The following info was provided by RoseCraft Blades about how their knives are made:
What does that “Always Hand-Built” mean?
Let’s clear up some misconceptions about the manufacturing process for RoseCraft slip joint knives. The fact is that our knives are no less handmade than other manufactured slip joint knives. All slip joint manufacturers use a combination of machine and hand processes. RoseCraft is no different. Let’s get into it.
Every brand must cut knife pieces from raw materials, and they use machines to do it.
RoseCraft uses a precision cutting machine to cut out blade blanks.
Other brands use either precision cutting or a die press machine and stamp out blanks.
Every brand must grind the blades, and they use machines to do it.
RoseCraft uses a precision grinding machine to grind the blades. A worker feeds the machine, and the machine automatically grinds the blade to specifications.
Other brands use precision grinding or older machines like a Nicholas Grinder to grind the blades. A worker feeds these machines, and the machine automatically grinds the blade to specifications.
While they might exist somewhere, I couldn't find an example of factory workers hand-grinding each blade like they would have around the turn of the 20th Century.
Every brand must create handles made up of bolsters and liners,
and they use machines to do it.
RoseCraft CNC mills their bolsters and liners from a single piece of steel, which is slightly more expensive because of the amount of material loss, but the integral nature of the process makes them stronger than older machine methods.
Other brands lay bolster blanks and liner blanks into a die press. The die press forms the bolster and fuses it to the liner blank. Then they use another press to trim the new bolster and liner combination.
At RoseCraft, Every step from here is completed by a worker by hand with the aid of standard machinery.
A RoseCraft worker hand-assembles, hand-fits, and hand-pins and hammers each knife.
A RoseCraft worker hand-hafts each knife to ensure that cover materials, shields and pins are flush with smooth transitions to bolsters and liners.
A RoseCraft worker hand-sharpens each blade to final razor sharpness.
A RoseCraft worker hand cleans, oils, and polishes each knife to its finished state.
And finally, each knife goes through a Quality Control process. RoseCraft workers hand-test each knife TWICE before it gets to you, once in the factory before packaging and again when it arrives at our facility in Maryville, Tennessee. Yes, we open, unwrap, check, and re-package each knife again after we get it.
So, RoseCraft and the other slip joint brands you know and love are basically created the same. The only real differences occur in a choice of machines to cut blanks, grind blades, and create bolsters and liners, and it's really a choice of old machines or newer machines. Everything else is all completed by hand with the aid of standard machinery like grinding wheels and polishing wheels.
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