I always find it funny when people comment on my videos about only buying stuff made in the USA while typing on their devices that are clearly not made in the USA lol
I can I live in the sticks I farm, use my knives everyday cutting plastic lines, feed sacks, using it as a pry bar, screw drivers, cutting ear markers, trimming goat and cattle toes, you name it. I have plenty of American made knives, but haven't found one that holds up like the civi I have. I hate buying Chinese but It does work. The thing I don't like is we get at least two calls every day trying to buy land or buy our farm out right, but that is about as much as far as hand tools I use. I am a Marine Rifleman Combat Vet, love my country but sometimes if something works that is what you use
I don't have hate for chinese edc makers that flood the market I do have distain for companies that sit on their laurels and don't innovate. There were tons of knife companies making knives in the US a couple decades ago. They continued for DECADES to pump out the same low-mid quality stuff over and over without shaking things up. There was a decades long span of time for them to reign supreme and lets be honest they let it go to waste. No improvements in design, no improvements in engineering, no improvements in production efficiency, no improvements in materials.... Shit collapsed on them when competition caught up just like the US automobile makers in the 80s/90s when japanese makers finally crushed their barriers and discrimination about not being made in the US. I'm grateful for (old) benchmade, spyderco, hogue, emerson, etc. for coming out with innovations in blade steel/design/lock engineering that made knives we know and love today. I'll endorse those companies for what they've done and continue to do. Buck seems to have always tried to venture into new territory, but they also stick to their traditional styling and craftsmanship which I love. I used to hate on Case for being stuck in time but I think both companies are moving in the right direction of toeing the line between heritage and modern standards, with both companies kicking out some really good quality product with very reliable HT and QC. Like I know if I buy from them their knives will be reliable and they'll deliver on good HT. Hell even Bear and Sons is stepping up their game. RIP sandbaggers, sucks to suck
I'll also say that many of the above problems is lack of good leadership really. No willingness to make the next big thing, not reinvesting for facilities/equipment/process design, I get that locational cost of living made wages difficult... but also you could relocate. Make your knives in Detroit or West Virginia where wages are low and work scarce for people who would clamber for manufacturing jobs. Keep skilled labor around by creating employment contracts with vested stock options, etc. The best US made gear is small production because those makers are nimble, innovative, have control over production, and have an entrepreneurial spirit. Shout out to Montana Knife Company, Very Good Knife co, Bark River, GEC, White River Knives, as well as the aforementioned makers and many others putting out quality goods.
Bottom line, it's about the dollar. Would I buy nothing but American made products over another country? Absolutely! Can I afford a lot of American made products...nope! Lol. On the other hand, if I am buying Chinese made, Indian made, whatever... I'm still going to look for decent gear. Holtzman survival for example makes good knives (a lot of D2/G10) in my opinion for a fraction of these American made stuff. These videos you guys put out do help a lot though before I make purchases on any gear from whatever country.
My anecdotal experiences --> American products are generally robust and durable, though often bulky. ie Dewalt, Milwaukee, Irwin, Stanley, Klein, etc. Japanese products are typically well-engineered, affordable, modular, and compact ie Makita, Honda Civic, Zoom F3. German engineering is excellent but expensive to purchase and maintain ie Knipex, Wiha, BMW, Audi, Mercedes, . Chinese products are usually inexpensive but often lack quality
I hate to say it, but the worst quality knives I've received in the past several years have been American-made Gerber (Fastball with an awful edge and pocket clip failure for no apparent reason) and Benchmade (S90V carbon fiber mini bugout twice, once with a terrible edge and action and again with an OK action but still terrible edge), but not a single Kizer or Civivi has had a quality issue and I've even had an issue with a Hogue (X1 mini flip action and detent). Spyderco has been impeccable but so has Kizer and Civivi...Your Mileage May Vary. Chinese manufacturers can and do quality as well as any American company if they want to. I am becoming more and more annoyed with the sheer amount of derivative, fugly, and ridiculous stuff that WE/Civivi/Sencut floods the market with, and even Kizer as well. It's just making finding the ones worth it in their line ups harder, too much noise.
