New Knife Company- Jack Wolf Knives

dsutton24 said:
If I'm reading this right, they're Chinese made knives in the $275.00 price range with cutesy names? No thanks.
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I'm not against anyone having a preference on where their knives are made. I prefer local--and most of my knives are made in USA--but overall am good with those made worldwide to one extent or another. Just want to point out that in this case, Chinese made shouldn't be considered inferior quality. Reate puts out some really impressive knives with fantastic fit and finish. I have two that are production versions of customs, and they're wonderfully made.

If you just don't want a knife made in China at all, I can understand and pass absolutely no judgement. Just want to make sure to point out that there are definitely quality items coming from there, depending on the company involved.
 
Fixall said:
This right here. To be honest, when I saw the pricing I more or less wrote the knives off, considering we have Viper/Lionsteel and a few others filling the modern traditional niche for half the price, but after seeing what Benjamin is going for with these knives, I'm much more open minded. If the fit and finish is where it should be (and I know Reate can do that), I'll be in for at least a "Laid Back Jack."

I'm intrigued. :)
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Thank you Brian! I appreciate the open mind and I hope that the knives impress you, as Reate's quality has really impressed me. May there be a Laid Back Jack in your future ;)
 
Love them or hate them, China has several companies that are making outstanding quality knives. In one hundred years there will be knife historians talking about the origins of modern Chinese cutlery in our time. There are brands there that aren’t just trying to rip off Western companies with fakes, but are producing their own unique brands. I have no idea about the business models or practices of these companies, but I don’t think it is fair to consider all Chinese made knives as junk.
 
JTB_5 said:
...I don’t think it is fair to consider all Chinese made knives as junk.
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I really think the whole China = garbage stuff needs to die. It's just flat out untrue. There are plenty of reasons to prefer a knife from a certain country, or your home country, but quality imo is not one of them anymore. There are several respectable Chinese companies that are putting out VERY high quality, unique knives at solid prices. That competition has helped bring some really cool knives to the market, and I strongly believe it's helped spur the current excitement in the knife market. Yes, there are some really shady Chinese companies that are making trash knives (or clones), but we can all name an American company or two that do the same. People aren't good or bad based on their locations.
 
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Fixall said:
I really think whole China = garbage stuff to die. It's just flat out not true. There are plenty of reasons to prefer a knife from a certain country, or your home country, but quality imo is not one of them anymore. There are several respectable Chinese companies that are putting out VERY high quality, unique knives at solid prices. That competition has helped bring some really cool knives to the market and, I strongly believe it's helped spur the current excitement in the knife market. Yes, there are some really shady Chinese companies that are making trash knives (or clones), but we can all name an American company or two that do the same. People aren't good or bad based on their locations.
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It is also easy to ignore that the people in a country are not the same as the government of a country. Not all Germans were Nazis and not all Chinese are shills for the Chinese rulers.
 
jku said:
I'm not against anyone having a preference on where their knives are made. I prefer local--and most of my knives are made in USA--but overall am good with those made worldwide to one extent or another. Just want to point out that in this case, Chinese made shouldn't be considered inferior quality. Reate puts out some really impressive knives with fantastic fit and finish. I have two that are production versions of customs, and they're wonderfully made.

If you just don't want a knife made in China at all, I can understand and pass absolutely no judgement. Just want to make sure to point out that there are definitely quality items coming from there, depending on the company involved.
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It wasn't a judgement of quality or anything else. If I'm correct about what I read, they're just not for me.
 
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Benjamin congrats on making your dream a reality! I listened to you on a podcast recently. I am very interested in these, they are a bit out of my comfort zone pricewise. I think if you had one or two budget models, stainless liners simple covers, they would FLY off the shelves. Anyway good luck! And i cant wait to see pictures start comming out
 
dsutton24 said:
It wasn't a judgement of quality or anything else. If I'm correct about what I read, they're just not for me.
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Gotcha. Honestly I'm not sure they're for me, either. Even with some upgrades over similar offerings via Reate and other companies, I'm not sure it's worth the cost that's currently set. I've bought at that price point before, but now I think once I'm there I'd prefer to go a little higher for a true custom.
 
