Who likes Chinese???

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Pointy81

Joined
May 22, 2018
Messages
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Well, Chinese knives anyway. My inspiration came a few years ago when I came to the realization that high quality knives can actually come from China. Previously, my opinion was badly tainted from past experiences with low quality Pakistan and Chinese made cutlery, so I automatically assumed all of their products must be this way. Then a decade or two later, my opinion changed when I found a thread on here dedicated to WE knives.
Since then I have owned several quality Chinese made knives from both US based companies such as Kershaw and Spyderco or Chinese companies like Kizer or Ruike.
I would like to encourage folks to give these products a try. You may find yourself surprised like I did. I just purchased a new Ruike P121-B yesterday and the f&f on this thing is outstanding. I wouldn’t have been a bit surprised if it had an 80$ price tag on it, instead I walked out the door with a knife I paid less than 35$ for.
I haven’t yet, but I would also like to give Reate and WE a try. They are a little pricey but I really like some of their designs.
 
Great knives can come from anywhere. I'm a fan of great knives, not points of origin.

That said, I think Chinese design (often of Western origin) and production are pushing most of the knife world to catch up in terms of quality, fit and finish.

I have no tolerance for stolen concepts, styles or designs however.

So there you go. Chinese knives; good and bad. It all depends.

Oh, and if this is just a cultural discussion thread, I think China is making some kick ass action movies these days.
 
I honestly don't worry much about country of origin when it comes to knives. There are a bunch of good Chinese knives and plenty of bad ones as well. That said, I am a bit more leary of newer Chinese companies just to try to avoid clones and copies, but plenty of companies like WE, Kizer and Reate are putting out some very, very nice original designs and collaborations.

My one, small, issue with many of the Chinese companies is that they design a lot of knives that seem to place form before function. To be fair, I think that's the result of being where use and carry of knives is much more tightly restricted and the companies in question seem to be learning quickly to make knives that are highly functional as well as highly ornamented.
 
I like value and quality; country of origin is a wholly irrelevant aspect to me when considering a knife.

I think they have had a positive influence on the knife market by raising the bar for what kind of quality and materials people can expect at certain price points. Ti and S35VN, which used to be relatively uncommon as a combination and commanded a premium price, can be had readily and in a multitude of shapes and sizes at affordable prices.

An example of the positive effect this has for consumers: ZT seems to have kept their pricing structure in line with their overseas competitors - remember how the 0301 was $272, and was a Ti S30V folder? They’re now doing Sinkevich collaborations with Ti, colored carbon fiber, bearings, and 20CV for roughly the same price. I don’t think it’ll be too long before we see ceramic bearings and detent balls being incorporated just to keep up with the ever-raising bar.
 
Reate and WE are making some good Knives. I own a Reate Horizon Mini that’s very well done. Drop shut folder. Great CNC work for a production knife.
 
I don't know why and it's not a hit against chinese knives, but I just don't have a pride of ownership with them.
I can own a rough rider that may be just as good or potentially nicer than a comparable Case, but I'll feel better about the Case in my pocket.
It's a feeling I cannot help and probably won't ever change.
 
That is a Reate Valhalla. That is the flamed back spacer too.
GP Knives has both versions of it.
 
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