectors. Yes, most are very impractical as an EDC, the only exception would be the TAC-FORCE and the MC Rescue Knives. These are the ones that have the Window Breaker and the Seat Belt Cutter. These are the ones that the Fire Dept and Police Depts purchased from me and I have received only excellent feedback on them and a number of the guys had told me they were surprised how well the seat belt cutter actually worked, so there is some practical use, and honestly, it's probably not a bad idea to give a Fire Fighter an inexpensive decent quality knife especially the way they lose them! lol

Anyway, I had no intentions on debating the knives, I like them because collectors are all over them and there is a lot of room for a very profitable markup (Will never see me complaining there) lol, so it doesn't matter how well they would hold up are a utilitarian tool.

Anyway, I appreciate your replies. I will stop back soon, there is a lot of good info here!

Have a good one!

Darwin

 

[Dardwizzle]

I also forgot to mention when writing the replying post that the 3 distributors I work with all carry Kershaws, but they don't leave nearly as much profit margins as the ones like the one you posted (I buy them 20 at a time and double my money and never had a complaint) as well as TAC-FORCE and MTECH. All 3 of these profit wise give me far more earning's then the 4 Kershaws I sold could ever come close to. My market is generally not people who like us understand the value of a knife and their build quality. Most are just looking to buy an inexpensive cool looking knife so that is what I cater to. I would love to move up to selling higher end knives but I just don't have the market right now.

I started my business buy selling Cutlery Corner knives which I sold out 4 dealer cases of, and then moved up to the REK, TAC-FORCE, MTECH, MASTER, etc hopefully my next jump will be to the higher end, but for now, I am making excellent profit on these so thats where I will stay for now. I might try throwing in a couple higher end knives to see how well they do, which is how I went from Cutlery Corner to the knives I currently sell. That way I can see if I have the market for them as I need to stay in the market that pays.

Anyway, thank you once again, I just wish I could find a way to buy these direct to increase my margins since right now, it's hard for me to keep anything in stock!

Cheers,

Darwin

 

[clearkevin]

I would spend some time on a couple of low cost made in China distributor web sites which shall remain nameless as per the rules of the forum. You will probably find some manufacturer names there that you could contact. I have a friend who used this option to source knives for a flea market stand. You may not be able to find the exact thing your looking for but Chinese companies can and will make anything for fairly cheap. Another friend designed a fishing lour and had in manufactured in China for a few cents each.

 

[wensynch]

Resellers buy their (typically bulk) inventory direct from the brand manufacturers/distribution, in your case, Master Cutlery, makes many of the knives you mention under several brand names like Mtech. Resellers then re-sell this stock. Distribution typically does not sell to individual consumers.

To properly and legitimately resell requires a reseller license from state, requirements vary per state. In general, a reseller license requires an address and 2 parking spaces for auto resellers, where it can be taxed, for reselling in that state using state infrastructure. Contact the manufacturer directly and submit a request to become a reseller, with license and EIN. You're halfway there.

No, there isn't any substance to the claim of US designed, US produced, but assembled elsewhere, China. Only company I've heard claiming US design, China made, is MTech.. and it was simply speaking the obvious, like dude, that's how it's been for like ever. Say something we don't know. Assembly typically goes hand on hand with production simply cause it's there. They have cheap labor? We have cheap labor here and just over the border.. and we can now too, or use those security cams.

Historically, brand with no name, no presence, will use substandard materials and substandard workmanship, with no care to the outcome of finished product, using the same cast as original. It'll look identical cause it is, using recycled scrap unknown to both us and even them. Who knows, who cares?

More reputable company's will at least use the minimum standard, or at kept have a standard. How high of a standard upwards is on you.

Improving your surroundings is improvement for you. Buy local, hire local.

 

[palonej]

Fire fighters are using that stuff and giving glowing reviews???
Sorry, but something smells a bit......off.
Also, if you're purchase price is ~ $4.99 there is no way they are using US produced parts.......and there is no way they're getting rave reviews. Come on.

