Using fit & finish as the yardstick, the best knife I've ever owned was made in the land which shall not be named.
To compare, I have a Case Tony Bose collaboration swayback jack. I have several Schatt & Morgans and several Great Easterns. THEY ARE ALL VERY GOOD. But they all fell just a hair short of that knife made in a Pacific rim country. I couldn't get past the country of origin. That ruined it for me so I traded it off. I guess that's a little hypocritical because I still own somewhere around a dozen knives made "over there".
Just look at the run-up.
Forged on the anvil of discipline.
The Few. The Proud.
Jerry D.
This country has become more about sub-groups than about it's unity as a nation.
"The #72 pattern has got to be pretty close to the perfect knife."
--T.J. Murphy 2012
I too have a very hard time when it comes to buying Chinese products.
We have met the enemy and he is us (Pogo).
All in all quality comes down to material, craftsmanship/production and quality control. If you take away the good craftsmanship/production you can still get a good product but QC ends up culling too much to remain cost effective. If you loosen your QC because of too many culls you get a Buck 301 like Colonel26 did.
I have worked on some of the new Chinese Schrades that came apart like a cheap suit. Nothing like the old USA made counterparts.
Wayne
If I have seen further it is by standing on the shoulders of giants.
I have to brag on Buck I bought China made Buck Canoe in less than a week the scale one side just popped off in my pocket. I called Buck's customer service and they expressed mailed me a shipping box to my house and 3 days later I got it back in like New condition and razor sharp.
I find it interesting how history seems to rear it's ugly head every so often.
Back in the early 1890's when the tariffs against imported goods(mostly knives from what I can gather)the bad boys back then were the Germans with their shoddily made knives that seemed to break all the time and were poorly assembled. Thus began the golden age of American knife manufacturers.
Then in the 1930's when the Great Depression hit and the knife companies started to fall by the wayside and cheaper knives became the norm it was from mostly American companies;although there were plenty of German knives floating around as well.The Second World War put an end to many of them.
After World War II it became the Japanese and to a lesser extent the Chinese and Indians who were producing the less than desirable knives. The Germans were now the ones who were starting to produce quality knives but far from being inexpensive.The English knife industry was for all intents and purposes dead.
In the 1970's the Japanese really started to get their act together to produce some of the finest knives ever(and still do)although their prices have risen considerably. The few remaining American companies' quality had started to slip and really reached a zenith in the 1980's. Chinese knives were slowly but surely beginning to invade the market with low quality knives that began to rapidly improve through today. The few remaining American companies;while still producing quality knives for the most part ,cannot compete pricewise.
So where does that leave us today? For the collector of knives he is mostly sworn to acquiring knives made in Germany(not German branded knives made elsewhere)or the USA.England in my opinion does not have any major knife companies producing quality items.The USA companies mentioned in previous posts offer some fine knives(at commeasurate pricing)but still have some quality issues.
The Chinese knives as a whole(exceptions always)are of quality construction regarding fit and finish at very reasonable prices.Simple fact that you can choose to accept or ignore.
A good friend of mine once said of the quality of a particular item: "What is it you want;CHICKENS**T or CHICKEN SALAD?".You pays your money and you takes your choice.
zed6309 wrote:Ive had a 371 as my main user and its very well made and holds a edge,the backspring on the main blade is weaker than the other 2 blades but ok,just my 2 cents or 2 pence
I grabbed a,Jigged bone Wal Mart Special on Clearance , the one in the Display case looked and feeled great. But when I got home with mine I had to sent it the next day to Idaho it had proud pins and the sheep's foot was Gritty . After 4 weeks I got it back yesterday and it was Right.
After a month's + of carry it got a real weak Sheepsfoot blade and the 2 blades are soft compared to my USA Old made Buck 301. Now the blades are nice and sharp and are holding their edge well. But I sad to have such a nice looking stock man with weak walk n talk.
i do lurk and learn 
i agree on older made knives being better made,i hope these days of quality arnt lost 
