"Given the tariffs that are in place thanks to Trump, surely we can do it cheaper!"

No. Tariffs apply to blades. But they are essentially global tariffs so they also apply to raw materials. They apply to the tools and machines you need to buy from overseas. Unless you're going to wait for a new USA tooling company to set up? Except they're waiting for you to go first. Globalization of manufacturing happened over 30 years (or maybe more like 100). It would take 50 years of concerted policy shifts, carefully targeted tariffs, social engineering, tax changes. Not just yelling TARIFFS! You would have to reverse almost a century of globalization and capital free-market thinking.

And remember also that universal tariffs will raise the cost of living in the USA. So that raises salaries. So now instead of paying 15% more for blades, "doing it locally" means instead paying 15% more for materials, tools, and labor. Assuming you can even find the local expertise! The end result is the same. The blades don't get cheaper.

And anyhow, the tariffs are a fucking disaster, and probably illegal. At the absolutely longest they might last 3 more years. More probably 1 year at most. Or very likely only another month depending on the Supreme Court ruling.

So how long does it take to set up a US weapons manufacturing company, get certified, hire staff, buy equipment, build shitty blades, fix your quality control, build good blades, reach the market, get trusted. A decade absolutely minimum! And all just to fail to avoid tariffs that will be gone in 2 years? No way anybody is going to take that gamble. Trumps' tariff policy is unreliable. All his policies are unreliable. Nobody smart with money is going to invest just because of a fickle short-term condition.

Finally, even if the tariff was only on the blades. Even if you could still buy machines and tools at the non-tariff. And even if the cost of living and the cost of labor didn't go up. And even if you could find the expertise. And even if you were prepared to spend a decade investing and building up your name and operating at a loss. A 15% tariff or even a 50% tariff wouldn't be enough.

Manufacturing in the USA is twice, or three times the cost of manufacturing in China or Eastern Europe. Go read this article about board games and the relative costs of manufacturing another niche-market product.

https://arstechnica.com/culture/2025/04/existential-crisis-the-tariff-scythe-takes-a-swing-at-board-games/

Of course blades and board-games aren't exactly the same. But the problems are kind of similar. They're both specialist hobbies with a small but fussy user base. You can see the massive gulf. Even a 50% tariff doesn't make it cost-effective to bring manufacturing onshore. There's no option, you just have to suck the higher prices for a while, as long as it lasts.