What's wrong with the knives made in China?

[MDB-TX]

Thanks a lot! I really do appreciate the info and really want to learn as much as I can about Knife Collecting.

[big monk]

I'm new to all this so don't bite my head off but I thought Case Knives were and have ALWAYS been Made in the USA! Is that NOT correct? Also, aren't Buck Knives still Made in the USA? As I stated in my 1st post, I bought a few Bucks and Case Knives last night, nothing of much value to most of you, they are brand spankin new. One of the Buck Knives I bought I actually got to build myself so I just thought that was cool! I've been looking for some Old Uncle Henry Knives today. I like collecting things, and when I do, I go overboard and usually buy more than I actually have room for. This just seemed like a fun thing to do! I have one heck a 1:18 scale Die Cast Car/Truck Collection, I ain't saying where they were all built.

Can anyone confirm USA Made or not:
KA-Bar
Case
Buck
Benchmade - HK Knife
Uncle Henry

I certainly don't mean to be the least informed with a bunch of dumb questions but I've gotta learn somehow.

Thanks for the info.

Here is an older thread,with some answers to your questions and welcome to AAPK ______Monk

http://www.allaboutpocketknives.com/kni ... =4&t=12109

[MDB-TX]

Thank You! Very Informative!

[blademaker]

Really like the AG Russell gunstock...but have my eye on a Great Eastern
Maybe I'll sell that ole van out back for..... scrap.... and buy both... little ironic

[Tom Hudson]

Can anyone confirm USA Made or not:
KA-Bar
Case
Buck
Benchmade - HK Knife
Uncle Henry

I certainly don't mean to be the least informed with a bunch of dumb questions but I've gotta learn somehow.

Thanks for the info.

The only dumb question is the one you don’t ask!

Kabar may have some of their knives produced overseas, but I think some are made here.
As far as I know Case are all made here.
Buck makes their traditional patterns in Idaho, but does have en import line made overseas.
Benchmade makes their high-end knives here and the lower-end knives are made overseas.
Uncle Henry- Imperial Schrade, the makers of Uncle Henry & owners of that name, went bankrupt in 2004. Taylor Brands LLC, bought the name and has the knives made in China these days. There are old UH knives available on ebay as well as other places.


SMKW owns Rough Riders as well as several other companies. To date, these are the companies I'm aware of but it is not all of SMKW brands.:

Black Jack
Browning
Camillus
Cannon
Colonel Coon
Colt
Cripple Creek
Indian Head
Marbles
Roebeson
Rough Rider



Of the companies listed, the following have some production take place at the SMKW factory in China:


Browning
Camillus
Cannon
Colt
Indian Head
Marbles
Rough Rider

[zed6309]

what is SMKW,

[philco]

what is SMKW,

That stands for Smoky Mountain Knife Works. It is a large retail concern based in Sevierville, Tennessee here in the U.S. Kevin Pipes is the principal owner. SMKW touts its store in Seiverville as the largest knife store in the world. It is huge. Inside the store up on the top floor level is located the National Knife Musieum, a wonderful collection of mostly vintage cutlery on display.
In addition to the retail store, SMKW does catalog sales and has paid television programs where they sell cutlery items. The show features an item and the customers call a toll free number to order one, or order over the internet.
SMKW handles a wide range of cutlery, both brands they own and brands they do not own. They have in recent years acquired the rights to several old brand names and are now having knives made mostly in China with those brands on them.
If you are interested, here is a link to their website........

http://www.smkw.com/webapp/eCommerce/main_front.jsp

Phil

[zed6309]

what is SMKW,

That stands for Smoky Mountain Knife Works. It is a large retail concern based in Sevierville, Tennessee here in the U.S. Kevin Pipes is the principal owner. SMKW touts its store in Seiverville as the largest knife store in the world. It is huge. Inside the store up on the top floor level is located the National Knife Musieum, a wonderful collection of mostly vintage cutlery on display.
In addition to the retail store, SMKW does catalog sales and has paid television programs where they sell cutlery items. The show features an item and the customers call a toll free number to order one, or order over the internet.
SMKW handles a wide range of cutlery, both brands they own and brands they do not own. They have in recent years acquired the rights to several old brand names and are now having knives made mostly in China with those brands on them.