Am I too hard on Chinese companies? No, why would I be mad at companies willing to do something U.S. companies are unwilling to do? Buck, Gerber, Schrade, and CRKT could make the stuff they have made in China made here yet they farm it overseas for much higher profits. Then in the case of Buck they want to continue to cater to an aging fanbase with no interest in catering to younger customers. Any new knives from Buck are made in China and why? Hiw many years are going to continue to lean into the 110 while getting smoked by any other company offering 1 hand open and closing knives? The other 3 companies clearly moved operations overseas at the expense of U.S. workers and in 1 of those companies (CRKT) has another U.S. company making their knives and charging ridiculous money for them. Hard pass! Make your own shit here! Next what knife youtuber hasn't designed a knife yet? Do you know what they all have in common? They're all made by Chinese companies. Why? Because U.S. companies are too rigid to be able accept their designs? Look at what they're missing out on. End of rant.
My take on buying American tech and quality is we need to support domestic design and manufacturing and maintain/strengthen the capability and capacity here at home just in case the SHTF! Hope it doesn’t come to that but peace through strength. This is coming from a guy that regularly does aerospace trade with China and the rest of Asia. We need the right balance. Don’t boycott foreign but don’t weaken our tech/manufacturing power to the point we are not #1.
The Chinese have been busted copying Americans (or other than Chinese) designs and have allegedly been busted with steel claims on knives, which is ridiculous because they might produce a great knife but it’s not really D2, so they have a reputation for being deceptive all of a sudden. The flashlight world seems to be different. I think it comes down to our individual preferences. I prefer an American knife but i love my Chinese Hank Light and my Olights. It’s a difficult world to navigate. I agree with you too
I think it's a balance. I want to support US Companies when I can. I feel like it's a balance with the increased labor cost and overall prices. If it's a quality product and has a great warranty it's an easy choice. If I know it might be a throw away item or an easy thing to break products. I am getting a foreign based product. I try to buy from a small local or smaller online business. My local guy gets nothing but olight so I am a olight guy because of my small business contact. If you had throw away money cheapest EDC build all foreign vs US build. To finish my random thoughts I think all competition is good. Support local.
There's a duality here.I'm pissed off that all our manufacturing went to China.But on the other hand the quality of just the budget knives coming out of China is matching quality of $200 plus 9.It's insane
Growing up and working construction in the 90s a lot of Chinese made tools were total shit I think that’s where all the stigma comes from at least for me. Now that a lot of that is fixed I think it’s more about the company and there labor force lol. I have moved to the mindset of training or understating one knife/light/gun/ pen/bag is better than having ten! I want to do a total USA carry as well looking forward to that video.
new to your channel. but I'm loving how you are preparing your drink. 1) did you do a video on your drink set up? 2) what did you spray on your grounds? Thanks.
It makes me sad that I have a samsung phone and a olight. I like supporting usa made, and I Don't mind supporting other countries that make good quality items; in addition, have good ethics and labor practices.
I think you hit the nail on the head, China holds its own in quality but the ethical concerns are where it hurts. With that being said, if we didn’t trade as much as we do with China we would be at war with them already so overall its a net benefit.
I really dislike how incestuous the relationship between reviewers/influencers with some of these makers has become, especially the smaller channels who are desperately trying to keep up with the bigger channels. It's wild how often people fail to disclose their relationships with companies
@@MarineX exactly. I will note though, that some of the manufactures are apart of that problem… In some cases they’ll even specify that the creator NOT disclose. But that’s a separate conversation entirely
I mean, won't say any brand names but for example, i got few beads (utlem/Ti) off of aliexpress which were a copy(really well made you couldn't tell) for 15$cad(around 11$usd) and when i found out the maker, who's Canadian, i'm Canadian too, would have love to support him, he sells the same bead for 70-80$ which in canadian is like 100-110$..... 15$cad on aliexpress.... this is ripping people off. I get that it's more expensive to make here but come on, the difference is too high. I got myself a lot of really well made cool stuff(usually copies of american/canadian stuff) for a looooooot more cheaper. I guess the "made in america or made in canada comes with a high price tag.
