Made in China

[Jeff F]

What is going on. I've always been a Schrade knife person and have a couple of skinning knifes, pretty good steel, hold a nice edge. Stamped on the blades Schrade and under it USA. I had a Barlow that I finely lost at work and replaced with a small Schrade Old Timer. Got it home and opened it up, very disappointed to see it is stamped Schrade China. I won't be buying any more of their products and will have to find out whats left thats still made in the USA. Sorry for the vent, I'm just kind of po'ed.

 

[Cosmoline]

I saw a Mexican tortilla maker at the kitchen store, and you can guess where it was made. China makes everything now. Even most of Danner boots are being made by the Chicoms now. If the laws and import restrictions were changed I'm sure they'd be making most of our small arms as well. What amazes me is how fast this has happened. When I worked loading docks in the 80's and 90's goods from China were rare. I remember we'd get a yearly shipment of junk toys and ornaments for the Christmas season in horrible boxes that would fall apart in your hands. Quality was beyond shoddy. By the end of the Clinton administration the way had been opened and China started up thousands of new manufacturing plants. Wages over there are absurdly low. Lower by far than Mexico or even Central America.

The only real change is going to come if the Chicom bubble bursts or if fuel prices get so high it will cancel out their slave labor advantage. Even then don't expect to see much manufacturing come back here. Between zoning laws, unions and wages it's just not cost effective to make much stateside.

 

[Sam Cade]

Well Jeff, you might be out of luck.


The real Schrade went out of bid'ness in 2004.

Knives made since then are Chinese junk.


Taylor Cutlery (those fine folks who bring you the uber-crappy S&W knife-like-objects) now own the name.

http://www.taylorbrandsllc.com/

 

[Zeke/PA]

Jeff,
As was stated, the Schrade factory in Ellenville, N.Y. closed it's doors in 2004 and the knives are now being made in China.
There are still a few U.S. Schrades around but the word is out and they are being bought up.
Try your local Mom&Pop type hardware stores with a Schrade display.
Sometimes the owner will discount the price if you offer to buy ALL the U.S. Schrades in stock.
BUT, as I said, the word is out and the knives are becoming collectors items.
I recently bought the last 12 that a guy had , 3 being the 770T Muskrat, a favorite of mine.
Good luck.
Respectfully, Zeke

 

[hso]

If you can find a hardware store with a Schrade display full of US knives you should buy the whole display and the knives with it. A factory display with knives from Ellenville Shrade will bring big bucks.

 

[MatthewVanitas]

The only real change is going to come if the Chicom bubble bursts or if fuel prices get so high it will cancel out their slave labor advantage.

I've heard folks saying for a year or so that China is getting perilously close to that point already, and that the sweatshops of SE Asia are starting to be tasked out with more and more of the gruntwork.

Remember how Japan used to make nothing but junk? Everyone in my generation associates Japan with high-quality and nifty products. China might end up being the same way.

Knives made since then are Chinese junk.

Not China's fault, a lot of it's the fault of the company ordering the knives. China is perfectly capable of producing quality knives, but the conglomerations that buy up the old names want to squeeze every penny.

Let's say the Chinese factory is producing a really shoddy Schrade for 23c production cost. They could probably produce something just as good as an American Schrade for 32c, but since they don't expect a commeasurate increase in sales/price, the company doesn't bother producing a better knife.

Most buyers don't really care, and don't know 440C from tinfoil.

However, I understand that the (Chinese) Rough Rider and Steel Warrior lines of slipjoints are about as good as most of the older US-made slipjoints. A few companies seem to have figured out that some customers actually notice when you put a little more money into producing a decent product.

 

[Gunz]

As far as I am concerned, the China thing is the same phenomenon as the Japan thing.

China is now rapidly becoming a viable producer of quality goods. A lot of "consulting" resources (who have sold out and made their millions) have taught the emerging economic power their skillsets.

Soon, India will be the dominant software developer.

Global economy is part of evolution.

Years ago, I never thought I would see Cold Steel, Schrade, Buck, etc. have anything different than USA, Japan on the blades. When Taiwan came along, I laughed. Then, China. And the blades are still cheap, but functional and useful.

Pakistan is always a joke, but who knows?

 

[poor_richard]

Sam Cade is right. Schrade went out of business in 2004, and Camillus went out of business this year.

Some of the people who worked at Schrade went off on their own after the acutions. Do a search for Canal Street Cutlery. Probably a bit better than some of the stuff Schrade was doing towards the end. They look like nice pieces.