Phil

Thanks phil i thought i was having a silly moment there but couldnt work out what it stoof for, so have they a long PK history ? they seem to produce many other knives so must be doing very well for themselves, it seems there was a few PK manufacturers that bought out other companys over the years,

[Absintheur]

I queried SMKW on the newest lines of Colt knives and they denied ownership.

[Just Plain Dave]

I just have to speak up on this. The knife people on this site are some of the finest people on this entire planet!!!!

[johnnierotten]

AMEN!!

[zed6309]

AMEN!!

x2 on that

[2xTap]

SMKW owns Rough Riders as well as several other companies. To date, these are the companies I'm aware of but it is not all of SMKW brands.:

Black Jack
Browning
Camillus
Cannon
Colonel Coon
Colt
Cripple Creek
Indian Head
Marbles
Roebeson
Rough Rider

Of the companies listed, the following have some production take place at the SMKW factory in China:

Browning
Camillus
Cannon
Colt
Indian Head
Marbles
Rough Rider

I'd like to jump in this discussion here to make a few corrections, if I may, so as not to get anyone confused. SMKW's has picked up quite a few Brands that are actually owned by them now. But a few listed here are not owned by SMKW.

Camillus is now owned by ACME United and the newest line of knives coming out now is made through this company at overseas factories. When the original Camillus closed SKMW did pick up alot of old stock from them. But new production Camillus is not directly affiliated with SMKW.

SMKW does have a license to produce knives under the Colt brand but they do not own it. The Colt Brand is still owned by Colt, SMKW is just essentially renting the name and outsourcing the production to various companies.

And for the Robeson knives, the Robeson brand is owned by Ontario Knife Company. New production Robeson Cutlery Company knives are produced as SFO's for SMKW by Ontario's sister company, Queen Cutlery.

2xTap

[orvet]

Thanks 2xtap.
I saw the Camillus on the list but got distracted before I could post an answer.
You are spot on with the Camillus info. I don't know much about Colt, though I know Camillus made some of them in the past. I have a Colt Bowie blank that came from the Camillus factory sale.

Dale

[2xTap]

orvet,

That very well could be as before SMKW picked up the Colt license, the license was held by United Cutlery. And UC did outsource some production of their licensed brands to Camillus.

2xTap

[orvet]

I think you are right.

[Elvis]

Since the topic is " What's wrong with the knives made in China?" this seems like the place to post this info. Not political, just factual. I don't normally work on Chinese knives largely because no one ever asks and that's okay as the work I do keeps me plenty busy. There is one gentleman who only has use of his right hand and he sends me his knives to disassemble, loosen the spring tension and install thumb studs so he can operate them. He recently sent me two Rough Rider knives and during the disassembly I discovered that the bolsters are glued on. No solder or even a spot weld. The pins on the ends of the knife were holding the bolsters in place, but it looks like they've found yet another way to cut corners. I checked both knives and looked hard for some sign of something else holding them in place. It just wasn't there. Another problem about working on the ones I've been ask to is the brass seems a lot softer than that found on the Case and Kabar (older folders) that I work on. Having the liners bend very easily doesn't really help when you're trying to work on a knife.

Buy and carry what you want, but my special needs friend/customer is the only Chinese knives I'll be working on. For what they cost and the quality I've seen, they should be throw-aways.

[Miller Bro's]

He recently sent me two Rough Rider knives and during the disassembly I discovered that the bolsters are glued on. No solder or even a spot weld. The pins on the ends of the knife were holding the bolsters in place, but it looks like they've found yet another way to cut corners. I checked both knives and looked hard for some sign of something else holding them in place. It just wasn't there.

