(Edited long post to a short one)
Anyone else noticing just how advanced Russians are with knives? I've been seeing a lot of things that are really pretty impressive, not just fit and finish type stuff, but true performance enhancing ideas and practices.
Titanium alloy cladding on super high hardness tool steels, M390 damascus, the desire and abundance of high alloy steels like K390 and Vanadis 10, forging steels like 3V, people legitimately studying multi-cycle heat treatments with true cryo and putting them to use without needing specific heat treating companies to do it for them, etc. What is seen as advanced here in America is commonplace for them. That's all. Not saying it's not done here in America, just that what we see as the pinnacle of knife material processing and manufacturing is commonplace to them. The take it pretty seriously, not so much as a hobby. And the abundance of guys who take it very seriously vs people here in America that follow certain brands or whatever out of a desire to collect rather than use.
It's just interesting to me. These guys are pretty serious over there and bring a lot to the table that we rarely hear about on this side of the ocean.
My feelings here is that while yes, "some" high end Russian manufactures are doing the top tier, "state of the art" stuff with premium, even innovative materials, in their knife making, so are many high end American makers, as well as Chinese and Japanese and other I'm sure makers these days. They also have their Kizlyar Supreme brands doing basic 440c and aus8 with g10 handles. There are albeit more "basic" brands about here in the states and even elsewhere, but much of that is to do with a completely different business model for a company in US vs a company in Russia. I hardly view anything they (Russians) are doing as truly ground breaking innovation that isn't being done elsewhere. Culturally, yes, they have a bunch of quality high end custom makers, but they also have a bunch of basic forgers and grinders as well, doing no frills bush knives in their garages and small shops using basic carbon steels and stainlesses, but there isn't a huge market or financial incentive for them to export those knives stateside to compete with the market already here. Also remember that not all that long ago they were still a communist nation where there was no platform for multiple competing companies to exist or thrive. As such, a very young democratic nation, (totally different in beaurocratic theology as America) new companies haven't had the decades upon decades to establish themselves, and as blues pointed out, and you yourself even acknowledged, many in Russia are also mere collectors, as well as just as be it the caucus or ural mountains or the rockies and appalachians, just as many here in the US are avid users of their knives, who take their kniving very seriously.
Also, while the cold war is long ended, US and Russian diplomatic relations are far from being friendly allies in the global market, and different import regulations between each other makes it a less then ideal trading partnership for manufactured goods in general. Up until just a few years ago, basic Kizlyar Supreme knives were not even commercially available here in the states, and still many Russian customs are available only through special orders over seas, and must pass an oftentimes grueling pit stop through customs.
Flip script, and understand while there may be less low end Russian manufacturers, Russia and China have a VERY healthy diplomatic partnership with one another, with no oceans to cross, so cheap Chinese manufactured knives, like Ganzo, Sanrenmu, etc, are readily available to the general Russian population in search for a cheap knife.
Not trying to argue, just pointing out the vastness of your statement is a bit misleading in saying that "russians take their knife making seriously" implying even moreso then others as a whole. When you look at it from a global geopolitical point if view, it's actually not that different from the US, just different pieces at play. Just like most average Americans would never consider buying a folding knife for $150 or more, the vast majority of Russians (145 million people), are not running around with one off Malyshevs and Alexey Konygins in their pockets, with a Garri Dadyan sheathed on their belts to go off hunting in the mountains... Not any more then the avg. US citizen is sporting a Sebenza in pocket and a Marfione or Winkler sheathed on their hips.
Yes there are some great Russian designers and manufacturers, just as there is a plethora of great custom makers in the US. There is also a huge market for cheap Chinese imports and a bunch more very basic knife makers out there, they just don"t and won't get much public recognition in the western world for a variety of (social and political) reasons. Only the ones that truly stand out will get noticed abroad in "our" world, but that doesn't mean they are the norm, just because they are the ones getting the international recognition, they are just the ones a cut above the rest.
:thumbup:
