Taiwan by the Numbers

[dsmegst]

Lately, I've had better luck with Taiwan made Spydies than with Japan made Spydies. Just saying. :p

[GaryK]

So the Cat and Chicago were discontinued due to poor quality delivered by the maker. We don't know if this is due to bad tooling or sloppy quality assurance or what. It's possible that it was an honest mistake on the maker's part or something and that they will get used again in the future. It's just too complicated of an issue and we don't know all of the facts.

The Bushcraft seems to have been top notch except for the scales, but again we don't know where the wood came from or who the supplier was, or maybe the wood supplier didn't do the stabilizing in house, who knows. The knife itself seems to have been top notch though, so you can't fault the maker for that muck up.

The other discontinued Taiwanese spydies were discontinued due to the normal reasons AFIK.

You don't have a 33.3% chance of getting a dud, you have a ~0% chance of getting a dud, because you just have to avoid that particular maker. As far as I know every current Taiwanese spydie is made by the same maker, and that is the one that makes the Sage, and that maker is absolutely top notch.

There's a lot to be said in favor of having a company inspector on the premises on a regular basis to catch quality issues before they get out of hand. I once worked for a company whose biggest customer had a representative on site 40+ hours a week. Trust me, he proved his worth on a daily basis.

[merthyrmafia]

That's hard for me to understand, because myself as a knife collector, I own many makes of knives, and I personally have always found Japanese knives and the finish and workmanship to be of a higher level than any other knives iv'e collected or come across, I would like to know what are these Japanese models you are talking about.

[araneae]

Simple perfection always costs more, and people will always pay 2 or 3 times as much for a Japanese, American or Swiss collaberation made knife than they would for Taiwnese or Chinese made knifes, you only have to look down the years and see which Spyderco knives are by far the most collectable and sought after, there you will find the answer.

In the past, Japanese knives were regarded by some as cheap junk. The world changes.

[LorenzoL]

That's hard for me to understand, because myself as a knife collector, I own many makes of knives, and I personally have always found Japanese knives and the finish and workmanship to be of a higher level than any other knives iv'e collected or come across, I would like to know what are these Japanese models you are talking about.

Restricting this discussion to Spydeco, the recent Japanese-made models I have, specifically the Native CF, Caly CF, Kopa CF and the Superhawk all have inferior F&F compared to the Golden and Taiwan-made models.
The Taiwan-made Bradley is probably the best, along with the Ti Millie and CF Manix.

[Dagon]

From the Taiwan-made Spydies I have the Sage 1, the Chokwe, the Gayle Bradley and the Bushcraft.

Regarding quality: my Taiwanese Spydies are amongst the most precisely made knives in my (too large) collection.

Eventually I will add a Sage 2.

[Jim Malone]

Anyone read "the spyderco story"? :spyder: considers itself more a design firm like Porsche then a manufacturing plant. Just like Porsche their products are designed by :spyder: but produced by different suppliers. I believe some :spyder: are made by the Gigand factories who produce over one million knives per year (yes 1.000.000).
Iirc the Golden plant was opened because the custom knife maker who did a collaboration with :spyder: (Moran?) demanded the knife to be made in the USA.

known suppliers for Spyderco:
-Mitsuboshi Cutlery Co., Ltd (also Leatherman Japan)
-Scikio Inter'l Enterprise Co., Ltd (PRC China)
-G.Sakai Co., Ltd (Japan)
-i would say Gigand for Taiwan ( also produces for Benchmade)

[The Mastiff]

known suppliers for Spyderco:

Moki Japan
Fox Italy


BTW, good restraint in dealing with OP guys! Nobody brought up his troll like behavior in this thread. I guess I won't either. :)

[jabba359]

I have a few Taiwanese knives and a few Chinese, and as far as I can tell, the stuff that comes out of China is WAY better, and I've heard ZERO issues about them in the past.

As they say, "there's no time like the present!" I picked up a CE Tenacious when it first came out. After cutting some plastic pallet strapping, I noticed that the teeth had bent over. Sent it in to Sal who said that the serration pattern wasn't being done correctly and that they were working on fixing it. So I HAVE had an issue with a Chinese knife and now you can't claim you've never heard about zero issues. :p I can't seem to find the thread I started as proof (search doesn't go back that far), but maybe someone else knows how to.

That said, I'd still buy a Chinese Spyderco if the design were right (I have a few of the Mule they made there). I also buy Taiwan Spyderco knives. And their Japanese and US ones too! ****, I'll buy any Spyderco regardless of origin. At the end of the day, they have to be Golden QC approved before we get them.

P.S. I also care that Yablanowitz is on this forum, contrary to your earlier assertion.

[SonnyD]

I guess maybe I'm old school, but I'm more comfortable with the blade saying Seiki-japan then I am Taiwan. Especially if I'm spending 195 and up
for a knife. Right or wrong Taiwan on the blade does nothing for me. I was going to buy a Sage but the Taiwan on the blade turned me off, so I bought
a Caly 3 instead. My Cara Cara's and Byrds are find, I just dont like Taiwan
or China printed on the blade. No doubt they can make good stuff, but I still think of it as cheap! I'd rather have nothing on the blade then C or T
I'd much prefer Golden Colorado or Japan. I've noticed the look in peoples eyes when you open the blade and they see Cor T, no matter how good the
quality is. Prejudice or not, I'm not buying anymore C or T of anything.
I do love all my Spydies....It's just a personal thing
Regards Sonny

[MCM]

Thats fine.

