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Under Priced

What production knife brand is the most under priced in the market today? Not your favorite or best made not even the one that sells the most but the one that is under priced.

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In MemoriamPermalink Reply by Robert Burris on May 24, 2014 at 12:02

You may be right, they are an old company that's stood the test of time. They must be doing something right.

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Permalink Reply by Tobias Gibson on May 24, 2014 at 12:06

My first experience with Gerber was watching the blade tip of Mark 2 fighting not break but bend when a friend of mine was bragging about how good it was compared to my Camillus Mk2 Fighting knife.

I'm pretty sure this was one of the first Mk2 Fighter with the 440C blade. It was a long time before I was willing to give a Gerber a second look.

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In MemoriamPermalink Reply by Robert Burris on May 24, 2014 at 12:27

I have never used a Gerber before, I have sharpened them for people. They were Tacticals so I didn't pay them much attention. I'm a Traditional knife guy.

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Permalink Reply by Steve Hanner on May 25, 2014 at 20:57

I would also possibly add Kershaw.

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Permalink Reply by Alexander Noot on May 26, 2014 at 3:15

A.G. Russell's china line.

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In MemoriamPermalink Reply by Robert Burris on May 27, 2014 at 8:59

That's true, his China knives are the best coming out of that country, that I have seen.

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Permalink Reply by Tobias Gibson on May 27, 2014 at 9:48

I have a hard time wrapping my head around an argument that some knives are under-priced. My problem is I think many knives are over priced and sale their name more than a quality product. When it comes to a quality knife at a reasonable price, I'd probably go with many of the Ontario Knives. Some I feel are way too high but many are comparable in build and quality tom many higher priced knives by other makers.

Frankly, I feel the companies that make knives to use sale them at a reasonable price whereas the companies that try to appeal to the collector tend to over-price their product and bank on name recognition and the myth that it will go up in value if you don't use it.

I guess I'm a little cynical on the topic, right now.

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In MemoriamPermalink Reply by Robert Burris on May 27, 2014 at 13:36

In the A/C and Refrigeration industry I have seen companies pull a switch on customers over the decades. They first start out with a well built, fairly priced unit. Well they get a good reputation and sells are brisk. While things are going good, they start manufacturing products of lesser quality, while edging up their price. They do this all on their original reputation. Before the customers realize the switch, the company has made millions.

This was practiced by several companies over a 35 year period, that I worked on A/C and Refrigeration equipment. I won't give out company names but believe me, this is a industry standard procedure.

What all this has to do with knives, I don't know? But if one industry does this, I'll bet there are a lot more.

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Permalink Reply by Alexander Noot on May 28, 2014 at 3:03

There are multiple companies that do that. Several companies (modern Hen & Rooster) have sold their name to chinese based companies that make an inferior product.

I love china made when it's well done.....but the new H&R aren't.

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Permalink Reply by Tobias Gibson on May 28, 2014 at 6:29

I agree Alexander. I have Chinese made knives by Boker (Magnum), Joker (JKR) and Linder (International) and all are quite good for a much lower price.

The H&R International knives made by Frost lack the quality of the ones made in Spain or Germany and the price difference is minimal. The quality of the new H&R still made in Europe isn't what it used to be either. Frost is definitely banking on name recognition.

SMKW did the same thing with the Black Jack line of knives with its Black Jack International line. but at least the prices were significantly less for the Chinese and Pakistan made knives ($$15-$30 instead of $100-$200)

It seems H&R International is no where near as good as the Boker Magnum line or Joker's JKR knives or Linder's International line of knives yet they keep the price high.
Alexander Noot said:

There are multiple companies that do that. Several companies (modern Hen & Rooster) have sold their name to chinese based companies that make an inferior product.

I love china made when it's well done.....but the new H&R aren't.

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In MemoriamPermalink Reply by Robert Burris on May 28, 2014 at 7:38

That's right, just because something comes from a certain country, does not make it good or bad. Products made in any country can be good or bad.

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In MemoriamPermalink Reply by Robert Burris on May 28, 2014 at 9:17

Tobias, it's like I was saying about A/C units. Bait and switch. Get a good reputation and then switch production practices.

Let me say though, this is not done by all manufactures in the A/C or Knife industries. There are plenty of companies that make good products and stand by their quality.