What are Spyderco's factories in China and Taiwan like?

J

James0723

Joined
Mar 25, 2009
Messages
1,322
I have been hesitant to buy any Spydercos made in China or Taiwan. As we all know these countries have a reputation for making shoddy products. China especially with their recalled lead toys, tainted pet food, and poisonous drywall.

I've never seen any high quality mass produced merchandise ever come out of these countries. These are places where labor is cheap and companies that want to make a product for the absolute cheapest cost go. What are the factories there like? How are we even to know the supposed "s30v" blades made in China are really s30v? And are the workers in the Chinese Spyderco factories paid and taken care of better than the average factory workers there who are basically slaves?
 
Taiwan isn't actually that bad anymore and their dollar is quite strong now. This is what Mr. Sal Glesser had to say about Taiwan:

"Taiwan is no longer a "cheap" soure for knifemaking. Their dollar is stronger than in previous years. We can save 25%-30% with Taiwan manufacturer. When you consider that the steel is made in the US and we ship it to the maker along with the clip & other small parts we ship. Then we have to pay shipping and duties, brokerage fees, etc. There really isn't much of a cost savings. We use this maker because of his skill, not because he is in Taiwan or it might be less expensive."

Source: http://www.bladeforums.com/forums/showthread.php?t=663876

as for china, spyderco oversees the quality control and it really shows in the Byrd knives. Their fit and finish is as good as some of the ones made in Seki.
 
If Taiwan is no longer a cheap source of knifemaking and there is no monetary savings, I would recommend Spyderco to just have the knives made in Japan or the US, because many people, myself included, don't like having "Taiwan" stamped on our knives.

Take the Sage 2 for instance, awesome knife, except for the "Taiwan" stamp. Part of the joy of having a knife is being able to show it to your friends and family. But imagine showing people the Sage 2, regardless of the titanium or s30v people are going to see "Taiwan" and it makes the knife owner look like a cheapskate with a cheap knife.

Does Spyderco's Taiwanese maker manufacture products for other companies besides Spyderco? If so I would like to find out what other products they make, because that will help let us know if they're actually a good maker.
 
James0723 said:
If Taiwan is no longer a cheap source of knifemaking and there is no monetary savings, I would recommend Spyderco to just have the knives made in Japan or the US, because many people, myself included, don't like having "Taiwan" stamped on our knives.

Take the Sage 2 for instance, awesome knife, except for the "Taiwan" stamp. Part of the joy of having a knife is being able to show it to your friends and family. But imagine showing people the Sage 2, regardless of the titanium or s30v people are going to see "Taiwan" and it makes the knife owner look like a cheapskate with a cheap knife.

Does Spyderco's Taiwanese maker manufacture products for other companies besides Spyderco? If so I would like to find out what other products they make, because that will help let us know if they're actually a good maker.
Click to expand...

Interesting.

Is not the quality of the Spyderco product sufficient proof of the maker being able to make a quality product?

This situation reminds me of Camilus. Camilus could make really nice knives, and they did so for a number of knife firms. The CUDA line was nice, too. However, Camilus also made a bunch of cheap crap because that is what they were paid to make. Knowing the maker of a knife is nice, but one cannot assume that all the products a maker manufactures are of equal craftsmanship. Knives are made to a price.

As Mr. Levine says "Look at the knife, not the writing on the knife". The knife itself will tell you if the knife is well crafted.
 
James0723 said:
Does Spyderco's Taiwanese maker manufacture products for other companies besides Spyderco? If so I would like to find out what other products they make, because that will help let us know if they're actually a good maker.
Click to expand...
because the Spyderco's they make aren't good?
 
Is a very modern and yes good country, I have no problem buying a blade made in taiwan, I prefer U.S then Seki City, Japan then 3rd Taiwan but don't have a problem, China on the other hand can go away because wether the U.S Gov wants to admitt it or not they are going to be a big problem for us in the future and maybe Taiwan as well.

