Rob Babcock
Head Chef
I'll purchase non-Japanese kitchen knives when American or European manufacturers match the performance. So far I haven't seen any.
As always, the man of fewer words sums it up perfectly! I'm all for buying American, but it's increasingly rare that I can find an American product of high enough quality to satisfy my needs. Try to buy a CD player made in the US (with no Asian parts, that is)- and good luck, because we can't/don't make any. At all. My preamp is Mexican blink, my speakers are British, my DVD & CD players are Japanese, my HT processor is British...I think my main amp is actually made in the US, but I won't swear to it.
When it comes to knives, IME Japanese knives have next to no peers, certainly none made in America. Henckles has some very advanced knives- that are manufactured in Japan and branded for them. Aside from that, I can only think of Mora as a maker of good laminates from Europe. And that's the key: laminated knives are generally superior IMOHO. Short of making an entire knife out of V-Gold 10 or Cowry-X, laminating a very hard hagane with a softer jigane, san mai style, seems the best way to go.