Blackjack Fake Model 1-7

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paulsier

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Oct 28, 2015
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I recently bought 2 Blackjack Model 1-7 on eBay from different dealers with a lot of positive feedback. One black micarta, one ivory micarta (no metal caps).

The differences lead to me to suspect one or both are fakes.

The handles:
The black seems like a true sabre. (Spelled sabre on the box)
The ivory seems overly large to be a saber. (Spelled saber on the box)


The etchings:
The logos are both on the same place on the spine.
The ivory is a tad straighter, while the black goes a tad onto the blade.

The black has on the opposite side of the spine:
A-2 TOOL STEEL
Made in U.S.A.
The ivory has the same wording, but on the blade next to the guard. (On You Tube this is the same position for all the Model 1-7s shown.)

The sheaths are by Sharpshooter Sheath Systems. The black has a sheath with a short snap strap which needs to be wet to be stretched. (Sharpshooter emailed me that this is not unusual.) The color, quality sharpness of the logo is better than the sheath that came with the ivory.
The ivory sheath had a larger Sharpshooter logo with small letters and not as sharp. No problem with the snap.

The boxes.
The black had a Blackjack seal with a colored American flag, which sealed the box. The side of the box said “Black Linen Sabre” (note spelling).
The ivory had no seal the side of the box read “Antique Ivory Micarta Saber” (note spelling). The ivory box was bigger and bit stronger. It had an uncolored American flag printed on the corner of the box and said “MADE IN AMERICA”
The ivory knife looked more like wood than ivory and the blade seemed a tad thicker than the black.

Thank you in advance for your comments.

Danny
 
That's a tough one without pics....there's the current incarnation of Blackjack knives (made by Bark River), and there was the earlier incarnation...some of the 1-7s made by Western, I think. Point being, there were differences. Do you have any other info from the EBay site?

Here's a good Blackjack info site:

http://blackjack.0catch.com/pages/1-7.htm

Look at DLT Trading for pics of the newest ones.

Good luck!
 
No historian on Blackjack knives, but neither of my two or three have any colored American flags. The end label on two micarata ones do not say micarta rather " natural canvas" or "Green Canvas". There is no saber language. The sheaths are made by Sharpshooter. My sambar stag one says "sambar stag" on the end label. The boxes are a corrugated cardboard type consistent with Bark River packaging.
 
You were talking about a little sticker with a flag on it to seal the box, right? That is how Bark River seals their boxes, I think....
 
You need to post some pics. I own several and from your description they do not sound like fakes. I would find it a bit of a stretch for a fake to have the correct sheaths. Yes they are available separately but that seems like a lot of trouble. Also one would have to do a pretty good job faking a difficult convex grind.
 
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I am a bit photo challenged. I hope these 2 photos help. This is the black micarta which I am most concerned with, where the etching is on the spine, not on the blade at the guard.
thanks for all of your help.

Danny
 
I don't know if it is a fake, as I am not that well versed with all of the history, but I do know it doesn't exactly match the one I just checked. Mike Stewart at Bark River has enough experience with these knives he'd probably be the guy to ask.
 
I added some pictures as you suggested
precisionshootist said:
You need to post some pics. I own several and from your description they do not sound like fakes. I would find it a bit of a stretch for a fake to have the correct sheaths. Yes they are available separately but that seems like a lot of trouble. Also one would have to do a pretty good job faking a difficult convex grind.
Click to expand...
 
I have a couple with the brand etched on the side of the blade like your picture. I have seen hundreds marked that way. Ed: The BJ website shows them marked like that today but vendor sites show them marked on the bevel.

https://www.google.com/search?q=bla...0CDIQsARqFQoTCNHJge6F6MgCFQRXPgodafEHqQ&dpr=1

Addl ed: There were counterfeits showing up in the 1990's, apparently made by the Japanese companies that had been making them for Blackjack before BJ moved production to the U.S.

Add'l ed: The Trademark is now Owned by Blue Ridge knives and Smokey Mountain Knifeworks jointly. Blackjack was Bought last year from Knifeware Inc.
 
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Poorly worded on my part. I have located no instance where a counterfeit 1-7s identified as such by Stewart.
 
I'm not an expert by any means but based on the pics I would feel almost certain they are real. My first Model 5 which I've owned for maybe four years is marked on the spine exactly the same way. The boxes look the same also. Your knife appears to be of about the same vintage which by the way I believe is the best. You have a couple of great knives.
 
I agree that it most likely is real, and you should get in touch with Mike Stewart over on Knifeforums or Jerzee Devil. I've never seen any counterfeit copies of the 1-7 series, there are a number of small differences between batches, yours is probably something like that. Stewart has always been a bit fast and loose with that type of stuff.
 
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