I see your point, but it seems harsh to say those higher North American prices are ripping people off. I suspect for a smaller maker operating in North America, the overhead costs and lower scale are what drive the price rather than generating an excessive profit. As a small business I can only cut my price so much before it's a loss and a larger competitor can do the same thing I do but with economies of scale at lower cost AND they may have other revenue streams that allow them to take a smaller margin than I can afford to on the product they compete with me on.
Bro love your coffee routine. I do pretty much the same at home. Some friends ask “why go through all that trouble, just get a kurig? To that I reply “you uncultured swine!” - compares to just launching spotify playlist, to picking an LP and going through the ritual of taking out of the sleeve, seeing album art, loading to record player, dropping the stylus. P.s they eat their words when they taste the coffee.
Here is what I struggle with sometimes, companies like BID (Minus the fixed blades made in USA) and Jack Wolf is that you can get pens and knives made in the US for less, maybe not the same quality but it feels like there is higher margin in the China made products.
I know you don't respond to me, but Buck alone is 16 times the size of Civivi. There's no comparison between the size of the cutlery industry in the US and that in China. Buck produces more knives and employs more people. And that's just Buck compared to the largest cutlery Co in China. There are 15 Million Buck 110s. It only Seems like Civivi floods the market because there are like, what, 200 of us collecting and sharing EDC.
You're talking classics. I'm talking flooding as in new products. Weknife, Civivi, and sencut have released tons of new models over the last 12 calendar months versus Buck
I have a 25-year-old Chinese made kitchen butcher knife that is still razor sharp today as it was the day I bought it and it has only been maintained on a honing Steel
Right on X! I have a few problems with Chinese products other than what you discussed. First they do the Walmart method of selling at a loss until they get rid of competition and then control the market. Second in addition to labor practices, environmental standards. American and other developed countries have environmental standards to follow which add costs. Also we are forced to use “cleaner” energy which adds a lot of costs. China is excluded from that.
With EDC gear, we are talking about non essential products so you have the luxury of choice. What choice do you have if you want a non Chinese tv or computer?
It's not a question of quality, it's a question of ethics. There is a lot more going on than non-American labor laws. There are a lot of sources out there that go over the ethical argument. Labor laws are just the tip of the iceberg. But as far as quality, some Chinese stuff is better and cheaper than stuff we find in the US.
I forgot to mention for many people it's about supporting local companies. When you support a small business locally, you also support tons of other families and businesses.
Agree with everything you said. But what I hate is drop shipping. The idea of selling a cheap Chinese manufacturer products then selling it for double or tripple the price
I always find it funny when people comment on my videos about only buying stuff made in the USA while typing on their devices that are clearly not made in the USA lol
Or they mention jobs and I counter and say Harbor freight employee tons of Americans they just make sure overseas
@@MarineX lol true!
lol, the labor law in Arkansas is that you’re given a 20 minute break per 8 hours shift. America is the exploiters.
I'd love to know how anyone can buy American Only and use 21st century technology. Are they using nothing with a computer chip in it?
