Chinese Wonder Knives?

J

Jason Wolf

Joined
May 19, 2020
Messages
19
Evening All!

Been a few years since I've been on this site but I had a question I wanted some people to weigh in on. Are quality Chinese knives worth the price? I'm talking WE and Kizer, etc.

I grew up in the 90s where every goddamn thing that wasn't food was Chinese made and every one of those things broke after a month. I have this VERY strong prejudice that China made= cheap. While I'm sure these knives are far higher quality than Chinese gas station knives, are they really worth 150+ dollars? I just struggle to wrap my brain around that.

Thanks all!
Jason
 
I bought a Kizer Jasmine when they came out and wasn't impressed, that has been 5 or so years ago.
I've been hesitant to try a WE or Rike. They are putting out some good looking knives with nice materials used.
 
I recently got some Kizer and some WE knives after buying mostly American knives.

They are nice, good materials, comfy in hand.

I will probably sell them down the road, but in my opinion not bad knives at all. Would just prefer my money stay closer to home
 
My Kizer, WE, and Reate knives are all excellent. The higher-end ones are absolutely the equals of other knives I own in that price range, and exceed some of them. Bang for your buck on the under-$150 ones is fantastic, too. :thumbsup:

Reate:

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WE:

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Kizer:

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I've only tried one Kizer, and disliked it.
Only tried one Reate, too; but it has become my most carried knife. (I have tried at least two Reate manufactured knives; and they were excellent, as well.)

In fairness, the Kizer was half the cost of the Reate branded and Reate manufactured knives; so the quality difference was not surprising.
 
High end Chinese made knives are high quality. But as long as there are high quality non-Chinese knives available I don't want to get involved. The issue with such knives is really no longer one of "cheapness".
 
I have owned, and carried a few Chinese knives. I jave a Spyderco Byrd that I would put up against any production folder made in the USA from a fit and finish standpoint. Many USA made blades ive had recently went worth the steel from a fit and finish angle. Terrible lock slop in every direction ( with life time warranty, no less).

I've carried and used one Reate on a passarround. Fit, finish, grinds, lockup, everything was very well done.

That said, I don't typically buy knives from China, unless they are made for a company with good fit and finish reputation. Ive had bang on perfect knives from Taiwan, Japan, and yes, China.

I lean towards US made GEC slipjoints, Busse knives, and more recently, custom fixed blades, etc.

I can point you to a number of fantastic, talented, makers out of China, putting out absolutely top noch custom fixed blades and folders.


I would simply caution to buy from reputable companies (do research) and avoid any that put.out clones, copies, counterfeits, etc.
 
I buy Chinese made stuff (and knives) from companies located all around the world. I consider a 150 Kizer worth the money when I think of my many 20-30 dollar Byrd knives... They are both from China, but one is a USA company. Does it influence my opinion? None. My electronics are mostly all American owned but made in China as well. Why not buy a Chinese product from a Chinese company? The value/worth is still up to you! Try one, sell if you you don’t like it.
 
The cost is too high on them in too many ways. When you pay the same for a WE or Reate knife as a comparable US, European or Japanese made product you know that the chicom workers are not getting the same as the other countries workers. So where does that money go, the Chinese Government. Sometimes unfortunately there is no choice but to buy a Chinese made product, but if there is they are a no go for me. They are the worlds largest polluter, intellectual property thieves, and they mean harm to every free nation on earth. If they have free elections, leave Taiwan and Hong Kong alone and dump North Korea to fend for themselves I will consider it, but until then, no thanks.
 
