Are these good knives for practical use or are they more for the occasional use?

I would say that these knives are pretty well made for imports...I further think they would stand up to medium to heavy use...

I just bought a Smith and Wesson M & P #1 folding knife.

It's black and green with no serations.It has this funny little safety on the side I'm not crazy about.
The blade is 4034 steel and it takes a wicked good edge.
I really like it. No where on the knife does it say made in China.
On the back end it has a solid glass breaking steel nub.
The M&P logo is on the blade and both sides of the handle which offers a nice grip and feel.
The pocket clip if really stiff, but I guess that will help me not loose it.
The blade is 3 inches, the body is 4 inches.
It's no Spyerco, but pretty decent for the 30.00 odd I paid for it.

I like it.

And yet it is. I personally would buy a knife in that price range from Buck that is made in the US and has a lifetime warrenty.

they are fine knives for the money. if you happen to lose it your not out 150.00 a benchmade would cost you

I just received a knife from a company I do a LOT of business with. It is all aluminum with a wonderful open assist button and stainless blade. The company is German and the knife has some wording on it, one word is Rostfrie. It has the seatbelt cutter and the glass breaking nipple on it. Everyone I show it to is very impressed.

Well I went looking for a similar knife that I could give to my clients and found that Rostfrie means rust free in German. Hmmmm. There is no manufacturer on the knife then. After some searching I found the same knife on an import website that could be had for the low price of $2.78 in quantities of 50. Not long after that the blade started to get loose, and the main screw backed out holding it. I tightened it but then the flip assist wouldn't work and the blade lock won't hold the blade open.

I am very disappointed because the knife looks so good and has such good heft, I really thought it was a nice knife. It holds an edge quite well.

Now my old Buck knife is back in my pocket.

If I'm not mistaken, parts for something, like a knife, if imported , do not need a stamp as to the country of origin. If the item is totally assembled and ready for resale, it must indicate where outside the US it was made. I know Taylor, an others, assemble knives from imported parts, so that may explain why some Taylor made knive are not marked "Made in China." Ed.

Taylor Brands does no assembly or manufacturing and their facilities in the US are distribution warehouses only. They own the license for use of the brand name or trademark on limited products and have manufacturers in China do the manufactureing and then import the products for distribution to wholsalers. S&W, Schrade, and Old Timer,( amongst others), are brand names they have licensing agreements to use. If you like those type of knives then buy what you want and be happy with your knife. However, IMO you can find US made (Buck & Gerber) and some imported (Kershaw, Gerber, Spyderco Byrd) knives at the same price point with substantialy better quality and warrenty.

I have gone through two of the M&P SWMP4LS knives with the M.A.G.I.C. assist opening (3.6 inch blade). They really are MAGIC- after about 30-40 openings, they magically break and won't open! I won't buy another one. My S&W Extereme Ops at $8.00 from Academy has lasted 4 years without a hitch and stays razor sharp.

I just used up an S&W Urban Camo tactical knife. I dont have the model #. but it really does not come close to the quality of my Kershaw B/O Blur or my Kershaw B/O Ken Onion btw Kershaw is all U.S. and their warr. is great i broke the tip off one and sent it back to be re-bladed...they sent me a brand new knife no charge sans me shipping it to them.

Lost Lake:

A lot of Chinese made knives have 'Rostfrie' stamped on them to give the impression that they're European made/quality. Have you tried Locktite on the screw? Maybe you can, using the right level of Locktite, set the screw securely w/o comprimising the lock mechanism. Then again, for a real inexpensive knife, it might not be worth the trouble.

Lost Lake, eh? I have some nice arrowheads classified by name as 'Lost Lake' variety...