Id like a couple of examples of something cheaper with the same performance.
The Reate is twice the price ($398), not as good blade steel, .65oz heavier and made in China.
The 0055 has milled out titanium scales, compound blade, very light @ 5oz with a 3.75 inch blade, S35VN steel, sleek looks and a patented retractable flipper that works flawlessly. You can buy them all day long for around $200.
Did I mention - Made in USA.
This might not be very important to a lot of Americans but it is to me.
Starting from the top, something cheaper with the same performance? I could list hundreds, if not thousands of knives with better performance. Some of my better "performing" knives are my cheaper ones, i.e. a spyderco delica, any victorinox, traditionals, etc. What you have there is pocket jewelry, which if you saw my collection, I'm all for fancy expensive well made stuff even if it doesn't technically perform better than a $30 knife, so performance is a moot and ridiculous point when talking about this knife.
The K-3 has milled out titanium scales, a compound blade, and is light enough at 5.4 oz with a 3.75" blade, CTS-204p steel (which is better than S35VN), better looks, and a non-gimmecky flipper that works flawlessly and doesn't have a spring inside that could potentially break. You can buy them all day long for $325.
Did I mention - An in house Reate design that uses a Todd Begg's phenomenal ceramic ball pocket clip, and comes sharper and thinner behind the edge than any ZT.
Also, your knife wasn't designed by an American, it was designed by a Brazilian. So that makes it 'Merican? What about all of the famous ACTUALLY AMERICAN designers that have their knives made in Italy, Taiwan, and China, where profits come back to said designer in, by golly, AMERICA. Not to mention ZT is part of a larger company that produces mass amounts of knives in China, and Japan.
The Chevy Corvette blows away foreign competition when you compare performance/dollar
Oh geez, here we go. A car that should only be used as a play toy or a track car being compared to actual commuter cars and comfort oriented cars. I'd take a BMW, Benz, Audi, etc. over a Corvette anyday of the week, simply for the comfort and luxury it provides. Or in my case, a Cadillac, best of both worlds. You're starting to sound like a 14 year old child, or someone in mid-life crisis mode.
BTW, I didn’t say we are the “best” in my prior post but we do have a free and well paid work force that I believe can compete with anyone except China. China that manipulates its currency, exploits its people for dirt cheap labor, pollutes its environment, dictates to its manufacturing base what to flood the market with in order destroy foreign industries one at a time like our steel and aluminum manufacturing.
We DO NOT have a well paid work force, I'm not sure what rock you've been living under, but the majority of America is starting to slip into poverty. If that's well paid to you, then I've got bad news for you as to what middle class Europeans are making. But that's a different topic entirely, and as the car thing, I'm not sure how this fits into a discussion over higher end LUXURY items. It's also amusing that you're talking about pollution after talking about a Corvette. Hypocrisy at it's finest.
Some very good US made non-flippers would be the Spyderco Military-ParaMilitary. Spydercos flipper models, made overseas, are having issues with their bearing systems. Gavko has some excellent non flippers too.
Thanks
Sorry to burst your bubble once again, but Spyderco doesn't make any flippers in the USA, they're ALL made overseas, so the issue is Spyderco's flipper and bearing designs, not with the factories that make what Spyderco laid out for them. Learn where to place blame, and stop being an ultracrepidarian. Thanks.
