I had an interesting experience yesterday. I went to the Ballston Mall near my home on some errands and checked out the Remington Razor store which used to carry a very nice selection of cutlery. To my great disappointment, it was under new ownership, a Pakistani fellow, who had bought the franchise when the old owners went bankrupt, or so he said. His selection of knives now included no products of any major makers; nothing from Gerber, Swiss Army, or Buck, let alone such makers as Camillus, Western, Spyderco, or BenchMade. All that was on display were a whole bunch of cheap POS junk from China and Pakistan. When I asked why he no longer carried any of the name-brands, he proceeded to give me a lecture on how none of them sold and how they were too expensive to stock. I looked a bit puzzled and asked about such "up-market"(?!) items as the Gerber E-Z Out and he became quite excited, saying that it was just too expensive a knife for him to carry!
Now to the Camillus connection. I was carrying my CUDA MAXX 5.5 and he eventually noticed it in my right front pocket and asked about it. I told him what it was and asked if he wished to see it. He said that he did, so I brought it out and opened it slowly, so as not to startle the guy. He looked at it and informed me with all of the assurance of a bazaari that, despite the statement on the blade that it was a USA product, it was really made in China. Since there is no other country of origin on the knife, as required by law, I contend that it must be an American product, but his damned smugness did rattle me. I am still convinced that you guys do make them in the USA and thought that you would like to know of this character that is, IMO, trashing your name and reputation. As I said, the store is a Remington Shaver franchise in the Ballston Mall on North Wilson Boulevard in Arlington, Virginia.
BTW, I have no problem with buying decent quality items from such people as Paul Chen and his forge in Hanwei, Manchuria. It is the POS rip-off companies that I cannot stand. The same apples to the Indian Subcontinent. Look at what Uncle Bill imports from Nepal as examples of good to excellent products as opposed to the junk knives from Pakistan that have steel so hard that it takes a diamond hone to sharpen them.
Now to the Camillus connection. I was carrying my CUDA MAXX 5.5 and he eventually noticed it in my right front pocket and asked about it. I told him what it was and asked if he wished to see it. He said that he did, so I brought it out and opened it slowly, so as not to startle the guy. He looked at it and informed me with all of the assurance of a bazaari that, despite the statement on the blade that it was a USA product, it was really made in China. Since there is no other country of origin on the knife, as required by law, I contend that it must be an American product, but his damned smugness did rattle me. I am still convinced that you guys do make them in the USA and thought that you would like to know of this character that is, IMO, trashing your name and reputation. As I said, the store is a Remington Shaver franchise in the Ballston Mall on North Wilson Boulevard in Arlington, Virginia.
BTW, I have no problem with buying decent quality items from such people as Paul Chen and his forge in Hanwei, Manchuria. It is the POS rip-off companies that I cannot stand. The same apples to the Indian Subcontinent. Look at what Uncle Bill imports from Nepal as examples of good to excellent products as opposed to the junk knives from Pakistan that have steel so hard that it takes a diamond hone to sharpen them.
