Where do the materials come from?

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jtd302

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I haven’t been around here long, but I have really enjoyed reading the insights and knowledge available on this site. I would respectfully like to ask everyone’s opinion on something that has bothered me since joining. After browsing around and learning a tremendous amount about the different patterns and materials I feel there is surprisingly very little information is available as to where the different manufacturers source these exotic scale materials. For instance, if you ever want a list of endangered tropical hardwoods look no further than a certain US made knife manufacturers catalog. Are these sustainably harvested and listed as fair trade hardwoods? They certainly could be, but they don’t specify. Elephant and mastodon is another huge issue for me as a material supplied/used from any source.

I believe I may be in the minority, but speaking for myself, I find it a bit odd that there is a focus on where the knife was manufactured (China, etc.), yet I haven’t read anything about where these “collectable” materials come from or how they were attained. Which to me is as important, if not more important, as the country of manufacture.

So the question for the board, is where the exotic materials come from and how there were attained of interest to most people on this board? If so, should the manufacturers provide this information? If not, carry on as normal... I hope this does not come across as disrespectful, but it is an issue I deal with daily in my profession so I am genuinely curious.

Jake
 
idahoguy said:
Who cares???
Click to expand...

jtd302 cares. And that's good enough for me. I think it's a reasonable question.

jtd302 said:
I haven’t been around here long, but I have really enjoyed reading the insights and knowledge available on this site. I would respectfully like to ask everyone’s opinion on something that has bothered me since joining. After browsing around and learning a tremendous amount about the different patterns and materials I feel there is surprisingly very little information is available as to where the different manufacturers source these exotic scale materials. For instance, if you ever want a list of endangered tropical hardwoods look no further than a certain US made knife manufacturers catalog. Are these sustainably harvested and listed as fair trade hardwoods? They certainly could be, but they don’t specify. Elephant and mastodon is another huge issue for me as a material supplied/used from any source.

I believe I may be in the minority, but speaking for myself, I find it a bit odd that there is a focus on where the knife was manufactured (China, etc.), yet I haven’t read anything about where these “collectable” materials come from or how they were attained. Which to me is as important, if not more important, as the country of manufacture.

So the question for the board, is where the exotic materials come from and how there were attained of interest to most people on this board? If so, should the manufacturers provide this information? If not, carry on as normal... I hope this does not come across as disrespectful, but it is an issue I deal with daily in my profession so I am genuinely curious.

Jake
Click to expand...

Here's an excerpt from GEC's web page...

our new knives have blades made with high quality American made 1095 carbon steel and handled with a variety of materials that include the traditional materials, North American cattle bone and Ebony wood. Also used is the unique and distinctly colored and figured Acrylic Acetate. A tough synthetic but not to be confused with the cellulose acetate very often used in the original Tidioute Cutlery.
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I'm not sure but I've heard that most Gabon ebony no longer comes from Gabon. Most of it comes from Cameroon now.
 
For a historical perspective, here's an excerpt from an article about the history of Rogers Manufacturing Co...

http://www.knife-expert.com/bonehand.txt

....At first, all of the bone used by Rogers Mfg. Co. came from domestic
cattle. By the 1920s, and perhaps even earlier, all of it was coming
from overseas, mainly from Argentina....

...The bone used by Rogers during the war was all imported. It came
from Argentina, Brazil, and a new source: Australia. The Australian
bone came mainly from old (15+ years old) tough range cattle, and so
was very thick and dense and strong. This heavy Australian bone was
used mainly for hunting knife handles....
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I view the harvesting of materials much like I view the harvesting of deer, duck, squirrel, or fish. If it's not done illegally, I'm ok with it. Meaning I'm hoping it does not violate the Lacey Act of 1900 https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Lacey_Act_of_1900 .

I know There are currently stored quantities of ivory both "modern" and "prehistoric" that could be used without further harm to species, but I personally don't want further destruction of species that are already becoming threatened.
 
