USA made better than Asian made?

Slightly OT, but which Gerbers are being made in Japan today?
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Production of the Gerber Silver Knights was revived a couple of years ago; I do not know if they are still in production today. And worse, I do not know how to distinguish the new production Silver Knights from the originals.

-Bob
 
You can never fully rule out the possibility of companies overseas colaborating and coming up with a "super" knife. For example, the Boker Cera Titan blade is made in japan and the knife itself is German. Although I haven't heard anything on just how good the cera-titan cintered titanium/ceramic blade really is.
 
I use to be sceptic on taiwan made knives, but after buying the RAT model1
folder, my prejudice has been changed. Ask any owner and you will get nothing but good response.
 
Yeah Taiwan is a barrel of monkeys. I have had clothing produced there and they are capable of providing the cutting edge in technology and have the workforce trained to use it. So while Taiwan may produce some junk they can also provide any level of quality you can ask for and pay to achieve.
 
BigJimSlade said:
Yeah Taiwan is a barrel of monkeys. I have had clothing produced there and they are capable of providing the cutting edge in technology and have the workforce trained to use it. So while Taiwan may produce some junk they can also provide any level of quality you can ask for and pay to achieve.
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I think it's not very respectfull to call a country "a barrel of monkeys" in the first place. Second, there is also produced some junk in the USA here and there, as in any other country. Yes they can and will produce any level of quality if you are paying for it, like in the USA or some other countrys. Everything has his price, that's a common fact!
 
I'm sure there are Chinese companies that produce excellent knives. The thing is that the knives that get exported over here from there are not the top notch products. I will say that my G-10 Byrds from China rival any Spyderco I've had in quality. Other than one or two minor things the F&F on them is spectacular.
 
Cornelis Böhms;4149907 said:
I think it's not very respectfull to call a country "a barrel of monkeys" in the first place. Second, there is also produced some junk in the USA here and there, as in any other country. Yes they can and will produce any level of quality if you are paying for it, like in the USA or some other countrys. Everything has his price, that's a common fact!
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I think something might have been lost in translation,,,

the phrase "barrel of monkeys" being used here to mean = a perplexing situation; puzzling.

Not meant to be taken literally.
 
It was not always possible to get good raw materials in China for all industries as it is today. That said, I meant to call the quality of products from there country a barrel of monkeys, not the country or its people. Most of the worst knives you can obtain are made in china at the moment, but one cannot generalize knives from china as junk. That was my point. Sorry if it was not well made. My experience in dealing with chinese factories in the last 10 years has been very positive. There was a time that if you wanted non junk steel made in china you would have had to supply it. Not very cost effective to ship raw steel to another country.
 
This may be comparing apples to oranges, but I recently purchased two knives; one a 70's era Queen canoe pattern, and a cheap Boker Magnum Bonsai canoe pattern.

The Chinese made Magnum Bonsai blows the US made Queen away in terms of fitment, smoothness, quality of build and materials, and blade geometry. No gaps anywhere. Sadly, I can't say the same for the Queen.

The Chinese are gaining ground very very quickly. Another prime example is the Benchmade Vex. Outstanding knife with great build quality.
 
Own several Benchmades of various styles- liner locks, axis locks, fixed blade- they are all quite well made in both the fit and finish catagory. Also own a couple of spydercos, a US made Native and a Seki City Delica- both are great knives, no blade play, great fit, no complaints. Quality-wise, I can't tell any significant difference between the two. IMHO the two best knives I own are an 814HS AFCK (Benchmade, USA) and an Al Mar Shrike (Moki, Japan). They are both excellent examples of production knife workmanship- I will not willingly part with either :)

I have no experience with any of the other Asian companies, have heard that the Spyderco Byrd line is a great value.
 
Cornelis Böhms;4149388 said:
I use to be sceptic on taiwan made knives, but after buying the RAT model1
folder, my prejudice has been changed. Ask any owner and you will get nothing but good response.
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I concur. The Model 1 is a great knife. I beleive that where a knife is made is less important than the quality and tolerances placed on them by the manufacturer/importer. I have to admit I wish the model 1 was made in the USA only because I like to know my money is going to hard working Americans. The guys at RAT are second to none on customer service and that is why I keep going back. Best quality knives for the buck.
 
cb4life_30 said:
I concur. The Model 1 is a great knife. I beleive that where a knife is made is less important than the quality and tolerances placed on them by the manufacturer/importer. I have to admit I wish the model 1 was made in the USA only because I like to know my money is going to hard working Americans. The guys at RAT are second to none on customer service and that is why I keep going back. Best quality knives for the buck.
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The clip of my RAT folder was damaged due to a motorcycle accident,
One mail to Mike Perrin (Randall's Adventure Training) and within 10 days
the postman in Holland brought me a new clip with screws. Now that's
called service; chapeau bas!
 
BigJimSlade said:
It was not always possible to get good raw materials in China for all industries as it is today. That said, I meant to call the quality of products from there country a barrel of monkeys, not the country or its people. Most of the worst knives you can obtain are made in china at the moment, but one cannot generalize knives from china as junk. That was my point. Sorry if it was not well made. My experience in dealing with chinese factories in the last 10 years has been very positive. There was a time that if you wanted non junk steel made in china you would have had to supply it. Not very cost effective to ship raw steel to another country.
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I like to apologize for my mistake, translating you wrong.
Cor
 
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