Yangtools

[KingsCountyLeather]

18 hours ago, bikermutt07 said:

@KingsCountyLeather, that is the only way Terry Knipschield does it. He will not take a payment until he has the knife ready for you (and that is usually months). If you don't have the money when he contacts you, he has a line if people waiting to pay.

Luckily, I have always had his money when he was ready.

And he is worth the wait.

I’m sure Terry’s tools are the finest and I can see why anyone in the states would use him but for the rest of us out side of USA who don’t want to pay big shipping costs it may be easier to buy from Japan or China and still be happy with the quality of their tools.

[bikermutt07]

2 hours ago, KingsCountyLeather said:

I’m sure Terry’s tools are the finest and I can see why anyone in the states would use him but for the rest of us out side of USA who don’t want to pay big shipping costs it may be easier to buy from Japan or China and still be happy with the quality of their tools.

President Trump is trying to get that worked out. Seems our allies like to impose high tariffs on goods coming from the United States.

[sheathmaker]

There would likely be no tariff on Terry's knives, but shipping to the UK could raise the end user price considerably........although the knives are small and don't weight much at all so considering the excellent quality of The Knip knives it could be well worth it.  Another excellent maker is Joshua Fields.  I have both the "Knip" and the Fields and they are both great.

Paul

[charon]

+1 for Kevin Lee. He's also willing to customise if you have special demands. The problem we have here in Europe is not US specific but rather related to our customs and the shipping companies. There's so much crap coming from China to Europe that they just write "gift" or value $20 on it and it passes our customs with no issues or additional fees. Also, shipping from China/Hongkong is usually below $10 whereas from US or even within Europe you pay a fortune to get the goods here and additionally he customs claim their part. Just as an example, I once wanted to buy a knife from the US (can't remember where, has been a while). The knife should cost about $100, which was a really fair price, but shipping was $20, import taxes were $20, custom fees were $7. Thats a plus of 47% so I bought it in China for $65 (but good quality), $5 shipping and no taxes or custom fees. Sad but true and I don't think Mr. Trump is able to change that. 

[bikermutt07]

1 hour ago, charon said:

+1 for Kevin Lee. He's also willing to customise if you have special demands. The problem we have here in Europe is not US specific but rather related to our customs and the shipping companies. There's so much crap coming from China to Europe that they just write "gift" or value $20 on it and it passes our customs with no issues or additional fees. Also, shipping from China/Hongkong is usually below $10 whereas from US or even within Europe you pay a fortune to get the goods here and additionally he customs claim their part. Just as an example, I once wanted to buy a knife from the US (can't remember where, has been a while). The knife should cost about $100, which was a really fair price, but shipping was $20, import taxes were $20, custom fees were $7. Thats a plus of 47% so I bought it in China for $65 (but good quality), $5 shipping and no taxes or custom fees. Sad but true and I don't think Mr. Trump is able to change that. 

Well, I can attest to their not being import or customs fees coming into the United States. This has been a one way street for a long time. President Trump talks of how it should have been addressed decades ago. Our allies want to send us goods but won't take ours. We lost 800 billion dollars last year in trade deficits. 500 of which went to China.

Not trying to start a debate or anything, it's just not a fair worldwide market. I can still see the shipping being the same as Americans are paid more, but the taxes and custom duties are just restraining.

[charon]

1 hour ago, bikermutt07 said:

Well, I can attest to their not being import or customs fees coming into the United States. This has been a one way street for a long time. President Trump talks of how it should have been addressed decades ago. Our allies want to send us goods but won't take ours. We lost 800 billion dollars last year in trade deficits. 500 of which went to China.

Not trying to start a debate or anything, it's just not a fair worldwide market. I can still see the shipping being the same as Americans are paid more, but the taxes and custom duties are just restraining.

Mutt, I hope you weren't offended by my comment, I didn't want to be mean or start a debate either.For me as an end consumer it's all about quality and price. We also have many really good knife makers in Germany (someday I'll let me build one from one of them, we have some REALLY good ones), but they start at a price that is way beyond of what I can afford (~$450), even though the shipping is next to none. So I start looking around the world (sad enough) to find something I can afford in the quality range I expect. And while there are many really good knife makers in the US as well the shipping already knocks me off. I'm not willing to pay 30% of the value of an item as additional shipping fee. I don't know how eastern countries manage to ship for next to nothing but that's my main reason to buy there instead of the US. Additionally, the quality has improved significantly and there is not much (if any) difference in quality. Still, the price stands for itself. And at that point I'm not even at my customs or import taxes...

[bikermutt07]

@charon, not offended at all. I was just sharing information. And I can completely relate. I buy lots of stuff from Wuta leather. And all my decent edc knives are from Kizer. China does have some quality items these days. I think the American businesses kept them from sending quality into the States for as long as they could. 30 years ago all people could do was hit a price point for a distributor. Now, in the world of the internet, Chinese companies like Wuta, Ks, Crimson Hide, and Kizer can sell directly to a consumer. That is a game changer. 

And back to our other side topic, until we can make the East deflate their currency to a realistic world value, they will always be cheaper than the west.

So, that is why the items and shipping are cheaper. The import duties and taxation of imported goods is the other hurdle.

[HondoMan]

A wee update on Yangtools.   In a leather-working FB group, a lad posted a photo of his recent purchase.  A lefty plough gauge!  That's extremely rare.  Indeed.  It arrived yesterday, so I asked him to let me know how he gets on with it in the following weeks. 

He doesn't have a proper website - only Instagram.  That concerns me, greatly.

Also, the gauge only goes to 8cm, I believe.  No easy to see from the few photos.  But a lefty gauge is interesting.  No one else makes one.

[YinTx]

On 5/18/2018 at 12:59 PM, bikermutt07 said:

And back to our other side topic, until we can make the East deflate their currency to a realistic world value, they will always be cheaper than the west.

 

Also pay proper shipping costs.  I can't mail something across town for the price they somehow manage to drop ship items half way across the world, explain that.  Sometimes the price of the item with free shipping is less than I can have something mailed from across town, let alone the price of the item.  anyhow, rant off.

YinTx

[RemingtonSteel]

2 hours ago, YinTx said:

 I can't mail something across town for the price they somehow manage to drop ship items half way across the world, explain that.

I've been wondering that as well.  Maybe the CCP subsidizes the shipping cost to the US in order to undercut American made and sold goods. 

Edited April 9, 2021 by RemingtonSteel