Where would you say the Chinese are in quality?

[Uncle Alva]

Bashing Chinese goods of all types is pretty SOP in a whole lot of places. Much as was done to the Japanese not all that very long ago.
Knives are no exception, in many minds, Chinese=Junk. All those convenience store counter folders, Bowies, whatever, fit that description.
There do seem to be exceptions though. My Columbia River Knife and Tool Ignitor is Chinese made and its an excellent knife. Also, I believe that the Schrade-Taylor goods coming out of China are well regarded within their price class yes/no?
I'm thinking that perhaps the Chinese as a whole are devoting at least a portion of their efforts to producing goods that are significantly higher quality than what the country as a whole turns out.
-Where do you think the Chinese knifemakers, in general, are on the Quality chart?
-Are there other Chinese knifemakers of decent blades that come to mind?

 

[Jastab]

Kizer is made in china, and from all the reviews I see it is excellent quality. I for one don't mind country of orgin, as long as the quality is there. Heck, I bought a 400$ 125cc chinese pit bike that has been a damn good bike with zero issues.

 

[bladeboss]

I have a "Jiangdong Mini Baja" minibike that is freakin bulletproof.
That's the brand. Jiangdong. The suspension has been bottomed out a lot and was run with no oil for a bit.
Sorry to digress but the previous post about a dirtbike made me think of it.
Knives? Depends on the brand behind it.
Spyderco China knives will hold their own.
Gerber? No.

 

[benchwarmer380]

Chinese Kershaws are solid for the price as well.

 

[The Aflac Duck]

Kizer is pretty exceptional in quality. They use authentic S35VN as stated by Crucible and HT seems good. I'm sure there will eventually be competitors coming out of china.

Kershaw has some new (steel) framelocks coming from china and they look like some really good beaters!

 

[LG&M]

Where are they in quality?
Right where they need to be. It has been my observation that they will give the quality that is demanded from them. When a manufacturer sets up a order they call the TEC specs & set the tolerance. If the quality is not good it is because the manufacturer is OK with it.

 

[KrisOK]

Chinese knives are all over the spectrum, from total junk to quite good. Several major brands, CRKT, Kershaw, Spyderco, SOG, and others produce at least SOME of their knives in China. The steels used are not the modern "Super Steels", usually 8CR13MoV or one of it's siblings, or some flavor of 440. But the steels are decent, and can be easily maintained. With the proper QC, Chinese plants can produce an excellent product.

They also make some good knives in their own brands. SanRenMu, Bee, Land, Navy and Ganzo are some of their domestic brands. These knives USUALLY can compete favorably with knives sold here in the US that cost in the $50 range, but these Chinese knives can be sourced from less than $10 to $20 or so. Sometimes their QC can be spotty, but for what they cost, they are usually a good buy. The one downside to these Chinese domestic knives is they tend to steal the designs from the major knife manufacturers. I'm not talking counterfeit here, but they DO have some designs that come VERY close to other company's designs.

I have about 20 of these Chinese domestic knives, and while some fail to impress, others are really quite excellent. If the best of them had a blade made out of a modern super steel, they would rate right up with the major brands.

 

[HwangJino]

They are catching up quick and will surpass American quality within a decade if not a few years.

 

[cutter17]

As an owner of two Kizer knives, I would have to say that the quality is excellent. I don't own any other China made knives though. As has been said, Kershaw/Spyderco/CRK&T China made knives have proven to be well worth their price.

I'm sorry, I did own some Rough Rider, Steel Warrior, and Hammer Brand (Taylor) slipjoints made in China, and all were excellent knives for the money!

 

[A Justice]

I'm thinking that perhaps the Chinese as a whole are devoting at least a portion of their efforts to producing goods that are significantly higher quality than what the country as a whole turns out.

I'm not sure what this statement means...

Kizer isn't anything to write home about, even at their price point - and their designs are all heavily influenced by popular American models. Schrade tries, but I haven't been impressed with anything they've put out lately either, and I have looked. Some of the Chinese Kershaw knives are alright for their price, but after owning dozens I only own one right now and that's just because I haven't found the right way to get rid of it yet, if that tells you anything. I do have a Navy knife that is suspiciously similar to both my Spyderco Military and Endura, but the action is terrible. The best parts of the knife were borrowed from American knives.

