When it's not exactly Made in the USA - Hoback

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J. Doyle said:
I'm curious now, after seeing the new list, and this statement:



Are those knives going to be marked as to the COO? And are the price points going to be different?

I personally don't understand having the same model made in two separate countries, especially with so many models.

Unfortunately it'd be hard to trust him now, no matter what he says or does going forward.
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If he made just one of those models in the USA he could claim made in both countries. Meanwhile 99.99% are made in China. The word manipulation from the get go has been shady.

This is why the clarification on exactly how many are made where is important. Good luck waiting on that though.
 
J. Doyle said:
I'm curious now, after seeing the new list, and this statement:



Are those knives going to be marked as to the COO? And are the price points going to be different?

I personally don't understand having the same model made in two separate countries, especially with so many models.

Unfortunately it'd be hard to trust him now, no matter what he says or does going forward.
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Given that he's been doing this for awhile now apparently, I'm guessing the answer will be no. Also, if he doesn't drastically lower his prices, I don't think his knives will sell, personally. They are WAY too expensive for machine made knives made by a team of faceless factory workers in Goangdong.
 
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ferider said:
“China” (PRC) and Taiwan are NOT the same. Taiwan is a free country, labor costs are higher than in the PRC, and Taiwan respects/protects US IP (patents, etc.). Equating Taiwan and the PRC is like saying Cuba is part of the US.
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I didn’t equate China and Taiwan. I just gave an example of some knives that I’ll buy willingly and knowingly from a non-US manufacturer.
 
Jsega51 said:
After seeing the list again, here’s just a couple examples how Hoback facilitated people to be mislead:

1. The Enoch was 100% made in China, yet this post on IG claims Hoback made them.
View attachment 1761100

2. Hoback knives was pushing the Sumo, even telling people where to buy the last one available. This shows they pay attention to the authorized dealer sites watching stock numbers, never mentioned in one single post though they are made 100% in China and not the US like those dealer sites said.

Even goes further to say “we’re” starting another batch as if he’s working on them. Could have easily said he was
waiting on more from the factory in China, but he doesn’t say that.
View attachment 1761105
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This is so crazy, just mystifying. I mean, I thought China Jake was so busy for these past years that he's just never had time to look at his dealers' pages, which is why he never corrected 28(!!) dealers on their statements of COO for his knives. Huh, I guess there goes THAT theory, Anvil?

LOL
 
muddypaws-bearak.gif


😂
 
One of the things I noticed in hindsight which I posted on another site is that one of the “tells” that he offshored to china is his change in design language. Not just the obvious stuff like the Sumo, but little things like swapping hex heads for torx.
 
J. Doyle said:
Are those knives going to be marked as to the COO? And are the price points going to be different?
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It feels like that depends on the reaction from dealers and the community. I sure hope he starts marking COO, normalizes his pricing for China-made knives, and shares his OEMs.

But I can see Hoback thinking that since he's posted an apology and explanation, and posted a detailed country of origin list, the matter is now put to bed and operations can continue as normal. Maybe transparency will bring in more customers than he has lost; maybe his dealer agreements are worded to prohibit returns.
 
Andrew demko charges about 600.00 for his made in America MG line. The coldsteel versions made in Taiwan are around 200.00.

People wouldn't pay 600 for the Taiwan made demkos..

Hoback charging 550.00 for a completely Chinese made knife could only work if the customers believed they are buying American.
 
shinyedges said:
Andrew demko charges about 600.00 for his made in America MG line. The coldsteel versions made in Taiwan are around 200.00.

People wouldn't pay 600 for the Taiwan made demkos..

Hoback charging 550.00 for a completely Chinese made knife could only work if the customers believed they are buying American.
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People would pay 600 for a Taiwan-made Spyderco Slysz Bowie. Never though, if it was made in the PRC. Agree on your last sentence, of course.
 
ferider said:
People would pay 600 for a Taiwan-made Spyderco Slysz Bowie. Never though, if it was made in the PRC. Agree on your last sentence, of course.
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With all due respect, let's keep the bits about personal stances on the People's Republic of China out of this discussion, it's not really relevant to the duping that's been going on.
Regardless of how one feels about the country/government/people that made a thing, we should have access to that information freely so that we can make a choice about the purchase which suits our conscience.
 
