All About Pocket Knives

I've been knife pickin for 40 years.....never bought a knife made in China......never have, never will.
Nuff said.

Paul

Where's your computer made?? er your cell phone?? or Didital camera?? give it a rest there has been world trade since before JC

well if i knew of any cell phones,digital cameras or computers that were usa made i would certanly buy one with out hesitating,further more that exact attitude is soley resposible for our current economic problems ,everyone wants stuff for nothing, because we have no consciuos left as a whole and dont mind if the guy that lives next to us looses his manufactoring job as long as we can cheaply put shiney things in our pockets that are cheap to buy

chautauqua wrote:well if i knew of any cell phones,digital cameras or computers that were usa made i would certanly buy one with out hesitating,further more that exact attitude is soley resposible for our current economic problems ,everyone wants stuff for nothing, because we have no consciuos left as a whole and dont mind if the guy that lives next to us looses his manufactoring job as long as we can cheaply put shiney things in our pockets that are cheap to buy

Just curious if you like German made knives? Seems like everyone on here who cusses China made knives and touts to only buy american looks the other way when it comes to German knives. Do you at least hold true to that as well? Or do you secretly own some German made knives?

Buy what you want. I know my knife case has mostly american made knives in the store right now. I also only have american made knives in my AAPK store. I've not sold a knife in over a month. So much for your idea that somehow I will sell more if I only sell American.

Course the job I'm saving is my own.....yeah right! Listening to your reasoning may very well put me out of business. But, that's just another American small business going down the drain so what the heck....

They been sellin foreign made knives in this country for how many years??

And ya i own mostly American made knives and guns!!

my collection is all american and german i do have a few china made knives but the only reason i have them is my kids got them for me if i got out and buy a knife it is eather american or german but i do have some parker knives made in japan and they are good knives and the rough rider brand are decent knives at cheap prices if case .gec .and all other american brands would lower their prices they would be a lot more people buying them and maybe we could put the china made out of buissness and bring all of our money back to the US

Yeah, that would be knice bigdaddy!

TripleF wrote:I'm an equal opportunity offender. I like and use both. I'd rather have USA mades...

I'm with you TripleF -- So new on this forum that I hate to disappoint anyone in my newfound knife community but I figure at least you'll know I'm genuine and not afraid to speak my mind

There's a large part of me that wants to buy American - always. And in most cases I do. But sometimes I don't. Sometimes, there's something made outside of the US that fits a niche or need in a unique way when there is no equal US made alternative.

I struggled with this first with firearms. Almost every rifle I own is a US made Marlin or Winchester. But Winchester stopped making the 1887 in the early 20th century so I own a Chinese made Coyote Cap -- yep, it helped someone in China, but it helped an old cowboy gunsmith in Minnesota who improved the design and made their production possible when I bought it from him. Winchester stopped making American made 92's in the middle of the 20th century. So I have a Brazilian Rossi that fits the bill now. And I helped an old cowboy in Texas by buying some parts and a video from him on how to slick it up. With pistols, it's an even different playing field. So many that aren't made in the US that just have to be owned and shot.

With knives it is somewhat similar. The pocket knives I drool over are made right here in the US and am proud to pay top dollar for them. No offense, but the high quality German alternatives don't tempt me in this field. But a Fallkniven A1 Laminated survival knife does.

And yet why are there a bevy of inexpensive Chinese made pocket knives available? Because their aren't a bevy of inexpensive American made pocket knives to remove the temptation. As others have mentioned, I'm not sure I want to rush out and rough up and abuse my Case and Queen pocket knives. Doesn't mean I won't or don't use them (but some of them I don't want to put a scratch on). But I have no concerns about roughing up my foreign made knives. Sometimes, you just want a high quality inexpensive knife to do a job right. And there's a few knives made in the East that fit that bill.

Just scored this Outdoor Edge Pocket Skinning Knife. Those of you who watch the Spirit of the Wild with Uncle Ted (Nugent) know this is his knife sponsor. Anyhow I did a review on it.

I bought a RR from a man I know.Small congress,had it about 3 mos.,backspring broke.Some of the handle material looks great ,I fear the steel is not.For what its worth I haven't seen many Cases since the early '70s I was real impressed with.But they are a much better knife than RR.Value wise?

I understand there are some quality makers out there now,mostly for the collector market.

xvigauge wrote: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

The steel warrior is a very well made knife.I have had a few over the last couple of years and I just love them for the price.The Dakota I don't no much about.The knife in the pic is a very well mad knife.

This doesn't walk the same as MOST of my American knives but is SHRIEKING sharp and snaps with authority. Has half stops too. Rough Rider half whittler #RR763

Absintheur wrote: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 thought the same thing win I read that post to.

knifemaker3 wrote:

chautauqua wrote:well if i knew of any cell phones,digital cameras or computers that were usa made i would certanly buy one with out hesitating,further more that exact attitude is soley resposible for our current economic problems ,everyone wants stuff for nothing, because we have no consciuos left as a whole and dont mind if the guy that lives next to us looses his manufactoring job as long as we can cheaply put shiney things in our pockets that are cheap to buy

Just curious if you like German made knives? Seems like everyone on here who cusses China made knives and touts to only buy american looks the other way when it comes to German knives. Do you at least hold true to that as well? Or do you secretly own some German made knives?

