What I find baffling is how consumer driven we’ve become. I’m all for treating yourself, I’m all for great quality, but goddamn are people ballin that great where they can drop that much money, that often, on new knives every few months? Lol work with the knives you have! I know so many people with a collection of 40 knives and most just sit on a counter for years, no different than women’s jewelry. You wanna know what’s really wrong with America? We seek pleasure in pure consumption instead of pride in our creations, experiences, skills. Any damned fool with a few bucks can buy the latest and greatest knife in some fancy steel, but who actually can make great memories with it, truly master it? It really has become an unhealthy addiction.

I think the whole philosophy of knife companies needing to come out with new designs every year is crazy. I would rather have them perfect current designs and then spend 2-3 years on a new design. 1 home run design every 2-3 years is enough for me personally. So many knife designs are throw away designs. They don’t have enough time to test them and use the design. They have to design it as fast as possible and rush to produce it as fast as possible. Also Chris Reeve has enough home run designs. People are ridiculous.

I work as a chef, and it has always been an industry with high turnovers. After covid, a lot of people were temporarily laid off, and I think they realized their job sucked. I don't think it's laziness, I think they realized something that is very true. So people went back to school, switched careers, etc. Manual work is hard. I love my job, and I work at a place where I am treated well and compensated for what I do. There's no simple answer to why there's a work shortage, but the fact that rent and housing prices are through the roof, grocery costs are rising, etc and wages aren't rising at the same rate is a huge factor. Why work a job that puts your body on the line when it's not going to provide a decent living? If companies are well-managed, treat their employees well, and create stellar products they are more apt to succeed. If they don't... well, see ya later.

That’s a good point.. Most of the problem comes from lack of quality and quantity of manufacturing.. If TRM had the means to get more supplies they need and could hire more staff maybe I would have a shadow right now.. I continue to support makers like Spyderco US line, Hogue, TRM, Protech, and even Benchmade because of their quality.. I’m not going to buy US just to do it but when they make something I like and is good quality I get multiples

I liked that DCA also talked about a knife family we all have to stick together companies and consumers

On one hand you are right, on the other hand it's an oversimplification. You have to pay people living wages. Even $15 an is grossly inadequate in most places in the United States these days with the rampant inflation. If we are talking about skilled labor, you need to train people while giving them incentive such as health insurance, vacation and sick leave. Reasonable and flexible hours for parents, etc. US companies are terrible with these incentives.

IMO it's not just that "nobody wants to work", it's that people of our generation have been taught not to stick with any job. We are constantly job-hopping. I don't know how many times I've been encouraged to not worry about getting a raise from my boss but rather to just find a new one. That's the new thing. I want so badly to stay with the company I'm at and just continue to get better and continue to increase my pay so that I can build a life. I don't want to have to constantly be job hunting, considering moving, etc. But even the job itself is making that hard. No one seems to offer raises because they expect people will move on. How do you build a company with depth when you have employees constantly coming and going? Love it or hate it but this is our job market now; it's become a war zone. I think the American knife industry is suffering under this same ethic, it's going to be hard to hire and hold on to talented employees and let them grow their skill level over time. Companies don't have the incentive or ability to really invest in a worker and their development. Employees don't have the incentive or ability to really invest in growing the company they work for.

The main issue is the shrinkage of the workforce due to a large portion of them retiring (which is not an issue outside Western countries and Japan). Companies are forced to hire lesser skilled and poorly motivated people. Current generation isn’t lazier than other generations, it's just perception because you will encounter more lazy people at work since companies are less inclined to fire them. And this form of job security leads again to people feeling entitled, but this entitlement isn’t restricted to young people ( there are enough clips of Karen's to back that up)

i 100% dissagree but thats ok i should have went in detail the companies i was talking about and about what, i didnt because i want them all to do better but most of the companies mentioned in this video are doing great work and i applaud them

i'm sorry but it's just that easy, i'm not giving you my money if you don't do better.

I really appreciate that you stick with American products, as do I as much as possible. Not my phone, but the knives I buy.

If people are paid a reasonable wage and treated fairly at work you wouldn't have this narrative of "nobody wants to work"

I see both sides of the argument. But the reality is knife addiction and money are real factors. I no longer buy new knives, and I also do not buy Chinese made knives. I strike the balance by buying USA knives on the second hand market. Plus I feel more motivated to use them because they are used already and don’t need to keep them prestige. Great argument as always

I do believe the employment situation is only going to only get worse. You are supporting American workers. Kudos.