 

[Dardwizzle]

Resellers buy their (typically bulk) inventory direct from the brand manufacturers/distribution, in your case, Master Cutlery, makes many of the knives you mention under several brand names like Mtech. Resellers then re-sell this stock. Distribution typically does not sell to individual consumers.

To properly and legitimately resell requires a reseller license from state, requirements vary per state. In general, a reseller license requires an address and 2 parking spaces for auto resellers, where it can be taxed, for reselling in that state using state infrastructure. Contact the manufacturer directly and submit a request to become a reseller, with license and EIN. You're halfway there.

No, there isn't any substance to the claim of US designed, US produced, but assembled elsewhere, China. Only company I've heard claiming US design, China made, is MTech.. and it was simply speaking the obvious, like dude, that's how it's been for like ever. Say something we don't know. Assembly typically goes hand on hand with production simply cause it's there. They have cheap labor? We have cheap labor here and just over the border.. and we can now too, or use those security cams.

Historically, brand with no name, no presence, will use substandard materials and substandard workmanship, with no care to the outcome of finished product, using the same cast as original. It'll look identical cause it is, using recycled scrap unknown to both us and even them. Who knows, who cares?

More reputable company's will at least use the minimum standard, or at kept have a standard. How high of a standard upwards is on you.

Improving your surroundings is improvement for you. Buy local, hire local.

The good news is that I am registered the State of NJ, have my EIN,
I have my Sales & Use Tax Certificate and I incorporated as an LLC. So I'm good to go there. Just trying to find ways to get a better profit margin. Masters unfortunately has a rather hight minimum purchase requirement that I just don't have enough business to meet their minimum purchase which I think is $500 or somewhere around their. Even though this year I will have brought in around 20k in sales for my first year of business I still can't meet their requirements. I will keep searching the web and see what I can find. To be honest I think I'm just trying to be greedy as I am for the most part getting 100% profit on most items I sell so it's not bad but 2-300% would be better. Lol

Thanks again guys I do appreciate it. I'm not sure if this is against the rules but could you email me that company name your friend worked with eutopiantraderllc@gmail.com. If you can't I completely understand and if asking that was against the rules please let me know.

Many thanks!

Darwin

 

[Hickory n steel]

Ok, I get where your coming from and thank you BTW.

To clarify, the majority of the knives that I sell do go to collectors. Yes, most are very impractical as an EDC, the only exception would be the TAC-FORCE and the MC Rescue Knives. These are the ones that have the Window Breaker and the Seat Belt Cutter. These are the ones that the Fire Dept and Police Depts purchased from me and I have received only excellent feedback on them and a number of the guys had told me they were surprised how well the seat belt cutter actually worked, so there is some practical use, and honestly, it's probably not a bad idea to give a Fire Fighter an inexpensive decent quality knife especially the way they lose them! lol

Anyway, I had no intentions on debating the knives, I like them because collectors are all over them and there is a lot of room for a very profitable markup (Will never see me complaining there) lol, so it doesn't matter how well they would hold up are a utilitarian tool.

Anyway, I appreciate your replies. I will stop back soon, there is a lot of good info here!

Have a good one!

Darwin

I just want to say, that I collect these types of knives, and If I had never used them I'd have nothing but good things to say about them.
FYI I have not been spoiled by using expensive knives, my most expensive knife is a 38$ Buck 110 and my next expensive was a 20$ Buck 482.

I have a suggestion for you, you should look into rough rider pocket knives.
They normally sell for 12$ and under so I'm sure you should be able to get a good deal on them if bought in bulk.
Rough rider is known for very high value inexpensive traditional folders, and people will be coming back buying one of everything as they'll want to try all of the different patterns.
The quality is surprisingly great for the price, and traditional folders provide such a variety to collect. There's are many blade configurations, shapes, sizes, handle materials, colors, and so many other things
I think you'd really be surprised at how well people will snatch them up.