Up-and-coming knife centers

K

kirch

Joined
Dec 19, 1999
Messages
260
I noticed last Xmas that dang near everything I bought for my kids was made in China. It seems that China is rapidly becoming the cheap manufacturer of choice for almost everything. So I gets me to thinking -- China's been around a long time; they must have learned how to make some decent knives and swords in that time. Maybe they don't have the sword-making tradition of the Japanese, but there's got to be some good product there, right?

So I've got 2 questions for those more traveled and knowledgeable than me:

1) Does China make any good edged weapons that can be purchased here?

2) Does China have a knife- or sword-making center like Japan's Seki City, Germany's Solingen or England's Sheffield?

3) Are there other, less well-known centers for making edged weapons that we don't normally hear about? (Example - I've heard the mujahadin (sp?) tribesmen of the Afghanistan hills are geniuses when it comes to making guns out of any old scrap metal)
 
Thats an interesting question especially for me since I have a great passion for ancient weapons especially those of China and Japan. Some scholars believe that the Japanese were originally taught steelmaking and bladesmithing from migrating Korean and Chinese smiths. But compared to the Japanese bladesmiths, not much is known of China's bladecraft. I have been hunting for books and information for many years but haven't found any of note. Modern China churns out tons of cheap bladed weapons, mostly intended for displays or Wushu practice. Those I have seen and handled are generally poorly made, with blunt edges, poor steel and not intended for rough use.

My family has been running an antique and curios business for several generations and buy a lot of stuff from mainland China but I've never heard about any notable makers currently working. It may be that quality bladecraft has died out as a skill, replaced by factory mass production. But it's a bit hard to believe that in a country of 900+ million people, nobody knows how to make a good knife?! If anybody knows any martial artists from China, they may be able to shed some light on this.

Red


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"Praise not the day until evening has come;a sword until it is tried; ice until it has been crossed; beer until it has been drunk" - Viking proverb

[This message has been edited by redvenom (edited 10-16-2000).]
 
You bring up an excellent point. China has almost a billion people - no one there is producing quality knives? I find this hard to believe, unless the government sees knifemaking as some sort of subversive activity. In fact, I'd be interested in any developing nation that shows promise as a future knife center -- there are a lot of industrialized countries that are just making their way to the global market. Can some or our other BF members from around the globe comment on this?
 
In ancient times, Chinese swordsmiths were some of the most innovative around. Much of the technology used in Japanese swords today originated there.

There is no sword making tradition left today. There is also nothing to compare to Seki city. China is a third world country whose population cannot afford much luxury. Anything not of immediate practical necessity becomes extinct very quickly. The fact that Chinese companies rip-off the $2 South African Okapi knives is an example of how little premium is put on quality cutlery.

That said, there are some ethnic minority communities in China that still forge knives for their daily use, and Han Chinese tourists buy them as suveniors. Rumor has it there are still a few masters around who are keeping the olde crafts alive. But they are about as easy to track down as bigfoot.

The highest quality cutlery coming out of the country is from Paul Chen's Hanwei factory -- an export only business. Martial arts cutlery sold to the Chinese market are virtually without exception, POS by American standards. I'm afraid you wouldn't likely find any good quality swords while vacationing there.

The country is slowly becoming more affluent though. And if someone can interest the population in better cutlery and start a "Spyderco" or "Buck" equivalent in China, that someone would be a rich fellow.

Regarding your last question. Yes, there are still places where good knives are traditionally made. Nepal, Malaysia, Thailand are good examples. But you'll have to look long and hard to sort the good stuff from the ubiquitous tourist junk.



[This message has been edited by tallwingedgoat (edited 10-17-2000).]
 
In honor of JKM,

While I applaud any effort of make good knives and to find those knives.....

I think that some thought should be given to the fact that almost all products coming out of China should be considered, "Made by Slaves".

China has along way to come, both in quality of knives and in human rights.

Who do you think inherited the mantle of "Evil Superpower" China did. Just ask their politicians and military, who have described America as "China's Adversary".

Who was it that gave China the InterContinental Ballistic Missile? NASA....

Interesting stuff.
 
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