I think we should all support Doug Ritter as much as possible. I hope he can make more designs in the future

If you don’t have people that want to work, you’re not paying people enough…

Also, part of the problem is that the few young folk who actually want to work, who have the desire and drive to work, just don't have the job skills and training. I hope companies out there are willing to train those who come to them and exhibit drive to do the best work they can for them.

One problem with getting better prices on American knives (besides having to pay our workers more) is that the cost of insurance and the money they have to spend on what modern "safety" has come to, is ridiculous. I'm all about real safety I'm in construction) but the American safety train ran off the rails 20 years ago. They practically have us trying to work while wearing suits of armor. They have to spend an exorbitant amount on safety just to keep insurance. American industry needs help

New level of respect gained on this one. You got the balls to say how it really is and you fuckin nailed it exactly. I'm a 37 year old UPS driver and literally wear the soles off of my work boots while people younger than me just sit back and collect free money.

Exactly what you said! No matter how much I love a knife, if it's not USA, I won't buy it. I just can't bring myself to hand over that much $ to a Stranger. 🔪👍😁👍🔧

That’s some brutal honesty. Thanks for that.

It's not that our generation "doesn't want to work" it's the issue of why would they want to bust their ass like I do for 40 plus hours a week when they can make six figures showing their ass on the internet. They choose to work smart not hard. I think the majority of us that work hard are just bitter with those that make money doing basically nothing.

I just refuse to buy imported knives, and scaled back to making WAY less purchases.. then, I can get a dopeass US-made knife every once in a while.

You are correct on the people do not want tot work!! Here at TRM we have been having a heck of a time to even get people to show up for interviews. We are on the mend of this. New employees that want to work and work hard. 2023 for the WIN! (fingers crossed) Whatever you do take pride in it, if you can not take pride in what you are doing find something else that you can take pride in.

It's obvious that American companies are raising prices while not innovating and using lower quality materials. No question. People not wanting to work also equates to less people to pay.

I think a lot of it is that many people joined the EDC community recently so the demand for all these knife brands has skyrocketed as well

You are “spot on” about the work situation here in this entitled era. Hopefully we get past it quickly

It is a good point, but where i live min wage is less then half the avg rent apartment more then 1000$ difference. Issues could be wages or just the system all together . So many things are about the quick deal to make $ not a good product. But i do Agree with you so hard to find workers my brother went through so many workers past couple yrs . dang hard to work when you have no where to live you girls are a testament to how hard the system is, you are tough as nails. love these vids .

If there is one new benchmade you could buy what would it be?

Wow. Literally couldn’t agree more with you!! Ps. Would love to hear what you think of Medford knife and tool.

Hey Erica. I work as a ER nurse. We break our ass because we don’t have workers but its because these hospitals dont want to hire at a fair wage, for what we do. It may seem fair to some people not in my field but thats only until you do it. I deal with blood, piss, shit, death, sorrow and compassion and feeling of despair. The big wigs make the real money and dont even touch a patient. On too of that they treat all their workers like shit. I hear you to some degree. I agree with your knife points 110 percent but no so much on the aspect about millennials being lazy. More maybe just that they are not willing to put effort in for less than they work. So i here ya but also go back and forth with this same argument myself. Great video!!

Thank you for your opinion and position! P / s Many American companies should reconsider their policies in relation to their consumers ! What I mean ? Take for example one of my favorite American spiderco companies. So if during maintenance or for some other reason I lost or broke a washer, spring, screw for attaching a clip or body lining, I have to send a knife across the globe to change it for me. When it would be much easier and cheaper for me to order this part from the manufacturer or from the dealer. But no, I will have to look for a secondary donor to save my time and money. The same Chinese companies, as a rule, can easily and naturally provide you with a replacement axle washer, bearing or screws at your request. IMHO

This really is a problem across the board. It's pretty crazy. Benchmade prices really are crazy though.

It is true that as soon as everything opened back up everywhere where I live is short staffed. It's like people got used to not working

I definitely appreciate the heart behind this video. I think the China versus USA issue is a a little more nuanced given that we have some talented American designers behind many of these made in China knives. Sure, I lament that manufacturer is taken out of the USA, but they still are USA designed.

Benchmade headquarters being in Portland is likely a big reason they haven't been doing as well. Portland is awful.

You 100% nailed it. As an employer, it’s the struggle every day

That Hogue Ritter disproves all that bs.

