stigma on knives made in taiwan and china

[jzmtl]

I like to think of buying products as supporting the economy of whichever country made them.
Taiwan seems to be a pretty decent place, China still has a ways to go before I can support them outright.

Without getting into politics... Taiwan and China are NOT one in the same. I've stated my views elsewhere, but I love my Sage; don't own any Byrds. Not because I won't, but because I don't have to.
hickster

Funny how I always hear that, consider 99% of the people who say it have never been to either place, only what the news told them to think.

[Spydiman]

Funny how I always hear that, consider 99% of the people who say it have never been to either place.

I've never been to the moon either.

IT MUST BE MADE OF CHEESE!!!!!

[jeff189]

I think it is weird that there is a little backlash at people who want to buy U.S.A. made products. That is what I buy unless what I want is not made here. I buy SAKs and H1 and designs I really like that are made in other countries, but if there were something with similar properties made in the United States I would buy it instead every time.
I look at it like the kid who grew up in Pittsburgh is more likely to buy a Steelers t-shirt than a Eagles t-shirt. Big deal, I do not have a problem with the other country, I just really like mine. I am not sure if that is a stigma but if so that is the reason I have one.

[clovisc]

i think there is a danger in making generalizations about china and taiwan. i'm sure that in both countries, there are factories capable of high quality work, as well as factories capable of bottom of the barrel work. i think spyderco's been doing an excellent job of working with factories that can produce very high quality knives.

the sage and chokwe are awesome. keep it up, spyderco!!!

[jzmtl]

I've never been to the moon either.

IT MUST BE MADE OF CHEESE!!!!!

I can tell what it's made of from photos.

You must be some sort of genius to be able to know a society from photos, or more likely just full of it. :rolleyes:

I think it is weird that there is a little backlash at people who want to buy U.S.A. made products.

There is no backlash at people who want to buy u.s. made products, I respect that if that's what you choose. There is however backlash against people who think everyone else is inferior, either morally or materialistically.

[hickster]

Funny how I always hear that, consider 99% of the people who say it have never been to either place, only what the news told them to think.

Oops, you got me.
Yep, you're smarter than me.
You win. :rolleyes:
hickster

[jzmtl]

Oops, you got me.
Yep, you're smarter than me.
You win. :rolleyes:
hickster

Didn't say I am, stop putting words in my mouth just so you can argue with it.

[araneae]

Please- Chill guys. Not appropriate here.

Don't make me go PB&J again...

[hickster]

Funny how I always hear that, consider 99% of the people who say it have never been to either place, only what the news told them to think.

^ Who's arguing? :rolleyes:

[sal]

It is very difficult to make comments about some countries that apply to everyone in that country. Countries are big things with lotsa people. Good people, bad people, and everything in between.

We seek good makers, worldwide. It is quite difficult to find really good makers. It takes passion, dedication, persistence and consistency. Both to be a good maker and to find a good maker.

We've tried many makers that we didn't continue working with. Maybe it was quality, maybe it was something else.

We've been fortunate to be able to find a number of makers worldwide. Our makers are skilled and we develop long term relationships with them. Some of our makers have been with us for 28 years.

The question in the end is really "what's in a name?" We try to keep our name good.

sal

[jzmtl]

^ Who's arguing? :rolleyes:

Perhaps you should re-read my last post. I said do not put words in my mouth, and argue with them as if I said it. So far that's all you've been doing, putting words in my mouth and twisting my meaning to suit your purpose. If you cannot comprehend a sentence you should stay away from argument.

I received an PM from a member stating his reason for dislike China, which is because China imprisons and kills people who share Gospel openly, and people have to sneak in bibles. Well here is my response, maybe some people would like to read it.

"This is why I'm so annoyed by people who hate China based on things they hear, because 99% of the time it's totally made up.

I don't know where did you hear that from, when I used to live there there's a church 10 minutes away and operates just like any church in North America. My grandma was a Christian living in China, nobody ever bothered her. I've also been to areas with a lot of Muslim population, and they practice their religion just like everybody else."

I know there is no winning with this argument because there are just too many people believe in made up things, so I will not proceed any further either in this thread or others.

[JLS]

Getting back to the original topic, I seek quality and versatility in whatever I buy. I'm also a big supporter in free-market economics. (Yes, even when that hurts me in the short run; it fosters innovation and quality in the future. I like to think I can see a bigger picture than myself economically.)

I drive a Subaru, not because I'm a hippie/enviromentalist as the stigma goes now. I like it because it's reliable and the few things that have gone wrong are relatively easy to get to and fix. It's a well engineered car. The Honda Accord my wife had earlier was a pain to work on. And so goes the world.

I will admit a huge personal bias in knives towards Spyderco. They have always had excellent knives at attractive prices and their business attitude is very laudable. The fact that they're willing to recognize others innovations in knives and pay royalties on them is big. It shows responsibility, humility and integrity. I have a certain amount of trust in Spyderco. That's bound to happen after about 15 years of good use and excellent customer service the few times it's been needed.

I own a few Byrds and a serrated Tenacious. I gave away 2 Tenacious PE's around Christmas and one of the recipients bought a duplicate. He's since quit using his other knives (that include a few other Spyderco's).

The Tenacious and Byrd knives are good knives at any price point, but exceptional considering what they do cost. How many would be willing to buy the same design made here? I personally don't think a US made Tenacious would do very well considering it would cost (this is an estimate only) perhaps $90 street cost. Then people would whine that it "only has AUS-8 level steel" and "where's the S90V and BG42?"

We are a hard group to please; I think most of us recognize that. The mainland Chinese made knives aren't necessarily meant for us as a group. They're meant as "teaser" knives or as just a good, inexpensive but quality user. I was laying sod earlier this week and between me and a friend, we used a serrated Tenacious, a G-10 Harpy and an original Rescue. They all worked. I don't feel bad about beating up the Harpy and Rescue because they're already worked hard for years. But I felt no remorse about getting the Tenacious dirty and half dull because it's so easy to replace, both from an availability and economic standpoint.

I don't consider the Taiwanese knives to be in the same class as the mainland Chinese knives. I have yet to find a Taiwanese knife that really does it for me in size and configuration. The Salsa's I've played with have been fantastic knives, just didn't suit me personally. They're generally a bit small for me, but I am anxiously awaiting the Chokwe.

To sum all of this up, it's all about quality.

[araneae]

Okay I told you.
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I had some delicious blueberry jam this week. MMM...PB&J.