Are knives stamped MADE IN USA really made in the USA?

silenthunterstudios

silenthunterstudios

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After reading a lot of these posts, I've begun noticing that US companies are having their knives made overseas, example is Cold Steel with their Voyagers made in Japan, the Kershaw Splinter made in Japan, a lot of Spydercos made in Seki City Japan, the Bokers made in Argentina as opposed to being made in Germany etc :eek: . Are blades made in Seki City good? Are American blades the best? I'm solely discussing production knives right now, but, as a man who loves his country, are American blades all they're cracked up (no pun intended) to be? :confused:
 
Just wanna take the time to say thank you to all of the board members who are being very helpful, I wish I would've come here before I bought all those knives that are sitting in my drawer, unused and taking up space. ;)
 
you'll have many opinons. Mine is that, in general, most non US countries can and often do, make a pretty good knife. It all depends on the standard of the company that's having them made. Some knives still suck no matter where they are made.

Specifically, Spyderco's Seki city, and other seki city made knives are almost always pretty darned good.

The politics of buying American or not is a messy issue.

OH, every once in a while, someone pops up and claims a certain knife that says made in america is really made in china or something, but if you deal with reputable companies, I don't think that is a problem.
 
Legally, for a product to be labeled "Made in the USA," there are specific requirements listed by the government. One of those requirements is that "all or virtually all" of the components must actually be made in the USA. This topic comes up occationally on motorcycle forums - even though Harley Davidson and Honda both assemble bikes in the US and each contains a significant amount of American-origin components, neither can be labeled "Made in the USA."

I've heard of knives being improperly stamped (as Hondas once were), but I think you're safe with the major brands.

Boker is hard to say. And to make it more difficult, some of their blades are made in Germany, but the knives are assembled in Argentina. I have mixed opinions on my Bokers...

I've never seen a poorly-made Japanese knife. AG Russell, Spyderco, and Gerber have contracted knives in Japan with excellent results. Modern manufacturing techniques combined with pride in workmanship is obvious.

Some modern Tawain knives are good for the money (CRKT comes to mind).

Many Eurpean companies make better knives than the average American company - Germany, Finland, Sweden, Norway...

Worldwide economics also play a role I think. How much does it cost to build a high-end product in the US compared with elsewhere? I mean, you can't fairly compare a $30 knife to a $100 knife...

Just some scattered thoughts,
Bob Wick
 
I am not putting down any thing made anywhere, I just want to know if the knife was actually made where it says it was. It's a little disconcerting to know that it was designed in one country, the parts made in another country, and the entire knife assembled in another country. Also, I don't have as much "mad" money, IE, money to "piss up against the wall" as my father would say, right now, more bills to contend with like rent, utilities, food etc :mad: . It's a shame that it really restricts my wallet. Oh, if I won the lottery, I would get so many knives! Most would probably end up as gifts, though. :D
 
Well, technically if you buy any knife made of ATS-34 then the steel itself is not made in the USA. It's made by Hitachi Steels.

154cm is the American made equivelant of ATS-34.

But that is a raw material and I don't think it applies to getting a "Made In USA" stamp.
 
It should qualify as made in the USA if all of the manufacturing processes were done here, grinding, heat treat, blanking of blades, ect. IMHO it does not matter so much about the origing of the raw materials. I don't think you are going to find very many knives custom or factory that everything is 100 percent American made, something is bound to be imported at some point.
 
Don't know about all knives that have "Made in the USA" stamped on them, but the ones put out by reputable companies will be made in the USA.

All the knives from the Seki-Cut companies that I have tried have been very good to excellent.
 
Cold Steel is an American company (as American as PT Barnum... :footinmou ), but their non-American-made knives have their country of origin stamped on the blade. Seki City is a great knifemaking city. So are Golden, Colorado; Wauseon, Ohio; Camillus, New York; Atlanta, Georgia; and hundreds of others.
 
silenthunterstudios said:
Are blades made in Seki City good?
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Generally they are quite good.

silenthunterstudios said:
Are American blades the best?
Click to expand...

Not neccessarily, some are great, some are trash. Same as any other country.

There are good knives that come out of China and Taiwan, and there are bad knives that are made domestically. The reverse is also true.

There are many reasons that one might want to buy an exclusively American product, but quality really isn't one of them.
 
legaly if it said, "Made in U.S.A." and it really wasnt made in the USA that wouldnt that be false advertisement?
 
spyder8 said:
legaly if it said, "Made in U.S.A." and it really wasnt made in the USA that wouldnt that be false advertisement?
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The problem comes in when a product isn't made entirely in the USA.

For example, a USA made knife that has the pivot pin and screws and thumb stud imported from a Chinese supplier.

Is it still OK to label it Made in USA?

How about if all the parts are imported, and the knife is just put together here?

What about if the blade is manufactured in the US and then sent south to Mexico to be finish machined and installed into a handle? Can you mark "Made in USA" on just the blade, maybe?

Things aren't as black and white as they may seem.
 
Some of the greatest Spydercos are made in Seki. For example, the Lum Chinese folder is a work of art. The micarta Calypso juniors were sweet too. The new stainless Crickets, man, the list goes on and on. The manufacturing folks in Golden do good work but (in my opinion) could learn a thing or two from the pros in Seki City.
 
And one of the points that needs clairification is that any spyderco or benchmade you buy will have the place of origin stamped on the blade. All the seki city made spydercos are stamped as such, and the ones made in golden colorado are marked appropriately.
 
Here's where I think you have to be careful.

Don't assume a common name with a long history in making knives makes ALL it's knives in the US, some people think our thought Buck is always 100% american made then where surprised.

Resellers may or may not be accurate in their advertising copy. They don't care really, they just want to sell knives.

I doubt you will find american made knives in Chinamart for example.
 
Just because an item says USA does not mean it is made here. It's legal to use made in USA if it's made in a US posession.
One good xample is all the garments that are made actually in CHINA.
Yep an island nation that uses slave (sweatshop) labor and the made in USA label. LEGALLY
 
TomW said:
Just because an item says USA does not mean it is made here. It's legal to use made in USA if it's made in a US posession.
One good xample is all the garments that are made actually in CHINA.
Yep an island nation that uses slave (sweatshop) labor and the made in USA label. LEGALLY
Click to expand...
Huh? :confused: There is no CHINA in U.S. possession.
 
cpirtle said:
Well, technically if you buy any knife made of ATS-34 then the steel itself is not made in the USA. It's made by Hitachi Steels.

154cm is the American made equivelant of ATS-34.

But that is a raw material and I don't think it applies to getting a "Made In USA" stamp.
Click to expand...

Interesting, my Camillus CQB says:

ATS-34
U.S.A.
 
silenthunterstudios said:
After reading a lot of these posts, I've begun noticing that US companies are having their knives made overseas, example is Cold Steel with their Voyagers made in Japan, the Kershaw Splinter made in Japan, a lot of Spydercos made in Seki City Japan, the Bokers made in Argentina as opposed to being made in Germany etc :eek: . Are blades made in Seki City good? Are American blades the best? I'm solely discussing production knives right now, but, as a man who loves his country, are American blades all they're cracked up (no pun intended) to be? :confused:
Click to expand...

Here is the definitive answer.

http://www.ftc.gov/opa/1997/12/musa2.htm
 
I also can attest to the good quality of the Seki City, Japan made Spydercos. I personally like them because they cost a little less without having to make a large sacrifice in quality. I do think that the ones made in Golden, Co. are on a higher level than the Seki City ones, but the higher end Spydercos tend to be made in Golden, Co. while the more economical ones are done overseas.
 
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