I think it'd be nice to know where the materials come from but I don't necessarily need or want a "Sustainibly Harvested™, Gluten-Free™, GMO-Free™, Cruelty-free™, Free-Range™, Fair-Trade™, Vegan™, Certified Organic™" label on my knives. I would probably refrain from buying something like that actually, because in my mind the price would be needlessly inflated for the "feel-good" factor.
 
philllll said:
I think it'd be nice to know where the materials come from but I don't necessarily need or want a "Sustainibly Harvested™, Gluten-Free™, GMO-Free™, Cruelty-free™, Free-Range™, Fair-Trade™, Vegan™, Certified Organic™" label on my knives. I would probably refrain from buying something like that actually, because in my mind the price would be needlessly inflated for the "feel-good" factor.
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Acrylic.
 
philllll said:
I think it'd be nice to know where the materials come from but I don't necessarily need or want a "Sustainibly Harvested[emoji769], Gluten-Free[emoji769], GMO-Free[emoji769], Cruelty-free[emoji769], Free-Range[emoji769], Fair-Trade[emoji769], Vegan[emoji769], Certified Organic[emoji769]" label on my knives. I would probably refrain from buying something like that actually, because in my mind the price would be needlessly inflated for the "feel-good" factor.
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Amen don't know what wrong with everyone wanting organic produce I try and get in season local stuff. For knifes I like and see where it came from to add more backround to the knife
 
I think this is an excellent question. What do you do where you encounter this in your daily activities?

I personally don't have and answer for you, but I imagine that knife makers probably source their woods from the same places that pen turners and woodworkers do. You may be able to trace down some sources that way, or, failing all else, send GEC or Queen an email and see if they can tell you where they get them. Actually, that last one might be your easiest bet.
 
Stag is probably one of the most sustainable choices you could make. Certainly more than bone or ivory. The deer shed their antlers every year... it's a renewable resource for sure.
 
philllll said:
I think it'd be nice to know where the materials come from but I don't necessarily need or want a "Sustainibly Harvested™, Gluten-Free™, GMO-Free™, Cruelty-free™, Free-Range™, Fair-Trade™, Vegan™, Certified Organic™" label on my knives. I would probably refrain from buying something like that actually, because in my mind the price would be needlessly inflated for the "feel-good" factor.
Click to expand...

What if the label said "one of 500 pieces clear cut from 2000 acres of rain forest"? It might cost a little more, but asking for a piece of exotic wood to be sustainably harvested in a manner that is fair to the farmers who do the harvesting should have more weight to it than "feels good".
 
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If you don't care, don't post.
 
... OP prolly should ask around at musical instrument forums too. Take a close look at that Banjo ;)

I won't own a knife or instrument/tool of any sort that is anywhere near illegal. And while not illegal, I won't own a knife with pre-ban ivory in spite of it's beauty ... just because. I love elephants ... even the pre-ban ones. Don't even need one in my pocket either. Nope

That said, mine is a personal opinion and I agree with others ... as long as it's not illegal ... go for it. Sustainable is the better choice as well, though I have wondered (late at night), what a knife with a human bone handle might be like.
 
I also think it's a reasonable question and do lookup the source of my handle material choices to ensure that my purchases support my personal philosophies.

O
 
jtd302 said:
I haven’t been around here long, but I have really enjoyed reading the insights and knowledge available on this site. I would respectfully like to ask everyone’s opinion on something that has bothered me since joining. After browsing around and learning a tremendous amount about the different patterns and materials I feel there is surprisingly very little information is available as to where the different manufacturers source these exotic scale materials. For instance, if you ever want a list of endangered tropical hardwoods look no further than a certain US made knife manufacturers catalog. Are these sustainably harvested and listed as fair trade hardwoods? They certainly could be, but they don’t specify. Elephant and mastodon is another huge issue for me as a material supplied/used from any source.

I believe I may be in the minority, but speaking for myself, I find it a bit odd that there is a focus on where the knife was manufactured (China, etc.), yet I haven’t read anything about where these “collectable” materials come from or how they were attained. Which to me is as important, if not more important, as the country of manufacture.

So the question for the board, is where the exotic materials come from and how there were attained of interest to most people on this board? If so, should the manufacturers provide this information? If not, carry on as normal... I hope this does not come across as disrespectful, but it is an issue I deal with daily in my profession so I am genuinely curious.

Jake
Click to expand...

I have no way of knowing if it is of interest to "most people on this board." But it is not to me. I do not care. As long as it is what it is represented to be, that is all I care about.

And maybe (?) that was the earlier poster meant by "Who cares?"
 
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