Fixall said:
I really think the whole China = garbage stuff needs to die.
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JTB_5 said:
In one hundred years there will be knife historians talking about the origins of modern Chinese cutlery in our time.
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This idea will die, and it will not take a hundred years. I was an early adopter of some of these Chinese knifemakers. I got my first Reate knife in 2015, a District 9A and shortly after a D9-Plus. I remember being blown away by the quality and thinking at the time that some US perceptions of Chinese knives were going to have to change. My dad was a WW2 vet and he used to laugh about how after the war, when Japan was in shambles, people used to turn their noses at these garbage cars coming out of Japan with crazy names like Toyota....I know plenty of people who would still prefer to drive a domestic vehicle today, but I don't know anyone who would argue their quality. I'd challenge any member of the Porch here who is not flat-out opposed to offshore knives or modern components to go on eBay and pick up a Twosun slipjoint, choose something with the higher end components (titanium, M390) and get it direct-shipped from China. You can regularly win those auction listings for $50 +/- and the components and build quality will amaze. It'll make Lionsteel start to feel like a bad deal lol.
 
JTB_5 said:
Love them or hate them, China has several companies that are making outstanding quality knives. In one hundred years there will be knife historians talking about the origins of modern Chinese cutlery in our time. There are brands there that aren’t just trying to rip off Western companies with fakes, but are producing their own unique brands. I have no idea about the business models or practices of these companies, but I don’t think it is fair to consider all Chinese made knives as junk.
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Exactly...should not dismiss these too quickly based on country of origin. I have a JE Made Zulu that was made in China and only cost slightly less than Jack Wolf’s anticipated prices. It is a phenomenal knife and worth every penny (at least to me).
As an aside, if anyone who loves GEC knives is on Instagram, you have to follow bennyb357! You will not be disappointed!
 
seas165 said:
Benjamin congrats on making your dream a reality! I listened to you on a podcast recently. I am very interested in these, they are a bit out of my comfort zone pricewise. I think if you had one or two budget models, stainless liners simple covers, they would FLY off the shelves. Anyway good luck! And i cant wait to see pictures start comming out
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Thank you for tuning in! Bob is a great host and I had a lot of fun doing that with him. I have taken note of your feedback on alternatively priced models and will see what I can do down the road. I would love to get a knife in everyone's pocket one way or another!
 
T
Ratbert said:
Exactly...should not dismiss these too quickly based on country of origin. I have a JE Made Zulu that was made in China and only cost slightly less than Jack Wolf’s anticipated prices. It is a phenomenal knife and worth every penny (at least to me).
As an aside, if anyone who loves GEC knives is on Instagram, you have to follow bennyb357! You will not be disappointed!
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Thank you for the kind words! I have handled JE Made before and the quality is amazing. And I am glad you are following along on the Instagram; I really enjoy the community there. Have a nice evening!
 
I guess a way to look at this is Case vs Case/Tony Bose vs custom.

I see a place for all three. These are going to be priced a bit lower than the Case/Tony Bose knives too (although the Case/Tony Bose knives are edm wire cut and have pivot bushings).
 
I’ve really been thinking about these knives today and kind of turned my thinking around in the last few hours. A coworker of mine showed me a modern flipper knife from China that was simply awesome, better quality and material than anything from a domestic maker for the same price. If that can be done on traditional slipjoints then I say great, competition spurs innovation.
Second, I really admire Jack Wolf Knives. How many of us would love to be Bill Howard or someday own our own knife brand? Benjamin is doing it, and that takes guts and nerve and capital. Heck I might be in for one just because I’m jealous and want to see a success story.
 
Good luck on your venture. I like the designs and will be interested to see some photos of the actual product. The names are a little bit of a turn off for me, but I can see how those could really catch on with the Instagram/Facebook crowd. The “low drag Jack” catches my eye.
 
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