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I Need $100 Knife


imschur

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There still are domestic steel manufacturers but most companies want it cheaper so they go with china, india, turkey, hungary, brazil, mexico, some are better than others, the manufacturing plant where I used to work bought from all of these sources, but bought VERY little from the U.S. because of cost, I don't have a huge problem with the foreign steel because as you stated it is so hard to avoid and American labor and materials can still be used to create a finished product. When I buy something I always try to avoid anything labeled "made in anywhere other than the U.S."

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Read an article about a local high end mountain bike manufacturer. They would buy the tubing and raw material from China. Cut and shape it (hydroforming) here in AZ. Send it back to China to be welded and painted. The frames came back for final assembly and then shipped off to customers. Somehow that was cheaper than doing it all here.

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Read an article about a local high end mountain bike manufacturer. They would buy the tubing and raw material from China. Cut and shape it (hydroforming) here in AZ. Send it back to China to be welded and painted. The frames came back for final assembly and then shipped off to customers. Somehow that was cheaper than doing it all here.

 

My buddy has a 20 year history of managing various bike shops in the area.  He says in one way or another, ALL bikes are manufactured in China.

 

People come in and say "Not my Italian ________!"  Okay, whatever.

 

 

It's cheaper when you don't pay people s h i t.

 

Another friend worked for Bethleham Steel for 25 years, had paperwork for an 80% retirement.  When he filed at 60, the government had taken over the retirement plan and said "You're getting 28.3%."

 

Bet the board members got theirs.

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Thanks for the input guys but an unexpected turn of events put me in a different direction.He's getting a pair of mountain bike shoes.

 

LBS gave me a sweet deal on a 2013 Cannondale Jekyll.Had zero cash so I had to charge it... Anyhow at least now I have a second bike so the kid or anyone else can ride with me. I have eliminated his excuse for not keeping up with the old guy on his POS Walmart bike.

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  Yep that sucks, the plant I worked in was one of 8 owned by Cleaners Hanger Co., all 8 closed in 2003, poor management/waste, and they ignored the Chinese when they were making junk hangers, they ignored them long enough that they got good at making them, by then it was too late, they could buy raw materials, produce, ship, pay tariffs, and sell at a profit cheaper than we could buy our raw materials, our pentions went into a govt.program also where after dsecades we will get pennies on the dollar I am sure, if that.

Edited by texas30cal
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Thanks for the input guys but an unexpected turn of events put me in a different direction.He's getting a pair of mountain bike shoes.

 

LBS gave me a sweet deal on a 2013 Cannondale Jekyll.Had zero cash so I had to charge it... Anyhow at least now I have a second bike so the kid or anyone else can ride with me. I have eliminated his excuse for not keeping up with the old guy on his POS Walmart bike.

That's a really nice bike Drew , butt it taint going to feal good after that seat is done with your azz ! LOL
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  • 2 weeks later...

When I have folders for sale they're usually around $100 (D2 or S7 steel) but none right now.

 

Got some wootz folder knives coming up but they're going to be at least $200 and up to $300. 2 of them are already taken. Wootz (AKA true Damascus) is an extremely exotic and tough steel, but it also needs to be babied as it's almost 2% carbon. Basically, that stuff is for blade people who know their blades, how to use and mantain them.

 

I seldom recommend production knives as I have found that hand crafted knives; if made by the right smith tend to be much better in just about every way, save mainly for corrosiveness (good blades are corrosive and there's litte you can do to get around that.

 

 If I were to go out and buy a production knife to keep and use, the brands I would focus on are Gerber and Victorinox. Buck too but you have to be careful with them. All are usually less then $100.

 

 I've never understood what people see in Kershaw. They're a decent knife but nothing more. I've bought equally good knives for 1/3 the cost and when I do, it's usually just to take the handle and put a custom blade and grips in.

Edited by MaDuce
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A good chunk of the kershaw line is in the $25 range. I had a blackout for years until I lost it. Went right out and bought another. it gets shave sharp when I occasionally have it cleaned up. Stays that way for a long time. Gets used every single day for minor stuff like thin cardboard and ziptie seals. Occasionally harder stuff like cutting 5 gal bucket tops open or wire safety seals. Been thinking of upgrading to a blur, but it's not really necessary. if I wanted to drop some coin on something blingy, id probably keep it KAI and buy a zero tolerance knife.

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No sooner do I post that I'm perfectly happy with my cheapo kershaw knives, and I find a deal on a ZT 0566. Stupid knives. This is what happens when I'm happy with the guns and the mountain bike for the moment. Have to find something to throw money at :(

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Edited by blue109
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  • 2 weeks later...

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Free from a bro strictly for guys camping trip :)

 

 That's pretty. Pattern welded blades are great to look at. I may order myself a piece of pattern welded steel some day. Right now though I am planning a couple wootz (true Damascus) folders and since wootz is both mega strong and has a pattern, I may hold off for a year or 2.

 

Do you know who made that blade?

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Since we're apparently doing some show and tell now, these are some pictures of my wootz (true Damascus) folder. It went missing at my mother's house a little while ago. It had served me very well until then. Was super effective at cutting and strong as an ox. The only down side is the 1.7% carbon steel blade had to be babied.

 

 You don't find knives like this at wal mart or the hardware store. You've gotta find people willing to make them. But they're worth it.

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