Steel quality?

[donkey12]

Is my assumption correct? I bought a kizer knife with 154CM. I believe that to be a good quality steel but at the price of roughly $60 I can't imagine it's as good or the same of a more expensive knife such as a benchmade I have with the same steel. Is it the heat treat thats better?
I haven't used either enough to make a comparison yet. Thanks

 

[Synov]

The main reason for the difference in price point is location of manufacturing.

 

[Deino]

The location of manufacturing has the biggest impact to the price.

More than that, Benchmade is CPM 154 I believe, which is more expensive. Benchmade has better guarantee as well.

Kizer is one of the better Chinese manufacturers, less marketing, but that keep the price down.

 

[donkey12]

The location of manufacturing has the biggest impact to the price.

More than that, Benchmade is CPM 154 I believe, which is more expensive. Benchmade has better guarantee as well.

Kizer is one of the better Chinese manufacturers, less marketing, but that keep the price down.

That's true on the cm vs cpm. I can't keep up with all the steels. My knife addiction is getting out of hand lol. But of all the addictions this one isn't bad at all.

 

[Steven65]

If it is indeed genuine Crucible 154CM and it is heat treated correctly it should be an excellent daily user.

 

[knarfeng]

Is my assumption correct? I bought a kizer knife with 154CM. I believe that to be a good quality steel but at the price of roughly $60 I can't imagine it's as good or the same of a more expensive knife such as a benchmade I have with the same steel. Is it the heat treat thats better?
I haven't used either enough to make a comparison yet. Thanks

Terminology:
Performance - how well does the alloy perform
Quality - is the batch "per spec".

The main reason for the difference in price point is location of manufacturing.

What he said.

Sal Glessar of Spyderco once said, "Manufacturing costs in Taiwan are 25% lower than those in the US. Manufacturing costs in mainland China are 50% lower than those in the US."

I doubt those percentages have changed much.

 

[JC972]

More than that, Benchmade is CPM 154 I believe, which is more expensive. Benchmade has better guarantee as well.

I have some 7-10 year old Benchmades with 154CM, maybe he’s talking about some from that timeframe

But you’re right I’m pretty sure they use CPM 154 more recently

 

[Another Shepherd]

KnifeCenter still has lots of Benchmades with 154CM in stock. The Taggedout, Meatcrafter, and Flyway are available with CPM-154, which is slightly better than 154CM.

I quit buying knives with 154CM because it is mediocre steel by today's standards but is often still priced as if it were premium steel. But Kizer's prices for 154CM are fairly reasonable considering that their manufacturing quality is usually good.

 

[Delgadonine]

Is my assumption correct? I bought a kizer knife with 154CM. I believe that to be a good quality steel but at the price of roughly $60 I can't imagine it's as good or the same of a more expensive knife such as a benchmade I have with the same steel. Is it the heat treat thats better?
I haven't used either enough to make a comparison yet. Thanks

Food: if in doubt, throw it out.

Knife: Instinct tells you collect and use it, follow your instincts.

Drink: Don't Drink and Drive

 

[DangerZone98]

Terminology:
Performance - how well does the alloy perform
Quality - is the batch "per spec".


What he said.

Sal Glessar of Spyderco once said, "Manufacturing costs in Taiwan are 25% lower than those in the US. Manufacturing costs in mainland China are 50% lower than those in the US."

I doubt those percentages have changed much.

Without delving into politics, I’ve had great experience with Cold Steel’s Taiwan made knives. Some finishing hiccups here and there, but nothing you would notice from a cursory glance. Reliability-wise, Taiwan knives rock.

I kinda notice the small differences with my Chinese made Resilience and the Golden Colorado Earth Spydies (whoopsie edge alignment). But the generally consistent QC that Spydie maintains across price points is impressive.

 

[calm]

Apart form manufacturing cost, there is also a premium associated with the better known brand.

Benchmade has a strong brand profile whereas Kizer is a new, not very well known, brand.

Basically, even if they were to cost the same to manufacture/sell/look after the customer, Benchmade can afford to charge you more, as they know people are willing to pay more for their products (because of history, place of manufacture, brand, warranty and so on).