Al Mars Real or Counterfit?

[infobound1]

I have been collecting Al Mars for about 20 years! Over that time period I have made contact with alot of the Old Time Al Mar Collectors, and handled almost every knife he every produced! I started running into Knives that were vintage and discontinued! (to good to be true) In my quest for more and rarer I bought some knives unknowingly that were counterfit! Subtle differances Boxes, warranty cards, Chops (Al Mars Name in Japanese Character) in the wrong location and logos and stamps not where they should be! I was schooled by a couple of collectors who knew what they were looking at! Basically learning through experiance! Unfortunately some of these counterfit peices are good, very good! My own personal feeling is that the majority of them are made by the same people who made the legitimate Blades! Ebay has been loaded with them off and on for years, and a few years back I started to see them listed on the forumns! To my knowledge there are no so called grey market Al Mars! I am going to use pictures to try and make this clear! Please compare the Knife for Sale Based on a A/M Grunt, along with the Correct version Based on A A/M SERE Limited production run of 200 The only Dessert storm Commemorative produced by Al Mar!

 

[Haze]

Randome pics are not much good.

It would be nice to see the real one pictured next to a counterfit blade so we know what your talking about.

 

[mmmotorcycle]

Please explain more.....I have no doubt you are an expert but I haven't a clue what is counterfeit or not by seeing those pics.....

 

[infobound1]

I am having a problem loading pictures that i have saved after using on another post but want to use in this post and when I try to upload them it tells me that they have been used in another post and will not upload? I am confused, have tried a few differant ways, no go! Any help or ideas?

 

[halfserrated]

Save them to your desktop and use a hosting service, like photobucket, etc.

 

[u812]

I don't know about all this.
I was-am interested in the Sere he has for sell.He sent me a link to a page with a ton of pics on it,not sure witch one it is.I think I found it but the one he has listed says green scales and the one in the pic I think is right has brown scales.
I do not know anything about older Al Mars.
I get a fishy feeling about all of it with his cryptic PMs,not pinning down an exact pic,no feedback and a bounced email warning in his profile.
All this could very well be just someone that is new and not sure how the forum works and does not speak English that well.I hope this is all it is.
I will also say it could very well be possible that this are some very rare Al Mars.He is from Japan and I do know that there were some Spyderco models that were produced only for the Japan market and not seen anywhere else.

 

[u812]

Also what does this mean '2008 Vintage AL MAR Folding Knives Sale'
Does it mean they were made in 2008?

 

[Phil Elmore]

What is the purpose of this thread? Are you taking issue with someone else's for-sale thread? Also, why do you insist on ending so many sentences with exclamation points?

 

[Guyon]

What is the purpose of this thread? Are you taking issue with someone else's for-sale thread? Also, why do you insist on ending so many sentences with exclamation points?

Hmmm... so many of your sentences end with question marks.

 

[Haze]

I am having a problem loading pictures that i have saved after using on another post but want to use in this post and when I try to upload them it tells me that they have been used in another post and will not upload? I am confused, have tried a few differant ways, no go! Any help or ideas?

Go to "user CP" at the top of the page and look at "attachments" under "Miscellaneous", right at the bottom on the left.

All the pics you have used before will be in there. You can just copy and paste the link from that page. :thumbup:

 

[infobound1]

Haze and Halfserrated have tried with photobucket, I also went into my attachments but it will not let me put them up saying that it is a invalid url, invalid file? I am at a loss as I need to post these pictures of a correct dessert storm edition Sere. Just wondering if I email these pics to someone if they could post them in a reply? The wife and i have been trying for most of the day.

 

[halfserrated]

Email them to me at abh114 at hotmail dot com. I will get them up for you.
Andy

 

[JatMat]

I am having a problem loading pictures that i have saved after using on another post but want to use in this post and when I try to upload them it tells me that they have been used in another post and will not upload? I am confused, have tried a few differant ways, no go! Any help or ideas?

