Where are they really made?

C

CyBaggs

Joined
Jan 25, 2012
Messages
11
Hi all, new to the forum, been an interested knife owner and sportsman for 45 of my 52 years, recently knife interest has increased, am trying learn more, enjoying the forum. I am frustrated by how it seems that some knife brands appear to be made in a country that suggests quality (USA, Germany), then I learn that maybe it is made in one place or maybe another (Brazil, Spain, China), assembled in another, etc. Examples are Boker Tree Brand and Linder. I have several of both, bought thinking they were German, but now I have seen indications that they are not actually made entirely in Germany. Models I have include a Linder Rocky Mountain Bowie, a Linder Toothpick, and a Ranger. Also a Boker 562 and a Zwilling Henckel HK-20-S. I still don't know for sure where they are made. Is there a book or other source for real info and specs? Any advice appreciated. Mark
 
With Boker, their Plus line is all made in China/Taiwan. Their Tree Brand knives, however are made in Germany. I'm not so sure about Linder.
 
A quality knife is a quality knife. I don't understand why people are so hung up on where it's from. If the Bokers you bought are all of good quality, does it really matter to you if it was made in China? My Springfield was a good gun(Brazil I believe) and my CS Trail Hawk(Taiwan) is an awesome chopper. Both made in "bad" countries but do there jobs well.
 
I just don't know if it's possible to buy a product made exclusively in one country anymore, thanks to a global economy. Some small part or detail is bound to be imported from elsewhere. I could be mistaken, but I don't lose any sleep over it one way or the other... :)
 
Some of us would like to support American jobs, especially when we are buying something basically unneeded for a hobby. At least I try
to buy American as much as possible, whether you can get everything American made or not.
 
It may be quality but maybe some buyers make their decision based on quality and country of manufacture rather than assembled in USA or whatever country with foreign components. Then again, the buyer needs to be aware of such practices these days as well.
 
Shotgun said:
A quality knife is a quality knife. I don't understand why people are so hung up on where it's from.
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Some countries like China have built themselves a reputation of producing cheap quality products. It will take a long time for that to change in alot of people's mind.
 
trey999 said:
Some of us would like to support American jobs, especially when we are buying something basically unneeded for a hobby. At least I try
to buy American as much as possible, whether you can get everything American made or not.
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Are you buying your knife from an American company? Will that knife be shipped to you via the US Mail or UPS? For every $1 you spend on something in the USA, the breakdown of who gets what is roughly 1/3-Manufacturer (China); 1/3 transport/middlemen; 1/3 the retailer/eTailer that sells it to you.

Back to the knives: If you look at an online knife site: Pretty much any knife that is Made in USA would be touted as such, probably Japanese and German as well.

Typically, knives Made in China will not mention this in the specs.
 
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I understand that, CWL, just my choice. I'm not preaching to anybody. But if I buy an American made knife, the first third in your example also goes to support American workers.
 
If it's not printed on the blade itself, the information you're looking for can normally be found on the website of the manufacturer. For example, if you dig around on Boker's website, you can find the following information about place of manufacture under the About Us - FAQ heading:

Are all of your knives manufactured in Germany?
No. Magnum USA carries several different brand names, which are manufactured in various parts of the world. Please refer to the list below:

Boker knives: Solingen, Germany
Boker Arbolito knives: Argentina
Boker Plus knives: Taiwan and China (except model 02BO012, made in the USA)
Cinch knives by Boker: Solingen, Germany (except model 11CI403Y, made in Argentina)
Magnum knives: Taiwan and China
Marttiini knives: Finland
Opinel knives: France

Most larger knife companies will also list on the product page where in the world those knives were made.
 
I believe 90% of all titanium comes from Japan.
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As of 93, latest date I found Japan wasn't in the top 5 producers. Australia was 1st, with around 30% of world production.
 
as far as i now some knives from linder are really made in germany and i heard all the tree brand stuff is really manufactured in deutschland. for example the super edge line...but i am not 100% positive and it is usually hard to get information from the manufacturer. for example i tried to contact böker several times asking about the origin of certain knives...no response at all. that's why i avoid the böker, especially their plus line. i don't support china made knives anymore!

i don't care about german knives anymore. mostly they are either way overpriced, not well designed or the knives are imported.
 
CyBaggs said:
Examples are Boker Tree Brand and Linder. I have several of both, bought thinking they were German, but now I have seen indications that they are not actually made entirely in Germany.
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Would you mind telling what are the indications that makes you believe the Boker is not made entirely in Germany?
 
Thanks for all the responses. I regret that I cannot recall about Boker specifically. I have several Bokers that I really like, especially the 547 Bowie, a dozen Linders, a Henckels bowie, some Anton Wingen/Othellos, some Case XX I bought new 35 years ago while working in a hardware store, several Edge Brand, a couple Westerns.... Anyway, I bought these cause I liked em but didn't really know much about em. Then when recently I became more interested in my collection and began to hear stuff about some brands farming out assembly or whatever I started wondering about mine. I was looking at some Pumas recently and learned that some are made outside Germany and I wondered how to know which ones. Hen & Rooster too but there is no secret there. So that's the reason for my original post. I can't recall about Boker and probably should not have used them as an example. Thanks again
 
Gentlemen,
for the Boker knives, it is pretty simple:

Boker Manufacture = made in Germany, 100 %
Boker Arbolito = made in Argentina, 100 %
Boker Plus = our design (or our designers), our engeneering but produced in Taiwan or China, our quality check
Magnum, Division by Boker = our brand, for simple knives, imported from far east

I hope, this helps a little bit.

Tobias
 
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