Who likes Chinese???

Reate is the only Chinese maker that's continuously impressed me, but I'm quite fond of this little Kizer:

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The orange scales were dull and terrible, but took on this lovely almost walnut color with some black RIT dye and the action is really nice. I'm not a teflon hater and the teflon/pb washer setup might be my favorite.
 
VS_Power said:
If a Chinese knife company had a warranty as good as American companies (ex: Benchmade, CRK) I'd be more open to them. Gotta have shipping within the US and quick turnaround too.
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Many of the better companies are setting up a shop here. They are hiring some capable American guys such as You tubers such as Zelrick for We knife and Stassa for another (I think Bestech). Surprisingly Kizer does not to seem to have anyone here but I am not sure
 
Hackenslash said:
If that's the case and he was referring to Reate as high end, I can't think of many Japanese, German, Italian and USA made knives at a similar price point that consistently beat Reate for fit and finish.
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I have had very little experience with Reate so mostly Kizer and WE. I have only handled about 2 Reate made knives and both were excellent knives. I will say of all the Kizer and WE knives I have handled I found more issue with WE than with Kizer but both more than I have found with LionSteel, Spyderco, Benchmade, & Viper. But this is limited to my experience with those brands so I accept that my experience may just be so far lucky on some and/or unlucky on others.
 
PirateSeulb said:
I have had very little experience with Reate so mostly Kizer and WE. I have only handled about 2 Reate made knives and both were excellent knives. I will say of all the Kizer and WE knives I have handled I found more issue with WE than with Kizer but both more than I have found with LionSteel, Spyderco, Benchmade, & Viper. But this is limited to my experience with those brands so I accept that my experience may just be so far lucky on some and/or unlucky on others.
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Ok, that makes sense. I'd put WE and Kizer in the same quality range as the other knives you mentioned. I've not seen a bunch of issues with WE but Kizer had a tough stretch of QC problems recently.
 
I haven't purchased any knives by Kizer, WE, Reate, etc. I'm certain they make very good knives, but I simply haven't 'felt inspired' to own one. And that's really how I determine whether I want a knife or not, as opposed to where it's made.

Jim
 
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Hackenslash said:
Ok, that makes sense. I'd put WE and Kizer in the same quality range as the other knives you mentioned. I've not seen a bunch of issues with WE but Kizer had a tough stretch of QC problems recently.
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I will give Kizer a bit of a pass as the main QC issue was limited to 1 knife and none of that knife I handled exhibited the issue along with the fact they worked to make it right eventually.
 
Pointy81 said:
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.
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Well everybody's got their own little niche of why they like China made.Not to overlook other's opinions of the nicer companies but I like some stuff by Gerber.I'll tell you why...

*They've made some pretty comfortable and functional full-tang fixed blades for camping/hiking/hunting use.The Profile and Big Rock were great performers.The Metolius was a wicked skinning knife,Jeff Freeman did a bang up job designing that knife.

*The mass production stuff made in the USA by Buck and Kershaw...very little that I'm drawn to.I could pick maybe 2 of each of those brand's modern folders and say 'meh,I could deal with it if I had to use it'.I could probably pick out 6 Gerber's from China still made today that I'd rather carry.

*Very mixed feelings from people about Gerber folder with nylon blade washers.Very true...oiling and some break in time.But bronze doesn't come out looking so hot with chemicals or elemental corrosion rendering rough and gritty opening versus nylon washers shrugging off these things easily.Nylon washers are a very mixed view if they're considered cheap or not.The old REKAT Knives that were USA made and sold over $100 a pop? black nylon washers....REKAT knew what they were doing...so does Gerber.

Yes Gerber is a cheap and mass produced brand.There's no gimmicks in their stuff it's either that fact of you like the design or you don't.But there is a lot of emphasis pushed by a lot of the 'buy only USA made' nuts that don't want to discuss flaws or problems on American made...they want to dramatize on any small thing by Gerber.

Yes the steel may not work for everybody but I'm not in a profession anymore where I cut coarse materials all day long.As a steel for the average knife user it works just fine and takes a good edge.Something like ATS-34 for just chores around my property and cleaning an occasional rabbit is overkill for a common knife user.
 
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Frotier76 said:
Well everybody's got their own little niche of why they like China made.Not to overlook other's opinions of the nicer companies but I like some stuff by Gerber.I'll tell you why...

*They've made some pretty comfortable and functional full-tang fixed blades for camping/hiking/hunting use.The Profile and Big Rock were great performers.The Metolius was a wicked skinning knife,Jeff Freeman did a bang up job designing that knife.

*The mass production stuff made in the USA by Buck and Kershaw...very little that I'm drawn to.I could pick maybe 2 of each of those brand's modern folders and say 'meh,I could deal with it if I had to use it'.I could probably pick out 6 Gerber's from China still made today that I'd rather carry.