They sell`em cheap for a reason

[allmightyoz]

one thing i wanna say, got a china made schrade... and it was way sharper out of the box than any case i've ever bought new. stops sucked... snap sucked... finish sucked... but it was sharp!

[Ramrod]

It wont stay sharp for long.......

[Just Plain Dave]

Don't know how long they will stay sharp, but I got two China Schrades to get very sharp.

[Tom Hudson]

Since the topic is " What's wrong with the knives made in China?" this seems like the place to post this info. Not political, just factual. I don't normally work on Chinese knives largely because no one ever asks and that's okay as the work I do keeps me plenty busy. There is one gentleman who only has use of his right hand and he sends me his knives to disassemble, loosen the spring tension and install thumb studs so he can operate them. He recently sent me two Rough Rider knives and during the disassembly I discovered that the bolsters are glued on. No solder or even a spot weld. The pins on the ends of the knife were holding the bolsters in place, but it looks like they've found yet another way to cut corners. I checked both knives and looked hard for some sign of something else holding them in place. It just wasn't there. Another problem about working on the ones I've been ask to is the brass seems a lot softer than that found on the Case and Kabar (older folders) that I work on. Having the liners bend very easily doesn't really help when you're trying to work on a knife.

Buy and carry what you want, but my special needs friend/customer is the only Chinese knives I'll be working on. For what they cost and the quality I've seen, they should be throw-aways.

I don't understand why you think a bolster has to be solder? - I have engraved over 100 of RR's & never had a bolster come off yet - There are adhesives on the market now that is stronger than solder - it's used in many applications - I believe some cars bodies now use adhesive instead of being weilded - Freighliner truck bodied also use adhesive's - So I personally don't see anything wrong with a pocket knife using it. I have been customizing knives for over 30 years & yes I have customized many RR's - I saw no issue with the brass liners - none - but then again I work with a lot of gold & silver which is much softer than any brass - Tom

[Elvis]

If you don't have to disassemble and reassemble it, it probably doesn't matter much. When you're asked to do repairs with really soft materials, it gets to be very problematic. I can disassemble a Case Trapper, remove the spey blade and reassemble the knife in less than a third of the time I can do the same thing to a Rough Rider simply because of the difference in the materials used. I can see that they try to use cutlery grade steel and from all outward appearances they are functional knives that may very well be serviceable for the end user for quite some time. It's just been my experience that they aren't meant to be repaired as the rest of the materials are what I consider sub-standard and weak. For the price involved, it truly is a case of "you get what you pay for" and they should be considered throw-aways.

Also, let me clarify that they are indeed nice looking knives, but that doesn't change the materials and the difficulity repairing them. Tom, your artwork on these already attractive knives brings them to a level that is indeed worth what you ask. The functionality of the knives out-of-the-box hasn't been questioned and I haven't started in about "How many bullets does a Chinese knife buy?". I'm just telling it like it is about the materials and construction. I'll take spot welding or soldering over glue on my knives any day.

When my opinion isn't welcome here, just let me know. I'll leave.

[Miller Bro's]

I don't understand why you think a bolster has to be solder? - I have engraved over 100 of RR's & never had a bolster come off yet - There are adhesives on the market now that is stronger than solder - it's used in many applications - I believe some cars bodies now use adhesive instead of being weilded - Freighliner truck bodied also use adhesive's - So I personally don't see anything wrong with a pocket knife using it.

I have seen knife shields that were glued on at the factory fall off right out of the box

You haven`t had a bolster come off yet because the bolsters are pinned to hold the blades in, what will happen is that the bolsters will turn out of place. That is why the bolsters are soldered or chopped on with the antique/vintage knives, but you already knew that.

As far as car bodies being glued instead of welded, good luck to the auto industry, they expect people to get new cars every 5 years or so. I am still running cars that are 82 years old, no glue holding them together

I'm just telling it like it is about the materials and construction. I'll take spot welding or soldering over glue on my knives any day.

Me TOO! I am with you 100%

[johnnierotten]

Tom & Bob......I think you both do fantastic work and customizing.
I also think that all opinions are welcome...