However, when you hold the product (recent Taichung Spyderco knives), you can see and feel a vast difference from decades gone by.
I suspect the very same labor is used to make Chinese Spyderco knives. People had the same complaints about Japan in the 60's through 80's. The only "thing" I have about China is the theft of intellectual property issue. They will deal with their other issues. There is an evolution to things of this sort in industrialized societies and I don't expect them to be the US or France.There are terrible knives coming out of China as well as very high quality ones. My issue with China isn't about quality. It's a about labor practices, pollution, and institutionalized theft of intellectual property. I don't want to support lower prices for products coming from a place where they're made with practically free labor, where workers have no rights, and there's no disincentive for stealing protected designs and engineering.
This is obviously not true of all producers (like Spyderco), but I'm inclined to buy items made elsewhere when I can.
As somebody who has been there over the last 25 years, I don't see any improvement. There's no financial incentive for them to have labor laws or give workers any rights. I can't say how workers making Spyderco products in China are treated. I would guess they are not Spyderco employees.I suspect the very same labor is used to make Chinese Spyderco knives. People had the same complaints about Japan in the 60's through 80's. The only "thing" I have about China is the theft of intellectual property issue. They will deal with their other issues. There is an evolution to things of this sort in industrialized societies and I don't expect them to be the US or France.
I think you have a few on your list that would now be par with modern fancy knives. But don't sell them.The upper end Spydercos (and Benchmades, for that matter), are just a sort of "relief valve" for folks that are walking around with too much disposable income. I say that as a guy who has... (hold on, let me go check, BRB) more then two or three Spydercos:
BYRD CARA-CARA(x2), BYRD RAVEN, CENTROFANTE, CHINOOK, COPILOT, DELICA OD, DIVERS PROBE, DRAGONFLY, ENDURA, HARPY, HUNTER, JESS HORN MICARTA, JESTER, LG DYAD, LUM FOLDING TANTO, MARINER, MASSAD AYOOB,
MICHAEL WALKER LTWT, MILITARY, MINI-POLICE NECKLACE, MORAN (x2), POLICE, Q, REMOTE RELEASE, MOKI SILVER FEATHER, SNAP IT, SPUR, SPYDERCARD, SPYDERENCH (EARLY), STANDARD SERRATED, STANDARD PLAIN EDGE, TOAD,
WORKER
I lean towards the older models, and fully realize that I would probably have to sell every one of them to buy a pair or three of Spydercos modern, top line offerings. (But I doubt I will!)
I'm not about conspicuous consumption.