Chinese "food chain"

bobobama

bobobama

Joined
Jan 15, 2017
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Went to my local knife store yesterday to check out a Maxace Balance they were showing on their website. Orange G10 handles, S35VN blade. Pretty cool looking on the computer. When I actually got to handle it, major disappointment! It would hardly flip open and made a loud crunching sound when it did. Salesman took out a second one which was a little better but not by much. He told me they stopped carrying them due to issues like this (a batch they got in of another model onetime all had bent blades). Overall, the knife just felt like it was lacking something.

Then I tried a couple of Kizers and they seemed quite a bit better but still another knife that just wasn't doing it for me (didn't have that "got to get it!" factor). He suggested that I look at some WE's, but at that point I started looking elsewhere. Ended up getting a very nice Enzo folder (S30V blade, carbon fiber scales) for about the same price.

Not here to bash Chinese knives, but just wondering at what point and with which brands do the Chinese companies start to match the other major brands in quality and value for the dollar? I hear the names like Steadmon and Reate, but do they really offer anything you can't get with the other name brands made elsewhere?
 
Are you looking just for Chinese brand names, or do Chinese made knives under American brand names count?

I ask, only because Spyderco’s Tenacious Persistent and Resilient knives are made in PRC and are excellent values and I find them well made.
 
Stedemon owns Maxace. Steer clear.

WE and Reate are the only two Chinese brands I really trust. As to whether they offer anything you can’t get elsewhere, not really, other than variety. If you want a good titanium framelock flipper that isn’t a ZT for under $400, WE and Reate are probably your best choices. Rike (not Ruike) may be up there too but I have little experience with them.

Note that WE does a lot of manufacturing for smaller US-based designers. Knives from brands like VDK and Boos are all WE manufactured.

Kizer and Real Steel are decent at the lower end of the price range (under $180ish or so) but they do have some quality control issues and other inconsistencies to be aware of.
 
For $50-60, the Real Steel Sea Eagle is very hard to beat. IMO The 2 Sea Eagle's I have perform just the way I'd like a knife to, even better than a lot of my customs I've had. I have 2 of their fixed blades too, and they perform great!!!
 
Thanks guys- good input.

In response to 19-3ben's question, I guess there's a difference between the Chinese brands and those made in China for companies like Spyderco, etc. The latter have their quality controls in place so as to uphold their reputation, while the Chinese brands just police themselves when it comes to quality control, which sounds like it can be pretty variable from company to company and even within a given company itself.

Next time I go the shop I guess I'll give the Chinese brands a closer look; see what I can find that I might like.
 
I’ve had decent luck with Kizer and Stedemon products, but I do typically buy second-hand partly so I know more about the mechanical nature of the knife I am buying.

Lower prices often come at the cost of quality control. Shopping around and contacting sellers is a good way to avoid such problems. If you buy new from a dealer without asking them to check the knife first, it can be a gamble no matter what brand it is - but, much less so with some brands with higher quality control standards and, necessarily, higher prices.
 
Last month I finally shelved my biases and purchased my first Chinese made knife from a Chinese owned company, a Rike Knife 1707s. Got to handle several other models at BladeHQ as well. Mind blown, after 25 years of collecting and purchasing only knives offered by US or European companies, these are some of the best production integral knives I've ever handled; design and execution, fit and finish are all top tier. Expensive, yes, but the quality is absolutely there. A US made integral would cost much more. Enjoying my 1707s so much I also purchased a 1507T (non-integral). Only quibble is they could have been sharper out of the box, but after few minutes on my EdgePro both are razor sharp, so no big deal. Rike is also producing some pretty wild designs and colorful anodizing. I suppose they're trying to make an impression with their design and execution acumen. A bit too wild for my conventional taste, but luckily they have plenty of conventional models to offer.

I have no experience with WE, Reate or other Chinese brands but after my positive experience with Rike, these Chinese brands are now on my radar screen.
 
Rough Rider knives seem to be relatively high quality and cost very little to buy. Fit and finish is always good and lots of variety.
 
I have had couple of Maxaces with prices from 100-400USD and they all have been great.
BTW. Stedemon does not own Maxace.
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bobobama said:
The latter have their quality controls in place so as to uphold their reputation, while the Chinese brands just police themselves when it comes to quality control, which sounds like it can be pretty variable from company to company and even within a given company itself.
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No, plenty of companies do not pay Chinese manufacturers to have good quality. That's what it comes down to. A Spyderco Tenacious is a different risk proposition than a Kershaw.
But what you said about Chinese companies applies to every company - heard about Benchmade? Maybe they've improved, but they let things go for a while. A risk I could swallow at half the price, but that isn't what happened.
Kizer has a good reputation in flippers. I've found the Vanguard line quality for the price, but that mid-range $50-$100 is a place that few companies choose to inhabit. Your own complaint about them was about style - having the "get it" factor - which you said immediately after saying they were quite a bit better.
 
Comeuppance said:
I’ve had decent luck with Kizer and Stedemon products, but I do typically buy second-hand partly so I know more about the mechanical nature of the knife I am buying.

Lower prices often come at the cost of quality control. Shopping around and contacting sellers is a good way to avoid such problems. If you buy new from a dealer without asking them to check the knife first, it can be a gamble no matter what brand it is - but, much less so with some brands with higher quality control standards and, necessarily, higher prices.
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Stedemon recently started a subsidiary called Vouking knives. I playes with their t01 model at my local knife store and the fit and finish was outstanding. In many ways it was very similar to a fox knife they had, the recent Fox Terzoula framelock.

Vouking t01
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Everything about the knife was perfect. The only draw back is the pivot washers are totally exposed. This is due to the stop pin this knife uses. Still I was impressed.

Their other model the t02 front flipper had an overly stiff detent that made the knife no good at front flipping. I later found out uthis Vouking 02 was a direct ripoff of a sinkevith design.
 
I own 2 Maxace knives, the Cicada and the Corvus. Both knives are a couple of the best in my collection, perfect fit and finish and the action's are excellent!

Smooth drop shut action and NO grittiness.
 
Stedemon makes this ZKC with ceramic bearings, S35VN and it's awesome. Flips so fast and positive. solid knife. I paid 175 and it's up there in build and flipping with knives costing twice that.

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ATJ999 said:
For $50-60, the Real Steel Sea Eagle is very hard to beat. IMO The 2 Sea Eagle's I have perform just the way I'd like a knife to, even better than a lot of my customs I've had. I have 2 of their fixed blades too, and they perform great!!!
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I agree on the Sea Eagle. Great knife for the price!

 
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