The big question for me these days is Carbon V vs. SK-5; do I spend the extra money for the increasingly more elusive U.S.A. made knives. Or do I sell out and get the better value from China at half the price. This issue, for myself, only applies to the carbon steel blades because IMHO nothing slices or holds an edge like it. If your afraid of a little rust simply make a regimine of maintenance with your knife the same as so many of us did with our service rifles. I hated the constant drilling of cleaning when it was already clean simply because we had nothing else to do between those hurry up and wait periods. But in time I realized that things like that saved lives and least of all they will keep your strongest sharpest knife clean. I own two Laredo bowies from Cold Steel; one is U.S. Carbon-V and the other is Chinese SK-5. They do not sit in a collectors safe being of no use to anyone. I have purposely torture tested them side by side and have seen little difference in peformance. The U.S. version holds a slight, edge in balance and symmetry, but very slight. I can say the same about my epoxy coated Trailmasters and Recon Scouts. The only model that had any obvious difference in craftsmanship was the Ghurka Kukri where the U.S. version was totaly symetrical, thicker, sharper and better finished. But there was still no diference in torture test performance IMHO. The Chinese versions are half the price and readily available where the no longer produced Carbon-V's are expensive at best to outragous in price. I know it sounds unpatriotic but American industry is getting its tail kicked in many different directions as far as competitiveness and value. No doubt we have produced superior products in the past but what good are they to the American market if no one can afford to buy them. I truely appreciate a quality made American product but I think that most peoples wallets appreciate a balance of quality and value even more. If money is not an issue and you simply must have the esteem that goes with owning a "Made In The U.S.A." product for collecting and resale then knock yourself and your wallet out. If you are like me and feel that unless an object is antique, heirloom,or artifact of some historical value or significance, it should not sit in a safe where it is of no use to any one, it should be used and used well. This goes not just for out of production Cold Steel products but for all outrageously priced American products whether they're hand cafted or whose @!*@^!!ing name is on them. What are we!? Snooty Europeans?, Status hungry asians. Forgive me but I live in the communist city of Los Angeles and I see it all first hand. The American people got to where they are today by being practical and hardnosed and not by shopping for prestige. Cold Steel became what it is today by offering a superior product at a reasonable price (for those who remember back to the 80s). It is unfortunate that they can no longer do that (for whatever economical reason) with American labor. But they still put out a good product for the price; Chinese or not. As for whose is responsible for this TARFU situation... the Gov't?, Big business?, or our own spoiled,lazy,unionized American tails... all of the above? I don't know. Please forgive my going off on a tangent... again. I'm pretty new to GB and I Think this a great site. The opinions I've expressed probably belong in another forum area of this site. I do apologize