China has top craftsmen. They can, and do, make some fine products. They make the some of the best mandolins, guitars, violins, cellos. (their cars are not great). They make wonderfully crafted furniture. There are two problems with Chinese made things. One is that Western companies have traditionally only wanted the cheapest quality and price possible so they could sell at the cheapest price possible. That has led to Chinese products being seen as junk. America still makes better products than top notch Chinese products, but the cost is far, far more. Second, there have been and are extremely dishonest Chinese manufacturers. They have given the world poisonous anti-freeze in toothpaste and poisonous baby food. They have been caught dredging the sewers for used cooking oil and reselling it as new oil. They sell fake honey and olive oil under well known brands with fake labels. I could go on. With some makers, you simply cannot know what you are getting, and that includes knife steels. God is basically money and if you get rich, no matter the means, then god is blessing. This has led to China being seen as corrupt (it is) and its products not worth buying. Many Chinese living outside of China will not buy mainland Chinese products if given a choice. So, that is how things stand at the moment.
 
I would say that most, if not all, of my WE, Kizer, and even Bestech are within spittin' distance of ZT. Fit, finish, & function. But unfortunately, so are their prices now also.
 
DrRollinstein said:
Can we sticky one of these threads? There is a new one every week at this point.
.
Click to expand...

I agree completely. Next, this thread will devolve into a discussion on Chinese business practices, what defines a clone, what defines a counterfeit, what is immoral, what is unethical, and the usual soap boxers will make it a 300 post thread about world politics (according to them). Then the usual guys will get sarcastic, then snotty to one another, then it will go further into personal attacks. Then of course, flag waving and "murka, dammit".

I have posted before that we need a sticky, or maybe even a full subforum for all the guys that just can't let anything China go without dragging out their soapbox and pulpit.

As far as knives go, the worst made knives I have purchased in the last several years have all been American. Go figure...

Robert
 
midnight flyer said:
I agree completely. Next, this thread will devolve into a discussion on Chinese business practices, what defines a clone, what defines a counterfeit, what is immoral, what is unethical, and the usual soap boxers will make it a 300 post thread about world politics (according to them). Then the usual guys will get sarcastic, then snotty to one another, then it will go further into personal attacks. Then of course, flag waving and "murka, dammit".

I have posted before that we need a sticky, or maybe even a full subforum for all the guys that just can't let anything China go without dragging out their soapbox and pulpit.

As far as knives go, the worst made knives I have purchased in the last several years have all been American. Go figure...

Robert
Click to expand...
If the clone topic didn't come up so much, we wouldn't have to constantly defend the forum's stance. Plus, without those threads, some people would have one less thing to off topic post about ;)

The quality of the knife is not defined by the country it is made but rather the company that is commissioning the manufacture. Quality and crap can come from anywhere.
 
China is just a country of origin anymore. There's a bunch of great manufacturers. Kizer is usually pretty decent but their QC isn't amazing, think about equal to Benchmade. Artisan Cutlery is pretty good. Reate is superb, they do OEM work for a lot of midtech companies. Twosun does everything but blade grinds excellently. WE knives matches or exceeds US manufacturers, and even carries their quality to their budget Civivi line.

Honestly, there's no reason to be so apprehensive about buying from Chinese companies. So long as you buy from a reputable manufacturer, you're going to get a good product. US made doesn't really mean too awfully much, Bear & Sons is US made, and they are lower quality than Rough Rider.
 
Jason Wolf said:
Evening All!

Been a few years since I've been on this site but I had a question I wanted some people to weigh in on. Are quality Chinese knives worth the price? I'm talking WE and Kizer, etc.

I grew up in the 90s where every goddamn thing that wasn't food was Chinese made and every one of those things broke after a month. I have this VERY strong prejudice that China made= cheap. While I'm sure these knives are far higher quality than Chinese gas station knives, are they really worth 150+ dollars? I just struggle to wrap my brain around that.

Thanks all!
Jason
Click to expand...
I grew up in the 50's and 60's . Stuff from Japan was cheap and junky copies of western products . That has changed . :rolleyes:

Stuff from China is as only as good as is required by whatever company is controlling the quality .

Most Apple Computer stuff comes from there along with almost everything else , both excellent and junky .

My dad bought a brand new charcoal pink convertible Edsel from Ford Motor Company .

It was the the worst possible POS you can imagine . Totally 100% USA made . Late 50's . :(:thumbsdown::thumbsdown:
 
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