China

[Naperville]

....

I think as knife enthusiasts we see the rampant counterfeits and maybe assume that's what China is about. The vast majority of Chinese manufacturing is legit goods.

NOTE: When I lived in Silicon Valley I lived with and almost married a Chinese women from Shanghai. I've had many dozens of Chinese friends in both CA and IL. I'm quick to make friends with a lot of different people.

I have not yet knowingly purchased a Chinese made knife, I just see so many other top notch knives being made in the USA, EU, Taiwan, Japan... that Chinese knives are not of interest to me. I do not have a lot of money so I concentrate on other goods.

Spyderco has to tough call. Make knives in China; fewer, the same amount, or more knives can be made in China. As far as the vast majority of Chinese manufacturing being legit goods, I highly doubt that. China is already targeting Spyderco. That is where these knockoffs all probably come from.

The Chinese have stolen $225 to $600 billion worth of intellectual property from the USA every year since they entered the WTO in 2001. That adds up to around $9 Trillion in theft. In that time, the USA has lost 60,000 factories & >5 MILLION manufacturing jobs. I do not have the numbers for the UK, EU and Scandinavian countries but they also lost many factories and manufacturing jobs. This IP theft has real consequences.

[Tristan_david2001]

Those stats alone are enough to make me not support American companies using Chinese manufacturing, personally

[Naperville]

Those stats alone are enough to make me not support American companies using Chinese manufacturing, personally

Spyderco USA, Colorado, Earth, just expanded so I am going to buy what I can.

[Blerv]

The best way to avoid partisan politics is to value tools with the story behind the maker and the quality of the resulting product. These days I don’t even fixate on blade steels.

I understand makers don’t all want to be in the spotlight but knowing their stories might help humanize the products. These people all love making knives for us to enjoy. We all cut our fingers and bleed the same blood, regardless of where we live.

[Mad Mac]

Though I am most proud of my knives made in Golden,
I must confess that I have neglected the country of origin
for many of my purchases of knives and other products.

As of late, it has become more of a concern.
Forced labor in Uyghur concentration camps,
environmental pollution, the lack of safety,
the Chinese Communist Party saber rattling
and child labor weigh on me.

Ostensibly, China has a minimum age limit of 16
to satisfy Nike and other big hitters
but they are known to turn a blind eye
to children as young as 12 working in factories.

In another life, I did background investigations
as a counterintelligence Special Agent in the Army.
One of the questions we had to satisfy was
did the subject have any connections
with countries that had interests inimical
to those of the United States.
China would definitely fall into that category today.

My purchases will not change the world,
but these issues do concern me.
However, it is hard to pass up a deal.

[Spyderbot_matrix]

There is a time and place for buying Spydercos from China- their fit and finish is never disappointing, and if they came in different materials other than G10 or FRN, they would be stellar. I know about the sprint runs, just can never get my hands on them (facepalm)

Now I’m about to speak some downright heresy so don’t ban me- I would like 8cr13mov(n) or AUS-10 make a comeback and find their way into Some flagship knives.
People with bigger brains than me and more experience will say why this is a bad idea, but i was on ebay and there was a seller that has a VG-10 para3 blade stock ready to go heat treated to 60HRC (claim) and it got me wondering: why not more common steels? Would try CTS BD1N, or NC690CO, which you do offer, but not on chinese models.

Other than that, I enjoy my variety of super and exotic steels and knife models, I have from Taiwan, Seki City, Colorado, and a resilience(FRN) and a tenacious(CF) in 8cr13mov that do the work.

I would be pretty stoked over a VG-XEOS Shaman with carbon fiber scales and T6061 liners

[Gears_QQQ]

I have nothing against Chinese production. Some of their knives are very good in quality. If spyderco assigns its own specialist to control quality, it will be great. I think it would be worth releasing a premium spyderco to show the level of capability of the Chinese factory - if the price is reasonable, consumers will be able to appreciate all the benefits

[Gears_QQQ]

More. The strong point of spyderco is its history. If you create a separate model - a flagship of Chinese production, it will be very interesting again!

[Gears_QQQ]

I heard a story that a batch of blades was made in China, but then they were imported to America and stamped "Made in the USA."

[Ramonade]

Spyderco has been making knives in China for years now. They made a S35VN line of value folders, even some M4 offerings. They're good and the heat treat is very nice too.

