MADE IN BRITAIN

[Broch]

Of course, I have nothing against North Korea. I am sure they have some quality products there too.

That's a seriously good idea - anybody that has paid to be a 'maker' on this forum deserves to be promoted somewhere; a simple list of makers and what they do would be excellent. Admin already have the list so, hopefully, it should be straight forward.

 

[Darryl of Sussex]

I have on my 'to-do' list to have a go at making my own Duluth bag (which is what they look like). They look quite simple and I want a couple that will sit nicely in the canoe. But I can't help with a UK manufacturer, sorry.

Someone needs to give Frost River a run for their money. HINT!!!

I received my Cedar bag from PNW Bushcraft day before yesterday.
Solostove and Eagle Products gear a few days ago.
Frost River IR Jr. Bag (bought through forum)

 

[Broch]

Someone needs to give Frost River a run for their money. HINT!!!

They do make some great looking packs though

 

[Darryl of Sussex]

They do make some great looking packs though

Indeed they do but I think if there’s enough of an appetite for the gear they make upon which to base their business model, others could take a leaf from their book and hopefully do the same. Small scale is the future IMO.

 

[Stew]

Indeed they do but I think if there’s enough of an appetite for the gear they make upon which to base their business model, others could take a leaf from their book and hopefully do the same. Small scale is the future IMO.

Speak to Leaky5 here.

https://bushcraftuk.com/community/index.php?members/leaky5.41556/

 

[Janne]

Errrrrrrrmmmmm...... does N Korea import or export anything?

Well, there are a bunch of factories close to the DZ and elsewhere owned and run by South Korean and Chinese and workers ( selected, trusty Party members no doubt) from North Korea.
I do not know which factories and products. Several hundred SK and Chinese factories.

I suspect lots of SK and Chinese products we buy are made there.

Purely NK products I have never seem. I am sure they ate branded ”Made in Korea”, just as the East German stuff was branded ”Made in Germany” in most cases.

Off Topic - sorry!

 

[Janne]

Buying stuff from small makers is hugely beneficial in many ways.
One important aspect is that traditional skills are preserved.

Expensive? Of course. But, BUT, considering the life expectancy - CHEAP.
I am a lucky owner of handmade, English shoes. 7 pairs.
Ultra comfortable ( difficult foot shape, fantastic materials, resoleable, repairable ( I think)
My oldest pair is almost 20 years old, just been resoled here on Island.
Never needed a repair.
Bought a pair of Steve Madden loafers.
Lasted less than a year. Landfill.

 

[Janne]

I expect the same from stuff made from our local forum artisans.
Quality, made to your size/ order.

 

[Robson Valley]

You guys should live here on the Pacific rim. The tide of junk must be diluted by the time it gets to your place.
Must say that small steel and brass hand tools from India and Pakistan are really well made.
Pakistani casual clothing is usually well designed and finished.

British woolens. Blankets, clothing, whatever. British linens. Don't blink, buy it.
The Hudson's Bay Company was incorporated in England, 1670 or so. Fur-trade giant for centuries as you all know.
Their retail stores in Canada are the #1 place to go for the above.

 

[Janne]

I second HBC for quality stuff. Bought some winter clothes there.
The blankets were expensive though, and too gaily coloured.

 

[Robson Valley]

Green, Red, Yellow, Indigo. Those 4 colors stripes in that order identify HBC to the whole world.
Rich people wear coats made from those wool blankets. You get what you pay for.

HBC actually sells a 16' canoe. It's snow white with the color stripes. Magnificent.
Yours for only $5,000.00. One on a car top came through the village last summer.

 

[Janne]

Those blankets are made in UK?

 

[Woody girl]

Yes they are made in uk. Irony is you can't buy them here and have to buy from the US which makes them so expensive. Crazy.

 

[Janne]

Canada, the old colony!

If you know the company, I am sure you can buy the same quality ( buy different colours?) from them?

 

[Robson Valley]

Recently, I bought a 6 point (queen-size) as a wedding gift for my neice. $450.00.
HBC blankets sold in Canada are milled in England.
The only company which has a license to mill HBC blankets is Pendleton of Oregon.
They do a great job of all sorts of clothes but how the UK has to buy British blankets
made in an American mill is beyond my imagination.

I really wonder how you guys got so screwed.

 

[Robson Valley]

No. Your only other choice is a thinner solid color blanket (eg red or green) with a single indigo stripe at one end.

I know that I gave away a few of those in a steamer trunk of blankets and clothes some years back.
I have no regrets.

 

[santaman2000]

Yes they are made in uk. Irony is you can't buy them here and have to buy from the US which makes them so expensive. Crazy.

I thought the company tat used to make them (in Whitney) had closed a few decades ago? (while I was still there)

 

[MrEd]

Of course, I have nothing against North Korea. I am sure they have some quality products there too.

Yeah I have heard the make a great line in wood fired cars and vans.

Well, there are a bunch of factories close to the DZ and elsewhere owned and run by South Korean and Chinese and workers ( selected, trusty Party members no doubt) from North Korea.
I do not know which factories and products. Several hundred SK and Chinese factories.

I suspect lots of SK and Chinese products we buy are made there.

Purely NK products I have never seem. I am sure they ate branded ”Made in Korea”, just as the East German stuff was branded ”Made in Germany” in most cases.

Off Topic - sorry!

Wasn’t it all branded either ‘made in west Germany’ or ‘made in DDR’?
I have numerous West German tools, and I have a friend who is an East German collector - I have never seen anything say ‘made in east germany’ Just ‘DDR’

I am sure there is stuff made in NK awe just don’t jnow it was made there

 

[sunndog]

Green, Red, Yellow, Indigo. Those 4 colors stripes in that order identify HBC to the whole world.
Rich people wear coats made from those wool blankets. You get what you pay for.

HBC actually sells a 16' canoe. It's snow white with the color stripes. Magnificent.
Yours for only $5,000.00. One on a car top came through the village last summer.

I think the rest of the world has pretty much forgotten the HBC tbh. I knew they made colourful blankets but had no idea that was the company colours. Or even they were made in England

 

[Robson Valley]

I like the way you call the blankets: "colorful." I suppose they are. To us, that's just HBC, everybody knows that.

Maybe you know of the Hudson's Bay Fur trading company from what you read in books on Canadian history.
They are still the fur-buyers in the far north. Trading Post stores, too. No more pemmican that I know of.
Tuktoyaktuk, Pangnirtung and so many other communities. Paleo skill thrives in the north, it has never gone away.
Knives, guns, socks, compasses, pack boards, canoe paddles, it's all there.

I bought my first Recta Prospector compass in the HBC post store at LaRonge, SK, back in '65.
The bar was called "The Zoo." A lot of mining claims were bought and sold over the back tables.