Amen to that. Well, at the end of the day, they're businessmen. Can't really fault them for cutting costs and maximizing profits. If they go the cheap steel route though, for the safety of the user I hope the choice of steel makes sense at least. For choppers, at least get 1095 or 5160 or something.
Now I realize I don't really mind the steep asking prices of Spyderco. Better to have a pricey knife designed by someone who cares than an uber budget knife with a questionable warranty.
Meh, I think you kinda can fault them, to a degree. I love the world of business from a societal and psychological perspective. Capitalism cannot be "pure" lest it become clinical. If only numbers matter, then why even have an entire field on Business Ethics. How touchy-feely one gets about how business is handled will ultimately come down to a balancing act between understanding how the transaction of goods and services are weighed from a monetary measure of profit but must also viewed through the lens of what is "right".
I have found brand quality to by cyclical if it makes it past the first purchase/handover. They are usually successful, passed on or sold, then fold or become shells to fold or be sold to someone who doesn't really understand the specifics of the business, then if the brand is known well enough, someone with private capital who may have actually be inspired by the business steps in and elevates it again as an homage. However, no one can match the passion and desire of the founder. They were the one to put in the time, effort, sleepless nights, phone calls to the bank, put their kid's activities on the backburner out of necessity. Even when handed to a family member, this level of skin in the game cannot be matched. Hell, I am living proof. My old man build this company with my grandfather's financial backing. He missed ball games, broke promises to me, fell asleep on the couch before eating warmed up dinner as soon as he staggered in after 16 hours, and worked so much from before sun up to long after dark that there was a time that I asked my mom if dad was ever coming back home not realizing that he was, every night, he just was getting in after i went to bed and left before i woke up. Now, I'm actually a tick older today than he was in those times, but he made me promise not to do any of that at the expense of his granddaughter. In his mind, he paid a price for building something. The cost of success was missing the precious things that we do not get back. He paid that cost and learned his lesson so that I could be the dad that drops his kid off at school every morning, never misses her martial arts practice, is home before 8pm and usually by 6, and can put in the time to assure my daughter that I am present and engaged and that what she does matters to me more than work. I honestly don't know HOW to sacrifice like my old man did.
This is why I take issue with the whole "just business" way of things are spun. In this case, GSM is fine, LT is fine, the workers are NOT fine, and I feel that we as consumers will be left with a stable of products that will be of lower quality (and most certainly void of any child-like LT passion) where we as knife khuts collectively shrug our shoulders and pine for the good ol' days until we pass on from the hobby and the next generation has no clue about the big manic dude who filmed hacking up pig carcasses with his products on DVD and shipped it with every order as proof of how tough his knives were. Time marches on, I guess.
