Some general brand advice and information requested.

T

the kid

Joined
May 5, 2008
Messages
644
I find myself more and more moving away from the modern folder. A modern folder certainly has it's uses for hard use in the yard but for every day indoor carry I might as well carry something pretty which cuts and slices like a laser.
Since I'm not very impressed with the modern gentleman's folders (I'm on a budget) I've started looking at traditional knives.

I would like to know which brands produce their knives where. With a modern folder I do not care if a knife is made in China or not (I actually prefer China because it's cheaper) but a I feel a traditional should not be made in China.
Unless off course it's a traditional Chinese knife. ;)

This is what I know so far: (please correct if wrong)

USA:
Case
Queen
GEC

Germany:
Boker Tree brand
H. Herder, Carl Schliepper

China:
Robert Klaas/Kissing Crane
Imperial Schrade
Boker (Sodbuster)
Rough Rider

Unknown:
Bear & Son
Buck

I know I've missed a whole lot of brands; I'm looking for brands made in W-Europe or USA with a good quality for a good price.

I know there is more like Mora, Opinel, Douk-douk, etc. but I'm talking about the traditionals like Sodbuster, Toothpick, Trapper etc.
 
Buck are made in the US and China.
check on the bay for old USA made Schrades-some are pricey but there are bargains to be had.
 
meako said:
Buck are made in the US and China.
check on the bay for old USA made Schrades-some are pricey but there are bargains to be had.
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I was hoping the traditionals from Buck were all made in the US.
Their prices are better then Case, maybe I should be less picky and just go with European and American brands regardless of where it's made.
 
Add Canal Street Cutlery to your USA list.
Utica Cutlery is also a USA company.

Also...some Bokers are made in China...and...to add to the confusion, some are assembled in Germany from Chinese parts (700 series).
 
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Canal Street Cutlery makes some beautiful knives. I have a Chestnut Stockman...However, I am longing for a CSC Chestnut Barlow. Beautiful, traditional, practical, and New York USA made.
 
dog boy said:
Canal Street Cutlery makes some beautiful knives. I have a Chestnut Stockman...However, I am longing for a CSC Chestnut Barlow. Beautiful, traditional, practical, and New York USA made.
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Ditto on the Barlow but I'd like to get smooth bone. It's on my long lists...waiting for a deal.
 
the kid said:
I was hoping the traditionals from Buck were all made in the US.
Their prices are better then Case, maybe I should be less picky and just go with European and American brands regardless of where it's made.
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Buck 30x series traditionals are USA made. They are very well made knives with a good 420HC stainless, good for users, at a great price. Not quite as shiny or fancy as Case but they are workhorses.
Buck 37x and 38x traditionals are made in China and the steel is not quite as good (420J2).

All of Case's traditional knives are USA made.

I no longer trust Boker traditionals to be made in Germany, many are merely assembled in Germany. The price is the giveaway (on reputable knife dealer sites). If it's $50 or so and up, it's the good stuff. In the 20-30 ish range, it's the cheaper knives with their name brand on it. If the description mentions C-75 Carbon Steel or Solingen Steel then it's the quality product.

Case is still a very good value for the money, along with Buck. With clever shopping you can pick up their currently produced patterns for under $40.

Victorinox (especially in the Alox scaled versions) makes some great slipjoint knives that you may or may not consider traditional but are some of the best values in a pocket knife for pure utility. I especially like the Cadet and Pioneer/Electrician knives. They are made in Switzerland, and usually under $30.
 
bdev said:
Add Canal Street Cutlery to your USA list.
Utica Cutlery is also a USA company.

Also...some Bokers are made in China...and...to add to the confusion, some are assembled in Germany from Chinese parts (700 series).
Click to expand...

I thought some were assembled in China from German made parts
 
China:
Imperial Schrade
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The original Schrade knives were made all over the world, but the most common Old Timer and Uncle Henry product lines were made in the USA before 2004. Those originals are easy to come by on eBay and elsewhere, often for a good price, and are easily distinguished by the "USA" on the tang stamp.
You owe it to yourself to find an original USA-made Old Timer with 1095 carbon steel. :thumbup:
 
jc57 said:
Buck 30x series traditionals are USA made. They are very well made knives with a good 420HC stainless, good for users, at a great price. Not quite as shiny or fancy as Case but they are workhorses.
Buck 37x and 38x traditionals are made in China and the steel is not quite as good (420J2).

All of Case's traditional knives are USA made.

I no longer trust Boker traditionals to be made in Germany, many are merely assembled in Germany. The price is the giveaway (on reputable knife dealer sites). If it's $50 or so and up, it's the good stuff. In the 20-30 ish range, it's the cheaper knives with their name brand on it. If the description mentions C-75 Carbon Steel or Solingen Steel then it's the quality product.

Case is still a very good value for the money, along with Buck. With clever shopping you can pick up their currently produced patterns for under $40.

Victorinox (especially in the Alox scaled versions) makes some great slipjoint knives that you may or may not consider traditional but are some of the best values in a pocket knife for pure utility. I especially like the Cadet and Pioneer/Electrician knives. They are made in Switzerland, and usually under $30.
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Speaking recently with someone who has over 500 knives , he wanted a USA Buck as he just brought a china made model.
Purchased the USA model and was sorely disappointed , sent for a replacement thinking it a lemon , got another knife not as good as the Chinese made one.
I am all for buying in our countries mine the uk although unless custom the majority are shite , but I think its time the prejudice against china produced knives is re thought .
Not saying the op suggested any prejudice just that with the right guidance over seeing Qc they are getting their act together fast.
The Spyderco range Tenacious , Resilience etc just one example :).
 
