Where are they really made?

I've made peace with the fact that "Made in the USA" doesn't always mean every single screw or washer was manufactured in the USA. To bear the "Made in the USA" label, most of the work has to be done here, but there are allowances for sourcing foreign parts or raw material.
 
I just ran across this in Ebay's buyers guide section......what do you think? (link and text below)

http://reviews.ebay.com/GERMAN-KNIFE-KNIVES?ugid=10000000004687367


GERMAN KNIVES


HEADS UP

WHILE VACATIONING IN CUBA THIS NOVEMBER (2007), I HAD A CHANCE TO MEET A GERMAN IN THE GERMAN CUTLERY BUSINESS.

HE SAID, THAT TODAY THERE ARE NO GERMAN CUTLERY FACTORIES IN GERMANY.


WHILE THE GERMAN NAMES ALL STILL EXIST, THERE ARE NO "MADE IN GERMANY" KNIVES. HE WENT ON TO SAY THE KNIVES ARE GERMAN DESIGNED BUT ALL MADE IN THE EUROPEON UNION, INCLUDING ASIA. THIS HAS BEEN IN EFFECT SINCE 1970.


GERMANY HAS NO COUNTRY OF ORIGIN LAWS. WHEN I QUESTIONED HIM ON THE PRACTICE OF "GERMANY" OR "MADE IN GERMANY" ON THE BLADE, HE SAID THE LATTER IS BEING CHANGED TO "GERMANY" ONLY BEING THE DESIGN IS OF GERMAN ORIGIN.


ANY SELLERS USING "HAND MADE IN GERMANY " FOR CONTEMPORARY KNIVES IS FALSE AND UNDERMINES EBAYS POLICIES.


- Linder Knives - Hen & Rooster - Hubertus - J.A. Henckels - Puma - Kissing Cranes - Boker- German Bull - German Eye - German Owl - ETC.
 
CyBaggs said:
I just ran across this in Ebay's buyers guide section......what do you think? (link and text below)

http://reviews.ebay.com/GERMAN-KNIFE-KNIVES?ugid=10000000004687367


GERMAN KNIVES


HEADS UP

WHILE VACATIONING IN CUBA THIS NOVEMBER (2007), I HAD A CHANCE TO MEET A GERMAN IN THE GERMAN CUTLERY BUSINESS.

HE SAID, THAT TODAY THERE ARE NO GERMAN CUTLERY FACTORIES IN GERMANY.


WHILE THE GERMAN NAMES ALL STILL EXIST, THERE ARE NO "MADE IN GERMANY" KNIVES. HE WENT ON TO SAY THE KNIVES ARE GERMAN DESIGNED BUT ALL MADE IN THE EUROPEON UNION, INCLUDING ASIA. THIS HAS BEEN IN EFFECT SINCE 1970.


GERMANY HAS NO COUNTRY OF ORIGIN LAWS. WHEN I QUESTIONED HIM ON THE PRACTICE OF "GERMANY" OR "MADE IN GERMANY" ON THE BLADE, HE SAID THE LATTER IS BEING CHANGED TO "GERMANY" ONLY BEING THE DESIGN IS OF GERMAN ORIGIN.


ANY SELLERS USING "HAND MADE IN GERMANY " FOR CONTEMPORARY KNIVES IS FALSE AND UNDERMINES EBAYS POLICIES.


- Linder Knives - Hen & Rooster - Hubertus - J.A. Henckels - Puma - Kissing Cranes - Boker- German Bull - German Eye - German Owl - ETC.
Click to expand...

And he would be full of it.
 
Its very easy with our "German" knives!

Only knives with the "Solingen" stamp on the blade are from Solingen/Germany.
If you can't find the "Solingen" lettering... it's from "elsewhere"!
 
CyBaggs said:
I just ran across this in Ebay's buyers guide section......what do you think? (link and text below)
Click to expand...

Load of BS, I live about half an hour away from Solingen and there are quite a few manufacturers there.
In some cases you can even tour the factories

"...all made in the European Union, including Asia" erm, yeah. Guess he always missed geography in school
 
Spyderco is one of my favorite brands. The American factory is, of course, in Golden, Colorado. However, they also produce knives that are made in Seki City, Japan, as well as Taichung, Taiwan. The fit and finish is often said to be the best among the ones made in Taiwan. I have examples from each facility and they all look great to me.
 
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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hatchetjack said:
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.
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Remember what happened to the Sheffield knife industry? Perhaps if their home market had made choices based on quality and price rather than country of origin (look up the real meaning of the word Chauvinism) there might still be an industry to talk of. No one actually told them the quality was "crap", the designs were old and the copies were improvements on the originals.

Edit: On the other hand, I'm sure that US manufacturers aren't so full of obstinacy and blind arrogance coupled with inherited incompetence (arising from a limited gene pool) that so typifies the British style of management and leadership.
 
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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.
Click to expand...

Old Boy said:
Its very easy with our "German" knives!

Only knives with the "Solingen" stamp on the blade are from Solingen/Germany.
If you can't find the "Solingen" lettering... it's from "elsewhere"!
Click to expand...

Unless it says Solingen on one side of the blade and China on the other, or says "Solingen Quality" or......it's a fake or.....
 
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.
Click to expand...


Yup, this !!! ^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^

That being said, i own fine knives from all sorts of bad places. They are of fine quality & i beat the snot out of them. None have broke yet.
 
This Boker was made in Argentina and has proved to be a pretty decent knife.I recently used it to cut a 22lb slab of beef into 20 steaks,no problem.Just needed some light sharping afterwards.
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People were manufacturing some quality knifes for centuries. The standards, materials, methods, designs may change over time, but the basic function still remains the same.
So it seems that the "quality" is in an eye of beholder: if you do not know you probably would not be able to tell. Or at least that is what you are saying. ;)
 
I have a few Boker's with the Tree on the outside and the tang marked Boker - USA
 
I care less about where it's made, more about who makes it and how good their QC is. I DO lean towards custom knives, but I still buy PLENTY of production pieces.
 
timberweasel said:
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... :)
Click to expand...

+1 , and the retailer is almost always American. They need our support too.
 
And sometimes companies and factories located in the USA are owned by foreign owners or investors (China, Saudi Arabia, etc). And the company profits are transfered out of the US and into those foreign countries. Buying a knife that says "Made in the USA" doesn't mean all the money you're spending stays in the USA. When you buy a knife that says "Made in the USA", do you know who actually owns the company or where your money is going?

On the flip-side, there are thousands of Americans working in the shipping/import business. American ship builders, ship crews, dock workers, customs employees, etc, etc. And when you buy an imported, foreign-made product, you are helping all those American workers feed their families, pay their mortgages, and send their kids to college. If everyone in this country stopped buying foreign-made goods, a lot of hard-working Americans would be unemployed, with all the hardships that go along with it.

Welcome to global economics. It's not as simple as many people think.
 
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