*Very mixed feelings from people about Gerber folder with nylon blade washers.Very true...oiling and some break in time.But bronze doesn't come out looking so hot with chemicals or elemental corrosion rendering rough and gritty opening versus nylon washers shrugging off these things easily.Nylon washers are a very mixed view if they're considered cheap or not.The old REKAT Knives that were USA made and sold over $100 a pop? black nylon washers....REKAT knew what they were doing...so does Gerber.

Yes Gerber is a cheap and mass produced brand.There's no gimmicks in their stuff it's either that fact of you like the design or you don't.But there is a lot of emphasis pushed by a lot of the 'buy only USA made' nuts that don't want to discuss flaws or problems on American made...they want to dramatize on any small thing by Gerber.

Yes the steel may not work for everybody but I'm not in a profession anymore where I cut coarse materials all day long.As a steel for the average knife user it works just fine and takes a good edge.Something like ATS-34 for just chores around my property and cleaning an occasional rabbit is overkill for a common knife user.
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"Founded in 1939 and based in Portland, Oregon, USA, Gerber is an American brand whose products have global reach and relevance."

"Quality, reliability, innovation. For over 70 years this is what our customers have expected from us. And whether our products are used to save time, save the day, or save a life, Gerber always delivers."

This is why we nitpick Gerber. They continuously produce sub-par products while going on and on about their heritage. They don't have any heritage as far as I'm concerned. They're a crappy scissor company that bought what was once a great American cutlery company.

Sure, they have some nice designs, but then they do a poor job of putting them together. Whether it's putting the clip in the wrong spot or having someone do the sharpening while balancing on a yoga ball(only reasonable explanation I can think of.)

Some companies definitely have their finger on the pulse of the industry and market... I think Gerber has their finger on my dog. He too is misshapen, unreliable and ugly.
 
T.L.E. Sharp said:
"Founded in 1939 and based in Portland, Oregon, USA, Gerber is an American brand whose products have global reach and relevance."

"Quality, reliability, innovation. For over 70 years this is what our customers have expected from us. And whether our products are used to save time, save the day, or save a life, Gerber always delivers."

This is why we nitpick Gerber. They continuously produce sub-par products while going on and on about their heritage. They don't have any heritage as far as I'm concerned. They're a crappy scissor company that bought what was once a great American cutlery company.

Sure, they have some nice designs, but then they do a poor job of putting them together. Whether it's putting the clip in the wrong spot or having someone do the sharpening while balancing on a yoga ball(only reasonable explanation I can think of.)

Some companies definitely have their finger on the pulse of the industry and market... I think Gerber has their finger on my dog. He too is misshapen, unreliable and ugly.
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I actually didn't became a fan of Gerber in their classic days...Schrade was more noteworthy in my opinion in development and design.But it took an opposite turn as Schrade went under Taylor Cutlery's wing and the vast majority of their modern knives were hideous.Gerber I felt being more advanced was where Schrade should have been...especially on the standpoint of their imported fixed blades.

Gerber's edge quality?
I'd agree with that statement until I look at some pricey Benchmade's and the factory edge on them.Then I look at the highly variable quality of Buck's Edge 2X and I don't feel Gerber does even remotely near as sloppy of a job in comparison.Probably the only Gerber I've had to actually complain about was the grind change on the Air Ranger when it went to China manufacturing which resulted in a thick and wide angled edge versus the Taiwan era.

It's fascinating yet ludicrous the way the way the knife propaganda works.Someone on YouTube spine whacks a liner locking Gerber and a bunch of people say 'yeah figured it's a made in China Gerber'.Do it with a $70 Kershaw liner locking folder a bunch of people say 'of course it failed you don't spine whack a liner lock knife...you should know better'.
 
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Pointy81 said:
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.[/QUOTE
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T.L.E. Sharp said:
"Founded in 1939 and based in Portland, Oregon, USA, Gerber is an American brand whose products have global reach and relevance."

"Quality, reliability, innovation. For over 70 years this is what our customers have expected from us. And whether our products are used to save time, save the day, or save a life, Gerber always delivers."

This is why we nitpick Gerber. They continuously produce sub-par products while going on and on about their heritage. They don't have any heritage as far as I'm concerned. They're a crappy scissor company that bought what was once a great American cutlery company.

Sure, they have some nice designs, but then they do a poor job of putting them together. Whether it's putting the clip in the wrong spot or having someone do the sharpening while balancing on a yoga ball(only reasonable explanation I can think of.)

Some companies definitely have their finger on the pulse of the industry and market... I think Gerber has their finger on my dog. He too is misshapen, unreliable and ugly.
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I like ganzo; I don't have the money to buy some of the more expensive brands. and I am 100 percent American.
 
There are tons of authentic and honest brands that offer good knives at budget prices (Case (Sodbuster among many), AG Russell Dozier folders (and many more), Opinel, just from the top of my head. There are many, many, many more). No "need" to buy Ganzo. But it's your money, you put it where you choose.
 
David doddaud said:
I like ganzo; I don't have the money to buy some of the more expensive brands. and I am 100 percent American.
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buck has some high quality made in America at close to ganzo prices with proper heat treatment and quality checked steel. also a solid lifetime warranty that ganzo doesn't have. worth a look...
 
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