[Bolster]

I'm sure their 234 warships, their 6 generations of hypersonic missiles, 600 nuclear warheads, and 10,000-15,000 drones are all top notch manufacturing.

Super weird statement. In what country does the military get the top notch manufacturing? I'm sure in China just like everywhere else the top end engineering goes into luxury goods.

What's the source of your assertion that top-end engineering goes into luxury goods rather than military hardware? The only way I can make sense of it, is that you are talking about aesthetic craftsmanship, rather than mechanical precision & reliability. Military hardware operates under “no compromise” budgets, such as F-35 parts machined from single titanium billets. Luxury goods still yield to profit margins, and a Louis Vuitton purse isn't tested to destruction for reliability. Failure isn't catastrophic in a Swiss tourbillon watch, but it is in a submarine hull. In defense system hardware, failures are often rated in failures per billion.

[zhyla]

What's the source of your assertion that top-end engineering goes into luxury goods rather than military hardware?

Haha, I've done a couple stints at military subcontractors.

If you're interested, there's this Youtube channel that's all about the history of China's military. It's a strange but interesting channel:

https://www.youtube.com/@Type56_Ordnance_Dept

[Bolster]

Haha, I've done a couple stints at military subcontractors.

As have I. Thanks for the youtube link!

[Danke]

Now I want a Louis Vuitton Submarine.

[zhyla]

Haha, I've done a couple stints at military subcontractors.

As have I. Thanks for the youtube link!

It's way, way too much content to consume. It's by a professor who runs it like a history class where he allegedly has a topic but diverges into interesting stories.

[Glock34]

It is my opinion that people need to pay more attention to knives quality and price rather country of production. Be open mind.

[RichJo86]

A Spyderco Byrd CaraCara started my collection and it's a good knife for the money. So I'm certainly not against China made (Spyderco) knives.
In the recent times with pricing going up, Spyderco MAP enforcement didn't help back in the day, I've also acquired some knives made by WE Knife. They are truly solid, great manufacturing and attention to detail.

I'm looking forward to the ButtonUp it looks like a compelling package (ball-bearing/button lock/G10). Hopefully it also will be available with an upgraded steel in the future.

[kerrcobra]

I tend to try to avoid purchasing Chinese made products where possible. I won't buy Chinese made knives if I can avoid it, and I definitely won't buy a knife made with Chinese steel, so nothing in this new reveal appeals to me, unfortunately. I'm sure there are plenty of folks who will though, and if this means that Spyderco reaches more customers than they would otherwise, that's great. They still make plenty of knives elsewhere that I'll gladly buy.

[VandymanG]

2nd edit (trying to remove reply based on political opinion) - Personally I have no interest in 8CR steel. I’ve had some in the past before I started buying higher quality knives. For me it’s not really about China but it’s about steel that’s really low budget steel. Even with high quality handles it’s still a really low budget blade.

1st Edit -

To be honest though it kind of stings to see so many 8CR knives in such a short time after Crucible went under. Was hoping to see CTS steel options or other North American steels if there are any left. I tend to try to buy Golden Colorado Spyderco knives first if possible, then Seki city Japan, Taiwan, and a very rare Italian knife after that. I also prefer CPM steel, due to Larrin’s knowledge, or high alloy steels that develop a nice patina.

I do plan to eventually buy the Tenacious with CPM M4 steel eventually if it’s still around when I get to it- (2nd edit) I would also buy a better budget steel knife such as 14C28N.

Not sure if this would help but If Chinese steel is going to be used I think it would be great if we had someone that could break it down like @Larrin did for US steels and some other steels.

[The Mastiff]

It is my opinion that people need to pay more attention to knives quality and price rather country of production. Be open mind.

I've always been open minded. That is exactly why I pay attention to way too many instances of stuff like the PRC getting caught smuggling crop destroying pestilences over here to be ready for deployment here in the US at the correct time, sending boatloads of drugs to the USA just to help weaken our nation, etc.. Constantly attacking other nations is just part of the fun as is voraciously taking whatever you can from whomever you can anytime you want. Heck, if you are weaker you must deserve it right ? Sounds a lot like the mob doesn't it? If you believe their lies like Hong Kong did then you are obviously deserving of what you get. :) Heck, they murdered over 30 million of their own and have barely slowed down. Gotta love these guys.

Oh, any business you do there, anything you buy from them helps the PRC government fund activities meant to destroy us eventually. That there are mostly a lot of people just like us over there really has proven to not be a valid argument any longer.

Open minded enough?