All About Pocket Knives

I tend to get a feeling that knives made in China are not well liked on ths forum. I am new to the forum so I don't really know what to expect. Being a watch collector, I have found that automatic watch movements (such as Sea Gull) made in China are very good quality, sturdy and well made movements. I assume that knives do not share this same quality? I have a couple of Steal Warrior and Dakota knives that I bought primarily on looks. They seem to be well made, but they do have China on the blades. Are these brands any good? Most of my knives will not actually be used, at least not my new ones. I have several vintage "beaters" that are very sharp and sturdy that I carry for everyday use. Steer me on the right track. Should I stay away from made in China pocket knives?
xvigauge

I myself like all kives and like you i have had many chinese mechanical watches and infact have built over 20 watches using parts from china with mainly st16 seagull movements and have had little problems,as for knives from china yes there are some who dont like them but as far as im concerned if i like a knife i buy it.Now dont get me wrong knives with history are more interesting overal but ive got around 10 chinese knives and pretty much them all are well made and had no problems with them, most have good fit n finnish, there is a chinese section on here and i do post on there, there is some politics sometimes on chinese forums but if you like it buy it and enjoy it,

Welcome to the forum and bottom line enjoy this hobby as it is a very interesting one, try and pick up some old knives as well and find out about them,

I would stay away from Chinese knives for collecting purposes if your purpose is to one day have a collection that may grow in value.

The good folks here are capable of giving out some very good advice on knives. All you need to do is let them (us) know your goal. Carrying of collecting, there's some pretty sharp cookies 'round these parts.

Elvis wrote:I would stay away from Chinese knives for collecting purposes if your purpose is to one day have a collection that may grow in value.

The good folks here are capable of giving out some very good advice on knives. All you need to do is let them (us) know your goal. Carrying of collecting, there's some pretty sharp cookies 'round these parts.

I agree with elvis though on future value as chinese wont be worth much in the future, but they are cheap and i personaly like the ones i have even though they wont go up in value, i have a mix, although since being on here in going more away from chinese knives, but i still look

I'll probably get some hate mail over this but it is MY opinion and I am entitled to it the same as YOU are entitled to YOUR opinion.

I personally do not buy Chinese knives. Not that they are not good looking knives nor are all of them of inferior quality. I don't buy them because I feel that each one that an American buys is like driving another nail in the coffin of an American cutlery company. Schrade is gone. Camillus is gone, along with others. Which of the remaining American cutlers do you want to go out of business, next? Queen? Great Eastern? Buck? Case? Who? Maybe the companies we have lost wouldn't have survived anyway. I don't know but I am in what I feel is a growing minority that is sick and tired of all the Chinese "stuff" that is being forced on us. I buy American every chance I get. I'll even do without some things if I have to.
You have the right to choose to buy them the same as I have the right to choose to not buy them.
I don't know about Chinese watches but I guess the same could be said for them.
I personally would rather own, one,Stag, Great Eastern of any pattern than own a dozen fancy Chinese knives.
...CCBill said that... ...

CCBill wrote:I'll probably get some hate mail over this but it is MY opinion and I am entitled to it the same as YOU are entitled to YOUR opinion.

I personally do not buy Chinese knives. Not that they are not good looking knives nor are all of them of inferior quality. I don't buy them because I feel that each one that an American buys is like driving another nail in the coffin of an American cutlery company. Schrade is gone. Camillus is gone, along with others. Which of the remaining American cutlers do you want to go out of business, next? Queen? Great Eastern? Buck? Case? Who? Maybe the companies we have lost wouldn't have survived anyway. I don't know but I am in what I feel is a growing minority that is sick and tired of all the Chinese "stuff" that is being forced on us. I buy American every chance I get. I'll even do without some things if I have to.
You have the right to choose to buy them the same as I have the right to choose to not buy them.
I don't know about Chinese watches but I guess the same could be said for them.
I personally would rather own, one,Stag, Great Eastern of any pattern than own a dozen fancy Chinese knives.
...CCBill said that... ...

