Tell me it's OK

The two China made Kershaws I have are the Chill and Cryo and they are great EDCs. I even added a carbon fiber scale to my Cryo to lighten it up and I love it even more.
 
Thanks everyone for the input. I really like the looks of the Cryo and maybe that will be my next purchase.
 
I could really use a smaller Kershaw when I'm at work so after reading this thread makes me think I need to order myself a Cryo.
Now to decide on which color :thumbup:
 
I have owned a Chill which was my first kershaw which had thumb studs unlike the standard model which I unfortunately lost. Now I own a Tremor, Blackhorse II, and Cryo which I am awaiting delivery. All of which are made in China, if they were a POS I wouldn't be buying them, so yeah it's ok. I tend to buy products which meet my standards for quality whether or not it's made in the USA. My general policy is to try not to buy things from companies I find to be immoral in their business practices, such as EA, Dell/Alienware (horrible customer support, dealt with several times), etc.
 
If you knew the stories, you'd only buy the Chinese made Kershaws. :D They're that epic.

That being said, I've yet to have any issue with the ones I've owned at all. They're great pieces, especially that new Shuffle.
 
Id say the Chinese Kershaws are actually under priced. When you look at the prices some of them sell for you think to yourself, that cant be any good. But that statement couldn't be further from the truth. Just have faith that if Kershaw puts their name on something its only because it deserves it. Its not like with some companies where they find a Chinese factory that is all ready producing knives and they simply look at the catalog of their offerings deciding what to put their name on. Its still a kershaw product just made by a different set of human beings with the same machines at their disposal to an extent. The real differences are going to be price point and materials. In other words you wont be getting Sandvik, Crucible or Bohler steels in chinese kershaw. But for the price they are excellent.
 
Last edited:
I'd buy knives made in the USA. Money spent here is better for us all and encourages more products to be made here.
 
TOMBSTONE said:
I'd buy knives made in the USA. Money spent here is better for us all and encourages more products to be made here.
Click to expand...
Agreed. Not that I think Chinese made Kershaws are sub par in terms of quality by any means, I just prefer to buy American where I can to help encourage businesses to manufacture in the USA.
 
TOMBSTONE said:
I'd buy knives made in the USA. Money spent here is better for us all and encourages more products to be made here.
Click to expand...

The knives are fine, but I buy only USA made knives. There are a lot of products, like clothing and electronics, that are difficult to find manufactured in the States. Products like knives and firearms that are manufactured in America with excellent quality and competitive pricing always get my support.

Just my $0.02.
 
I'm far less experienced with Kershaws than some of the folks around here, but I'll fully endorse their Chinese made knives. In my basic use package around the house and ranch I have 3 knives. I wouldn't say they get rotated really (because they don't), but all of them have been used pretty tough in their own rights. I have a large Sebenza that lives in my front left pocket, a JYD2 that stays in my car or backpack that is my backup or user when I'm worried about protecting my Sebenza (an awful habit), and Kershaw 1 ton that I think I paid $20 for. As crazy as it sounds to say, the 1 ton has probably seen 3x the abuse of the other two combined. I've chopped with it, cut reeds (super super abrasive), zip ties, cardboard, I've whittled mini totem poles from sap wood, and just about anything you can think of largely because it wasn't a big deal if it broke and I needed it for those things at the time. It's not without flaws, most noticeably its ridiculously difficult to open 1 handed with the pivot screwed to where the blade centered- especially left handed, but it holds an edge decently well, it sharpens up super easily, and I swear I feel 100% as confident in that little stainless frame lock and I do my Sebenzas at 20x the cost.
 
I agree with just about everything else said. The Chinese knives are a pretty good value, but whenever I can I prefer to spend the extra few bucks to get a USA made model of any brand.
 