Great video Erica I can tell you put thought into it, I agree that labor is a problem right now for the industry, but I will say too that my criticism comes from a place of continual support for US makers but support doesn’t mean silence, I don’t care about new designs as much as I care about innovation, we need to lead, and hard times are the times you buckle up and innovate. Hope all is going well, continue making great content

May I ask what your feelings are on the hogue knives? I've been collecting Spydercos for years no need to sell me on those curious about the hogue models. Thanks

I still love spyderco, I don’t have an esee but I’m glad to see them able to keep prices and quality

You are right! Appreciate your work ethic and humor.

I think some people don’t want to work hard, they want an easy job and not get to hot or too cold. Companies are definitely short staffed. Here in Aus it’s the same. And some people can’t be asked to do anything, they want money for free. People could sure use a hand sometimes, the one’s working are stressed.

I complained about the Native 5 to Spyderco Native 5 to Spyderco via email and I got an immediate response. I got it through Amazon a private vendor so they were not able to do much but I was impressed with their immediate concern.

I am of several different minds on this. First off, I am in agreement with you on the “what if there isn’t anyone around to fix these issues?” statement. I myself have worked a few different jobs mid and post-COVID where, despite being pretty underqualified, I was thrown in and even promoted quickly simply because I was willing to work. That being said, I can’t blame anyone for wanting to step back from the workforce. Hard work sucks. I would’ve loved to collect unemployment and done remote work like everyone else, but it wasn’t financially feasible and, as such, I found vocations I never would’ve considered otherwise. My main disagreement with you is that I don’t believe that companies like Benchmade, Spyderco, etc. suffer as greatly from these issues as stated. They’re companies, first and foremost, and far from small ones at that. It’s not a single issue that stops American-Made knives from being as desirable now. The fact is, companies, especially pedigreed ones such as the aforementioned, get complacent and a little greedy as a result. “Of course we should spend 200 dollars for a baseline, throughly un-special knife. It’s a (insert company name here) after all!” Another factor in nailing down all the issues comes down to the consumer, especially those that partake in EDC “Culture”. I thought that the point of “Everyday Carry” was to have a few things that are reliable for your job and/or life and, as such, are on you at all times to accomplish whatever you’re tasked with in life. So why, then, is it that everyone has to have 50 different things in rotation for every single task? EDC is all about Consumerism now. Grabbing up the latest release from wherever just to ditch it the minute something else comes along. That’s not to say no one should have anything nice, but at least use the nice thing you have for a while. And these people do not hold companies to a higher standard. If a company’s lineup is bad, don’t buy it. Make them refine and innovate before getting your money that easily. So, to wrap it all up, yes, these companies face issues with employment and that sucks. But, they are companies and, as such, need to be held to a higher standard if they aren’t delivering products worth purchasing. And us, the consumers, need to mind our wallets a little more closely. This was an excellent video, and you’ve somehow managed to create one of the most open discussions regarding EDC I’ve seen in a long time. Keep up the good work! (P.S. if you do want a knife from a pedigreed brand, go to your local pawn shop or scour any one of the numerous secondhand seller sites online. You can find some really good deals, and your money goes into an actual person’s pocket rather than a brand’s. I found a Gerber Fastball for $20 because someone misidentified it and I’m definitely not complaining.)

I am so here for this. Thanks for your opinion on this matter!

AMEN! Thank you for saying what needs to be said!

Your right for those of us who do love to work it’s the best time ever to get a good job

If an employer is unable to find employees it implies that the job they're offering is worse than other opportunities people have. Workers do have the upper hand right now. Employers whining about being unable to find workers should make their job offers more attractive. If you can't compete on pay, find other incentives for people to work there.

I think you're right, it's a structural problem. But that's just part of game, companies also tend to take less and less risks, because the economic pressure from China One solution is to automaten their Industrial production, which is possible even in small scales. But that will not keep people employed in the US, it's really not easy. I'll keep in using my Bugout/M4, but I can't affort to buy another. Thank you so much for providing all the content and sharing your thoughts, your opinion and views are highly appreciated. Keep your attitude and never give up

Totally agree with all you’ve said…until the end. If u were able to access payroll/salary info, you’d see real quick that US companies such as Benchmade, Spyderco, Emerson, etc…could very, very easily pay more on the hour to recruit talent. That might mean all of management, such as VP’s, CEO’s, COO’s, Plant Managers, engineers, etc…, might have to take a cut in pay, but it most certainly can be done. How much profit do you think Spyderco brought in last year? Benchmade? Pro Tech? Microtech? A restructuring of salaries could help an awful lot toward paying hard working hourly folks. And with more pay on the hour, you’re going to recruit more talent. It’s Business 101. I know first hand as a Plant Manager because my plant did it last year- and we had too many applicants and hired tremendous help. It can be done I promise you, but the big wigs gotta give a little…and ohhhh yes there’s lots of high salaried big wigs at our USA knife manufacturers. Keep up the great content; you earned my sub.

