I Can’t Believe How Good Cheap, Chinese Knives Are Getting!

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Gene

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I’ve been out of the loop for awhile here on BF but watching some Youtube videos and looking at threads and posts here about Rough Rider knives and others, I wanted to find out for myself. I ordered a few examples and I was amazed at the quality. The RR’s were the best and their build quality was excellent in most examples. I call them “fun knives” because they’re so cheap but you can actually get a knife or knives that are one tenth of the cost of a known name and they’re not that bad.

Look, I wish all knives would be USA made and I’m not a butt boy for Chinese made knives but I’m really impressed by some of this Chinese stuff. Maybe they’re not made with the latest and greatest steels but for most light to moderate duty uses they’re good enough and I’m impressed with the handle scales that even though they might be imitations, they look beautiful!

Long live hand made knives and USA made knives but these Chinese made “fun knives” are so good at times, they’re worth a look see. What do you folks think?
 
Yep, got my first Chinese knife, a Civivi Conspirator in damascus and micarta, about 3 months ago. I'm blown away by the quality, and that's before considering the price; blade centering couldn't be more perfect, action is fluid and fast with no play whatsoever, damascus is beatiful, grinds perfectly symmetric and very slicy, hold an edge great, feels great in the hands. I would have happily paid more than twice the going rate and be happy, just don't tell them that.

Honnestly, western companies should be affraid, very affraid. They will have to up their game, or die.
 
Floatingby said:
Yep, got my first Chinese knife, a Civivi Conspirator in damascus and micarta, about 3 months ago. I'm blown away by the quality, and that's before considering the price; blade centering couldn't be more perfect, action is fluid and fast with no play whatsoever, damascus is beatiful, grinds perfectly symmetric and very slicy, hold an edge great, feels great in the hands. I would have happily paid more than twice the going rate and be happy, just don't tell them that.

Honnestly, western companies should be affraid, very affraid. They will have to up their game, or die.
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And when all that's left are Chinese companies?
 
Rough Ryder has been around for a while now and the general consensus seems to be that they are much better than they should be for the price.

But I would say the biggest change recently is Chinese companies targeting the higher end and midrange market and doing very well at it. Take a look at the Rough Ryder Reserve line; their quality is some of the best out there in traditionals. The designs, especially of the multi blade models aren't always the best. But the smoothness and consistency of the finish, fitment of the various parts, and alignment are closer to the Case/Tony Bose annual collaborations than anything remotely close to their price range.
 
irsh said:
And when all that's left are Chinese companies?
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I don't control the market, and certainly do not wish the market to be cornered by what amount to a totalitarian regime.

But facts are facts, and the only thing keeping western companies afloat are innovations and quality. If they let that slide, no need to have a crystal ball to figure out what is going to happen.
 
Why not? Undercutting and selling here, with Uncle Sam subsidizing the postage many times, seems cool. It’s how they took a lot of our manufacturing since the 1970’s. I won’t buy Chinese knives. Yes, I know, electronics are made there and lots of other stuff. Well, it has to stop somewhere, at least for me. At some point we’ll come to blows and all that stuff will stop coming over anyhow. Solves itself eventually I guess.
 
I think I don't buy Chinese knives if they were delivered by an arm clad in glittering salute extended from the middle of a lake. Not if they can cut engine blocks in half and still shave nose hair. I don't spend discretionary money on Chinese knives.
 
Just my two cents, but as long as they’re not blatantly ripping off other designs or otherwise doing anything shady (underpaid workers, child labor, etc.), that’s cool in my book. I also acknowledge that there’s a bit of a grey area when it comes to ‘ripping off’ something (e.g., is that the case when you have your own version of the Kephart or Roach Belly knife?). So the final decision is left to the consumer.

If the knife brand goes in a direction I don’t agree with, I just stop buying their products.
 
I had some bad experience with chinese knives quality wise. All were from the latest and greatest big chinese companies. I got a free spinning stop pin, defect linerlock resulting in massive blade play, unbearable lockstick on a button lock. All knives were used only for a few weeks lightly. So for me, the longterm quality isn't there. Sold them off as defective knives and I won't buy anymore.

No problems with my buck, spyderco, benchmade or cold steel (taiwan) in years of use. I once had a chinese made spyderco, but I didn't like the f&f, so I send it back.
 
Floatingby said:
Yep, got my first Chinese knife, a Civivi Conspirator in damascus and micarta, about 3 months ago. I'm blown away by the quality, and that's before considering the price; blade centering couldn't be more perfect, action is fluid and fast with no play whatsoever, damascus is beatiful, grinds perfectly symmetric and very slicy, hold an edge great, feels great in the hands. I would have happily paid more than twice the going rate and be happy, just don't tell them that.

Honnestly, western companies should be affraid, very affraid. They will have to up their game, or die.
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Yep I bought the regular Nitro-V version as a user knife after losing my tanto PM2 to my contractors. It was impressive enough for the money that I bought the S35vn version for another $109. Now I have a nice user knife and and even nicer one (not a fan of aluminum grips though). But, I ended up buying the crucata PM2 anyways and a CPM15V shaman, cause thats what happens when your daily gets stolen. And well, yea they are both just better knives with better steel and the action does not need bearings that will get all grimed up. Trying to force myself to carry the Conspirator when I will be more likely to use a knife.

But yes, the civivi are quite good, just not as refined, and I'm not afraid to beat it up a bit. I will be having will have some fun practicing shaprening on the nitro-V version which I was able able to get much sharper than factory. But, this is coming from someone who still thinks of a $200+ knife as "expensive" even with inflation 🤪. Not sure when if ever I will be used to inflatioin prices.
When my Dad was a kid you could buy a candy bar for a nickle, so many I'm just getting older and seeing things for what they are.

Civivi is better fit than my china made spyderco was which cost about the same. Spyderco did replace it and the new one is much better, but I mean the Civivi just feels much better quality than the china spyderco. I don't think I will buy another China spyderco when there are better options for the price. But a USA made / Made in Japan / Even Taiwan spyderco or other brand will probably be better, just at 2-3x the price for something similar. For anyone who does not care about where it was made, this means even less.
 
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I also choose not to spend my sweat and blood in this particular pool.....
They are making incredible knives for the money..... I bought a knife not knowing it was made there!!
I love the knife and will certainly keep it but that's the end of that...
 
The chinese knives look amd feel great at first but in my experience they dissapoint after some use. Of course a lot of people are just looking for a deal on pocket jewelry, not a real tool they can use.
 
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