Blade Gallery Copying Bill's Cases

Win Heger

Win Heger

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I see that BladeGallery is now offering their own line of knife cases. They look an awful lot like Bill's Custom Cases. I spoke to Bill and he told me that these are in fact blatant copies and that samples have been mailed to many of his existing customers.

Bill has provided a great product to the knife community for years. I hope others will join me in not purchasing these rip offs.

Win
 
Win Heger said:
I see that BladeGallery is now offering their own line of knife cases. They look an awful lot like Bill's Custom Cases. I spoke to Bill and he told me that these are in fact blatant copies and that samples have been mailed to many of his existing customers.

Bill has provided a great product to the knife community for years. I hope others will join me in not purchasing these rip offs.

Win
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Win, I agree on the surface, I really do. Bill Mittelman is a long time friend of mine, he gives me the same level of consistent and unparalleled service with his cases that Paul Long does with his sheaths.

That is to say, the best work at a price that matches it. I always believe that you get what you pay for, and EVERY knife I own that needs a case has a Bill's Case for it....my testimonial is on his website:

http://www.billscustomcases.com

That said, Bill, like Paul, has no apprentice, no one to take over when he is ready to retire, leaving the next generation of collectors at this time, no source for the great work that they do.

Hopefully that will change, but Daniel is claiming US made, and there is already competition such as it is from Maxpedition(which I think are total crap), and I normally like Max work. If it is indeed US made, I hope there is at least enough support for Daniel's business to keep it viable until Bill retires.

At least, that is what I THINK, and welcome the dialogue....but keep in mind that I personally only work with Bill.

Best Regards,

STeven Garsson
 
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The problem with BG is that they copied Bill down to the stitching, trim and colors. On another forum they claim to have arrived at that design by trial and error. DUH!! Keep in mind they were dealers for Bill's Cases and had a falling out with him a year or two ago.

They have sent samples with order forms to all of Bill's existing customers. One of the people that got it said the case was "poorly made of inferior materials."

Steven, it would be very wrong for Bill or Paul to retire while there are still collectors with $$$ to spend. Heck, their both young guys.:)

Win
 
I could really get into this but I'll keep it simple. I have one of the knockoffs that Dan O'Malley had made. Duane Weikum of EDC Knives sent it to me. Dan O'Malley sent it to him. I also have the mailing label that Dan placed on the box. This knockoff was not made by one seamstress as Dan O'Malley has claimed. It was made by at least three people minimum. I can tell by the stitching. The stitching where the zipper was attached, and it is poorly attached, was sewn by two different single needle sewing machines. That means two operators. There are two different stitch lengths indicating one person sewed one stitch and it was given to another to sew the second stitch. I use a double needle machine to attach my zippers. Both stitches are sewn at the same time. The spacing is identically spaced throughout the procedure. The stitches made on O'Malley's knockoffs were made by two factory workers who only do production work. Most factories don't use a double needle machine because there usually isn't much call for one and finding a person who can use that machine is another factor. The cordura is not DuPont Cordura. It is an import. The lining material inside the case is either a closeout or an overrun purchased from a company specializing in those types of material. I have read the post on USN and the excuse for using this material is totally fabricated. The reason for making the cases is also fabricated. The reason is O'Malley is highly upset because I refused to sell him cases any longer. That is another story. My decision for doing this was very valid. O'Malley removed trademarked descriptions of my product from my website, contacted the people listed on my links page and began sending them samples of his knockoff. Todd Begg was contacted and I have spoken to Jack Berk. He was also sent a sample. Todd told me he thought it was of poor quality and would not buy it and Jack also thought the quality was very poor and would not consider buying another case other than mine. A person's actions demonstrate very clearly who they are. I have demonstrated who I am for more than a quarter century. I try to produce the best case on the market without regard to the cost of those materials. O'Malley buys whatever he can to try and make a duplicated product and put me out of business. I order all of my materials which are made for me. Everything has to work together. My materials do because I order the materials with that in mind. I have to buy 18 wheeler load full of raw material to have it made to my specs. Try to find a place to store three or more 18 wheeler loads of materials when you live in a 1500 square foot house with a two car garage. Imagine the investment. Imagine the freight costs involved. I still manage to do this and make the best cases in the world. What keeps me going are the truly great people I have had the pleasure of meeting the past quarter century while making my cases. It is an honor and a privilege to know each and every one of them. I will continue to produce cases until I am no longer capable of doing so and am trying to encourage my daughter to be involved in this business so she may have the same opportunities to meet the very fine people who make and collect the knives that have brought us together as a worldwide community.

Bill MIttelman dba Bill's Custom Cases
 
Win Heger said:
The problem with BG is that they copied Bill down to the stitching, trim and colors. On another forum they claim to have arrived at that design by trial and error. DUH!!...... They have sent samples with order forms to all of Bill's existing customers. One of the people that got it said the case was "poorly made of inferior materials."

Steven, it would be very wrong for Bill or Paul to retire while there are still collectors with $$$ to spend. Heck, their both young guys.:)

Win
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1. Was not aware of the particulars, Win, so thanks for the clarification. Bad practice by Daniel indeed!

