This thread makes me consider What makes us quit a magazine? Stay with me. Anybody enjoy Grays Sporting Journal?
My interests are varied. I like knives. I like hunting and guns. I opened this months issue and saw a full page advertisement for Chris Williams Knives. Ugh. Then read their Best of 2017 and among their selection of the only FOUR accessories they chose his production folder as one. This handle-guy was found out on blade forums in many an opinion for misrepresenting as a real knife maker charging hi-custom prices for nicely custom-handled knives using what hasnt really been disputed as Chinese pregound blades bought from Jantz etc. and not being transparent. Playing a fake on the unwitting and unknowledgable some years ago, using $10 blades. And the site still mimics the same preground blades. The guy IMO has consistently been opaque and shifting the websites language or not disclosing materiality to play the margins...
So Grays writes so beautifully about this Williams Knives new folder costing $150 and its obviously IMO and others is a nearly 100% a cheap Ganzo G704 folder, Chinese, which you can buy for as low as $13 on Amazon. The Chinese at Ganzo obviously copied a Benchmade/Snody-designed folder, produced it, and now etch his name on it. Which Williams had claimed he engineered and designed it over 3 years long...?
I called the head name of Grays under Advertising to complain, I ask him why did they disregard hundreds of custom and production USA knife makers to select as their winner, much more declare a $13 Chinese made knife a Best of Anything. And what about the people who will buy a $13 knife for $150 w a different name etched on the blade to find out, and it was Grays that encouraged this? His reply was in short We understand Chris Williams is a controversial figure... that knife isn.t claimed to be custom made...
I came away from my conversation with Grays that Advertising was defending their choice. Sad. They took the money! I will cease subscribing to Grays only because of that. Advertising its necessary but youd wish there was more solid ethos to it.
This happens all the time. For example, many people pay $40 to $50 for Yeti coffee mug when same thing can be had at Walmart for $10 to $20. When I have $150 to spend for pocket knife I buy Moki. When I want good inexpensive US-made folder I buy Buck from Walmart for $30 to $50. When I want quality utilitarian fixed blade knife for little money I turn to G. Sakai. This would be too utilitarian for most on this board, therefore, I recommend IC.CUT Hiro which offers nice line of hunting knives with stainless blades and cocobolo wood handles. One would be hard pressed to find something better for about $150. Ignorant people look at fancy adds in expensive magazines.
