The Companies We Should Support

Daniel said:
Taiwan, ROC is not part of Communist China. Check your history.
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Just did. From the 'net, widely available through different sources:

In 1945 at the end of World War II the Republic of China added the island groups of Taiwan and the Penghu islands to its authority. These island groups, together with Kinmen and Matsu, became the full extent of the Republic of China's authority after 1949 when the Kuomintang (KMT) lost the Chinese Civil War. The KMT lost the war to the Chinese Communist Party which then founded the People's Republic of China (PRC) in mainland China. Under ROC law, these areas currently under ROC jurisdiction are known as the "Free Area of the Republic of China." The capital city is Taipei.

Although the jurisdiction of Republic of China only covers Taiwan and outlying islands since 1949, during the early Cold War the ROC was recognized by most Western nations and the United Nations as the sole legitimate government of China.


They are not communist and have never been.
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You are correct. If I had read your post more closely, I would have realized that you were drawing the distinction between Communism and its baggage and things made in China.

I agree with you that it is a shame we have fewer and fewer choices. But sadly this is a battle we lost years ago for a lot of reasons, too many to get into here.

Robert
 
Gerberblades said:
Mind giving me a few examples?
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suppose i could name some brands and companies that i think fall short, but i dont want to argue the merits of things others may like.

point is, just because it is american made does not automatically mean it is of good quality.

just because something comes from china, doesn't automatically mean it is crap.
 
This is all very silly. If a product I want to buy is made in China, Italy or Ohio, then so be it. I owe no welfare to anybody except my own. I don't know why someone would voluntarily sentence himself to buying products based on the piece of dirt where they come from.

Gerberblades said:
The day China makes a knife as good as Busse Combat, or any other American company please shoot me a PM.
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The day anybody makes a knife as good as Busse, let me know. Even sillier, since China doesn't make knives. Nor does America, for that matter. Companies and people do. And these things vary from one to another. To think that Chinese knife making technology and know how is somehow inferior because it's in China is absolutely ridiculous.
 
Gerberblades said:
I will shoot you a PM as soon as you upgrade your membership. But for now I have to email you.

Did I say anything bad about European cars? I have ridden in Mercedes, BMW's and Audi's and I love their engineering, very comfortable as well as fast but might have a problem throwing a elk in the back of one.

But one thing you cant do is make a diesel as good as us.
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You're right, the 'throwing a elk in the back' is a pending issue for European cars.:D But when it comes to diesel you should check the new common rail diesel engines from Audi. And the diesels from BMW, especially from the one and the three series are absolutely top-notch. I drive a 118d myself and it is outperforming 118i.
 
You're right, its all a matter of what someone likes. And for me that happens to be Chinese products, I have never thought of anything made in China as "good quality."


MORIMOTOM said:
suppose i could name some brands and companies that i think fall short, but i dont want to argue the merits of things others may like.

point is, just because it is american made does not automatically mean it is of good quality.

just because something comes from china, doesn't automatically mean it is crap.
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Gerberblades said:
You're right, its all a matter of what someone likes. And for me that happens to be Chinese products, I have never thought of anything made in China as "good quality."
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id be happy to loan you a fenix or nitecore light. ive been impressed with mine, and i can be pretty tough on gear.
 
Yeah, throwing an elk in the back... probably be on two wheels. :D

European cars are very nice, unmatched. And companies like Hyandai copy a lot of European car designs.

As far as diesels I know Mercedes makes some excellent diesels, but I really like a 2500 Dodge with a Cummins under the hood. :thumbup:

eburon said:
You're right, the 'throwing a elk in the back' is a pending issue for European cars.:D But when it comes to diesel you should check the new common rail diesel engines from Audi. And the diesels from BMW, especially from the one and the three series are absolutely top-notch. I drive a 118d myself and it is outperforming 118i.
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Do as you please, I am not making you buy anything. I just know that anything hard-use I would not want it to be made by the Chinese, and I like supporting my country as well, any problem in that?

shecky said:
This is all very silly. If a product I want to buy is made in China, Italy or Ohio, then so be it. I owe no welfare to anybody except my own. I don't know why someone would voluntarily sentence himself to buying products based on the piece of dirt where they come from.



The day anybody makes a knife as good as Busse, let me know. Even sillier, since China doesn't make knives. Nor does America, for that matter. Companies and people do. And these things vary from one to another. To think that Chinese knife making technology and know how is somehow inferior because it's in China is absolutely ridiculous.
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China does to make knives. If it says country of origin "China" then where the hell do you think its made? Where is Busse's factory located? In Ohio, which just so happens to be in the US. Therefor meaning the knives manufactured by Busse Combat are produced in the United States.
 
gerberblades... did you pick your SN before gerber went over to china/taiwan?