I can I live in the sticks I farm, use my knives everyday cutting plastic lines, feed sacks, using it as a pry bar, screw drivers, cutting ear markers, trimming goat and cattle toes, you name it. I have plenty of American made knives, but haven't found one that holds up like the civi I have. I hate buying Chinese but
It does work. The thing I don't like is we get at least two calls every day trying to buy land or buy our farm out right, but that is about as much as far as hand tools I use. I am a Marine Rifleman Combat Vet, love my country but sometimes if something works that is what you use
I don't have hate for chinese edc makers that flood the market
I do have distain for companies that sit on their laurels and don't innovate. There were tons of knife companies making knives in the US a couple decades ago. They continued for DECADES to pump out the same low-mid quality stuff over and over without shaking things up. There was a decades long span of time for them to reign supreme and lets be honest they let it go to waste. No improvements in design, no improvements in engineering, no improvements in production efficiency, no improvements in materials.... Shit collapsed on them when competition caught up just like the US automobile makers in the 80s/90s when japanese makers finally crushed their barriers and discrimination about not being made in the US.
I'm grateful for (old) benchmade, spyderco, hogue, emerson, etc. for coming out with innovations in blade steel/design/lock engineering that made knives we know and love today. I'll endorse those companies for what they've done and continue to do.
Buck seems to have always tried to venture into new territory, but they also stick to their traditional styling and craftsmanship which I love. I used to hate on Case for being stuck in time but I think both companies are moving in the right direction of toeing the line between heritage and modern standards, with both companies kicking out some really good quality product with very reliable HT and QC. Like I know if I buy from them their knives will be reliable and they'll deliver on good HT. Hell even Bear and Sons is stepping up their game.
RIP sandbaggers, sucks to suck
I'll also say that many of the above problems is lack of good leadership really. No willingness to make the next big thing, not reinvesting for facilities/equipment/process design, I get that locational cost of living made wages difficult... but also you could relocate. Make your knives in Detroit or West Virginia where wages are low and work scarce for people who would clamber for manufacturing jobs. Keep skilled labor around by creating employment contracts with vested stock options, etc.
The best US made gear is small production because those makers are nimble, innovative, have control over production, and have an entrepreneurial spirit. Shout out to Montana Knife Company, Very Good Knife co, Bark River, GEC, White River Knives, as well as the aforementioned makers and many others putting out quality goods.
if its good , its good doesnt matter what piece dirt on this third rock from the Sun that it came from.
Good video. Now let’s see that MKC tactical knife 🔪 review BEFORE the drop tomorrow
I’m whipping it up
@@MarineXYou the man! Will be ready for it
Bottom line, it's about the dollar. Would I buy nothing but American made products over another country? Absolutely! Can I afford a lot of American made products...nope! Lol. On the other hand, if I am buying Chinese made, Indian made, whatever... I'm still going to look for decent gear. Holtzman survival for example makes good knives (a lot of D2/G10) in my opinion for a fraction of these American made stuff. These videos you guys put out do help a lot though before I make purchases on any gear from whatever country.
My anecdotal experiences --> American products are generally robust and durable, though often bulky. ie Dewalt, Milwaukee, Irwin, Stanley, Klein, etc. Japanese products are typically well-engineered, affordable, modular, and compact ie Makita, Honda Civic, Zoom F3. German engineering is excellent but expensive to purchase and maintain ie Knipex, Wiha, BMW, Audi, Mercedes, . Chinese products are usually inexpensive but often lack quality
I hate to say it, but the worst quality knives I've received in the past several years have been American-made Gerber (Fastball with an awful edge and pocket clip failure for no apparent reason) and Benchmade (S90V carbon fiber mini bugout twice, once with a terrible edge and action and again with an OK action but still terrible edge), but not a single Kizer or Civivi has had a quality issue and I've even had an issue with a Hogue (X1 mini flip action and detent). Spyderco has been impeccable but so has Kizer and Civivi...Your Mileage May Vary. Chinese manufacturers can and do quality as well as any American company if they want to. I am becoming more and more annoyed with the sheer amount of derivative, fugly, and ridiculous stuff that WE/Civivi/Sencut floods the market with, and even Kizer as well. It's just making finding the ones worth it in their line ups harder, too much noise.
