Chinese Wonder Knives?

I'd put Reate at the top. having heard of David Deng and what he has done with Team Reate is really quote astonishing. WE is a level below Reate and then Kizer falls below WE, that's just my opinion of course. I have Reate knives that I cherish and will never sell, WArranty is phenomenal as well.
 
I'd put Reate at the top. having heard of David Deng and what he has done with Team Reate is really quote astonishing. WE is a level below Reate and then Kizer falls below WE, that's just my opinion of course. I have Reate knives that I cherish and will never sell, WArranty is phenomenal as well.

I have owned both WE and Reate. I would ALMOST put them equal now. A year ago I would agree with you.
 
The Reate and WE knives I’ve owned and handled have been fantastic quality, particularly for the money. Kizer is definitely a step down.

From Tony’s latest post at everydaycommentary:
It would have been nice to see Chris Reeve Knives really push the Sebenza but we basically got a 21 with the Inoski lock interface and the removal of the machine indexing hole. We didn’t even get a new steel despite the announcement of S45VN. None of this would be worrying in a vacuum but with the release of the Micro Evo Gen 2 and the Zulu Spear, its clear that Reate has finally learned how to grind knives. The two machining titans are set to do battle for years to come, but as of May 2020, the clear winner for me is Reate, or, at least, Reate when aided by skillful collaborators like Brian Nadeau and Enrique Pena.​
To have a prominent knife reviewer say that a Chinese company is making better knives than CRK is pretty significant. And after getting my Micro Evo, I’ve got to agree with him.
 
Over 80% of my collection is American made, namely most of my Spyderco's. There are those Taiwanese Spyderco's I own which rival the Golden's in terms of quality. A chinese brand I've grown to like is Artisan, namely their upper tier knives.

This one is their Archaeo in VG10 damascus, titanium and carbon fiber. Smooth ball bearing action and detent.

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It rivals the Crooked River I own in terms of quality. However being both very differently designed knives, I like them both.

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As far as supporting Americans, I prefer to by my stuff from BladeOps, which is several blocks from my home. Better to keep my money in the neighborhood. If that is not an option, I will buy from BladeHQ, a couple cities away. Better to keep my money in Utah. There is the closest knife manufacturer Pirahna in Twin Falls Idaho, then Spyderco in Golden. Chris Reeve, then Benchmade in Oregon... the list goes on.

I love first world problems and dilemnas. :cool:
 
I don't disagree that there may be more effective ways to make positive change than a personal boycott of Chinese knives. Having said that, it also does not have to be an either or proposition. One can do one thing or another or both.
 
I try to buy little or nothing from China.
My purchases will not change their ways or economy but it makes me feel ok.
After this Virus, Hong Kong, Taiwan, The South China Sea build up and the boycott of Aussie imports because Australians asked for an inquiry into Covid 19 is enough for me.
They can get stuffed.
 
I don't disagree that there may be more effective ways to make positive change than a personal boycott of Chinese knives. Having said that, it also does not have to be an either or proposition. One can do one thing or another or both.

That's true. I'd certainly hope that anyone who has time to take a bold stance on political or economic issues in an internet forum is also doing some of those much more productive things with their time and resources.

BTW, there are limits to the scope of political discussion in this forum. Here is a non-controversial idea. Anyone who wants to strike a blow for the forces goodness should consider supporting Knife Rights. They advocate for your fundamental right to own and carry a knife.
 
I have owned both WE and Reate. I would ALMOST put them equal now. A year ago I would agree with you.

The only WE i've never owned was the Drakon, it was a really nice knife but not for me. I flipped it and moved on. There are some cool knives I've seen come out lately from them though. My lambert Reate collab is amazing and the SBD and Pena blades are as well. I think the collab portion is where WE is lacking perhaps. Even Kizer has some sweet Laconico designs.
 
That's true. I'd certainly hope that anyone who has time to take a bold stance on political or economic issues in an internet forum is also doing some of those much more productive things with their time and resources.

BTW, there are limits to the scope of political discussion in this forum. Here is a non-controversial idea. Anyone who wants to strike a blow for the forces goodness should consider supporting Knife Rights. They advocate for your fundamental right to own and carry a knife.

Snarkiness aside, again, not an either or proposition. One can do one or both or all of the above. As for taking "the time to take a bold stance on political or economic issues" although I wouldn't really consider any of the above posts that, it's really not all that hard nor all that time consuming. It's more along the lines of noting that there is more to this particular hobby for some people than just getting the best thing for the fewest dollars and that as informed consumers we should think about all the results of our actions. For example, I also don't purchase ivory or rhino horns for knife handles. To me the costs are too great, not in dollars or cents but in less tangible ways. Hopefully, one of these posts has made someone stop and think that just maybe limiting our purchases when possible from a country that has shown in an innumerable number of ways that they are not our friends might be a good idea. There are more costs than dollars and cents. As you say, there is certainly a political element to this discussion and perhaps we have gone afield from the original question. I.e. can you buy a quality Chinese knife? The answer is of course "yes." However, suggesting that the answer is "yes, but they are EXTREMELY expensive" isn't so far out of bounds. If a moderator disagrees I'm sure they will take action in short order.
 
As long as there’s good top quality USA knives to be had I won’t be buying foreign knives and definitely not Chinese period! I have several Buck knives that are all excellent knives for less money than those WE knives or other high end China brands and Buck warranty and customer service is tops.
 
The only WE i've never owned was the Drakon, it was a really nice knife but not for me. I flipped it and moved on. There are some cool knives I've seen come out lately from them though. My lambert Reate collab is amazing and the SBD and Pena blades are as well. I think the collab portion is where WE is lacking perhaps. Even Kizer has some sweet Laconico designs.

WE made one of the best Laconico designs, the Keen.
 
Yep, some people don’t like different opinions but they don’t mind making theirs known to everyone.

On the contrary, I don't notice that anyone here as tried to shout anyone else down or suggested that anyone's opinion wasn't valid. Merely making one's opinion known doesn't preclude the opinions of others. Perhaps it was predictable that any mention of Chinese knives would bring along with it some discourse on the vagaries of purchasing Chinese knives or even speculation on the consequences of those actions, but considering the hostile behavior of the chicoms both overt and more subtle the predictability does not make it unwarranted.
 
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