There be pitfalls...

dsutton24

dsutton24

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Joined
Apr 9, 2018
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There was a gun show today, and one particular dealer always sets stuff back for me. He and his wife have been doing shows for years, they have thirty or so cases of tactical and spring knives, and they do a brisk business in them. But, his heart is in the five or so cases of traditional knives.

I get treated like a celebrity, he had twenty-plus knives for me this morning, and I bought seven of them... Boker, Russell, Henckels, Kissing Crane...

Did'ja' know that Kissing Crane is made in China now? :eek:

This is hard for me to get used to. After the Great Primble Calamity of '17 I thought I had a pretty good handle on this, many of the old names being made in China. But, apparently not. I won't inflict my reasons on anyone, but I don't buy the Chinese made 'old names'. I thought...

Some of them, like the Kissing Crane aren't really obvious. This particular knife has all the right markings, but it also has a clear Dymo label on one of the secondary blades that says 'Hand Crafted in China'. That borders on sleaze, in my opinion. I have gone through my stuff, and I've got a couple more recent Kissing Crane purchases that were probably made in China.

Oh well, not an expensive mistake. The dealer I bought it from is embarrassed all over himself, apparently he missed it too. Not complaining at all, he had a couple more Kissing Crane knives in that lot, I just wanted to give him a heads up just in case he ran into a buyer who either didn't know, or would come unglued on discovering the country of origin.

I'll know next time. :oops:
 
In my experience,as it is limited,any resurrected old names are made in China nowadays,as a rule of thumb.A few years ago I came across some case trappers that said made over seas,made me ill, thankfully have not seen any more.But it is very difficult to find anything made here in America any mor
 
In this forum, we talk about the knives. Country of origin is an ancillary issue.

Got pics of the knives you bought?
 
I would like to see pics as well. Recently purchased a few Kissing Cranes that are inbound. Love to see whatcha got..

dsutton24 dsutton24
Tried to PM..your box is full
 
knarfeng said:
In this forum, we talk about the knives. Country of origin is an ancillary issue.

Got pics of the knives you bought?
Click to expand...

I appreciate that.

In my opinion, knowing what we're buying can be important to some of us. I have no issue whatsoever with any country of origin, nor do I have any issue with what others collect or why. It's just one of the factors that enter into my buying decision. I doubt that I'm alone in this regard.

It's part of the continuing education for me, not a judgement in any way.
 
A couple of pictures...

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Agree.
Good looking whittler. Split spring?
 
Thanks for the pics

That is a good looking blade. I have two of the very same pattern arriving tomorrow, Ill post pics when they land..great color on that bone.
 
The glaring omission on this knife is that the country of origin isn't stamped on any of the blades, I should have picked up on that, sure. Though not having a country of origin stamp isn't 100% diagnostic, my older Kissing Cranes are stamped Solingen Germany. Most of them also are stamped Rostfrei.

I guess I didn't open the small clip blade.

I just found some chatter that seems to indicate that Kissing Cranes are German knives, and Kissing Crane is Chinese. This is getting too weird for an old guy. I think I'm going to stick to Boker. No pitfalls there... :D


https://www.bladeforums.com/threads/kissing-crane-s-german-or-chinese.1146563/
 
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dsutton24 said:
In my opinion, knowing what we're buying can be important to some of us. I have no issue whatsoever with any country of origin, nor do I have any issue with what others collect or why. It's just one of the factors that enter into my buying decision. I doubt that I'm alone in this regard.
Click to expand...

Your opinion is quite justified. The products should (and generally do) stand on their own merits or demerits, rather than relying on nostalgic brand associations with companies that are no longer producing. It really is poor marketing strategy, especially if the target audience is traditional. It sets a false expectation, which causes unnecessary disappointment even when the product itself performs well. I like both chocolate and vanilla equally well, just don't give me a scoop of chocolate and tell me it's vanilla.

So, personally, I prefer the use of brands without nostalgic associations such as Szco/Rite Edge, Rough Rider, and War Eagle Blades (whose importer brought in the same line as "Kissing Crane" for several years and then, a few years later, "Robert Klaas") etc. on value for money knives.
 
[QUOTE="dsutton24, post: 18262800, member: 495252"I think I'm going to stick to Boker. No pitfalls there... :D


https://www.bladeforums.com/threads/kissing-crane-s-german-or-chinese.1146563/[/QUOTE]

Actually, some Bokers are made in Argentina (Boker Arbolito) and others made in Taiwan and China. Some have Chinese parts that are assembled in Germany.

It is my understanding that if you want a 100% made in Germany Boker, make sure that the shield reads, “Solingen” and not just ”Germany”.

It seems there will always be pitfalls...
 
Ratbert said:
It seems there will always be pitfalls...
Click to expand...

Oh yeah... That's why I chose Boker for that particular wisecrack. You have to go back a good many years for any manufacturer's knives to be one hundred percent pure in terms of country of origin.
 
Hi all,

I’ve been enjoying posts on this forum awhile but this is my first post.

I’ve enjoyed kissing crane knives a long time and will say that once you have seen a few of the newer made in China ones you can pick them out fairly easy. The emblem or shield is wider than the German made older ones. Also on the tang of the main blade if it says “ since 1834” it is a China knife. Hope these tips may be helpful.
 
dsutton24 said:
Oh yeah... That's why I chose Boker for that particular wisecrack. You have to go back a good many years for any manufacturer's knives to be one hundred percent pure in terms of country of origin.
Click to expand...

Oops...your wisecrack went right over my head! I need to read for comprehension a little better. :oops:
 
Bull71 said:
... if it says “ since 1834” it is a China knife.
Click to expand...

That is helpful, thanks for that.

Ratbert said:
Oops...your wisecrack went right over my head! I need to read for comprehension a little better. :oops:
Click to expand...

Here's a rule of thumb that you might find useful -- If you see that Sasquatch avatar, you can be fairly certain that what follows is either a long winded, dry as dust dissertaion on something that means nothing to anyone, or complete horsefeathers. Actually, I've listed them backwards. I have a strong majority stake in horsefeathers.
 
I recently went through some Kissing Crane education.

Researching was a cobb webbed rabbit hole..thanks again to the member here for assistance.

One indicator of 100% German is Roman numerals tang stamp, signifies year, I believe.

There were earlier examples w/ out. Klaas w/ Solingen tang stamp is supposed to be a sign of a German production, but not all.. or always..lol

There were also differences/changes in makers mark..Cranes beaks touching or not..and then the spelling of Crane/Cranes

Ive also read that red cranes in the sheild would indicate a Chinese production..this I believe, is not true. Seems a bunch of misinformation out there.

Mine, which I believe are %100 German produced/ manufactured, are also not split backs.

The information I've stated may or may not be accurate..lol..only relaying what I've found.





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Yes sir those 2 whittlers are German made. You are correct about the Roman numerals. The bone knife dates to 1979 and the wood one is 1974. Notice the emblems are more narrow than those that are now made in China. Nice knives and from my experience those will take a keen edge.
 
German Bull is what I grew up calling the old Schmidt & Ziegler knives. They are some of the best at taking an edge and holding it that I have ever owned. The German Bull knives of current production I know nothing about, but I suspect they come from China.
 
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