Benchmade knock-off?

[Psychopomp]

So someone handed me a knife today to ask my opinion. I flipped it open and noticed the "MADE IN CHINA" tang stamp right off the bat. Ok, so the knife felt pretty solid, although cheaply made. It locked up pretty well, but the blade was as dull as... something very very dull. The handle was aluminum I'm guessing, it was very light.

Ok, so all in all not a bad knife, I didn't ask the price. It wasn't something I'd buy, it was a little fantasy-ish in design, but not a bad knife. I went to close it and found no liner lock. I looked around and found what appeared to be an AXIS mechanism. It was similar in design to the BM425, but that's a liner lock.

I'd always assumed that the AXIS mechanism was proprietary. I've seen similar locks, but nothing that functioned just like the AXIS. I know that BM makes some knives in China, but this wasn't stamped Benchmade. All it said was MADE IN CHINA.

I'm baffled.

 

[Knife Outlet]

The Chinese have no laws about patent infringement and don't appear to honor those laws of other countries.

 

[Keith Montgomery]

Don't know the knife you are referring to, but Chinese companies do not recognize patents. They will knock off anything and do not consider this practice to be wrong.

 

[cmd]

Don't be surprised.

Just for fun, if you are ever out near Southport - just before you get there, on the right is a little shack advertising knives and incense. Ask for a Spyderco or Benchamde and the answer is "what are you looking for" and they can get you any knife "made the same right down to the exact nut and bolt" but their customers just do not want to spend 50 or 100 dollars for one knife.

Trouble is, year after year they are still there and still selling the same junk.

But each year, I go in there and ask if they have any Spydercos or Benchmades. Each time they have given the same answer and I listen politely, keep looking around interestedly, they keep talking and eventually I show them something well used and much loved from my pocket, we talk about knives for a while, then leave with a smile.

I will be at Oak Island the first week in August. Hope that shack is still there and selling knives that people can depend on this time.

Chris

 

[Ryan8]

The Chinese have no laws about patent infringement and don't appear to honor those laws of other countries.

And the United States has been pushing for stronger intellectual property protection and crackdowns in other countries. That and the US traditionally hates Communism. Yet we still buy huge quantities of their products. Why?

 

[Lil Timmy]

And the United States has been pushing for stronger intellectual property protection and crackdowns in other countries. That and the US traditionally hates Communism. Yet we still buy huge quantities of their products. Why?

Um, because it's cheap?

 

[Rat Finkenstein]

And the United States has been pushing for stronger intellectual property protection and crackdowns in other countries. That and the US traditionally hates Communism. Yet we still buy huge quantities of their products. Why?

Two Words: Wal Mart

 

[Planterz]

I've seen the knockoff AXIS lock CCCs. Some are knockoffs of actual BM designs (mostly 94X series), and some only use the lock. Somehow, I doubt that these locks are as secure and strong as the real AXIS locks...

 

[Knife Outlet]

And the United States has been pushing for stronger intellectual property protection and crackdowns in other countries. That and the US traditionally hates Communism. Yet we still buy huge quantities of their products. Why?

Because people value low prices more than the best interests of their economy.