I am a new follower to your channel. Really enjoy the content. I am a long time knife enthusiast and retired LEO. This video is absolutely spot on. Ive read thru some comments. The work firce has nothing to do with indulgence mind set. People have always retired. The reason so many people are retiring now is the point you brought out. The state of the country in general is so pathetic, if people can retire and live, they are. I know 1 follower doesn't matter but you have garnered my respect. Keep up the great work.

I'm 15 I'm wanting to get a job soon. Eventually I want to sell leather products.

This is a completely solid argument and I agree with you 100%. However, as a business, you have to figure it out. I run professional kitchens for a living, as well as owning my own business. Being in business is hard regardless of situation, but you have to figure it out or you go out of business. It's just the nature of the market. Those businesses that operate at the highest level regardless of the challenges they face, stay in business. At the same time, that's the American spirit. "Figure it out". I'm also not saying that you should run your business the way 100 strangers tell you to. But if you're "ok" with being just "ok", then you'll stay just "ok". Compare yourself to who you were yesterday, not to who someone else is today.

I'd give up my full-time job in a heartbeat to work for one of the knife companies! 28 years old here. I agree with a lot of what you said

Spyderco has some of the best heat treatment in the knife industry.

i will never switch to china made knives USA knives are expensive but i will continue to buy American made knives and guns pray for America hopefully these people will get off their asses before its too late

So I don't think people your age are lazy I think they realize they don't have to settle I worked for years busting my ass so some guy can make millions off me so if they wanna look for better pay good for them . Here is an example I bought a WE miscreant 3.0 and got a extra titanium clip and a knife carrying case for 150 a cf elite bugout s30v is 180 , on the other hand I just got. Zt0640 blk and that thing is a tank I'm sure I could break the miscreant with it so I'm torn 90% of my knives are American made . I love the redoubt but why did I have to buy awt scales to make it awesome it should of came that way for the price . And American companies maybe lower your prices I got a buck 110 sport with s30v micarta handles 130$ and it had a burnt grind I was like shit so try harder lower prices and we will be ok . Great opinions and video oh my Japanese massad ayoob is the shit very well made .

Hey Erica where do you get those yellow beads? I really dig them 👍

Supply and demand if they can’t keep up with the supply then demand will diminish it’s unfortunate but that’s what happens when you make quality stuff with a slight mark up and can’t keep up…

You do have a point with China pumping out slightly different knives, but that's also our point.... It's really IS that EZ to listen to what customers want and make minor adjustments to your product based on that input. Even if it shouldn't be taken to the extreme that China takes it too.

Says everybody doesn't want to work, doesn't say anything about what all these companies are offering to pay new workers. lol Our rent just went up $600 a month, on top of going up $400 a month last year. Raises aren't matching inflation or the cost of living, and every job I've been looking for to replace mine is paying the same, or less, unless I shell out thousands of dollars to go get a bachelor's degree to meet higher qualifications. The "wHy CaNt wE FiND aNyOnE tO wOrK" question isn't always the fault of the workforce. Sure, there's a lot of people unwilling. But there's also a lot of companies paying their workers dogshit and expecting them to get by with magic and wishes.

I afforded a GEC once. A fellow redditor was selling a bullnose for his original price of 60. Never again have a seen an affordable GEC. Flipped it for the same price because nail nicks arent my thing but it was a very nice knife. The handle filled your hand well and the micarta felt nice and dense

Another issue I've seen is that too many have not commented on the fact that in the last few years (from around 2017 or 2018 which is when I started to notice chinese knives...I think back then I saw the debut of popular models from Civivi like their praxis or the naja? and the swordfish from Bestech) not only have the price of Chinese knives gone up (back then the swordfish went for around 30-35$, which surprised me, though I never bought one), but they now routinely offer knives priced well above 100 and many times above 200$ range (and I'm not talking about Reate...I'm talking Civivi, which has quite a few in the 200-300$ range in 20CV). Fwiw, I will always take a US made 20CV folder like TRMs Atom over any of those that Civivi (or others) are offering.

