Where are today's scout knives made?

I believe if you buy boy scout knives from their website the knives are chinese, but official boy scout knives are also available from Case and Victronix to name two makers.
 
I too had heard about this, but a few months to a year ago I believe. I periodically visit my boy scout main office in South Texas, and the guy at the scout shop is an old troop friend.

As soon as he told me about the knife switch-over to chinese made products, I bought out the store on my next check getting whatever Camilus USA made knives I could (they had 3-5 in stock, to say the least I took the displays). I never imagined Boy Scouts of AMERICA having their knives made in china.

Swiss army/Victorinox is something else, those knives have been around since before the dawn of scouting.

Better buy those Camilus made knives on the Bay while you can, 'cause the new ones are all imports now.
 
SMKW sells official BSA from Victorinox and Case. They are made in Switzerland and USA.

Maybe the BSA is having trouble finding a domestic manufacturer for their low-end knives, since Schrade and Camillus are out of business?
 
This is America. We should outfit the Scouts with Schatt & Morgans, if it comes to that. At least they're American made.

-- Sam
 
Well Scouting didn't originate in the United States yet we adopted it because it was something that was perceived as good and worthwhile.

Let's try to keep politics and prejudices against various nations (and their manufacturers) out of this forum and stick to discussing the pros and cons of particular knives.

(I fully support our U.S. based manufacturers with my money but we in no way are alone in the ability to craft quality knives.)
 
Why must knives be made in the US? The whole idea is as ridiculous as insisting your clothing, food, televisions, etc be made in the US. And why stop at the US? Why not insist on products made in Texas? Or your own county? Texas Partisan sounds like a moron.
 
Why must knives be made in the US? The whole idea is as ridiculous as insisting your clothing, food, televisions, etc be made in the US. And why stop at the US? Why not insist on products made in Texas? Or your own county? Texas Partisan sounds like a moron.
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Some of us are proud of the countries we live in. Also, buying US-made knives helps keep Americans in their jobs. And again, US made knives are often of higher quality than Taiwanese of Chinese made knives.

I don't not buy Asian, or German, South American, or Swiss, made knives, but I like to buy US.

And besides, Boy Scouts of America knives made oversees? That just don't make sense. They should contact Bear or Buck, they could probably do a good job with scout knives.
 
They should contact Bear or Buck...
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Buck did have a contract for BSA knives in the past. There was a bright red BuckLite with BSA logo, one example that I recall.
 
jim preston said:
Some of us are proud of the countries we live in. Also, buying US-made knives helps keep Americans in their jobs. And again, US made knives are often of higher quality than Taiwanese of Chinese made knives.

I don't not buy Asian, or German, South American, or Swiss, made knives, but I like to buy US.

And besides, Boy Scouts of America knives made oversees? That just don't make sense. They should contact Bear or Buck, they could probably do a good job with scout knives.
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Being proud of America does not equal providing welfare for American Knife companies. Which is exactly what insisting on American made knives is.

FWIW, US made scout knives were not all that great. Those that are (Case) tend to be pricey. None can hold a candle to the Swiss. And the Chinese are perfectly capable of producing whatever folks are willing to pay for. Pay for quality, you get quality. Pay for junk, you get junk.

I suppose Bear and Son or Buck could make Scout knives. But have you seen some of those Bear and Son knives? The ones I've seen look like gas station specials, only made in USA and pricier. And I suspect Buck might be temped to source such things overseas.

Boy Scouts have plenty opportunity for flag waving. Extending their "patriotic duties" to buying American pocketknives smacks of collectivist nonsense.
 
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Last April on my son's 9th birthday I gave him a Ulster 4 blade BSA ,and recently I gave him an Imperial 5 blade BSA as a reward for earning his Whittling Chip.

I had browsed the BSA site looking at Scout knives and was disapointed at seeing the many "imported" notations next to the knife descriptions.

Lucky for me my son likes vintage knives and carbon steel,so he is proud to carry them.
 
Gentlemen, let's please stay on the topic of knives (pro and con) and stay off the nationalist and internationalist rants (unless you want to post them in in the political or current events forums).

Thanks.
 
When I was in Boy Scouts, none of my buddies carried genuine BSA scout knives anyway. Mostly we toted Buck 110s or Schrade OTs, with a few Victorinox or Wengers mixed in.
 
back in the dark ages when i was a scout i carried the brown scaled scout knife which was made by camillus, i believe. it was a very good knife at a reasonable price. wish i still had it.
 
Bear MGC is making some of the BSA knives now. But, according to the lady at the local council store, they're not selling as well as the Camillus BSA knives did. Bear fit & finish isn't as good, and they're EXPENSIVE.

I bought a bunch of Camillus BSA knives when Camillus closed down, and occasionally they (the scout shop) get more Camillus in from their warehouse. Their supply is drying up, though.

I don't care about politics. If a product is well made, and I need it, I'll buy it, no matter where it's from.

thx - cpr
 
jim preston said:
They should contact Bear or Buck, they could probably do a good job with scout knives.
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I was at our council office and store last week, and most of the knives in the display were either made in China, or were Bear products. One was a pretty decent looking Barlow, with a laminated wood handle. Last time I was in there, last year, they were all Camillus and SAK. I bought one, the whittler, but part of me wishes I'd gotten a few more.

Didn't get any this time around.
 
orca8589 said:
Bear MGC is making some of the BSA knives now. But, according to the lady at the local council store, they're not selling as well as the Camillus BSA knives did. Bear fit & finish isn't as good, and they're EXPENSIVE.

I bought a bunch of Camillus BSA knives when Camillus closed down, and occasionally they (the scout shop) get more Camillus in from their warehouse. Their supply is drying up, though.

I don't care about politics. If a product is well made, and I need it, I'll buy it, no matter where it's from.

thx - cpr
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I know what you mean about bear being expensive. The last time I checked into my scout shop (about a month ago) they had a few of those bear knives in there. Man, I couldn't find a single knife for under $35.00, and it wasn't even all that great. Maybe if I was still young and hadn't learned "the ways of the knife force" it would have been nice, but now it seems very overpriced.

There is an interesting Venture Scout knife that is yellow and green with a liner lock, but after handling it, I came to the conclusion that it wasn't near worth $36.00. Might as well stick to a Buck 110 and keep the change for a leather scout pouch to keep yourself busy.
 
Ok, since we're talking about scout knives so much, I just thought I should bring something up.

This is for all Eagle Scouts, and it's a thread that I started in the buck forum quite some time ago. This should benefit you guys since we're in the traditional area.

Follow this link and you'll find out how to get a buck 500 custom just for eagle scouts (no matter how old or young) for just $30~$40.

http://www.bladeforums.com/forums/showthread.php?t=508904&highlight=Eagle+Scouts

Hope you guys find this helpful, J.
 
OT, but sorta relevent,

Someone showed me a Philmont arrowhead patch last week with a small sticker on the back, "Made in China." Couldn't tell the difference between that patch and the old ones. Just another sign of the times, an indicator that everyone is watching their wallets.

Wouldn't have mentioned it, but that patch is Batonsai117's avatar. :)

Worked at Philmont 10 years myself...
 
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