Proof of origin
We have a big problem within our industry today.
In order to understand this better I will explain the system here in Asia among the Manufacturers and the Exporters.
The true Manufacturers will sell their scissors to Domestic people who is then Exporting the scissors to other countries. The reason for this is that most Manufacturers do not speak English. – Especially Korean Manufacturers. Therefor they Export the scissors through companies who speak English and has an Exporting company.
The Manufacturers of scissors are in general good honest people who will make the scissors in the steel ordered and not just make it in a cheaper steel to make more money. They are normally proud of their skills and will not jeopardize their own reputation by making scissors in cheap steel and then claiming it to be of a higher quality.
however – there are also dishonest people among the manufacturers as they know that nobody is checking the metal composition of their scissors.
One problem is the many Exporting companies throughout Asia who are willing to tell the Importers in importing countries anything in order to sell a scissor.
Many of these people also pretend to be manufacturers but they are in fact just people sitting in an office, buying scissors from various true manufacturers and selling them to Importers around the world.
Surely there are also many of these Exporters who are honest people, selling you what you order. But there are really many who are selling scissors in cheap Chinese steel and claiming it to be for instance V-1 or VG-10 steel from Japan.
Many of these Exporters have no integrity and will sell anything at any price to make money. We do see Chinese scissors printed with “VG-10 steel” and “Japanese Hitachi steel” and claimed to be made in Japan or Korea.
And they will sell the scissors so cheap that you as an Importer will think that you are doing a good deal. Others will simply charge you the same price as the true Item and thereby make a huge profit.
However – There are also IMPORTERS in various countries who ask the manufacturers to print false steel name on their scissors!!.
There is only 1 way that you as an Importer can make sure that you are getting what you are paying for:
Have the scissors tested for composition in your country. There are many companies today that can test the composition of a metal. Such a test will immediately show if the steel is for instance a cheap chinese Cr6 steel or a VG-10 steel. Metal recycling companies who are dealing in scrap metal have a handheld machine that will tell you very fast what kind of metal is being tested. You can contact these and have your scissors tested. Most of them will charge you by the hour at about 80-100 US Dollars. In an hour they can easily test 10-15 different scissors.
One of our customers did this and the result talked for itself: 8 out of 10 scissors where in Cr6 chinese steel but was suppose to be in other better steels such as 440C, V-10 etc.
They also, without our knowledge, tested 4 of our scissors and they were in correct claimed steel.
Do not take a word for a word. Do not trust anybody solely over the internet. You must have the scissors tested in order to make sure that you are getting what you have ordering.
many of the companies who are trying to proof their quality on their websites with factory test papers and other “Proofs” might be the ones you should be most suspicious about.
80% of all scissors said to be made in Japan is not. They are made in many other countries but printed with “Made in Japan” or just said to be made in Japan. Not many scissors are made in Japan today compared to 20 years ago. Today most is made in China! – probably 80%.
If you have any questions regarding the above issues, please feel free to contact us. We will help you any way we can to make our industry better.