I bought a Kizer Sheepdog with the S35VN steel, Titanium clip & carbon fiber scales about a year ago. Two years ago I bought the mini with the same specs. 6 months ago I bought the version with micarta scales & a 154CM blade. I don't know of any American counterpart to that model. All of my other knives are American.

Also, in regards to your point about Chinese knives looking the same, and I preface this with saying I am 100% American, in blood and in culture. I am pro America in every situation imaginable. However most of our high end knives all look EXACTLY the same to me too lol

Nobody wants to work! But it’s something you have to do to feed yourself and keep the economy afloat!!

American made used to really truly mean something. You're paying a bit more for a product that was the standard to go buy, pride in product, top of the line warranty, top of the line customer service. Now you way over pay for questionable product with questionable QC just to try to meet needs, and usually terrible customer service (a true thing of the past). As a Union Electrician I try my best buy USA made boots, tools, and clothing as much as possible but the cost to quality to do so is so hard to justify in a lot of cases. You're not at all wrong though. Hard working prideful people are way too hard to find these days. Very few people take any pride in actual work, they just want the easy life without the work to earn anything. Also people just don't care. People dont care about how the people making these products might be treated or how little they might make. People dont care that if you dont support American made you are hurting American workers and American companies. Unfortunately these companies for many different reasons make it hard go out of your way and spend more of your hard earned money to support them, and times are hard spending extra for many people is asking a lot these days. Many things are just messed up in the world we live in right now and needs correcting sooon. Life is too damn easy for the average American that they damn near hate America let alone just done care even though they have no idea how others in this world survive and have it. I dont know I'm ranting now

I agree that we as Americans are lazy. However I don’t agree that, that is what keeps us from building products with better design and better materials. I am in a manufacturing business and we still produce high quality products and have increased our production 40% in the last 18 months. We had terrible turnover right after Covid but with a real focus on our culture we turned things around and are doing great right now. So I don’t accept your reasoning as an excuse. It all is driven from the top. If the ownership is willing to change and do things differently and treat employees the way they deserve to be treated they will find employees ready and willing and capable of doing exceptional work. I believe in American made products but we can’t do things the same way we have always done them and expect to stay at the top. Jerrod I feel made a great appeal for the American companies to step up and up their game. I believe they can but am losing faith that they will. If they don’t it will be another “auto mfg” collapse. I hope they prove me wrong and start paying attention to the customer instead of focusing on their place at the top.

Who the heck has 10 Sebenzas? I have a handful of Spydercos, and I won't shell out the cash for 1 Sebenza... maybe one day. I also work from home, and I absolutely bust my hump doing it. I may not currently be putting literal sweat equity into my employer, but I am definitely putting in stress equity. One of the main reasons I work as hard as I do is senior co-workers that aren't pulling their weight. It's not just millennials that don't want to put in hard work; it's an across the board issue.

Thing is these company's have investor's they have to answer too. They can't just say lets do this, everything has to be approved. Any amount of significant money that needs to be spent has to be approved. And you need credit if you can't pay your venders up front you'll need credit and if your account has a credit hold your not getting your supplies. Maybe not all have investors but I would suspect that most do.

So true. I am trying to slowly sell off 90 percent of my shit for years of buying and using. Thats all over now!! I will not buy any new knives anymore. I am done buying. I may trade, but not buy. No more spending for me

We had our plant shut down for three weeks for COVID and then they started running two shifts a day instead of three shifts. We were able to get rid of our crap people and the only people we had left actually wanted to work.

Companies don't want to pay. If the money was there, people would want to work. The Dollar is not what it once was.

none of these arguements make sense, spyderco, benchmade, hogue, even tactile now are killing it on the heat treat, Reate is the only chinese company doing highend steels anywhere near proper hardness but even still theyre running it soft... At the same time the US only has a 3.5% unemployment the lowest its been since 2007? so people are working... these videos on both sides of the arguement are just making alot of assumptions... we should stop making asses of ourselves. the lack of inovation fro american makers falls on the makers not employees, the lack of hardness from chinese makers is also on the makers. If you want to see change people need to stop buying every dam sprint run of the same damn knife from the american companies.

