Great post Mike. It shows not only a lot of insight into the traditional knife manufacturers, but a good look at the consumer's end of things.
I have been a self employed contractor for almost 30 years now. My customer requirements after all of these years of service are about like this:
- 10% don't really care what it costs to have the work done, they just want it done
- 10% will use my company even if I am the highest price, as long as I am not too much higher than the next guy
- 80% want all they can get for as little as they can pay. It's all about pricing, and even if lesser quality materials are used and poorer techniques are employed during the processes, they crow like a barnyard rooster when they get a low ball price on a "similar" product
You can see how this applies to the rest of the knife community that exists outside the confines of this forum.
For those that live outside these electronic walls, knives are still tools to many, and not important ones at that. I am reminded of that when I tell someone that I spent $65 for a new folder and the gasp in surprise. Well to me, that's weird, because hanging out here, there are guys that literally spend several hundred dollars just to get the scales in every color and any blade combination offered by the maker on one model. Spend $65 here, and folks make sure you know you are getting a "working knife" and you are counseled on managing your expectations.
To exacerbate the problem, some of the offshore offerings are quite nice. Much to my chagrin, I was gifted a couple of folders coming up on 5 years ago that are of offshore origin. So I started carrying them to make the gift giver happy, and found I liked them. I carried them on days where I knew I would be using a knife for nasty work that I didn't want to use my Queen or Case knives to do. I push my cuts harder, use them for light scraping, use them for opening bags of caustic materials, and the hardest work - I let some of my non knife guys use them on occasion.
The sad truth is that these knives are still in excellent condition and show no signs of wearing down. No gaps, no play, no weakening of the springs. I am truly impressed. These knives have lasted as good as any knife I have ever owned and better than most. Nowadays, if I don't grab one of the Queens you sold me, I will almost certainly get the large stockman for carry. I know I can use that knife with almost no concern for its safety and even more important, I can rely on it.
So say you aren't a knife guy, or you are a beginning tradesman, or if you are on a limited budget. Which would you buy? A $65 (much more if GEC and their ilk) folder steeped in tradition you don't know or care about, or a $15 folder that performs as well in the field, except that is needs almost no maintenance?
35 years ago, I read a revealing article in the Wall Street Journal written by the man that was the architect for revamping manufacturing of steel and iron products in Taiwan. They wanted two things; to be as flexible as possible to turn out different products as quickly as possible for clients, and establish a track record of high quality goods. To do this (looking at your post about the vintage equipment used to make Queen) he announced they would be spending billions on building new plants and designing and building new machines and replacing them as needed in order to best serve the market.
He acknowledged that it would take years to get the investment back and that it would be a constant process that must become mandatory protocol for the Taiwanese steel and iron manufacturers to get past their (then - 35 years ago) bad reputation.
When he was asked if he was afraid that the United State might do the same thing, he was blunt. He said "no, because Americans don't like to invest in their own companies. They set up their companies to make themselves money, not to plan for the future".
That was 40 years ago... rings pretty true.