I cant see why you would get any hate mail mate, we all have our opinion and thats what this post was about i guess, i prefer my old american knives to all my chinese knives, and have more U.S made knives now, for me its the old problem in the uk of getting hold of knives, not a problem in the states, i need to move

CCBill, we are have our own opinions and for the record I agree with you 110%
Ditto what you wrote for me all the way!
Gino

CCBill wrote:I'll probably get some hate mail over this but it is MY opinion and I am entitled to it the same as YOU are entitled to YOUR opinion.

I personally do not buy Chinese knives. Not that they are not good looking knives nor are all of them of inferior quality. I don't buy them because I feel that each one that an American buys is like driving another nail in the coffin of an American cutlery company. Schrade is gone. Camillus is gone, along with others. Which of the remaining American cutlers do you want to go out of business, next? Queen? Great Eastern? Buck? Case? Who? Maybe the companies we have lost wouldn't have survived anyway. I don't know but I am in what I feel is a growing minority that is sick and tired of all the Chinese "stuff" that is being forced on us. I buy American every chance I get. I'll even do without some things if I have to.
You have the right to choose to buy them the same as I have the right to choose to not buy them.
I don't know about Chinese watches but I guess the same could be said for them.
I personally would rather own, one,Stag, Great Eastern of any pattern than own a dozen fancy Chinese knives.
...CCBill said that... ...

Spot on brother, spot on!The choice is support our US companies or a wholly owned subsidiary of the Chinese military who war games against us

Let me state up front that I would prefer American made over China made anytime....However, While I agree with part of what is being said, I will throw another senerio out there for you all to think about.

I own and operate a small sporting goods store. I carry knives in my store. I sell 10 China made Rough Riders or Schrade to every 1 Case or Buck and have yet to sell a GEC in my store even though I've got at least 1 on display at all times.

I talk to many different knife retailers either at their store, at gunshows, etc. Each will tell you we would rather sell all American made knives, but if we don't sell China as well we don't have a business.

So, for many AMERICANS who are trying to eek out an existance in this economy we either trade in China made stuff or shut our doors.

I guess you are saying that since I'm and AMERICAN selling chinese knives as the most profitable part of my knife stock in the store that I should either quit selling them or only sell american and possibly have to close the store down???? I know some are very successful at selling only American made products in their online stores, but know of very few who own a brick and mortar store.

I guess it's ok to sit on your foreign made computer sipping your foreign grown coffee and complain about someone buying a china made product as you don't have store rent to pay, insurance on said store, overhead, etc. etc. etc. to try and eek out an existance in an already dead economy. After all, the sales taxes paid on the china made knives I sell in my store goes to the state government here in the good ol' USA......kinda like it does in communist china!

So, to each their own on buying, selling, trading, or whatever on the china made knives. I will continue to sell them as I simply can't sell American made knives as easy as I can the RRs and Schrades. I don't like it, but if I don't I will have to shut down the store. That in turn means another AMERICAN ran business going down the tubes.

I read the above posts about not buying Chinese products but if you truly felt that way how can you post on here? I know for a fact many of the parts in the computer you are using where made in China. As for the statement "they war game against us" guess what? We war game against them too.

I buy knives from all over the world but some of the highest quality factory knives I have seen lately have come out of China via AG Russell. To get the same quality you have to spend over twice as much and buy semi custom like the Bose Case knives.

I have never been a fan of China knives because the return on investment was not there. But .... I just picked up this AG Russell and it is top notch. Very close to custom/Tony Bose in fit and finish. The main difference is the weight of the knife, it just seems lighter like maybe the quality in the metal is not there.

These chineese russells are NO-WAY as good as Case,Buck USA,Schrade USA Queen,BEAR,Canal St,.We had a guy at work try one of these russels after 2 weeks the bolster pins became loose and their was a nick in the blade you could strip a #10 wire with I've had a Buck 112(37yrs) and a Schrade LB7 and NEVER had these problems and we work our knives hard

Oh yea;Buy AMERICAN the job you save may be your own

Glue just will not hold like a good old fashion pin.

Absolutely agree they will likely never ever be worth one penny more than you paid for them.

I have a handful of Rough Riders, a Buck Chinese Trapper and a few other Chinese made knives.