Am I too hard on Chinese companies? No, why would I be mad at companies willing to do something U.S. companies are unwilling to do? Buck, Gerber, Schrade, and CRKT could make the stuff they have made in China made here yet they farm it overseas for much higher profits. Then in the case of Buck they want to continue to cater to an aging fanbase with no interest in catering to younger customers. Any new knives from Buck are made in China and why? Hiw many years are going to continue to lean into the 110 while getting smoked by any other company offering 1 hand open and closing knives? The other 3 companies clearly moved operations overseas at the expense of U.S. workers and in 1 of those companies (CRKT) has another U.S. company making their knives and charging ridiculous money for them. Hard pass! Make your own shit here! Next what knife youtuber hasn't designed a knife yet? Do you know what they all have in common? They're all made by Chinese companies. Why? Because U.S. companies are too rigid to be able accept their designs? Look at what they're missing out on. End of rant.
My take on buying American tech and quality is we need to support domestic design and manufacturing and maintain/strengthen the capability and capacity here at home just in case the SHTF! Hope it doesn’t come to that but peace through strength.
This is coming from a guy that regularly does aerospace trade with China and the rest of Asia. We need the right balance. Don’t boycott foreign but don’t weaken our tech/manufacturing power to the point we are not #1.
The Chinese have been busted copying Americans (or other than Chinese) designs and have allegedly been busted with steel claims on knives, which is ridiculous because they might produce a great knife but it’s not really D2, so they have a reputation for being deceptive all of a sudden. The flashlight world seems to be different. I think it comes down to our individual preferences. I prefer an American knife but i love my Chinese Hank Light and my Olights. It’s a difficult world to navigate. I agree with you too
I think it's a balance. I want to support US Companies when I can. I feel like it's a balance with the increased labor cost and overall prices. If it's a quality product and has a great warranty it's an easy choice. If I know it might be a throw away item or an easy thing to break products. I am getting a foreign based product. I try to buy from a small local or smaller online business. My local guy gets nothing but olight so I am a olight guy because of my small business contact. If you had throw away money cheapest EDC build all foreign vs US build. To finish my random thoughts I think all competition is good. Support local.
There's a duality here.I'm pissed off that all our manufacturing went to China.But on the other hand the quality of just the budget knives coming out of China is matching quality of $200 plus 9.It's insane
Growing up and working construction in the 90s a lot of Chinese made tools were total shit I think that’s where all the stigma comes from at least for me. Now that a lot of that is fixed I think it’s more about the company and there labor force lol. I have moved to the mindset of training or understating one knife/light/gun/ pen/bag is better than having ten! I want to do a total USA carry as well looking forward to that video.
new to your channel. but I'm loving how you are preparing your drink. 1) did you do a video on your drink set up? 2) what did you spray on your grounds? Thanks.
It makes me sad that I have a samsung phone and a olight. I like supporting usa made, and I Don't mind supporting other countries that make good quality items; in addition, have good ethics and labor practices.
Have you done a video on your expresso setup?! What machine you use, and all your go to accessories?! Interested in seeing that!
You do not want to mislead anyone. If the products work then it should not matter but quality should matter
I think you hit the nail on the head, China holds its own in quality but the ethical concerns are where it hurts. With that being said, if we didn’t trade as much as we do with China we would be at war with them already so overall its a net benefit.
I really dislike how incestuous the relationship between reviewers/influencers with some of these makers has become, especially the smaller channels who are desperately trying to keep up with the bigger channels. It's wild how often people fail to disclose their relationships with companies
Super easy to disclose.
@@MarineX exactly.
I will note though, that some of the manufactures are apart of that problem…
In some cases they’ll even specify that the creator NOT disclose.
