German knives made in China?

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byersj79

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Nov 17, 2007
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I've been trying to research some of the history on the old German factories and I’ve come across some info that I want to check on. I've heard from anther forum that some German brands may not be made in Germany anymore but moved to Italy, China and other places that the knives can be made cheep. Also heard that German law says that if the store front is still in Germany the knife can be labeled "German made" where ever it may be made. The main brands I've heard about are Boker, Hen and Rooster, Kissing Crane, and Henkles. I have noticed that the price of the knives are cheep and through my experience are made pretty cheep too. I loved Hen and Rooster knives and I have plenty that I’ve bought for carriers and most have had loose blades or have worked loose over little time and the general craftsmanship hasn't lived up to the "German quality" that I’ve always heard about. I have also read that Hen and Rooster is owned by Frost now. If anyone has any info on the German brands please let me know. I would also like to know about Eye Brand. From my experience, which I've only had three, they are solid made knives. I tried to search this site but for some reason it's not working so if the question has been ask already I’m sorry.
 
Many "German" brands are made elsewhere. Hen & Rooster (Bertram) is closed, as is Klaas (Kissing Cranes.) Many Pumas are made in the orient.
If a knife is made in Solingen, it will say "Solingen" on the blade. Any that do not are made elsewhere.
Companies like Frost buy the trade names and have knives made for them.
Bill
 
Puma clearly states on their knives when they were made in Germany. Some are Puma IP products - and made in Spain.

Stainz
 
The Boker holding company has several knife brands:
Boker (or Tree Brand) - Made in Germany (Solingen)
Arbolito - Made in Argentina
Bonzai - Made in China
The now defunct Henckels - Made in Germany (Solingen)

Several Solingen brands are made in the Olbertz factory, including:
Fight'n Rooster
Bulldog

Carl Schlieper (Eye Brand) is associated with Olbertz, but I don't know if they're made in the same factory as the others, since they are hammer forged, as opposed to stamped. Eye Brand is really good, but it seems like there are some minor fit & finish issues their stag handled knives (people have proposed that this is due to cost concerns). My brother-in-law and I both have their medium stag congress. His is absolutely awesome, mine has a gap or two between the scales and the bolsters. Their non-stag knives are supposed to be consistently good.
 
Thanks for the infromation wintermute. I believe Boker Magnum are also made in China. Does anyone know who is making Henckels, if anyone, these days?

I think there was thread awhile back on Kissing Cranes (Germany) vs Kissing Crane (China).
 
Henckels quit making its own pocketknives in the early 1960s. Since then the pocketknives have been made for Henckels by Olbertz and Boker. United Cutlery was the company that was commissioning the newer Henckels knives, but I believe it is under new ownership now and I'm not sure if they are continuing with the Henckels line.

The older Henckels were right up there with early Case, New York Knife Co. and other elite American companies in terms of quality.
 
The only Henckels knives being made now are the kitchen knives. I guess Boker felt that the Henckels brand was superfluous. I know the higher grade kitchen knives are made in Solingen, not sure about the cheaper ones.

There was also some rumbling on the board somewhere about the Chinese gov't changing the name of one of their steel towns to "Solingen".
 
I bought a Henckels 4 blade stockman on sale last year for about $25. It's made in Germany and stamped accordingly. It's a plain knife with a textured bone handle. It resembles some of Boker's moderate priced stainless models.

I never really warmed up to it , but looking it over the other day it is kind of unique with the extra blade. The quality is not bad , but unfortunately, as with most modern manufacturing, it looks as though the fit and finish is not quite up to the German knives of 15 or 20 year ago.

I felt the same way looking over some recently produced Hen and Rooster knives. It's hard to describe, but they don't really resemble Chinese construction, the new German knives have a look all their own and I don't necessarily mean that as a compliment.

I ordered a Puma Stag Stockman the other day and will post my impressions after I get it. The knife is advertised as made in Germany and has a $100 MSRP, but it was on sale and I picked it up at a good price.
 
Wintermute, Boker was just making some of the Henckels pocket knives, United Cutlery, for whatever reason, was the entity behind them. Once United Cutlery went under, the newer Henckels stopped being produced.
 
Mike Robuck said:
Wintermute, Boker was just making some of the Henckels pocket knives, United Cutlery, for whatever reason, was the entity behind them. Once United Cutlery went under, the newer Henckels stopped being produced.
Click to expand...

Man, someone needs to make up a German knife flowchart.
 
It does get confusing when knife companies are making knives with other companies' names on the tang stamps. :(

But then again back in the old days hardware stores in the U.S. contracted their knives from various companies.

And there are also Henckels International kitchen knives, which aren't made in Germany.
 
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