Buy what you want. I know my knife case has mostly american made knives in the store right now. I also only have american made knives in my AAPK store. I've not sold a knife in over a month. So much for your idea that somehow I will sell more if I only sell American.

Course the job I'm saving is my own.....yeah right! Listening to your reasoning may very well put me out of business. But, that's just another American small business going down the drain so what the heck....

LOL I love this forum.

bigdaddys8ball wrote:my collection is all american and german i do have a few china made knives but the only reason i have them is my kids got them for me if i got out and buy a knife it is eather american or german but i do have some parker knives made in japan and they are good knives and the rough rider brand are decent knives at cheap prices if case .gec .and all other american brands would lower their prices they would be a lot more people buying them and maybe we could put the china made out of buissness and bring all of our money back to the US

That's not possible because of the union.Now I have started something. lol

My experience with Chinese knives is very limited. I do have the A.G. Russell Texas Ranger series. The quality is very good. I understand that AG has to jump thru hoops to keep the quality up. He has to sometimes send a delivery back to China multiple times until he gets what he wants.

I did see two fixed blade knives from Shrade (China). I thought the quality was quite good for the price; better than I expected.

I have a China Buck 3.5" trapper that looks just fine. It has swirled red acrylic that looks GREAT out in sunlight. Decent walk and talk too.

Only bad thing is the main clip blade seems to be every bit as good as any SS blade.

The secondary is NOT!

Rough Rider does not have the nicest jigging on the bone but the blades all come VERY sharp and seem to hold it reasonably well.

Lord knows I'd RATHER get an old carbon steel knife. But RR and their ilk allow testing whether one likes a pattern for cheap!

garddogg56 wrote:

Whats with the smillies you got something to say say it.

xvigauge wrote: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 would not buy China made knives in hopes of them gaining in value.I buy them to use and I keep my USA and German made knives in good shape that way.I bought some junk knives from China and I have got some what I think are good knives from China.They make good EDC.

I come from Australia and collect USA made knives and have a large collection of USA Old Timer.The knife I use around the farm is a China Old Timer 60T. I purchased this knife of a USA seller as at the local shop they are still charging the same price as the USA made knives.I have been using the knife for two years without any problems.It's not as well built as the USA made knives but cost less and give good service as long as you don't abuse it.Some item coming out of China are a reasonable standard other you would not give to your worst enemy.

Shearer wrote:I come from Australia and collect USA made knives and have a large collection of USA Old Timer.The knife I use around the farm is a China Old Timer 60T. I purchased this knife of a USA seller as at the local shop they are still charging the same price as the USA made knives.I have been using the knife for two years without any problems.It's not as well built as the USA made knives but cost less and give good service as long as you don't abuse it.Some item coming out of China are a reasonable standard other you would not give to your worst enemy.

You said that very well.

ironmage wrote:

bigdaddys8ball wrote:my collection is all american and german i do have a few china made knives but the only reason i have them is my kids got them for me if i got out and buy a knife it is eather american or german but i do have some parker knives made in japan and they are good knives and the rough rider brand are decent knives at cheap prices if case .gec .and all other american brands would lower their prices they would be a lot more people buying them and maybe we could put the china made out of buissness and bring all of our money back to the US

That's not possible because of the union.Now I have started something. lol

Yeah lets lower the prices on American made knives so we can compete with the Chinese knife price. Already being done, oh wait I guess not, they farm that tier of knife for china to make for them (and I think try to trick us to think we are getting something we are not). I would hate to see the junk the USA companies would make to lower their price to china knives. Talk about some terrible metal and finish. Like it or not your not going to be able to make a quality knife that most Americans can afford to USE (we are not all collectors) in the united states when the united states companies work force is union and they are to busy demanding themselves out of a job. Yet some of you say "the job you save may be your own". I have a novel idea. Why cant these American companies get workers that are willing to make the money they are worth from their performance and the quality they produce and rely on themselves and not an organization? I guess the days of standing on your own merit is a thing of the past(and has been for a long time).

My Cryo, Swerve and Freefall from Kershaw are all China made. But they look and feel like quality and the Swerve and Freefall are SHARP out of the clampack!

The Cryo seems to have fairly soft steel but it strops fine on my jeans.

From Wikipedia ''In 2010, the percentage of workers belonging to a union in the United States (or total labor union "density") was 11.4%, compared to 18.4% in Germany, 27.5% in Canada, and 70% in Finland.[1] Union membership in the private sector has fallen under 7%[2] — levels not seen since 1932. Unions allege that employer-incited opposition has contributed to this decline in membership. The most prominent unions are among public sector employees such as teachers and police. '' The minimum wage in china is different in every area. Beijing is the highest at $2.50 cents per hour. I have some nice looking Chinese knives but I am still a little ashamed of them lol. I am proud of my USA knives. Don't think I would like to work in China.