anyone visited a knife factory in china?

[klevin]

I'm on my way very shortly to China to adopt our second child from China. Has anyone visited a knife factory in China that they'd recommend I check out while I'm there? I tried googling factories and it looks like there are several all over the country.

[predecessor]

Congrats on the adoption! What a great opportunity for you all as a family

Would be fun to get a tour of a knife factory. No idea how to go about doing it without some big whig credentials though. You might try contacting a few of the manufacturers that you know are producing Chinese knives and see if any of them have a "job" for you to do while there.

[klevin]

thank you for the well wishes. we're obviously very excited. our son is from china and now we're getting a little girl. God has blessed us tremendously!

as for getting a job there in a knife factory... if i worked in a knife factory, they'd have to change the tang stamps from "Made in China" to "Made by American in China"

[wazu013]

No factories just a bunch of Fire Drills
Congratulations on your Newbe
Enjoy your trip.
wazu013

[OldGoat]

klevin,

Congratulations on your upcoming adoption. I, and one of my sisters, are both adopted and we benefited as much as did our parents for the opportunity.

Here is an idea for you to consider regarding your interest in visiting a knife factory there. First of all, try asking A. G. Russell if he would put you in contact with his suppliers in China who make the fine cutlery he offers. Second, if you can contact them (or some other company like Rough Rider) then make offer to appear on video in trade for a tour.

I know this sounds odd, but I recently read that oriental marketing in general, and Chinese advertising in particular, is aggressively seeking "American faces" for their commercials. Sorry I cannot recall the business publication in which I saw this tidbit, but perhaps you could use it to your advantage. It wouldn't even have to be as a "spokesperson" in a commercial per se, but simply in a promotional video of an American touring their facilities.

As you are clearly willing to "cast a wide net" why not look into this!

Good Luck!
Rusell

[klevin]

thanks for all the well wishes!

Oldgoat, you may be on to something. I'll look into it. Maybe, I'll become famous commercial star and everyone will want my autograph and photo. ...and my humble beginnings would've all started from aapk!

[klevin]

sent a g russell an email. hopefully they'll have a factory near the areas we'll be in. time will tell. thanx for the suggestion.

[IMBand]

Maybe you can call CASE and arrange a tour of thier new production facility....................

IM

[klevin]

perhaps they would be more responsive than a g russell who hasn't responded to my email.

[Miller Bro's]

I seriously doubt the Chinese will grant a visit to a knife factory.

They won`t want you to see the conditions or the age of the employees working there.

[klevin]

i don't know, on our first trip over in 2009, we toured several factories. the working conditions there are not like here for sure! frankly, most all of china seems to be one big sweat shop -- hot, humid, and lots of folks working diligently trying to make it day to day. they seem to recyle everything, out of pure necessity for survival. since i haven't heard a peep out of a g russell, i don't expect to get to tour thier facilities. however, i'm gonna be on the lookout for knife factories when we go. we leave two days from now and will be there three weeks.

[Miller Bro's]

If you are able to, please take pictures of the factories. Myself and I am sure many here would be very interested in seeing the inside of a Chinese knife factory


Have a safe trip

[philco]

i don't know, on our first trip over in 2009, we toured several factories. the working conditions there are not like here for sure! frankly, most all of china seems to be one big sweat shop -- hot, humid, and lots of folks working diligently trying to make it day to day. they seem to recyle everything, out of pure necessity for survival. since i haven't heard a peep out of a g russell, i don't expect to get to tour thier facilities. however, i'm gonna be on the lookout for knife factories when we go. we leave two days from now and will be there three weeks.

Might I suggest contacting Smoky Mountain Knife Works and asking them for a referral. They have tons of knives manufactured in China and may well have a connection for you to explore. Have a safe trip and God bless you for adopting those children.

Phil

[klevin]

thanks for all the suggestions and well wishes. we just got back from our trip. i never did hear back from a.g.russell. we didn't find any factories in the areas we visited. it was so crowded everywhere and very challenging to get around with not being able to speak or read mandarin chinese. we had our 3 year old son with us and picked up our new 2 year old daughter while there. obviously, getting around was much more challenging with the two children. the only knives we found for sale were ones were fixed blades made all of bone -- even the blade and sheath were bone. it was camel bone so that customs wouldn't restrict you from bringing them home as ivory is banned.

[philco]

Glad your trip went well and that all of you are home safe and sound.


Phil