RickJ
 
James0723 said:
I have been hesitant to buy any Spydercos made in China or Taiwan. As we all know these countries have a reputation for making shoddy products. China especially with their recalled lead toys, tainted pet food, and poisonous drywall.

I've never seen any high quality mass produced merchandise ever come out of these countries. These are places where labor is cheap and companies that want to make a product for the absolute cheapest cost go. What are the factories there like? How are we even to know the supposed "s30v" blades made in China are really s30v? And are the workers in the Chinese Spyderco factories paid and taken care of better than the average factory workers there who are basically slaves?
Click to expand...
There are levels of ignorance which can be overcome by education. Then, there are levels so abysmally profound as to obviate any chance of enlightenment. You sir, have fallen deeply into that later category.

Trying to explain to you that, unlike its giant neighbor, Taiwan is a capitalist democracy which has been America's friend and ally for sixty years would be useless.

So would explaining that purchasing a Sage, or even finding a store which carried them and examining one, would prove beyond a shadow of a doubt from any mind not totally incapable of absorbing truth that there is at least one knife manufacturer in Taiwan capable of rivaling the quality turned out by best Seki City makers.

Explaining that we know the steel is Crucible CPM-S30V because Spyderco ships it to the maker in Taiwan would also be a waste of energy.

However, for the sake of those less profoundly ignorant, who might be mislead into deeper ignorance by your post, I will mention all those things.

Paul
bar_02.gif

My Personal Website - - - - - - A Beginners Guide to Spyderco Collecting - - - - - - Kiwimania
Dead horses beaten, sacred cows tipped, chimeras hunted when time permits.
Spyderco Collector # 043 - - WTC # 1458 - 1504 - 1508 - Never Forget, Never Forgive!
It's easy to grin when your ship comes in and good fortune and fame are your lot, but the man worthwhile is the man who can smile with his shorts twsited up in a knot. - Morey Amsterdam
 
I do not mind the Taiwan that much but I will not buy a knife made in China for several reasons.I have to buy to much that is made in China every day.A knife to me is something that should be the best you can afford and IMO most people can afford one that is not made in China.This is not saying China can not make good products.We need to all stop buying China imports,IMO the only thing that will save our country is to get the factories moving back to this country.People complain about the large population around here that is on welfare,if they all decided to find a job tomorrow they would still be on welfare as there is no jobs for them to find.
 
Last edited:
Take the Sage 2 for instance, awesome knife, except for the "Taiwan" stamp.
Click to expand...

I guess I don't get this. It's the same knife you just said was awesome. So, if someone removed the word "Taiwan" it would be better how so? Maybe I'm missing something.
 
James0723 said:
As we all know these countries have a reputation for making shoddy products.

I've never seen any high quality mass produced merchandise ever come out of these countries.
Click to expand...

Ever listen to an iPod?
Ride a bicycle lately?
Ever hear of Trek, Specialized? Their aluminum framed bikes, along with their entry level carbon framed bikes are all made by Giant.
Giant of Taiwan is the biggest bicycle manufacturer in the world and makes most of the aluminum framed bikes sold here and they do an outstanding job.
My issue right now with knives made in Taiwan is paying "US prices" for them. In other words, $100 + for a Taiwan made slipjoint or $140+ for the upcoming Taiwan made Chokwe seems a little steep.
 
Having lived in Taiwan for a several years I have no problems buying knives made by makers from here.
One of my friends Jimmy Chin makes some of the finest custom knives I have had the pleasure to handle.

To blow a knife off the list because it has Taiwan stamped on it is just silly IMO,
especially when its from a company like Spyderco that we all know does things right.

Most if not all the people I know here that have any interest in knives carry a US made knife any way.
I see alot of Spyderco (Golden, Seki and now Taiwan obviously:p), Emerson, Chris Reeve and Benchmade knives in pockets here.
 
