I don't buy Chinese knives, it took me a long time to by a Taiwanese Spyderco. So when I heard about Reate and saw the price I didn't give it a second thought. However stumbling on a few threads about them, they appear to be mid tech level knives, and seem to made in limited quantity with an extreme attention to detail. Although I'm flat broke so a 300-400 dollar knife is not in the immediate future. Are these really on par with the quality of a sebenza, hinderer etc? I support craftsmanship wherever it may originate, I just don't like to support sweatshop labor and cost cutting.
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Reate knives?
- Thread starter SBaker34
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I just picked up a Reate Horizon C for under $200. Yes, the quality is on par with other mid tech knives. To me, CRK has the best production quality consistency out there, but Reate is certainly in line with others manufacturers charging twice as much. To me the question becomes: Is a $200 Reate a better knife than say a $200 ZT (ie 0562)? It's a tough call but in most cases, I think the Reate would win. I've owned some less-than-perfect ZT's but I've yet to hear of any problems with ANY Reate folders. You really do get a lot for your money. However, if warranty is important, a US company would certainly be better equipped to handle your issues down the road.
I've had a District 9 a few weeks. Superb fit and finish, loaded with features and a great value at $200. Somehow while my mind can appreciate all it's attributes, my heart doesn't love it. I've never carried it. Simpler knives like a Grayman Dua or Medford Micro Praetorian are often in my pocket and to my friends not in the know, they seem far less expensive than the Reate.
Reate knives are not made in sweatshops, the quality is way too high. He is simply a quality knife manufacturer that happens to be Chinese. Met him at Blade 2015, really a nice guy, I handled several of his knives and they were all flawless. There's a reason why other knife makers are actually going to Reate to have their midtechs be manufactured by him (Todd Begg, Liong Mah, and more to come).
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I support American workers and American made products and will gladly pay what they're asking. Thank you Greg Medford and all the others that employ our own.
How can a company make knives of the same quality as American makers, and charge hundreds less? I don't think American makers' prices are inflated, there is healthy competition and a lot of transparency. Historically, Chinese products have been cheaper because of low wages, poor environmental control, and abominable worker protections. These may or may not relate to Reate knives directly, but the law of economics is pretty straightforward.
OP- if you like Reate knives, go buy one! They have very nice designs. However if you're going to spend $400 on one, I urge you to save for a little while longer and get a Medford 187 RMP for $425.
OP- if you like Reate knives, go buy one! They have very nice designs. However if you're going to spend $400 on one, I urge you to save for a little while longer and get a Medford 187 RMP for $425.
brancron
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Reate's designs blow Medford out of the water. Anti-China people are always pushing USA-made alternatives by companies with completely different and/or lesser designs. It's completely unhelpful and off topic.
I'll let you do the heavy-lifting this time, brancron. I need a breather. 
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What makes one "opinion or design" more valuable or better than the other in such an irrefutable manner? As I am sure you well know, many consumers here will consider the CoO before making a purchase. It's one area they can feel that they've supported their own economy and not one from another country. Why would promoting a home grown USA business be an issue . Nothing wrong with that at all in my view. In a world where just about everything we buy is made somewhere else, it's a nice thing to have a choice. The very last sentence of your post identifies the problem with the first part.
Again, just my opinion.
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Well to be fair, I was referring to knives as we are in GKD. I guess we draw the line at knife discussion?
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Yeah, but the arguments made by those who refuse to buy Chinese-made knives aren't just limited to knives. And folks who make those arguments are completely out of touch with reality. Every last one of them is complaining on this forum using equipment made in China or constructed of components that came from China. Albert Einstein was right when said, "only two things are infinite, the universe and human stupidity, and I'm not sure about the former." How many more of us are going to have to die before we get it that our species is interdependent and we live in a global economy?
I think we both know that this argument isn't going to go away, so I'll take my lead from the boss. If Spark is open-minded enough to let Chinese manufacturers set up subforums here, I'm open-minded enough to support them.
I think we both know that this argument isn't going to go away, so I'll take my lead from the boss. If Spark is open-minded enough to let Chinese manufacturers set up subforums here, I'm open-minded enough to support them.
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So, a lot of low-cost manufacturing is currently being done in South Asian countries because of the low cost of labor and the little to no government regulation. Some of these conditions are present in China, though there has been a shift to countries like Indonesia over the past five years as wages have increased. There is your "line". Be careful buying from those countries.
I think it is ridiculous to discourage discussion about knife manufacturing processes of high-end knives when they fall into a category (mid-tech/custom) which is valued BECAUSE of how they are made.
I think it is ridiculous to discourage discussion about knife manufacturing processes of high-end knives when they fall into a category (mid-tech/custom) which is valued BECAUSE of how they are made.
brancron
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The problem is that you have no idea whether anything you're saying is at all applicable to Reate, the company that's supposed to be under discussion here.
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Nope. And I don't care. I'm here strictly for the knives. I'll let those who aren't agitate over working conditions.
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Can't you guys just answer a simple question? How hard is that?
IMO, Reate is holding their own when it comes to flippers. To compare them to CRK isn't fair, apples to oranges. To compare them to ZT? Now yes, Reate is better by a long-shot IMO. I can't comment on RHK, but from what I've read, Reate still seems to be better. I've never been impressed by the things I've read about RHK, sorry fans.
Fair point. I handled Reate knives at this year's Blade Show. Really well made and very attractive to look at. Based on the materials used, it was rather slick and wouldn't have served well if you were a LEO or service-member, construction-worker, etc. I have owned an XM-18 and sold it immediately because of a crazy-weak detent; I don't like knives I can shake out with light effort. Besides the detent, I would have felt much better using it in harsh conditions than the Horizon C I tried out.