Just do yourself a favor and never handle a:

Gayle Bradley Carbon Fiber ~ C134CF
or
Spyderco Sage ~ C123

You will be much happier not knowing. :D

I do admit China does nothing for me........

[5.56]

Maybe it is time to end the Taiwan experiment, and stick to manufacturing in the US and Japan only?

Of course, I'm also not liking the rise in Spyderco knives being made overseas.

Although I do wish more knives were made in Golden, I don't let that stop me from enjoying certain Spyderco models.

personally i dont buy any taiwan built Spydercos or China

I think manufacturers should stop using Taiwanese companies to build their knives.

. Right or wrong Taiwan on the blade does nothing for me.

I do admit China does nothing for me........

Vote with your wallets. There is a large following of people who prefer USA made knives and tools. And there's nothing wrong with having pride in your country.

:)

[bchan]

Restricting this discussion to Spydeco, the recent Japanese-made models I have, specifically the Native CF, Caly CF, Kopa CF and the Superhawk all have inferior F&F compared to the Golden and Taiwan-made models.
The Taiwan-made Bradley is probably the best, along with the Ti Millie and CF Manix.

+ 1.

And, some people in this thread seem not to realize that China and Taiwan are two places.

[Blerv]

Vote with your wallets. There is a large following of people who prefer USA made knives and tools. And there's nothing wrong with having pride in your country.

:)

Very true.

However buying non-American doesn't strip your patriotism. If so, we are all in trouble.

I always think it's cool seeing pics of American muscle cars in foreign countries (modern or old). :) . I doubt they feel hypocritical.

[5.56]

The problem with discrimination is you can't debate it with logic. If you try eyes just glaze over.

I wonder if people would accept Taiwan if they had a Nascar entry. Worked for Toyota :) .

Gitterdunn!

No, but statements like these imply racism, when in fact, my decision to purchase USA made products is based on economics and pride in my county.

[Blerv]

No, but statements like these imply racism, when in fact, my decision to purchase USA made products is based on economics and pride in my county.

Well taking a quote out of context can make someone sound like a villain. That certainly wasn't directed to you but rather a raving OP making blanket statements.

http://www.marketoracle.co.uk/Article1571.html

That breaks down who we owe our national debt too in an article from July 2007. Owing 600 billion to Japan and 400 to China is something we have to deal with.

I don't revel in buying non-American. I balance decisions and buy products based on different factors avoiding ALL trends. The choices of consumers are free for everyone to make because we live in a free country. If our government wanted to "fix things" they would simply cut-off trade...which doesn't take an economist to see how it would turn out.

I didn't mean to imply that you (or anyone) was racist. I can't see other people's hearts. I can't criticize anyone's decision to buy American because it's a very noble thing which I share on a daily basis. My sarcastic NASCAR comment was hinting at the fact that 50 years ago we laughed Japanese cars off the road and now you can find people in Tennessee proud to be employed by Toyota.

I can criticize anyone I want on their blanket statements about quality based on fuzzy logic. I can also poke a stick at anyone who as an individual is telling a company how to run their business. They have nothing to risk in making global decisions and last I checked didn't own part of the company. Freedom of speech goes both ways.

If people think they can do a better job go for it. If they can I'll buy their knives. Isn't that the American dream?

Patriotism: "I buy American because I support our country and our workers."

Racism: "I don't care if Product A is better than Product B because if it's made anywhere but America it's a piece of ___ crap."

[5.56]

Racism: "I don't care if Product A is better than Product B because if it's made anywhere but America it's a piece of ___ crap."

Wrong. I think the word you're looking for is ignorance.

Blerv, I'm not trying to jump on you, but I can't let that slide.

[RIOT]

Vote with your wallets. There is a large following of people who prefer USA made knives and tools. And there's nothing wrong with having pride in your country.

:)

i did not vote with my wallet, i voted for quality, i feel that the taiwan & china made Spydercos arent built properly to my personal specks, in fact i dont even like the USA made steel Spydercos and the quality from USA is awesome, im just old fashioned and prefer the old school seki japan thats all, i always stick with my roots.

[Blerv]

Wrong. I think the word you're looking for is ignorance.

Blerv, I'm not trying to jump on you, but I can't let that slide.

Well the "___" could have been a racist word. :p

Seriously though 5.56. I think we (and many people) have much more in common than it seems from a forum. I was jumping out of my seat to get my Manix2 and am panicked to get a T-Mag shortly (USA, Rare Earth!). It's a very special thing and if Spyderco was twice or three times the size they would probably have even more models out of Golden. This is merely speculation.

Never for a second would I take you for anything but a patriot. I don't think anyone here is a racist.

Sometimes when people make outlandish comments the responses are equally as vibrant and outlandish. Being hot-headed is part of humanity sadly.

[THG]

Wrong. I think the word you're looking for is ignorance.

Blerv, I'm not trying to jump on you, but I can't let that slide.

Right, because it doesn't have anything to do with race. You're not saying, "The people of country X suck and have no ability to put together a good product." THAT would be racism.

I'd say the original statement is stubborn and ignorant, but not racist per se. Come on, now; this isn't a college campus