What I think would be cool is if they offered a hybrid. They do this in the guitar business and it helps provide value to the customer by offering USA made quality at a mid level price. You send raw materials to china and have them convert them into parts. Then ship the fabricated parts back to the USA for final finishing, and set up. I don't know if its the same in knife making but with guitars its actually cheaper to buy USA sourced materials, ship them to china or Korea for cnc work and then ship parts back to the US to be set up and finished than it is to just make the whole thing in the USA. By doing this though some have found a way to decrease manufacturing costs, yet still retain American jobs because you would still have Americans assembling, and doing final inspection. Some have argued that it wouldn't save a lot of money because much of the cost of manufacturing is the cost of US labor. But if you think about it in the USA the one person in charge of doing all the CNC set up and programming probably makes more money than 2-3 people who's sole job entails assembly. If they could find a way to adopt this manufacturing method they could offer better materials at better prices. Offering the desirable traits of an imported product with that of a USA made product. Of course certain materials and features would have to be kept USA only to ensure desirability of their USA made line. Still if done properly I think a hybrid could work well for companies. It is kinda the same principal as a mid tech knife but with strictly production knives.



TOMBSTONE said:
I'd buy knives made in the USA. Money spent here is better for us all and encourages more products to be made here.
Click to expand...

To an extent what you say is true. Companies will make what sells. But on the other hand I don't think we should overlook that even buying the Chinese Kershaw helps Kershaw and its employees. The cheaper Chinese knives provide the company with revenue to pay employees and ensure than they can continue to manufacture the USA produced knives most of us love. knife enthusiasts and collectors represent only a portion of the overall knife buying public. And not every person looking to buy a knife is doing to spend over $70 to get a USA made knife. And there is little to no way to make an entry level price point knife here in the states. If kershaw didn't offer imported products and people weren't buying them I don't know if the company would have the means to offer the USA made stuff. At least not in the quantities they are able to deliver currently. I would say as long as your buying a genuine KAI product your helping ensure they provide USA production, secure the jobs of its employees and providing revenue for the company regardless of which country the factory is in that made the knife.
 
In an ideal world, I would love to make all of our knives in the USA. As it stands, we have two options - make everything in the USA and only compete in higher price points, or make some products in both China and the USA and be able to provide a wider range of offerings. Our goal is to always provide a quality knife regardless of price or country of origin. I am proud of our Chinese made products and regularly carry them myself (even though I have access to lots of much more expensive USA Made knives).

The other advantage of working with China is that it increases the number of new models we can release each year. Our US factory has a finite capacity, so having some products outsourced provides more exciting new knives for our fans each year.

We use a number of Chinese owned factories, but our focus is always on quality. We hold them to very strict standards and work with them regularly to maintain and improve quality control both in China and when we receive product in the states.

One final note - remember, when you buy a Chinese Kershaw, you help our business grow. That growth includes our US factory. We are striving to increase our capacity in the USA and to make more knives, which means more workers to make them. I believe in products made in the USA, and we continue to make them. We just want to be able to sell you a $30 knife as well as a $300 knife. Making some of our knives overseas helps us achieve that goal and stay profitable. Being profitable means those US workers can keep making quality knives for you.
 
Last edited:
I definitely agree with Jimmer. I am the VP of Sales for a company that manufactures in the USA, but we also source about 20% of our production from our factory in China. Our sales of Chinese products have helped our USA facility grow and expand. We still strive to manufacture as much as possible here, but sometimes imported products are a necessary evil. I try and buy American as much as I can, but it is a global market and I applaud Kershaw/ZT for maintaining domestic manufacturing to the level they have.
 
jimmer_5 said:
One final note - remember, when you buy a Chinese Kershaw, you help our business grow. Being profitable means those US workers can keep making quality knives for you.
Click to expand...

Due to that reason (so that KAI can continue with the ZT line), pricing and just being curious about their quality last week I purchased a set of all four Kershaw Cryo folders (1555, 1555TI, 1555BLK, 1555BLKST) for a delievered total of just $116.92! They're remarkably well made and at an astonishing price!

Quality of products manufactured in China is a function of both the manufacturing company and the producing company. Manufacturing in China has many issues including quality. Quality is a continuing process and not an event! It requires vigilance. Apple makes most of its products in China and they're of great overall quality but just recently it had to return 8 million iPhones and it'll cost Foxconn plenty.
 
You must log in or register to reply here.
Back
Top