Fairly easy, go to user CP, view attachments, click view thumbnails, go thru them, find your picture, click on it. Copy the location (address bar) and then go back to the thread you want to add it to. Click the image button, then paste in the location copied before. Pictures can be used in multiple posts and threads, you just need the location from the User CP.
Hope this helps,
Jim

 

[u812]

In photo bucket it is the last image tag down.Just copy it and paste in in your reply.
Photobucket has it listed aa IMG code.
Just copy that code direct into the reply with nothing else.
You do not use the image button with photobucket IMG codes.

 

[infobound1]

Thanks for all the help and info guys, we finally tried removing the pictures from the previous post and it worked fine after that. Until they were removed nothing worked!:thumbup: I have attached a few (first three) pictures of very obvious easy to spot counterfits, the Markings on the boxes are dead giveaways, The last two pictures are of a Pre-Production Grunt to show a Correct Al Mar Box and Knife, Unfortunately the people making and selling these have gotten wise to the boxes being a giveaway! I do not see as many lately but the subtle differances still stand out on the knives! I will take some pictures in a while of some things on the for sale thread That are not quite right as compared to correct Knives! I need a break this picture posting snafu did me in!

 

[u812]

So you are saying the leather handle one is a fake?
I for one am glad you are trying to help keep members from getting scammed.
Proof was-is the only thing needed.
With Spyderco we had the man himself give the lowdown on Japan only models.It would be nice if Al Mar could confirm if any of these were Japan only models or if oldalmar could give better info on them.

 

[infobound1]

u812, I asked gary about this in a conversation a few months Back, There were only 200 sere based commemoratives? I guess we would have to ask Old AL for his version, Another Tell i have noticed is the word Combat on the sheaths, look at my second set of pictures, notice mine does not have the word Combat on the sheath, just the Al Mar Chop on the front and the model number of the sheath on the back, counterfits will not have the model number of the sheath on the back! I am taking some pictures a little later I will send you a couple of shots of good Al Mar Folders so you have something to compare!

 

[markksr]

Every time you have made these statements against Oldalmar (I believe this is the third time in the past year), you have claimed to have Gary Fadden's support/agreement, and have even offered to produce it, yet you continue to show no real evidence. When are we going to hear some definitive proof from Gary as opposed to your barely intelligible accusations?

 

[infobound1]

Mark I am sorry if I see things you do not in these! Spent a lot of time trying to repost pics earlier Dug out a couple more for comparison and need to take pics. Read the Knife and Markings, check out the mans catalog 2008 inventory, what did A/M Just start remanufacturing Long discontinued knives in the japanese market only! I guess if they have the ability to make the knives a catolog would be a tuff trick! As far as Gary he told me he does not frequent the forums, I will calll him tommorow, it will be late afternoon before I can get through and send him what photos I have saved from the ads. I have nothing to gain from this only trying to keep other collectors from buying counterfit knives! I personnaly have seen the Nick Rowe Commemorative with the hokie medals on the sheath, for sale here as a Cased set with a certificate of authenticity from a Anniversary Bowie Like the one in my Avatar. Then on Ebay as a Commemorative and now here again as a single knife, no box, and Medals that did not come with it from A/M and at a discounted rate from its value! As I have a couple i do know what is correct! I will try to make this clear with more comparisons as I am starting to wonder why i bother, I have Bought and paid for my education in the world of counterfits! Just trying to put down a few wolves near the flock! His Dessert Storm is totally a Sham! Seeing should be believing!

 

[whitie]

Let's put cards on the table. You can thank the Japanese manufacturer in Seki for most Al Mar "counterfeits". The original tools were used and while the knives are exactly correct, they were not ordered by Al Mar and are thus "counterfeits". Gary Fadden has a real vendetta against these unauthorized Al Mar knives.

To spot an unauthorized Al Mar, you often have to rely on the sheath and the box. A distributor buddy is close pals with Gary and after hearing about all these accurate, but unauthorized Al Mars, I sold off my Al Mar collection.

Those of you doubting Gary's feelings on the matter only need to call him.