Taiwan manufacture!

H

Hombre

Joined
Jun 30, 2011
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Now when the Chinese have bought Cold Steel... For how long do you think they will let Taiwan manufacture blades there?

/Hombre
 
Hombre said:
Now when the Chinese have bought Cold Steel... For how long do you think they will let Taiwan manufacture blades there?

/Hombre
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Hell, they have purchased the entire country and its leaders. We need to ask this question on that scale as well.
 
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I believe they have already started moving some production there and are using a lot more Chinese steels. I would guess Taiwan is on the way out.
 
Why bother; Taiwan may soon become part of China.

It is time to just move on. Forget Cold Steel and invest your energies on the many new and exciting knife makers & producers. Knives are about far more than an old brand. The old ownership is gone and the new is an unknown quantity. Why put dollars into something you no longer trust? I would rather go with known reputable companies, and I no longer count Cold Steel among those.

n2s
 
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Hombre said:
Now when the Chinese have bought Cold Steel... For how long do you think they will let Taiwan manufacture blades there?
/Hombre
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What "Chinese" have bought Cold Steel? Last info I have is that Cold Steel was bought by GSM Outdoors, TX which in turn was bought by Gridiron Capital LLC, New Canaan, Ct.
Or are you hypothesizing "if" Cold Steel were bought by the Chinese?
 
I have no idea of the nationality of the company that purchased Cold Steel, but many knife manufacturers have moved production to China. I would not be surprised if Cold Steel does the same.

Most "knife guys" won't support this, but I doubt the masses will care. The average person doesn't know any better and that is what low quality manufacturers count on.

As stated earlier, it's time to move on. There are plenty of other quality factory and custom knives to be had.
 
Mitchell Knives said:
I have no idea of the nationality of the company that purchased Cold Steel, but many knife manufacturers have moved production to China. I would not be surprised if Cold Steel does the same.

Most "knife guys" won't support this, but I doubt the masses will care. The average person doesn't know any better and that is what low quality manufacturers count on.

As stated earlier, it's time to move on. There are plenty of other quality factory and custom knives to be had.
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Cold steel has had China manufacture on their lowest end products for some time. But they never went "Full China" as some other major brands have. Around 2005 they switched manufacture from Seki Japan to Taiwan for their folders. And Taiwan is not China. Now all of their top line products are made there, although they have offered some models made in Italy. They did maybe 10 or more years ago try to make a Trail Master in China but there seemed to have been quality issues and production was switched to Taiwan.
Cold Steel has never been a seller of "low quality manufacture" knives. Not since 1981.
No one knows yet definitively how Cold Steel's product line will be now that it has been sold (to US buyers). It is indeed possible that it may become a low quality brand and a time to move on. But it's still too soon to tell.
 
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KenHash said:
Cold steel has had China manufacture on their lowest end products for some time. But they never went "Full China" as some other major brands have. Around 2005 they switched manufacture from Seki Japan to Taiwan for their folders. And Taiwan is not China. Now all of their top line products are made there, although they have offered some models made in Italy. They did maybe 10 or more years ago try to make a Trail Master in China but there seemed to have been quality issues and production was switched to Taiwan.
Cold Steel has never been a seller of "low quality manufacture" knives. Not since 1981.
No one knows yet definitively how Cold Steel's product line will be now that it has been sold (to US buyers). It is indeed possible that it may become a low quality brand and a time to move on. But it's still too soon to tell.
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K KenHash , your attitude about this matter is the healthiest one to have. We just have to wait and see.

Personally, the main reason I'm not optimistic is that Al Mar (one of my favorite manufacturers after Cold Steel) recently suffered almost the exact same fate as Cold Steel. Like Cold Steel, they lasted exactly 40 years (1979-2019) before being sold to a large corporation. Currently, Al Mar only makes cheap sub-par quality knives exclusively in China. Now, I said "almost the exact same fate as Cold Steel" because as far as we know, Lynn Thompson will still be in the fold. The Al Mar brand did not get that same treatment. Al Mar himself died in 1992, and from what I can tell, the people that ran the show after his death were not carried over with the sale of the brand to the large corporation that owns them now. So while a normal amount of skepticism is healthy, Lynn Thompson is still here for now.
 
I
jencarlos said:
K KenHash , your attitude about this matter is the healthiest one to have. We just have to wait and see.

Personally, the main reason I'm not optimistic is that Al Mar (one of my favorite manufacturers after Cold Steel) recently suffered almost the exact same fate as Cold Steel. Like Cold Steel, they lasted exactly 40 years (1979-2019) before being sold to a large corporation. Currently, Al Mar only makes cheap sub-par quality knives exclusively in China. Now, I said "almost the exact same fate as Cold Steel" because as far as we know, Lynn Thompson will still be in the fold. The Al Mar brand did not get that same treatment. Al Mar himself died in 1992, and from what I can tell, the people that ran the show after his death were not carried over with the sale of the brand to the large corporation that owns them now. So while a normal amount of skepticism is healthy, Lynn Thompson is still here for now.
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I think that Gary Fadden remains on the board
 
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