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- Aug 4, 2013
- Messages
- 3,988
It's pretty obvious that Lynn Thompson's sale of Cold Steel was done only after Lynn had put in place the products that would be offered in 2021.
So, my thinking was this... Their new Arkansas Toothpick and Hungarian Saber are made with 1055 carbon steel blades and are both in the genre of their products that they usually have made in India, mostly, (if not exclusively), by Windlass Steelcrafts.
But, these two products are being made in Taiwan.
That gets me to wonder if maybe Lynn was planning on eventually shifting what he was having made in India, over to Taiwan.
Most of their Japan made products had already been shifted to being made in Taiwan.
The shifting of India made to Taiwan made would have brought that genre of their products some notable changes.
The Taiwan firm(s) they have been using are using very little old world tech, the steel blades would likely be stamped or cut out of steel stock, and then machined and finished using much more modern day methods. This would take out much, if not most, of the hand work, such as hand forging, out of the product. It would also, as a plus, make the items more consistent and cause less human errors/defects, causing less problems for warranty returns and such.
On the other hand, the switch would also take away some of that undeniably hand made look that is hard to fake, and although oftentimes less perfect, offers a charm of it's own that may turn some away if it was to be replaced with more machine made cookie cutter products.
I can see benefits to both sides, (India made vs. Taiwan made), and again, one benefit being a more exact & consistent quality if made in Taiwan, but I must admit that the level of hand made part of the products made in India, would be something that I would greatly miss.
From photos of the new CS Arkansas Toothpick, it seems that it will be nicely made, but just feel it will lack the look & feel of something that workers actually had their hands on much.
Yes, I have mixed feelings about such a possible shift.
It probably matters not now, since the new ownership is bound to put in their own ideas on how and where products will be made in the coming new year and beyond.
This years offerings, (2021), could very well be the last year that we see Lynn's plans remaining in place, and only because he had already set the ball rolling for this year before the company was sold off.
So, my thinking was this... Their new Arkansas Toothpick and Hungarian Saber are made with 1055 carbon steel blades and are both in the genre of their products that they usually have made in India, mostly, (if not exclusively), by Windlass Steelcrafts.
But, these two products are being made in Taiwan.
That gets me to wonder if maybe Lynn was planning on eventually shifting what he was having made in India, over to Taiwan.
Most of their Japan made products had already been shifted to being made in Taiwan.
The shifting of India made to Taiwan made would have brought that genre of their products some notable changes.
The Taiwan firm(s) they have been using are using very little old world tech, the steel blades would likely be stamped or cut out of steel stock, and then machined and finished using much more modern day methods. This would take out much, if not most, of the hand work, such as hand forging, out of the product. It would also, as a plus, make the items more consistent and cause less human errors/defects, causing less problems for warranty returns and such.
On the other hand, the switch would also take away some of that undeniably hand made look that is hard to fake, and although oftentimes less perfect, offers a charm of it's own that may turn some away if it was to be replaced with more machine made cookie cutter products.
I can see benefits to both sides, (India made vs. Taiwan made), and again, one benefit being a more exact & consistent quality if made in Taiwan, but I must admit that the level of hand made part of the products made in India, would be something that I would greatly miss.
From photos of the new CS Arkansas Toothpick, it seems that it will be nicely made, but just feel it will lack the look & feel of something that workers actually had their hands on much.
Yes, I have mixed feelings about such a possible shift.
It probably matters not now, since the new ownership is bound to put in their own ideas on how and where products will be made in the coming new year and beyond.
This years offerings, (2021), could very well be the last year that we see Lynn's plans remaining in place, and only because he had already set the ball rolling for this year before the company was sold off.
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