my blade fetish is becoming mental

[Paytience]

Originally Posted by Genocide

American made is the best way for knives. Thats best i have for u. Anywhere else uses a cheaper metal that isnt as tough.

This isn't true. Swedish, Norwegian and Japanese made knives are all excellent steels. And half the steels in american knives are made in China. Quality control is better in the u.s., but a lot of u.s. companies manufacturing overseas, and have tightened down their qc a lot.

What you pay for with u.s. knives is a guaranteed fit and finish and a guaranteed quality of build and heat treat. Toughness of steel is an adjustable thing and the desired toughness/hardness/resistances of each steel varies or is adjusted accordngly. Buck 420hc is tougher than Aogami blue. That doesn't mean it's better...the aogami blue is gonna have far superior sharpness and edge holding. You trade...batch steels in China can have issues, but for the most part steel quality is really good world wide.

Heat treating is the biggest difference, and that is internally controlled by each company.