But that’s a separate conversation entirely
I mean, won't say any brand names but for example, i got few beads (utlem/Ti) off of aliexpress which were a copy(really well made you couldn't tell) for 15$cad(around 11$usd) and when i found out the maker, who's Canadian, i'm Canadian too, would have love to support him, he sells the same bead for 70-80$ which in canadian is like 100-110$..... 15$cad on aliexpress.... this is ripping people off. I get that it's more expensive to make here but come on, the difference is too high. I got myself a lot of really well made cool stuff(usually copies of american/canadian stuff) for a looooooot more cheaper. I guess the "made in america or made in canada comes with a high price tag.
I see your point, but it seems harsh to say those higher North American prices are ripping people off. I suspect for a smaller maker operating in North America, the overhead costs and lower scale are what drive the price rather than generating an excessive profit. As a small business I can only cut my price so much before it's a loss and a larger competitor can do the same thing I do but with economies of scale at lower cost AND they may have other revenue streams that allow them to take a smaller margin than I can afford to on the product they compete with me on.
Looking forward to that watch review ✌🏿
Bro love your coffee routine. I do pretty much the same at home. Some friends ask “why go through all that trouble, just get a kurig? To that I reply “you uncultured swine!” - compares to just launching spotify playlist, to picking an LP and going through the ritual of taking out of the sleeve, seeing album art, loading to record player, dropping the stylus. P.s they eat their words when they taste the coffee.
The shit be fire
Here is what I struggle with sometimes, companies like BID (Minus the fixed blades made in USA) and Jack Wolf is that you can get pens and knives made in the US for less, maybe not the same quality but it feels like there is higher margin in the China made products.
The Jack Wolf fixed blade in S90 is more than 2 times the price as the Bradford USA version in Elmax.
Samsung is made in South Korea
I agree with your train of thought brother!
People are gonna miss those low chinese prices when theyre gone
I do try to buy American
I know you don't respond to me, but Buck alone is 16 times the size of Civivi. There's no comparison between the size of the cutlery industry in the US and that in China. Buck produces more knives and employs more people. And that's just Buck compared to the largest cutlery Co in China. There are 15 Million Buck 110s. It only Seems like Civivi floods the market because there are like, what, 200 of us collecting and sharing EDC.
You're talking classics. I'm talking flooding as in new products. Weknife, Civivi, and sencut have released tons of new models over the last 12 calendar months versus Buck
@@MarineX ok more new releases coming from Civivi and Co and not as much new from Buck or Hogue.
I have a 25-year-old Chinese made kitchen butcher knife that is still razor sharp today as it was the day I bought it and it has only been maintained on a honing Steel
Right on X! I have a few problems with Chinese products other than what you discussed. First they do the Walmart method of selling at a loss until they get rid of competition and then control the market. Second in addition to labor practices, environmental standards. American and other developed countries have environmental standards to follow which add costs. Also we are forced to use “cleaner” energy which adds a lot of costs. China is excluded from that.
With EDC gear, we are talking about non essential products so you have the luxury of choice. What choice do you have if you want a non Chinese tv or computer?
None that I can think of
It's not a question of quality, it's a question of ethics.
There is a lot more going on than non-American labor laws. There are a lot of sources out there that go over the ethical argument. Labor laws are just the tip of the iceberg. But as far as quality, some Chinese stuff is better and cheaper than stuff we find in the US.
I forgot to mention for many people it's about supporting local companies. When you support a small business locally, you also support tons of other families and businesses.
Great, chilled, but interesting vid! Only thing missing was my own cigar and coffee!! 😂
Agree with everything you said. But what I hate is drop shipping. The idea of selling a cheap Chinese manufacturer products then selling it for double or tripple the price
Like button smashed! Thank you X!
In my opinion gerber is one of those Chinese made products that are pretty good. Like the gerber Paraframe.
they've slipped into that type of trash tier knife for sure.
@TheAdequateMedia true, but then again it's a decent knife
Can we get a garage update. I’m looking to do my garage somewhat like yours. Especially the insulation you know it gets cold in Cleveland🫡
the metals that the chinese use are the poorest quality... don't bet your life on them...
definitely. kizers DLC coatings is such trash.