They get as sharp as my Case CVs, and they look and work quite well.

I buy old American knives when I can, but Rough Rider has done a fair amount of cutting for me.

Yeah, they are gonna beat us without ever firing a shot.

I'm an equal opportunity offender. I like and use both.
I'd rather have USA mades, but I figure I have to review and talk about both on my blog....so I do.

CCBILL, Buck makes knives in China. I'm currently the high bidder on one on ebay. Didn't know til after the fact... but I know it woulda cost 4x as much if made in america!

I am an older guy and i remember when everything was made in Japan and everyone thought it was cheap and junk. Now people look at the steel in those knives and say that it was pretty good. Now some are collectible. Personally, if i like the way a knife looks i buy it and check it out. some are made well and some aren't.
I will catch some heat on this statement. I don't buy Case knives because they have flooded the market. They make a knife for everything under the sun. what will they be worth when you go to a knife show and 250 vendors are selling the same
case knives?
I like the CRKT knives because of all the different styles and locks they use. They have a lot of different ways to open and close them and think that is interesting.
I also have and use Byrd knives by spyderco. It is the low cost line for Spyderco. I have never had to even tighten a screw and you can get them razor sharp. If you check out the blade steel of the Spyderco and the Byrd, they are the same. Same steel at probably one fourth the price.
There will always be people collecting knives for whatever reason. Some will be doing it because they just buy knives. Some will be doing it for an investment, for who? Hope the kids like them. I have old knives, new knives, novelty knives and have even tried to make knives. Talk about low quality. I enjoy the knives i have and i enjoy looking and buying. some i wish i hadn't bought and some i wish i had bought two.
thanks for listening.

It is undeniable that that for collecting and maybe selling one day, old USA knives are the SHIZZLE!

Looking at 60's or 70's Case Red bone is a religious experience!


That said, for a user knife you could do a LOT worse than say this RR Sleeveboard Whittler with MOP on it!


I tried to get other pictures but I am having technical difficulties with my camera (actually the card).

Newb here.

I actually prefer the cheaper import stainless slippy knifes for my work.
Water treatment plant duties really beat up blades with chemicals that are usually low pH and occasionally extremely high pH. I've now got several that have stained blades even after a good long dunking in water followed by a good cleaning and polishing (ladies nail buffing block).

Not a place for me to carry my Case slippies

Roger that xstuntsman!!

to AAPK!

I been carring a RR Congress for the last year and just give it away about a mounth ago and i kinda miss it--i put a RR Canoe in my pocket and really liked it to but give it to a kid doing some work on my truck on Friday hard to beat a Rough Rider as for other China mades i can't say i won't buy any that have names from old US makers--

i carried a rough rider muskrat with white smoth bone handels i packed it for about three years befor the pin in the blade broke and the blade fell out but as far as a good work goes it was exelent it kept a razer sharp edge and walked and talked as good of any knife their good to pack that way if you loose it or something its cheap not like a good old american made knife or german

there is always one poor old vendor that always jumps on these posts and says if i dont sell chinese knives i wouldn't be able to compete with all the other people selling them,well that being said your business is doomed because u have given up and are willing to settle on a product which generally has only at most a couple of dollars in profit per item,i to started setting up at knife and gun shows and soon realized how silly that was,pretty hard to compete when theres always a few vendors a couple hundred miles from home dumping things for gas money to get home,(exactly what foriegn companies do when they need capital)so i did my homework,changed where i am selling my knives,found ways to purchase american made knives at better prices,and changed my sales approach and so far am doing very well, ive never bought or sold a chinese made knife knowingly and plan to keep it that way,about 25 years ago when i started lawn saleing and auctions and estates sales and what not i started throwing all the knives that where not europeon or american into 55 gallon drums, this summer when scrap prices hit just shy of $500 a ton i took them back,it was pretty neat i was able to watch them being unloaded from my truck right onto a shipp destined for asia unfortunetly there probably allready back on store shelves and merchants tables

RIGHT-ON Chautauqua;I'm glad someone gets it.Buy American the job you save WILL be your own...