They're still where they've always been - at the bottom. I'm pretty familiar with Chinese culture, and I think their problem is that the knives we see come from manufacturing plants, and not knifemakers. The people making Chinese knives only care about quality as it pertains to production quality control and bottom lines. To run a Chinese knife factory you need to have factory running experience - it's not people like Ethan Becker, Sal Glesser, and so on. One day there will be a knifemaker in China build a production company from the ground and compete with the communist plants that churn them out right now. You can see their lack of commitment in the products - all the designs are too familiar. Business savvy custom makers listen to the market; the most successful ones have tastes that drive the market. Chinese companies can make a business riding that wave, but they aren't going to get far reaching respect until they make the wave.

 

[uxo2]

Use to be if it had
Made in Japan.
It meant garbage.

Not no more.

So I expect it to be with China.

 

[ymbo55]

they really made a lot of junk.
i wont buy chinese knife anymore.
u americans say"buy quality u only cry once"
i am chinese btw.
oh,and the terrior in Kunming made collcetor even harder to buy knives,this is the country when you buy cooking knife they check your ID,what do you except.
LOL
sorry about my english ,hope you guys get it

 

[cutter17]

Wow, I wrote home (actually to 2 other members who had questions) about my two Kizer's! But hey, what do I know

 

[jfalkos]

Kershaw made in China= good
Ozark Trail made in China= not so good
Benchmade off brand things made in China= decent
Spyderco made in China= :thumbup:

 

[Scurvy092]

I wouldn't say quality is the biggest falling down point of Chinese knives especially considering the price point they are delivered at. The problem is their materials, their propensity for not being able to come up with original designs, their human rights/labor record along with all of the other geopolitical issues associated with China.

There is also the concern about if the materials claimed are the actual materials used.

 

[The Aflac Duck]

Kizer isn't anything to write home about, even at their price point - and their designs are all heavily influenced by popular American models.

S35VN, annodized titanium framelocks, and tight tolerances; all for under $200? I dont know what you consider value, but kizer is definately a bargain! Sure, a sebenza/bussie etc is something special, but I can beat the hell out of a kizer and still sleep good at night. They have made me do a 180 about what china knows about knives.

 

[Fred Sanford]

S35VN, annodized titanium framelocks, and tight tolerances; all for under $200? I dont know what you consider value, but kizer is definately a bargain! Sure, a sebenza/bussie etc is something special, but I can beat the hell out of a kizer and still sleep good at night. They have made me do a 180 about what china knows about knives.

I am not dropping $150 on a China made knife. I can get a 0550 or 0801 by ZT for between $150 and $200. I would rather have a steel frame lock made in the USA or Japan or Germany than a titanium frame lock from China.

I think their quality is pretty good when the manufacturer having the knives made there wants it to be.

I feel like they are the shysters of the global market. Lead in paint. Poison in drywall. Etc.

 

[The Aflac Duck]

I am not dropping $150 on a China made knife. I can get a 0550 or 0801 by ZT for between $150 and $200. I would rather have a steel frame lock made in the USA or Japan or Germany than a titanium frame lock from China.

Dont get me wrong, I love US knives, still waiting for my 0562cf preorder! But why can't another country make a good knife? All my US knives cost 2-3x as much as my kizer and are built just as well. Nobody is asking you to stop buying American, but kizer is decent man!

I feel like they are the shysters of the global market. Lead in paint. Poison in drywall. Etc.

So how do you feel about the US oil industry? Or the US meat industry? How about US puppy mills, and illegal immigrants working for US companies? Every country has their bad guys. Not trying to make this political, but it's knives we're talking about, buddy...

 

[Ace Krampus]

Good luck finding a better $8 knife than the Sanrenmu 710. Like others have said, I've had some terrible Chinese knives, but that says more about those spec-ing those knives than it does those making them, I reckon.

 

[jbass]

I will not buy a knife made in China. I am sure that some of them are high quality but I would rather give my money to American owned companies employing American workers and using American materials. That being said, I have made exceptions for a few knives from American companies that have been made in Taiwan and Japan, and a knife that was made in the U.K. I reason that they are allies of America and they will get my money long before it goes to China. (Yes, I know that this is a little off the topic but it seemed like a good place to state my approach.)