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USA versus the World. (This ain't Soccer, Fussball, futbol!)

I know several people feel a need to buy only USA made knives. Some worry about the quality of knives made elsewhere. Others say it has to do with buying trusted brands. Still others state it is to save American jobs.

1) Is this embargo on any foreign made knife or just knives made overseas by American owned companies? For instance will you refuse to by a Swiss Army Knife out of Switzerland or Condor knife out of El-Salvador. What about a Boker made in China?

2) If your concern is the quality of steel in the knife, are you aware that many of the knives that are Made in America use steel imported from China. Same goes with many American made automobiles. (you know the ones, those American cars with motors made in Mexico, South Korea, and Canada!)

3) Are you aware that some American knife companies are actually owned by larger corporations that are international in scope and are headquartered overseas?

4) Do you truly believe that any knife made in the USA is better than anything that can be made in China, Pakistan or Bulgaria.

5) Do you believe that raising tariffs to increase the price of foreign made knives sold in the US would actually level the playing field and improve the quality of American knives?

6) If American made knives are superior to knives made in other countries, then why don’t they sell better in the overseas market?

7) Do Germans care as much about where the knife comes from? What about the British, Fins, Dutch, Brazillians, etc. What do you people from other lands think of American made knives compared to those made elsewhere? Better, worse, or about the same?

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Permalink Reply by Tobias Gibson on September 30, 2014 at 9:50

You are so correct, Alexander, especially when it comes to "factory" file work, Damascus blades. I've seen many more that look like crap because of the file work.

I've seen a few genuine custom handmade knives that went overboard with the "hand done" file work but this is few and far between compared to the stuff churned out in small factories in Pakistan. The master craftsman seems to know when to do file work and when to lay off. They also know how to make exquisite patterns in Damascus which explains the high cost of their work.

But the crap-tastic file worked Damascus sold for $20-$100 on eBay and Flea markets everywhere ain't custom or collectible!

Don't get me wrong, you normally get what you pay for especially if you are buying a known brand. For instance Brian Wilhoite and SMKW house brands as well as Jim Frost and his co-horts sell junk Damascus at a reasonable price and it looks decent and won't fall apart tomorrow. Heck, it might even retain parts of it value! In short hey market cheap Damascus knives made in Pakistan at an affordable price and plenty people love it..

Some American companies (Case and Bear & Son come to mine) and even Victorinox has put "Damascus" blades in their factory knives and market it to the collector at a collector's jacked-up price. Will it go up in value? Who knows but people buy it. The stuff is extremely popular.

But at the end of the day, all of these look absolutely underwhelming when compared to a master craftsman who actually knows how to pattern weld steel and how to do actual hand filing.

But the the worst of the worst of crap-tastic file worked Damascus is the unbranded stuff marketed "Awesome, Unique, Stunning Hand Made, by a Master Craftsman From Studebaker Spring Steel with Custom File Work" I hate this crap because of the way it is marketed. It gives Pakistan and off shore production a bad name! Yet my schizophrenic alter ego, is reminded of a quote from that great American P.T. Barnum "there's a sucker born every minute!"

Alexander Noot said:

Actually, in general (with a few exception) they look terrible. To me it often seems like people from that industry have a tendency to slap any embellishment they can think of on the knives and the end result if often hideous

But that's just my personal taste.

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Permalink Reply by Tobias Gibson on October 11, 2014 at 13:21

Eventually I'll get around to talking knives. Indulge me!

As some folks know, I build models. I've been building models since I was around Six. That's fifty years of model building.

It started with Aurora Monster Models but then came the Monogram Tom Daniel Show Cars and that led to the Monogram tanks and airplanes.

Monogram made the best tanks and airplanes. Aurora's Airplanes sucked. Just about everything from Lindberg sucked. Revell made some really good large scale airplanes but other stuff tended to be crappy. MPC and AMT were okay when it came to automobiles otherwise they also sucked.

These were all American Companies and they competed with each other. Back in the 1960s, if you were a kid growing up in America and you build models, those were the companies you knew. Then something happened. One day I walked into my local hobby shop and this new Tank model showed up. It was a German Leopard Tank! It was made by some weird company out of Japan called Tamiya. It cost $12 when most other Tank models cost under $4. Why in the world would anyone buy a $12 Japanese made model? A month passed before I finally couldn't resist anymore and I had to buy this way too expensive model! My older brother laughed at me! But then I got it home and built it. The amount of detail and the quality of plastic in this kit was head and shoulders over that of any other model kit I ever bought! There was no turning back! The new kits offered so much more for the modeler! Sure I'd still buy some of the American kits but they lacked the quality of these Japanese kits.

Today's modelers now think of these old Tamiya kits and just so-so. Other companies in Korea, China, and Russia are turning out better kits with finer detail. Tamiya, is fighting back by re-tooling and updating their old molds. As for the American Companies, most have gone the way of the dinosaur. Monogram was bought by Revell and production moved to China. The Aurora Monster Models were bought by Polar Lights and then Moebius. Moebius is re-tooling and expanding the line but production is still off shore.

What does this have to do with knives. Maybe nothing. But I contend that back in the late 1960s and early 1970s, American Manufacturing fell asleep. They assumed American manufacturing was the best in the world and anything made anywhere else was just junk. Unfortunately the American public was not asleep. They saw products made in Japan, Germany, and other places and at first they laughed but then they saw the quality. Sometimes they would even spend a little extra for something coming from Japan simple because the quality topped what was made here.

Patriotism didn't figure into these purchases. and when you get down to it, it still shouldn't. How does one figure buying an inferior or overpriced item patriotic? I applaud the knife makers and knife factories who strive to make things here in America. But Jingoism is not going to change the buying habits of most Americans.

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Permalink Reply by John Bamford on October 11, 2014 at 13:46

It was the same here in the UK with cars and motorcycles . The manufacturers kept turning out old fashioned poorly made models and the Japanese made cars and bikes that worked reliably and didn't leak oil . They even came as stock with exotic extra's such as radio's and heated rear windows. My Father was staggered to find his first Japanese car didn't need topping up with oil between services. The Japanese manufacturers did everyone a service in the end by improving standards that other manufacturers had to follow.

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Permalink Reply by Steve Hanner on October 11, 2014 at 19:55

Tobias and John, I believe you are both right on the money.

Knives can be made anywhere and in some places they are made quite well Thank You. Much to the dismay of American providers.

But, they are fighting back, a handful of good quality folks leading the way and producing good Cutlery. Following closely behind are all sorts of Cutlery start ups, knifemakers and hobbyists who keep the dream alive.

It's not dead by any means and eventually... through uniqueness and quality it may make a comeback.