Im a poor excuse for a Christian but nevertheless I believe in the lord. Reading his statement I’m disappointed with the continuing word play and deflecting. More so he is trying to use the lord to make himself look innocent.

Made in China is a very big deal for many. Sure we are all forced to make decisions on some items like the phone I’m typing from. Others such as knifes we are not.
Anyone in manufacturing understands the political side of this. Quite honestly that leaves you with either being one of two people Extremely ignorant or extremely unethical.
 
EngrSorenson said:
With all due respect, let's keep the bits about personal stances on the People's Republic of China out of this discussion, it's not really relevant to the duping that's been going on.
Regardless of how one feels about the country/government/people that made a thing, we should have access to that information freely so that we can make a choice about the purchase which suits our conscience.
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Neither is it on topic to clutter this thread with images of other maker's knives.

Roland's comment is not necessarily political, though you frame it that way. He may simply be referring to the fact that Taiwan is known for higher production values, generally speaking.

Regardless, let's try not to stray too far from the topic at hand, or we'll close this thread and await further developments to reopen the matter again.
 
A few recent off topic posts removed for the sake of clarity.
 
What if this clandestine Chinese sourcing turns out to be like Lance Armstrong doping at the Tour de France? Lots of people doing it.. but he’s the one that got caught? Hoback might not be alone in this.. but how do you really find out?
 
I went to his site, not knowing who he was or what his knives looked like.

No offense to anyone here: His knives look like Crap!. I don't mean crap quality of materials, the overly complicated design does nothing for me. A lot of crap that has nothing to do with being a knife. On that basis alone, I'd never buy one.

Given his obvious lack of ethics means I damn sure won't ever buy one.
 
Paratrooper06 said:
What if this clandestine Chinese sourcing turns out to be like Lance Armstrong doping at the Tour de France? Lots of people doing it.. but he’s the one that got caught? Hoback might not be alone in this.. but how do you really find out?
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What if lots of folks walking around freely in public have actually committed crimes?

What's the alternative, arrest everyone just in case?

When evidence or strong suspicion of malfeasance arises, then it's time to act...or at least investigate further. Absent a basis, it would be a witch hunt...and more harmful than useful.
 
Blues said:
What if lots of folks walking around freely in public have actually committed crimes?

What's the alternative, arrest everyone just in case?

When evidence or strong suspicion of malfeasance arises, then it's time to act...or at least investigate further. Absent a basis, it would be a witch hunt...and more harmful than useful.
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Not in any way advocating a “witch hunt”, didn’t even mention seeking out manufacturers and scrutinizing them. Just saying others could be doing it, but really how Jake was caught was he admitted to it under interrogation.
 
Paratrooper06 said:
Not in any way advocating a “witch hunt”, didn’t even mention seeking out manufacturers and scrutinizing them. Just saying others could be doing it, but really how Jake was caught was he admitted to it under interrogation.
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I'm not saying you were, and don't get defensive. My reply was intended as a general guideline.

I'm saying that until there is a basis for doing something...there's no basis for doing anything.

I don't think we need to be overly proactive in this area...though everyone is encouraged to do their due diligence when making a (significant) purchase.
 
Blues said:
Roland's comment is not necessarily political, though you frame it that way. He may simply be referring to the fact that Taiwan is known for higher production values, generally speaking.
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I'm merely referring to the fact that one can discuss deception of the country of origin without getting caught up in the country of origin itself.
I would hope people would be as pissed off if these knives were marked "made in China" but were actually made in the USA.
Or "Made in the USA" but were in fact made in Germany.

I can see this thread getting wrapped around the axle regarding people's personal impressions of all knife-producing nations.
Case in point - it seems like a lot of folks couldn't tell that their sumo wasn't made in America just by personal assessment of the build quality.
 
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