Hope it doesn’t get ugly.
I’m just tired of buying higher end domestic production knives with problems. People swear by the manufacturers, but I seem to always have the one that gets through quality control.
Two years ago I hated the idea of buying Chinese knives. Today it seems like that’s the only way I can buy a problem free knife (with the exception of my ZT 0456 that is perfect).
The We Knife made Buc is yet another example of a knife that I wish was made in the USA.
Lol, ZT is just a US-based subsidiary of a Japanese company, at this point in history it is becoming impossible to choose products based on the mythology of manufacturing.
The best Spydercos come from Taichung followed slightly by Golden, otherwise there isn't really a way to get top-shelf US-made knives from US-owned companies. The other issue is that a lot of American companies don't make compelling knives.
Benchmade makes good stuff with weak quality control, but most of their knives follow the same aesthetic and build style that they have produced for the past thirty years. When they do branch out, the price tags are outrageous. The Anthem might not be overpriced, but at $400+ it's also not a standout, and if it were a $300 knife it would be.
It would be nice if U.S. manufacturing interests wanted to invest in domestic production in such a way that we could compete with companies like WE without the handicap of 'buy American'. Boutique companies like Three Rivers Manufacturing and North Arm are doing some great work, but they're not in a position to pump out the volume or diversity of product that WE can do. I would love to see American-made knives that make sense, if you run a small operation, don't even bother with mediocre steels, run the 20CV and 204P and Elmax and M390, if you're introducing a new knife make it user-friendly to mod like TRM does, don't make massive mistakes like releasing knives that aren't ready for prime time.
At the moment, it's boutique and smallish operations like Bark River and Bradford Knives that offer the real value and innovation in the U.S. knife world. There are some outrageously good fixed blades available these days. As long as those operations keep expanding and don't hike prices as they get established, they will be the stars of the 2020's knife world.