After WW2 everything made in Japan was considered cheap junk. This went on and begin to change in the 1970's and by the 1980's made in Japan no longer carried the negative stigma it once did. Now made in Japan means high-tech and you are getting good quality merchandise. Of course the price is just as high as comparable goods made in the USA.
Like Sal has stated manufacturing knives in Taiwan does not realize a huge advantage in cost. Spyderco had the Ti Sage made there because of the job they could do, not to save money. China seems to be the only country left where mass production is possible at a substantial savings. This undoubtly is posed to change in the future and down the road, goods from China will become more expensive and with that the negative stigma will vanish, just as it did with Japan's goods. (in fact it already began to change, nobody hardly gripes about all the electronic goods from China we buy)
 
I gripe about the electronic goods for all the good it does.You can not find any that are not made in China.My wife was going to buy me a new lith ion drill a couple weeks ago but all of them at lowes,even the very good names were made in China,I did not get one.
 
about the japanese made stuff, i always think, theyve been making blades for thousands of years...think samurai...they know blades. as for the china made blades, no, i dont really like seeing it on the blade, but when i handled the tenacious, the qualitiy over shadowed the stamp on the blade. but then on the other hand, do i really want to fund the country me or my brother may end up fighting against in the future? its a hard call, but has nothing to do with the quality on china made spydercos. that has already been proven.
 
James0723 said:
If Taiwan is no longer a cheap source of knifemaking and there is no monetary savings, I would recommend Spyderco to just have the knives made in Japan or the US, because many people, myself included, don't like having "Taiwan" stamped on our knives.
Click to expand...

I'm not in this camp. I own several knives from Spyderco and others stamped Taiwan and will continue to purchase knives with the Taiwan stamp.
 
I have 53 Spydercos and they are all from the USA or Japan.
I collect and that's what I find to be the most collectible. I don't need to save money on the one of the 53 I use, so it's from Japan. I do understand Spyderco's need to compete and make a affordable line of decent knives, for people that don't want to spend a lot on a user. That's fine with me as long as they keep turning out the USA and Japanese knives.
 
I'm sure they are GREAT knives if they have the Spyderco name on them:thumbup:

But, I do kinda feel what the OP is saying. But I think I may be a little to vain, since the tawain on blade is the only reason I havn't bought a Sage:o.
It wouldn't bother me, but I just don't want to show a knife with Tawain or China on it to my friends...told you I was a bit vain:o They would no dought give me a hard time. Heck they even gave me a hard time when i bought my Tacoma truck, but that stoped since I'm near the 200,000 mark and its never needed major repair.

That being said I'll still prob get a sage soon, to good a knife at a great price not to. And I know I really shouldn't worry about what my friends would think.
I expect as more qaulity knives come out of Tawain the question of qaulity will become a non issue.

Yeah, I think I will order a Sage soon! I really need to get past the silly vanity stuff... and also show my friends a Tawain knife will be made as good or better than whats in there pocket.
 
I have a Tacoma truck and it's made in California. My mom had a Camry and it was made in Kentucky. My FJ Cruiser was made in Japan. They were and are fine trouble free vehicles.
 
deermaster said:
about the japanese made stuff, i always think, theyve been making blades for thousands of years...think samurai...they know blades. as for the china made blades, no, i dont really like seeing it on the blade, but when i handled the tenacious, the qualitiy over shadowed the stamp on the blade. but then on the other hand, do i really want to fund the country me or my brother may end up fighting against in the future? its a hard call, but has nothing to do with the quality on china made spydercos. that has already been proven.
Click to expand...

Take a guess at how long they've been making swords and knives in mainland China. Their culture goes back more thousands of years than we Americans can comprehend. It is different from our culture, and their values are different than ours. Put in historical perspective, us saying they are wrong is like a two year old child telling a WW1 veteran he was wrong to fight in the war.

As for their "reputation for making shoddy products", they make what they get paid to make. If American companies out to maximize their profits ask for the cheapest possible construction, they crank out junk. If an American company specifies quality, they produce Byrds.
 
You must log in or register to reply here.
Back
Top