Hey dude, this was a great video and I’m really happy to see another younger person taking pride in America and American made products. Our country isn’t perfect but it’s ours.

I can say this. Benchmade killed it for USA this year.😂😂

I agree with you 100%. I refuse to buy any knife made in China. You are spot on about getting people to get off their ass and go to work . I’m with you all the way and I’m glad you took the time to make this video.🇺🇸🇺🇸🇺🇸

The problem with American knife companies is they’re forced to compete with slave labor and intellectual property theft . Until the playing field is level American companies will continue to lag behind the competition. Makes me want to buy another Esee just thinking about it .

I wrote a comment and deleted it, I sometimes have trouble writing clearly. We all need to realize a large part of our population is retiring. Kids don’t want to go to trade school. Unless you have a specific career in mind and qualify for admission in specific schools college won’t prepare you for a career. Someone close to me had a degree in biology, the best he could do is a full time job at a big box pet store. A friend of mine and I recommended he go to trade school. He did and interned and was hired by the company he is with today. I’m pretty sure no company will hire you to run a production machine off the street. You need to invest in yourself and become valuable to hire. Great topic you made people think.

I've given an order of magnitude more money to US knife companies than those in China (Hinderer, CRK, Benchmade, Spyderco, Curtiss Customs, Mixcrotech, Guardian Tactical, Les George, etc.) but it doesn't stop me from buying knives like a WE Kitefin which is a great bang for the buck. And, I've had recent good customer service from companies like CRK, Hinderer, Spyderco, and Benchmade, so they are not going downhill all the time for everyone.

I was surprised too at the lack of diversity in benchmades new releases for 2023. Especially compared to all the stuff they came out with last year. I will have to pick up one of the new g10 tagged outs but it is crazy to see its 300$ Don't know quite what to make of the whole dilema / conversation but it definitely is a problem that people are preferring to stay at home and collect a check for doing little or nothing.

Whenever you send people unemployment pay similar to what they make in their normal pay, people will usually choose the unemployment pay. Covid has been the first time in over 30 yrs that we saw real wage growth. I think some in this generation might have a lack of work ethic but I think it's more so not wanting to just grind for bad pay like pay generations did

I think it's because of the 1) Cheap Labor 2) China is the largest producer of Steel, World-Wide 3) China wants to be known for making great Knives. When you combine all of those issues, it makes a Competitor that very aggressive and very hard to compete with. The reason they don't have the Staff, is because they aren't paying their Employees enough. The Cost of living on the West Coast has become ridiculous. Out here, we have People living in their Cars and Motorhomes, instead of buying a Home or renting a Rental Property. Because of the high cost of living and the low full-time wages. It's hard out here... So, those that Work, they choose Employment that can better support their livelihood. The U.S. is not a major manufacturer of Steel, anymore... And, our cost of living is out of whack with what the average Working Class Person earns in a Month... I agree, this is not a great time for our Country's Manufacturing Sector. We pay more for Labor and for the cost of materials that we need to manufacture our products. And, Americans are greedy. We always want to make as much as we can. So, in my opinion, a lot of that goes into the U.S. Products; "GREED!" In my opinion, this all adds up into the final cost of our products... :-) Peace, Stiletto :-)

I appreciate your take on the situation but I have a hard time looking at the available data and coming to the same conclusion. When I look at unemployment data. It at the lowest it's been in 50 years. I don't see any data to support that people are not looking for work. When I look at the careers page for Chris Reeves knives they have one job listed. Spyderco has 1 production job listed. If these companies were short staffed I would expect to see more job openings.

There are lots of people who don't want to work but i think it is deeper than that where people don't take as much pride in their work and focus too much on the dollar amount going in their pocket before putting in a month of work. Find what fulfills you. Your boss can be an asshat but you have to find happiness and fulfillment with your work inside of you first. Have some integrity America!!

I'm an American. I like Buck for what it is. They have a quality product for what it is. The world is a lot bigger than us. Other countries have superior blades. You speak on that America has issues. Understood. The blade is number one the construction is two. You don't need to call customer service if you have a quality knife.