P.S.- Support Rat Cutlery, Spyderco, and KABAR
 
I will say this for China made knives. They, the Chinese, will make you as good a knife as you want them too. The Boker Plus Rampage is made in China and except for the little mark CHINA you would swear it was made elsewhere and made really well. I know that a lot od the Chinese knives are rip off's and crap to boot, but some of them are not. If AG Russell has a knife made in China and then puts his name on it, well they can't all be junk!:eek::D Reference the new Beak hawkbill,


For years, I have wanted to offer A. G. Russell™ customers an outstanding hawkbill knife. With the help of our new engineering department, we have gone far beyond the hawkbill as produced by knife manufacturers in the past. The mid-lock swayback pattern handle supports a huge hollow ground blade of 9Cr18Mo stainless at 57-58 Rc. measuring 3-1/2" in length, just over 1-1/4 wide and a full 3/16" thick. Bronze washers make the action smooth enough to please the most particular user. The bolsters and liners are stainless steel and the handle scales are super quality Ebony Rucarta™ with a stainless lined thong hole.

If we made this in our own shop, we would have to charge over $300 and would sell only a tiny handful. Because of this, we decided to make this our first A. G. Russell™ folder to be made in Taiwan, but to get the quality we required, the maker had to move it to his factory in China. Because of our stringent requirements it ended up costing several times the cost of the typical Chinese made pocketknife.
This is a classic Hawkbill on steroids. It measures a full 4-7/16" closed, a beefy 1/2" thick and weighs a solid 5.2 oz. This is a heavy-duty working knife. Perfect for your toolbox or carried in the pouch on your belt. This is a knife that will make you proud, it will impress the dickens out of your knife friends and you will think it should have cost at least twice what it did.
 
Gerberblades said:
But one thing you cant do is make a diesel as good as us.
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That's a hoot! Volvo is the either the largest or second largest heavy truck manufacturer in the world. The things are incredible to drive, comfortable, and absolute beasts! Check out the Volvo FH16. Volvo also owns Mack last I heard. Cummins got their turbo technology from Holset, a British company they acquired back in the seventies.
 
Who owns Volvo?

fishshooter said:
That's a hoot! Volvo is the either the largest or second largest heavy truck manufacturer in the world. The things are incredible to drive, comfortable, and absolute beasts! Check out the Volvo FH16. Volvo also owns Mack last I heard. Cummins got their turbo technology from Holset, a British company they acquired back in the seventies.
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Come on dude, Ford owns Volvo CARS. Volvo Group, the division that build the heavy stuff, is still Swedish.
 
Gerberblades said:
China does to make knives. If it says country of origin "China" then where the hell do you think its made?
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No. China doesn't make knives. Individuals and factories make knives. China doesn't give a damn if the factories there make knives or computers or Barbie dolls.

Similarly, Ohio doesn't make knives. Nor does the USA. Attributing modern products to nationality and governments is beyond silly.
 
Really, even in a communist state? I won't pretend to understand the changing economic dynamics in China. However, by definition and given it is communist, isn't anything made in China actually made by the Chinese government, therefore it is made by China?
 
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I think buying and supporting manufacturer's products just because you live in the same country and trying to support it's economy is a bit of a wrong thinking. If one manufacturer offers products that are less value than some other, why should you choose them? As a matter of fact by choosing those inferior products you don't really support progress of your economy. If you read some economics books, you will see that there have been some extreme cases of closed markets where government thought that by making their people buy domestic products they will help the economy. That didn't really work, and those decisions backfired. There was no progress, products couldn't compete, no export, buyers spent more than what they should have and had less money for other things, overall lover quality of life. Competition is good, either it is domestic or global. You, as a consumer, have power to choose a product that gives you a better value. Value for you can be in design, materials, build quality, warranty, etc. USA companies produce very high quality knives made from best materials and with great designs. People from all over the world buy USA knives because they are in most cases the best. Support should go to those who can do better than most. It is natural. Look at Benchmade, Spyderco, Sebenza, Strider, Hinderer to name a few. If CRKT would make knives from the same materials as Benchmade, with the same or better build quality and with designs that attract more people, at half the price, then Benchmade should evolve and offer something better.

Same goes for mentioned car manufacturer's, clothes, food, etc. Support those who do the best, the rest should learn and catch up.
 
shecky said:
No. China doesn't make knives. Individuals and factories make knives. China doesn't give a damn if the factories there make knives or computers or Barbie dolls.

Similarly, Ohio doesn't make knives. Nor does the USA. Attributing modern products to nationality and governments is beyond silly.
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pointless semantics here.

i think we all get that the countries/land/entities known as the U.S.A. and China don't actually make anything, it is people who populate those areas that make the products.

can we just assume for the purposes of this thread that a chinese product is chinese, and an american product is american?
 
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