Question about Kizer Knives?

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SMC knives

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Mar 20, 2015
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Is Kizer a new player in the Knife industry? I started collecting spyderco's and banchmade's 3 years a go and have recenetly kept seeing Kizer knives all across the internet. Where does Kizer place in the knife industry? I am looking at some of the knives, the material they use and the Price and it seems all too good to be true. For example I see an s35 vn Ti fram lock for 100$??

In my mind my sace is

1:gerber, smith & wesson, Chinese clones

2:Buck, crkt,

3: kershaw

4: spyderco, benchmade

4.5: zt, emerson

5: chris reeve knives, strider

This is a very rough scale, but where would Kizer place in terms of Quality and material?

Thanks In Advance!!!!!
 
Value (what you get per dollar) is very high in my opinion.

Quality just minor stuff not unlike the variation in what I've seen in Spyderco.
Slightly below BM in my opinion.

Materials are up there as well. Frames with titanium and blade S35VN are nothing to sneeze at.

Innovation. Some things look like copies like of the crkt mah eraser but exceed the original in many details.
Most Kizer models however look very unique.
 
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Your scale is highly subjective because of the buckets.

Regardless, Kizer uses premium materials and quality manufacturing. Also, it keeps improving and standardizing: washers to bearings, proprietary to standard torx screws, etc.

In the flipper market they're going against very strong competition from ZT & Reate.
 
My only experience with Kizer so far is the Ki4411F1 that I bought recently, which in my opinion fits into the "overbuilt folder" category alongside many ZT and Benchmade knives, among others. It is bulky, no question, but the weight is quite reasonable in pants pockets, and I have used it for things like making wood shavings and fuzz sticks as well as routine EDC tasks with no complaints. It's functionally perfect, and while I have no prior experience with S35V, it has held its edge and hasn't rusted, which are the two main attributes I am going to notice first. The only area for immediate improvement on mine is the pocket clip, which is quite undersized for a big knife.

The biggest obstacle in Kizer's path at the moment is convincing people that a Chinese company can produce knives of its own design with consistent quality, while still meeting the common expectation of a lower price than comparable knives from American, European and Japanese manufacturers. If the prices increase much beyond where they are now, they might find a lot of resistance to further progress into the American market.
 
You don't get the same looks, materials, and quality for a hundred dollars cheaper without doing something differently. In Kizer's case, it is production in China, where it is cheaper to mass produce goods. There are some reasons why that is, and its these reasons I'm uncomfortable buying a luxury item like a titanium pocket knife from Kizer.
 
btinder said:
You don't get the same looks, materials, and quality for a hundred dollars cheaper without doing something differently. In Kizer's case, it is production in China, where it is cheaper to mass produce goods. There are some reasons why that is, and its these reasons I'm uncomfortable buying a luxury item like a titanium pocket knife from Kizer.
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Remember this is Kizer's forum and as such it's poor form coming into somebody's house and telling them off when it has nothing to do with the knives themselves.
 
btinder said:
You don't get the same looks, materials, and quality for a hundred dollars cheaper without doing something differently. In Kizer's case, it is production in China, where it is cheaper to mass produce goods. There are some reasons why that is, and its these reasons I'm uncomfortable buying a luxury item like a titanium pocket knife from Kizer.
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Even if nothing is different it could be as simple as having a smaller profit margin.
But I guess you are hinting at smaller salaries? Most of it seems CNC work thus the knife makers are most likely more skilled technically and better paid than a farmer. Also if they wouldn't like the work and salary they could work somewhere else.
Nothing you don't know I bet so maybe you meant another reason?
 
I've ordered 2x Kizer and received them yesterday.
Initial impression: Great. Lock was little sticky but i feel like its due to little factory oil and needs break-in because today it is disengaging much better. The detent is not strong as i would like.

Ki401x & Ki401B1: both color little less dramatic in real life than in some photos.
Overall like it a lot :)
 
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"good form" in an Internet forum? Does Kizer sponsor this one? It's a place to discuss a brand of knives, like all the others. The OP asked a question, I provided a possible answer. Please take your unnecessary lecture elsewhere.
 
It's probably not due to a smaller profit margin, but maybe. It's very hard to know without more transparency from the company. For instance, when I buy a Medford, I know exactly how it's made because of the companies' various YouTube videos. But as a rule of thumb, you don't have the same materials and quality at hundreds less without SOMETHING being different in the cost of production.
 
btinder said:
You don't get the same looks, materials, and quality for a hundred dollars cheaper without doing something differently. In Kizer's case, it is production in China, where it is cheaper to mass produce goods. There are some reasons why that is, and its these reasons I'm uncomfortable buying a luxury item like a titanium pocket knife from Kizer.
Click to expand...

RamZar said:
Remember this is Kizer's forum and as such it's poor form coming into somebody's house and telling them off when it has nothing to do with the knives themselves.
Click to expand...

btinder said:
"good form" in an Internet forum? Does Kizer sponsor this one? It's a place to discuss a brand of knives, like all the others. The OP asked a question, I provided a possible answer. Please take your unnecessary lecture elsewhere.
Click to expand...

You made a political statement that has nothing to do with the quality of Kizer knives. This IS a forum sponsored by Kizer.
 
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