2. While it may be "wrong" for Bill or Paul to retire, they are both older than dirt, and it will happen sooner than later, sadly.:(

Best Regards,

STeven Garsson
 
Win Heger said:
The problem with BG is that they copied Bill down to the stitching, trim and colors. On another forum they claim to have arrived at that design by trial and error. DUH!! Keep in mind they were dealers for Bill's Cases and had a falling out with him a year or two ago.

They have sent samples with order forms to all of Bill's existing customers. One of the people that got it said the case was "poorly made of inferior materials."
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That would be me. Here's my post from the 'other' forum from a few days ago:

O’Mally is not just knocking off Bill’s Cases, he’s actively soliciting Bill’s existing customer base!

How do I know this? A package arrived this weekend containing a 10” zipper case, clearly a Bill’s knock-off right down to the burgundy color, stitching and tag placement, but with inferior materials and workmanship. Neatly slid under the elastic straps was a wholesale price list and order form. Pretty ballsy considering I'm Bill's biggest dealer.
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This really frosts my cookies, that someone is trying to copy Bill's cases!! SHame on them for doing this. :mad::mad::mad::mad:


I am and always will ONLY buy Bill's Custom Cases! They ARE the best on the planet bar none.
 
I intend to take this a step further-- I will not pay for nor will I accept any knock-off of Bill's cases from any seller here on this forum. I hope everyone here agrees with me. IMHO, it's only a question of time before the knock-offs start showing up here.
 
I have never specified what kind of knife case I want a to ship my knife in. They have come in everything from one of Bill's cases to really cheap ones to no cases at all. From now on, as long as the maker doesn't charge to much of a mark up, I'm going to request that my knives be shipped in a Bill's Custom Case only. If a lot of people did that it could turn out to be good for Bill's business.

It would be very interesting to see what Dan O'Malley has to say about all this. I'm not sure what the other forum is where he posted about his reasons for making this product, but it would be great to see something from him in this thread.
 
Kohai999 said:
1. Was not aware of the particulars, Win, so thanks for the clarification. Bad practice by Daniel indeed!

2. While it may be "wrong" for Bill or Paul to retire, they are both older than dirt, and it will happen sooner than later, sadly.:(

Best Regards,

STeven Garsson
Click to expand...


Very accurate analysis, STeven. Paranee and Kessler are both stockpiling my sheaths because they think the prices will soar after the funeral.:D

It is my intention to stay at the workbench until I get a PERFECT sheath......then I will retire. I doubt that will ever happen (in my lifetime). In the meantime, I'll just keep on keepin' on.

With regard to the point of this thread, well almost everyone who posted ahead of me said what I think one way or another. The part I think that really galls me is not so much the blatant rip off of the designs, but going after Bill's existing customer base by the names and numbers WITH SAMPLES. This is way beyond low. I'll go one step further. Not only would I never buy any of the cases in question......now I won't buy ANYTHING from the offending persons or the businesses they represent at any level of the wholesale/retail chain.

I have not had the pleasure of meeting Bill, but if he is at Blade, I'm going to make it a point. He sounds like my kind of guy.

Paul
 
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Thanks for posting this, Win! I was about to order some Bill's Cases from BG. Headed to EDC this minute. Not the way I like to see business done. Competition is one thing, this is crap! They could give their new cases away, and I wouldn't have one of my knives protected in one.

Hope this works out well for you, Bill! Your service has my continual support. :thumbup:

- Joe
 
The first case I got was one I got from Bill at a San Jose Custom Knife Show in 87-88? It is still like new, and is a testament to his work.
While it's no problem to make a knife case of ones own design, blatant copying is very wrong.
 
I mentioned above that I'm Bill's biggest dealer, but I didn't mention that Bill's Custom Cases are the ONLY cases I carry, period.

I can easily have my own cheap cases made with my name/logo on them, and considering how many knives I sell in the course of a year, that would save me a bunch of money and net some free advertising in the process.

The downside is, this would not be making the best cases available to my customers. And, do you think the sweatshop in China would give a shit if I needed a couple zipper cases made and drop shipped to a customer on a Friday night? Do you think I could call the sweatshop in China and ask?

Bill goes out of his way for me on a regular basis...and you know what? I know I can call Bill right now, 10pm on a Friday Night, and he would pick up the phone and talk to me, and he would make me pretty much anything I asked him to...and, there would be a 90% chance he would build it tomorrow and ship it tomorrow.

Sorry, I'm rambling, but I'm a little pissed off about this too, because someone is attacking my friend's livelihood.

All I can say is, if you value your knives/pens/watches, then buy Bill's Cases for them.

Bill's Custom Cases - The best cases made at any price...period.
 
I agree wholeheartedly, and I think Bill goes out of his way for EVERYONE!

I've bought a bunch of cases from him directly, but I am by no means a "high volume" customer for him compared to others. He has called me back, on a weekend, within a few minutes of my sending him an email, to ask specifically what I want, and to make suggestions about what might work best. How can you ask for more?

It goes without saying that the quality of the cases themselves is peerless.

Bill
 
Sending out samples with order forms to his customers is not only the poorest of shows
but about as sleazy as it gets. I find that absolutely disgusting :thumbdn::thumbdn::thumbdn:
 
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