Why does frost cutlery get such a bad rap?

hermit dave said:
Jim Frost could be considered the inventor of the disposable knife. Although, with the rockwell hardness of a dried cowpie, one wonders if they're even up to one use. Making a one dollar knife is a waste of resources and labor. I once handled an "Eagle Eye". It was the biggest POS I have ever seen. I wouldn't take one if it was free!
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Funny the Eagle Eye was mentioned. Are they made by Frost? I purchased two of these, sight unseen, specifically for blind/random gifts. They were so horrible, I decided there was just too much liability for my name to be attached, even as a gift.

One of the two could not be closed without using some tool to depress the lock below the surface of the handle. That one went straight into the trash. The other was taken down to my shop. Will probably be used for something very inappropriate for any knife, but where a thin edge may be handy. And when used once or twice and damaged, will then be tossed.

Unless anyone thinks this beauty may have some collection value, please shoot me a pm with blind bids. With the popularity of this thread, I expect there should be a few of you wanting to acquire this amazing sample. Be safe to say that this baby had amazing future (sleeper) collectability.

Let the bids start flying...........NOW !!!!! :D

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Frost Cutlery did earn their reputation. I have been to their factory store and simply the retail area of their "factory" before they opened the separate store. They are right up the road from KSF. The Pakistan production is one that I am unclear about. I know some of their knives are made in Pakistan, but I don't know which line(s) it is.

I have questioned the "German built" of their Hen & Rooster line. Frankly I don't know if they are made or assembled in Germany. The ones I have handled aren't half bad, but in the back of my mind I sense that I am just buying more Chinese made stuff that is disguised as "German". So, I don't look at them any more.

The factory store makes no bones about the quality or the steel used. It has been a while since I visited the store, but during my last visit, I asked if they were trying to improve their quality. I got silence.

When Jim Parker and Jim Frost started out in the knife business, they generally had tables at gun shows. They were business associates. The Parker-Frost production came from Japan. They weren't half bad by today's standards, mostly because they were may in Japan. Japanese manufacturing really came into it's own in the 70's and especially in the 80's. Stuff was made there because it made sense economically just like it does today in China.

I believe Jim Parker's brother started Smoky Mountain Knife Works (SMKW) in Sevierville TN. I assume they located there to capture the tourist trade traveling to the Smoky Mt NP. Could be wrong about Parker, but there was a serious business connection at the early stages. Much of the "good stuff' displayed in the knife museum in Chattanooga was moved to SMKW after they closed and later sold the building. Jim Parker started that museum. Taylor also has and had a big connection with SMKW. They essentially run the same kind of operation as Frost Cutlery does.... foreign manufacture, shipped to the US, and then packaged in TN for retail sale.

I see Frost Cutlery knives displayed at retail stores in my area. They are inexpensive. If you know nothing about knives and need a knife, you see a $60 Case and compare to a $10-$15 Frost.... They look nice and they sell. Folks buying them know they are not top of the line knives, but they meet a market point very well.

You can criticize Frost Cutlery and I do. But they don't lie or misrepresent their knives. They simply don't provide a great deal of information.
 
The early 90's Hen and Rooster knives Frost distributed were certainly German made. The early 90's retail on them was like $80 - $300 depending on model. For instance, this rebranded Linder PPR Kris retailed for around $250.00 -

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And something like this older Stockman was $125.00 -

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So they did try to keep the brand premium for a while. Now Frost has Hen and Rooster International, and Hen and Rooster Germany. And even though I don't blame Frost, I wouldn't be surprised if the German subcontractor is in turn, subcontracting out to Spain, Italy and China as mentioned in the above previous post. It's been that way for years now.
 
I agree that some of their older stuff was decent, albeit like was mentioned, alot of surgical steel, plain 'mystery' stainless, & 'Tool' steel.
They did offer some that were claimed to be from Solengen Germany.
I did like some of their offerings at the time, though, like some
of their jig bone 'Frost
Family' traditionals and
locking 'copperhead' series, where the smaller blade was depressed, to unlock the master blade, to close.
Some of their folders,
they, at least used G-10
for the handle material.
...Guilty, by the way, of the wee hours spent salivating & watching shiny 'sharp' knives revolving on a round, spinning glass pedestal, fixed blades stuck into log rounds, & giant knife lots spread out on a table.
-And then the telltale time clock ticking away, until I had to
pull the trigger, Lol.
-Alot of times it was man, I like the looks of that one, but I'd have to buy the Lot it was in to get it, & then put a 'sell' case together to try to make up for the purchase, Lol, provided they could atleast cut something, lock open, but didn't get 'really' locked open.:thumbsdown:
Some were like 'this one had potential, why did they do, or not do this better.'
So, despite my knife quality tastes have Much improved since then, I've still got quite a few N.I.B...
Safe Queens ?....well ahh...:rolleyes:
I did end up with some large antler handled fixed blades, with mirror polished tool steel that are best suited for 'wall hangers,' as well.
I do like quite a few Parker pieces, though. :thumbsup:
B.T.B.
 
