Taylor's Eye Witness Disappointment

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Since Taylor's only produce that knife in stainless now, it's certainly old stock. It'd be interesting to see the packaging.

One of the problems I think is that the old Sheffield names were bought by companies whose own products had not achieved the same reputation, and they were bought for peanuts. The factories weren't kept going, the knives instead being made around the city by jobbing cutlers, who are also paid peanuts. The companies using the old Sheffield names are struggling in hard times, and they still have the post-war mentality of competing on price rather than quality. They're also absolutely clueless in virtually every sense in my opinion. So these knives come in from around the city (those that are still made in the city that is), to fake factories, which are little more than warehouses, where nobody really cares about the product, and QC is a joke. So you end up with knives like this 'waster', which at one time would have been thrown in the bin, being passed off under the name of a great old Sheffield cutlery firm. And more recently, you've got Chinese made knives being sold in packaging celebrating Sheffield's cutlery industry. Personally, I find it quite sickening.

Jack
 
Aye, it's a real shame to see some of the greatest cutlery names be dragged though the muck. It's happening all over and sadly it's the future of any largely produced product i.e out sourcing to save money..

We deffinately need to see the packaging and the sellers listing description!
 
Jack Black said:
Since Taylor's only produce that knife in stainless now, it's certainly old stock. It'd be interesting to see the packaging.

One of the problems I think is that the old Sheffield names were bought by companies whose own products had not achieved the same reputation, and they were bought for peanuts. The factories weren't kept going, the knives instead being made around the city by jobbing cutlers, who are also paid peanuts. The companies using the old Sheffield names are struggling in hard times, and they still have the post-war mentality of competing on price rather than quality. They're also absolutely clueless in virtually every sense in my opinion. So these knives come in from around the city (those that are still made in the city that is), to fake factories, which are little more than warehouses, where nobody really cares about the product, and QC is a joke. So you end up with knives like this 'waster', which at one time would have been thrown in the bin, being passed off under the name of a great old Sheffield cutlery firm. And more recently, you've got Chinese made knives being sold in packaging celebrating Sheffield's cutlery industry. Personally, I find it quite sickening.

Jack
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Before I joined here, I had no idea that this was the current situation in English cutlery...very sad.
 
SAK Guy said:
Before I joined here, I had no idea that this was the current situation in English cutlery...very sad.
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We can blame Thatcher for the destruction of the steel industry in Great Britain. When she embraced out sourcing and shut down the majority of home grown industry it was the beginning of a bitter end. Damn devil women finished off what the nazis started! lol
 
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I find it terribly sad that Taylor's have felt the need to source their kitchen knives abroad, but what makes me angry is the enormously misleading packaging which encloses these knives, going on about how they've been making knives in Sheffield for 150 years, etc, it is fundamentally dishonest.

I found it interesting to discover that Taylor's have been in contact with foreign manufacturers, and importing products from abroad, since at least as early as 2007 (see below).

http://www.made-in-china.com/traderoom/eyewitness

Taylors Eye Witness

Knife maker since 1838, we make, import and distribute kitchen ware products. We import as well as make our own products. Looking for quality products not commodity.

Member Info »

Business Type: Manufacturer
Number of Employees: 201 ~ 500
Business Scope: Tools & Hardware
Member Since: 2007
Last Sign In Date: Aug 10, 2007
Contact Details

Company Name: Taylors Eye Witness
Company Address: Milton Street, Sheffield, S Yorks, United Kingdom
Zip/Postal Code: S3 7WJ
Contact Person (Department): Mr. Chris
 
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Hi Karda,

Fair point sir. I hope that my post above is OK, my internet connection is so slow that I was in the process of posting it before your post appeared. I certainly have no problem with Chinese made knives whatsoever, my criticisms relate to the lack of transparency on the part of some of the Sheffield manufacturers. I'm happy to edit/remove my post if you feel it inappropriate.

Best wishes

Jack

PS Have PMed you for clarification.

PPS Have edited my post above anyway :)
 
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PocketKnifeJimmy said:
I feel your pain... I recently ordered an A. Wright knife, and though it had an absolutely beautifully finished buffalo horn scaled handle, the blade was terribly canted upon opening. I noticed the it had shefield stamped on it's blade, but nothing about the company maker (no A. Wright marking). I sent it back and got something made in Germany instead. Will hopefully add something from England to my knife collection some day, but seems that the currently made stuff may be big time hit or miss. America is down to just a few traditional pocket knife makers, and it seems that in Britain the same, or maybe even more-so, holds true :-(
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Yeah its common with a wright knives. But they are quite the looker and I have a barlow of theirs. Though it has its flaws, it's a user for me and it looks beautiful.
 
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