I am Irish and don't particularly look for American made products which are in actual fact around 20% more expensive over here. It's true my last two knives have been Chinese (Kizer Original and Kizer de l'Orme). That being said my favourite knives are American made. My day to day carries are the Chaparral frn and the Mini-Griptilians and have been for years (these are really well made pieces). I am eying up the Delica 4 or the Stretch 2 in K390. These are my new grails. They are more expensive than Chinese knives but I feel the classic American designs are still the best. The 940, the Bugout, the Griptilian, the Manix, the Stretch 2 are amazing knives in their basic forms. Kizer and Civivi make good inexpensive products but the American standards are still the best for me. However, I don't think we need so many new models all the time and American companies should be about the tried, trusted and traditional quality products. (As you can see I don't like bling and/or fidgety pocket jewellery).

Benchmade prices are out of control.

I'm Totally with you on this issue. I own one knife that is not U.S. made, and that is a Demko AD20.5 that I have heavily customized because I can't find a U.S. made one. Preach On!

Young American workers are NOT lazy, or perhaps I should say, there are plenty of hard workers among us. The problem is that most American companies don’t pay a living wage. People working for those companies can barely afford older, junkier cars. They will NEVER be able to afford a house! So why knock themselves out? We need PROTECTIONISM. We need to make access to the American market dependent upon paying living wages. Foreign companies with competitive advantages due to lower labor costs should be paying high tariffs, to level the playing field. American companies are reluctant to do that, because most of THEM do the same thing! But that is what is necessary. If we closed the American market to manufacturers who don’t pay $15/hr or more, American makers could pay THEIR employees $15+/hr, and then they would have loyal, hardworking employees, who would stay with them for the long haul. Most companies are not any more loyal to their employees than their employees are to them! We really can’t blame the employees. They need living wages. In the US today, given inflation, even $15/hr is getting to be insufficient. Within a very few years, America companies will need to pay $25/hr to hold employees long-term. We shouldn’t have to compete with Southeast Asian companies, where wages are low. The US needs to institute tariffs to level the playing field, so that we can afford to pay living wages. Until and unless we do that, US manufacturing will never be able to compete with China, etc.

Very interesting points you make, in some I agree, in others I have a different point of view. All in all 👌👍

I have a decent collection and the 2 knives I've been carrying more than my US made knives are both fantastic knives from WE. The Kitefin and the Saakshi are in the $150 range and they both blow my socks off. If a US company would make knives like this for that cheap I would buy them. And my experience with their customer service has been stellar.

Just to be fair, it’s also the content creators/influencers that’s exacerbating the problem. The more of the culture bashing the American companies… it can influence the buying power. realistically speaking small companies just can’t compete with large companies that has cheaper labor force and buying power in terms of raw materials. The question is how much we r willing to spend at the premium price to support small American companies to keep them from goin out of business.

Today my Kizer de l'Orme arrived in the post. Apart from the pouch and packaging, I received a spare pivot and spare screws. This should be standard procedure with all knives. I hear you can't get Spyderco screws for love or money. Why can't Benchmade include spare Omega springs and screws? It wouldn't kill Mr.Emerson to put a few screws in his package, would it? The best warranty is to give you the spare parts from the get go.

If Spyderco loves Chinese knives then I don’t see why we all can’t.

It is pretty simple for me to sit in my arm chair and tell knife companies to just do better when I can buy American made firearms for the same price as an American made knife. It's a knife for Christ's sake, it's a sharp wedge that folds into your pocket sometimes with a clip.

As if I could go to my favorite American knife manufacturer right now and ask for a job….

I do realize no one wants to work. And I was wondering why or how!? I was wondering if everyone was smarter than me and became millionaires during the pandemic

I work in manufacturing, gotta have to hard disagree. People want to work, but finding people who are skilled at manufacturing is hard the ability to pick up the skills quickly enough to keep up with changing product lines is actually rarer than you would think. And finding people with those skills who will work for a manufacturing wage is harder. folks who do that type of work aren’t given the respect or wages they deserve and as a result it isn’t an attractive option. The older generation can do it because they bought their houses and fixed their cost of shelter long ago when things were cheaper. Rent is too godamn expensive, housing is so damn expensive that if your job can’t meet that or have an upward trajectory that adds to your resume and value as a worker why bother, even if you are fine now if you aren’t moving ahead your landlord and living expenses will eventually grind you into a worse quality of life year after year. You can’t have a family like that. Chinese companies can just throw man hours at knives for fit and finish, they can get their belts and machinery for cheaper too , American companies have to innovate with designs to stay ahead or just offer a solid product. We also aren’t a country with strong and efficient manufacturing infrastructure too so that limits those options as well. I order custom parts from machine shops for my job, and it’s really expensive if you did a knife that way would pay $200 at least for a RAT 2 or more.