Steely_Gunz said:
You have to keep in mind that 30+ years ago and before, "Made in Japan" was as sure a sign of quality as "Made in China" was 10 years ago. Post-War Japan cranked out a lot of cheap garbage, knives and tools being one of them. As they recovered, invested in themselves, and healed from the war, their manufactured quality skyrocketed. When something comes from Japan these days, its a pretty safe bet it's good stuff.
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In principle you are correct, but the time frame is off. 30 years ago is only 1988.
Ichiro Hattori was making the first knives for Peter Kershaw in 1974. He made the first S1 SOG Bowie for Spencer Fraser in 1986.
G. Sakai started making knives for Gerber in 1977 and for Al Mar in 1979. In other words, a great number of knives "Made in Japan" 30 years ago were the cream of the crop in the knife world.
The poor quality of "made in Japan" products existed from the end of WWII (1945) until about 1968 when NASA turned to using Japanese TV monitors (Sony). By the 1970s the image started to change with the public and "these days" existed by 1985.

 
Over the years I have bought maybe half dozen Frost knives.
The Steel Warrior line of slip joints are pretty well made.
I have 2 SW’s that are about Case build quality and a old Japan lockback that is solid.

The stuff made in Pakistan is pretty bad though, I took a chance on a single blade doctor knife a while ago and it was quite horrible.
The steel was Uri Geller soft and the pull was a 1 if that.

If you get a decent one it will cut but they really aren’t anything special.
 
tltt said:
The early 90's Hen and Rooster knives Frost distributed were certainly German made. The early 90's retail on them was like $80 - $300 depending on model. For instance, this rebranded Linder PPR Kris retailed for around $250.00 -

h-r-by-linder-10_thumb.jpg
.


.

.Wow PPR; Peter Paul Rosenkaimer' boy that brings back memories from the 80's.Frost couldn't make anything near this Linder today........
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KenHash said:
In principle you are correct, but the time frame is off. 30 years ago is only 1988.
Ichiro Hattori was making the first knives for Peter Kershaw in 1974. He made the first S1 SOG Bowie for Spencer Fraser in 1986.
G. Sakai started making knives for Gerber in 1977 and for Al Mar in 1979. In other words, a great number of knives "Made in Japan" 30 years ago were the cream of the crop in the knife world.
The poor quality of "made in Japan" products existed from the end of WWII (1945) until about 1968 when NASA turned to using Japanese TV monitors (Sony). By the 1970s the image started to change with the public and "these days" existed by 1985.
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Don't know anything about Nasa and TV monitors, but your time frames are right on. By the 80's, there were few TVs manufactured in the US. Same brands mostly, just made in Japan. (Added: Lots of TV's made in South Korea too at that time.)

The Steel Warrior stuff is "supposed to be" one of their better lines.
 
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The sad thing is that Frost can offer decent products (notice I said decent, not great). There are a lot of great budget knives out there for close to the same price as many of Frost offerings. You would think that they would bring out something just a little better.

Of course I feel the same way about CRKT.
 
Its all those god awful ugly red/green/brown "Frostwood" handles !!!

I see that "Frost" wood and immediately cringe but at the same time I feel a bit of nostalgia

when I was a kid I drooled over the catalogues I received in the mail and dreamed of owning everyone of them. Its what gave me the knife bug as a grasshopper.
 
i have owned exactly one dozen frost knives, probably 20 years ago.
they were purchased through the above mentioned retailer at $1 each.
figuring if nothing else, they would cut bait and not worry about sending them to the bottom of the drink.

I was wrong on all accounts. I still have about 8 of them sitting in boxes, and still probably falling apart
 
I found a Frost folder with orange wood scales and says "designed by Jim Frost 440 stainless" on the left side in a box at an Arkansas thrift shop for $5. It has the best lock up of any of my liner locks. After seeing and hearing the solid fit snap-in and the width of the spring bar I now cast doubts upon my other "real" liner locks. I also love the blade geometry. It really is my favorite even though I admit I feel too embarrassed to show it at a place like the local gun show. Tsk tsk.
 
Speaking of fixed blades only, I am quite happy with the only two Chipaway knives I have bought. I switched my EDC to small fixed blades last year. I have no use for the common fat-bellied skinner types. I have those. I want a "pointy" thin blade for my apples & boxes and defense. I find the Chipaway line offers interesting blade shapes. Not something to camp with, but a more, let's say urban carry. Since the usage is light I wouldn't mind sharpening a bit more if the steel proved less than great. Heck, my D2 flipper is so hard to sharpen I had to invest in all diamond sharpening tools. Plus I really like bone handles. I like a heavy knife, not interested in shaving off ounces for my next big mountain climbing expedition. Getting nostalgic with age I guess. Pretty knives I think and If I find myself really going at it in some task I will know that my "nice" blades are safe at home.
 
I would have to side with those that say the Frost Cutlery knives are junk. I have reprofiled four knives this week that I bought several years ago from them, and the steel in them won't even produce a burr on the edge. I don't believe the blades were even heat-treated at all.
They try to produce a burr, but it is just a clump of tiny steel globs that fall apart when I touch them. I have been sharpening knives my whole life and I have never seen anything like it. I thought that it might just be me messing up somehow, so I clamped my Buck 301X pocket knife up and I got some burrs. It wasn't me...
Maybe Frost has some good knives, but It seems like I didn't get any good ones. I'm glad that I never tried to sell them to anyone or I would feel guilty about it.
 
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