Where can I find an asian company to produce blanks?

Yall don't get your shorts in a twist... The guy isn't trying to offend anybody. The guy is wanting to make a walmart type of knife and made a wrong turn and ended up here.

How many people here own Japanese cars? Where was your computer built? Where was the shirt you're wearing right now made? I agree that made in USA is a good thing, but if the guy wants Chinese knives that doesn't make him bad.

He is correct. A decent workable knife can be had for $30-$50. Retail. A Buck knife for example. If he wants to go into that market, this is probably not the right forum for him.

Wahoone,

There are aspects of very well made knives such as edge geometry, steel and heat treat that you may not be familiar with. An outstanding knife is going to be hard to come by in that price range. But workable mass produced knifes in that range are done every day. The folks here make outstanding custom knives for serious enthusiasts. Custom knifemakers work hard for their living and have a higher skill level than other better paying trades. You appear to have stepped on some toes by implying their work isn't worth the $, which I'm sure was not your intent.
 
Nathan, well said and I don't have a problem with what he wants to do.

I had a problem with the Asian thing but more of a problem with his comment about "price gouging" and even a bigger problem with "I understand that many of you are terrified of competition". These comments tell me he doesn't know what he's talking about.

This thread was started the the General Knife Discussion and probably should have stayed there.
But it has been interesting :D
 
Well I love your enthusiasm, although I doubt seriously you have done your homework, the only way I can see you creating a knife at this pricepoint is to do it yourself so I am going to help.
From the sounds of it you are not a knifemaker so I will approach it as if you are not and if I am wrong I apologize.
Step 1: First off draw up your design and pay a good engineer to get it into dxf or do your homework and get some freeware and do it yourself.
Step 2: Purchase some steel and have it drop shipped to the laser or water jet cut company of your choice for cutting. Cost $10-$20 each depending on steel chosen and vendor chosen.
Step 3: Buy a good grinder to hollow or flat grind the 100 blanks you had cut. Cost will be about $2000-$2500 for grinder and correct attachments (hollow grinder or flat platten) and a few ceramic belts.
Step 4: Buy a good heat treat furnace and a bunch of stainless foil to wrap your knife blanks for heat treating. Cost about $1000-$1500
Step 5: Buy a good air compressor and bead blast cabinet for blasting knives or a tumbling setup if you decide to go that route or buffer (Can you say dangerous). Cost $1000-$2000
Step 6: First Grind then heat treat, next temper and then blast/buff or tumble to finish,
Lastly sharpen with your new grinder and then wrap your new handle and next put your kydex in your kitchen oven to soften so you can place in your new kydex press. Shoot I forgot to tell you to get that tool, thats another incurred expense and lastly shape your kydex sheath. Snap I forgot to tell you to get the kydex rivets, kydex rivet dies, and a kydex rivet flaring machine and also kydex belt loops.
Viola your done now and you only have the cost of the steel and laser cutting in your project because you did all the work yourself.
Now sell it for $20-$40 and make lots of money.
Good luck and let me know when they are for sale and I really do wish you luck in this new endeavor of yours.
Chris
 
Can someone run a estimate for the stainless steel alone for this guy ??
i have had the privelidge of traveling a little and off the top of my head i remember Knives being sold in very rough shape in third world "Poor" countries being sold there in the town it was made in running in the $10/15 U.S Dollar range im just curious here !! i remember ordering Stainless from a good company and spending about $20 or so a Foot soo im curious how this is Possible?? the Profile of the steel is in my opinion the easy part ..
Grinding a inside Curve like a Kerambit is a much higher skill level than a steel monkey somewhere is able to do as part of the profiling process..now the blade finish has to be considered ..Profile /Grind /Finish /then buff right ??
well as i think there are 3 of 4 step's that require Abrasives which i don't think are free .. im honestly not trying to get any "Kick's " in here im just wondering how this person can honestly think this is possible ??

Does anyone still have the Cost of making a knife list ???
 