Taking into consideration the purpose of this thread by the original poster.....

I try to buy my Bucks either from someone who looks the knife over before selling it or hands it to me over a counter. The 300 series of knives are made as well as they can be for the price point. More hand finishing would improve them , as it would other companies also. The China made Bucks were contracted to meet the need of low cost knives and meet the price required by a large mass market mart type company. I have four overseas made trappers. All are carefully finished. The 420J2 steel is suppose to be heat treated by them using P. Boz methods. In the Buck catalog and online the stars and stripes are displayed beside the USA made models. Bucks lifetime warranty applies to all models............. 300Bucks
 
When you mention Queen, they have many lines at different price points
They have a faily set set of patterns
Queen puts out their D2 regular line then there is Classic, Worker, and Economy all at different price points an quality
Where $35 will get a delrin carbon jack knife, or $60 for a jack in bone or wood in D2.

Then there is Schatt & Morgan, which is a higher end knife, with all sort of patterns and tends to larger sizes
The S&M File & Wire series used to be in ATS34, which can still be found easliy

The quality of the Classic line and S&M are the same
 
I don't expect the fanciest knife in the world for the low prices you pay for a Buck. And I've never had to use their warranty. But I do buy from vendors who stand behind their sales. An inexpensive Buck Vantage is the only knife I have ever returned (for exchange) due to poor F & F. The replacement was super.
 
I must have been very lucky with my two recent Buck purchases, a 301 and a 303. Both are just exceptional knives, and I couldn't be more pleased with them. Fit and finish are excellent. The triple-backspring on the 301 looks like a seamless slab of brushed stainless steel until I open a blade. Smooth and easy pull yet the blades snap into place open. When open the blades are flush with the backsprings and the blade spines line up perfectly with the line of the frame.

I didn't make any negative comments about Buck's Chinese made knives, other than to mention the cheaper steel used. I don't really care what country makes a knife as long as it is made with quality components, good quality control, and attention to detail. There are companies in China and other countries that will happily make products to whatever level of quality you are willing to pay for.

I work for an international manufacturing and retailing company and we produce and sell product made all over the world, to all over the world. Made in China doesn't mean it's a poor product unless you tell them to make you a poor product, or you select a lousy manufacturer. For example, AG Russell has some very good knives that are made in China. They are good because he designs them and specifies the level of quality he wants. And as a result, those knives tend to cost pretty close to or more than similar knives from Case.

The reason modern Schrade knives aren't as good as the old ones is that Taylor doesn't want them to be, they want them to cost as little as possible. So they are about the same quality as Bear and Son, a US maker of cheap knives.

However, the OP specifically asked about US and Western Europe for reasons of his own, so that's how I answered.
 
300Bucks said:
Taking into consideration the purpose of this thread by the original poster.....

I try to buy my Bucks either from someone who looks the knife over before selling it or hands it to me over a counter. The 300 series of knives are made as well as they can be for the price point. More hand finishing would improve them , as it would other companies also. The China made Bucks were contracted to meet the need of low cost knives and meet the price required by a large mass market mart type company. I have four overseas made trappers. All are carefully finished. The 420J2 steel is suppose to be heat treated by them using P. Boz methods. In the Buck catalog and online the stars and stripes are displayed beside the USA made models. Bucks lifetime warranty applies to all models............. 300Bucks
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I buy from Ebay mostly since I don't live in the US and European prices are insane but buying from Ebay also means I pay a bit more then you guys do. So far the only affordable quality brand, made in the west, widely available is Case.
(Queen prices, at least on Ebay, are to high for me)

I would be perfectly happy buying Case only since they have an extremely extensive catalogue but after doing some research on this site it seems the fit and finish is all over the place and it's best to buy them in person.
I only have one Case knife so far, a yellow sodbuster jr. which I really like but the fit and finish is pretty bad.

I think I will have to go the same route as with modern folders then. And collect (and use) western brands including Buck off course regardless of where they are made and use Chinese brands as users..
 
I had a yellow Buck 301 and it was a tank. It was lop sided in the bolsters (one side spent too much time on the polishing wheel?), but was otherwise put together well.

I've sent a couple of Case Knives Back and I've gotten to where I like to inspect them before I buy.

I've sent one GEC back.

I only have a couple of Queen's. None needed sending back, but I do think the edges all but require redoing. Once sharpened, they are great.
 
Woodrow F Call said:
I had a yellow Buck 301 and it was a tank. It was lop sided in the bolsters (one side spent too much time on the polishing wheel?), but was otherwise put together well.

I've sent a couple of Case Knives Back and I've gotten to where I like to inspect them before I buy.

I've sent one GEC back.

I only have a couple of Queen's. None needed sending back, but I do think the edges all but require redoing. Once sharpened, they are great.
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I think I'm sticking with Case. They seems to be the most available, have a wide selection, and are very good looking. Also owned by Zippo which I also collect.
I'm very picky about fit and finish but somehow I don't mind the pretty poor job on my Case Sodbuster.

Here's a picture from a Case I'm eye balling now because I like pictures.
$%28KGrHqF,!nsFHfLqpijoBS!DHhl1fw~~60_12.JPG

Excellent use of a modern material in a classic design.
 
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