Chinese sprints

[Tims]

I was going to ask this in the Emphasis thread but thought it may deserve it’s own thread.

What are the chances of sprinting models coming out of China?
I’m sure anything is possible in terms of handle colour but I’m more interested in steel.
What options do Spyderco have for steel in it’s China factory?
Do you this would ever be considered?

[Notsurewhy]

Bad news I'm afraid. Sal said that in this thread:

viewtopic.php?f=2&t=77098&p=1274428&hil ... s#p1274428

That the factory that makes the tenacious doesn't like to use steel that isn't 8cr. Not much room for sprints there.

I'm pretty sure he has also said that the polestar is made in a different factory, and it's made in bd1, so they're could be hope for sprints on that front. But, despite only hearing positive things about it, the polestar hasn't been a runaway success, so the chances of sprints aren't great there either.

[steelcity16]

I have the same question as I would love a Tenacious in a different steel. K390, Elmax, CTS-XHP, 4V, LC200N, whatever. It is a GREAT model and some upgraded steel choices would be awesome, even if the price increases. A 4V Tenacious for <$100 would be a STEAL!

[fixall]

Sadly, I think you will find a lot of people unwilling to pay a premium for upgraded steel for knives coming out of China. I also think it would probably increase the cost of knives that are considered a budget line more than you'd think because of the rules for storing imported steel in China.

Maybe I'm completely wrong though. The heat treat on knives coming out of China has really improved over the years and many Chinese factories are stocking imported steel a lot more than they used to. :)

[TomAiello]

Aren't the minimum order quantities for the chinese factories pretty large? Larger than a normal sprint?

Regardless, there have definitely been some sprint/exclusives on the chinese budget line--different colors of scales have happened several times.

[BornIn1500]

Sal has said before that the Chinese factories don't have the ability to work with better, harder steels. Maybe something to do with limited heat treat capability?

[sal]

As "notsure" mentioned, it's more challenging for a variety of reasons. We also understand that the Polestar and Alcyone have not been great a success primarily because of the additional cost, which wasn't that much. The market for the Chinese made knives is different.

sal

[Tims]

As "notsure" mentioned, it's more challenging for a variety of reasons. We also understand that the Polestar and Alcyone have not been great a success primarily because of the additional cost, which wasn't that much. The market for the Chinese made knives is different.

sal

I can only speak for myself but the Polestar and Alcyone weren’t on my radar mainly due to design preferences and bd1 not being a huge jump from 8Cr. Not for reasons of value or country of origin. Maybe others felt the same?
It would be a shame to throw the baby out with the bathwater due to poor sales of those 2 models. I can appreciate your hesitation to step out again in the future though.

I guess 2 questions come to mind
1- Is working with a Chinese company known to produce quality, feasible? WE, Kizer etc
2-Could a knife from the budget line ever climb the ladder and become a Golden produced model?

Thanks to all those who replied.