You profile a blade, grind the blade, heat treat the blade, finish the blade, attach a handle, finish the handle, and buff the whole thing. You might want to do that for $20, but I don't think any of us do. You haven't got a clue what it takes to make a knife or how hard it is. You need a reality check. Seriously, I am not trying to bash you. I am just trying to give you a lesson in knifemaking.
 
I have only made a dozen knives,(and loved ever minute of it) and I try to use as many things as possible made in America. It does cost more to do this but if you really love making knives and your s true craftsman you never give cost a second thought. Right now I've got orders for 7 knives over half of those were ordered because the people know that I do my best to use American equipment and they are get an American made knife. I'm not saying that there aren't some quality products from over sea. What I'm saying is why do you want to take Money from your brothers in this country and send half of it to another country. Take care of your own first cause someday you might need us.
Jon"Petie"Ross
 
I have only made a dozen knives,(and loved ever minute of it) and I try to use as many things as possible made in America. It does cost more to do this but if you really love making knives and your s true craftsman you never give cost a second thought. Right now I've got orders for 7 knives over half of those were ordered because the people know that I do my best to use American equipment and they are get an American made knife. I'm not saying that there aren't some quality products from over sea. What I'm saying is why do you want to take Money from your brothers in this country and send half of it to another country. Take care of your own first cause someday you might need us.
Jon"Petie"Ross
 
I believe you get what you pay for if you want a little better deal then talk volume to the guy. Like all the people here have all said keep it local and at least then you would have some quality control. If some one water jet cut 25 blades at a time im sure they would cut you a deal .
 
I think this is a good thread to move to whine and cheese, because this guy knows nothing about making knives.
 
wahooone said:
I want to produce a sound knife of my own design, out of good steel and paired with leather or kydex sheaths with cordwrapped handles, and make it very affordable. and I know I can do it.
Click to expand...


They still won't be your knives. :thumbdn::grumpy:
 
I still think he should find out where he can get these made with some sort of tin alloy. The cost could be right ! Frank
 
After a bit more reflection, I think I have an honest and workable answer for wahooone.

I sincerely wonder if you've ever made a knife, or worked in any sort of manufacturing facility. No offense, but I doubt it, because you've completely overlooked almost every aspect of such an undertaking. Nor do you seem to understand what it would take to start a marketing operation from the ground up. You have a website and a friend with one, so you "know" you can sell? So does every 12-year-old I know. :rolleyes:

You seem to be an aspiring designer, not a knifemaker; there's nothing wrong with that. Forget manufacturing altogether, just draw up what you want and get some CAD plans made for it. There are professionals in this very thread who can do that for you. Check your design out with the patent office; as others mentioned, that might be a serious issue.

Then contact the folks who run Cold Steel, BudK, Smoky Mountain Knifeworks, and/or whoever runs those late-night cable TV shows hawking 100 knives for $100. They sell LOTS of stuff that your idea would fit nicely with, and have a vast marketing strategy already in place. Plus, they're more than willing to sacrifice quality materials and US labor standards to meet a price point.

I'm not being a smart-alec, I honestly think that would be the best plan for your idea.

Nor am I knocking the above-mentioned companies; they do sell SOME quality products, made in America and elsewhere.
 
This reminds me of an appointment with a small time rap singer several years back. A friend was his lawyer, and contacted me about setting up a meeting at his office to discuss producing a line of jewelry the singer wanted to make. My friend said the gross sales would be a million a year or more. That sounded good to me, so we made an appointment.
At the meeting he said he had an idea that would make him a lot of money. He was going to sell a unique custom jewelry item, personalized to the wearer, and sell it to his fans. He thought he would hire me to do the art work, the custom wax carving, cast the pieces (Including materials) ,assemble the item, and handle shipping and delivery.The details are not necessary to say that what he wanted to make was ridiculous ( think rap singer). He had no idea what it took to do custom one of a kind production. He thought I could whip up five or ten samples that week, and he could show them around and take orders. He asked if I could have the first two or three ready by Friday, so he could take orders at a concert that weekend. He said he would pay an extra $100 each for fast service. When he said that I stopped him and asked him what he expected to sell these for. He said he thought he could sell several hundred a year and figured they would bring $2000-$3000 each. I asked what he planed on paying for them, and he said he thought I should charge about $300-$500 each. I (politely) pointed out that the materials alone would cost about $5000 each, and I was thinking the artwork (each hand carved), labor, and assembly would run him about $3000 -$5000 each. It would take at least a month each piece. He looked sort of blank, and said," 'Day-um' I couldn't make no money at that price. You want way too much money."
He said he would contact someone in India for a more reasonable price..... and the meeting ended. Suffice to say he never got the business going.

The point is that some people have an idea in their head with no method of producing it.....and no idea of how much it will cost. They get so excited over the idea that they don't stop and make a plan.
Stacy
 
Do you have a plan for bevel grinding and heat treating? Also, what you're talking about doing is not in the same category as custom knife making, so there is no competition. I would call it small scale semi-custom production. Your competition will be well established brands like Gerber, Schrade, etc...the brands that make decent knives for good prices that can be bought everywhere.
 
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Hi Nathan,
Great comment You are right to the point you can not always buy American but if everyone tried a little harder we all would see the difference. I own two American built cars and tougher to do than that is all of my furniture in our house is American made. It is a real shame you cannot always find an American products but you can believe I always try I only wish everyone would. This Great country of ours deserves the effort.
All the best
Cliff Parker
 
To reply to the ? that started all this. If I was looking for an asian company I'd look in Mexico seems that where all our companies have moved to.
 
I think the chinese have done us all a really big favor and I have not heard of anyone thanking them, due to their cost cutting mania they have made such poor products that many americans dont want them anymore. I think the quality market is going to boom and bring more jobs back to the US, thank you the workers of china for making this happen in my lifetime.
 
Patrickknives said:
I think the chinese have done us all a really big favor and I have not heard of anyone thanking them, due to their cost cutting mania they have made such poor products that many americans dont want them anymore. I think the quality market is going to boom and bring more jobs back to the US, thank you the workers of china for making this happen in my lifetime.
Click to expand...

The workers in China are capable of building quality. China has a modern military and aviation industry. They put satellites in space. They build nuclear submarines. There are a lot of wealthy people in China who demand quality and get it, in China. The people and manufacturers in China are capable of work that is nearly as good as America's very best. And Europe's best. China is not Vietnam, Mexico or some African country. They graduate more scientists and engineers than America. We graduate a lot MBAs and lawyers, which I believe is more the root of our problem than blaming China.

The Chinese quality you are familiar with is more a function of American business practices. The same type of cynical A-hole MBAs that gave you the 1985 Ford Escort now import the absolute cheapest crap possible to maximize their profits.

Now, it is a true statement that quality materials, tooling and machinery are more difficult to come by in China. It is not uncommon to see a drill chuck used to hold an electrode in EDM work, which makes the work of their machinist's all the more impressive when you consider it.


...God, I'm going to regret posting this....
 
I did not blame china for anything, I thanked them for giving us a chance to change.. Stop us before we buy more chinese crap.

I agree with you they can and will deliver better products in the future, but, they have shot themselves in the foot with the crap they have been sending. I am sure you are correct in our corp culture to make everything as cheap as possible even if they are getting a premium price. I do think and hope we will see a move to quality that will help the US small business a leg up, god knows that our big businesses could not see a market for quality products.

BTW (god I am going to get shit for this) I have had the opportunity to interview, and work with many of the engineers that they graduate, I am not impressed. Language is an issue but the level of understanding of engineering issues and solutions was not there. .
 
I like where this project is going. my ideas are mostly twists on some old designs, im looking into possibly making some ulus I wont get into too much detail as to what exactly I am planning to do since there are a lot of knife makers here.

I sincerely appreaciate all the good useable advice and constructive criticisim that many of you have contributed, also many of you have shown me arrogance and what kind of backwards shit head hillbillies you truely are, which honestly I was surprised by this behaviour.

I came to this forum to seek knowledge and possibly a kin ship with knife enthusiasts. I did not come here to get constantly bashed by pessimists. I have been very polite to you all with serious questions, but now that time has passed. No one can tell me what I can or cant do.

Im signing off, and again, thanks to those that contributed serious answers my questions.:D
 
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