Buck 888 not the real deal

xeodguy

xeodguy

Gold Member
Joined
Sep 22, 2007
Messages
1,749
I recently picked up this knife marked like a Buck Strider 888. I decided not to keep it, put it up on eBay, and got a message from a user there that it is a Chinese knockoff. I need the wisdom of some experts on this one: is he right? I know there have been a lot of high dollar/high end knives counterfeited over the last several years, so it wouldn't surprise me, but for those which I don't regularly handle, I'm not real good at telling the difference. Thanks for your help.

Adding pictures of the box for clarification.

fakesolution01.jpg


fakesolution02.jpg


fakesolution03.jpg


fakesolution04.jpg


fakesolution06.jpg


fakesolution07.jpg
 
Last edited:
looks pretty legit, did he say why he thought it was a counterfeit? What supposedly gives it away?
 
I haven't seen a counterfeit that sports the Bos logo and the ATS34 blade steel. Knockoffs don't use high end steel.
 
I believe there may be someone out there who thinks every Buck Strider 888 is counterfeit.

I sold one a couple years ago on the bay and got the same remark. I sent Rich Neyman a photo of it and he got right back to me telling me that mine was indeed the real deal.

Maybe he'll see this thread and chime in, but it looks like the "real deal" to me.
 
Last edited:
fishface5 said:
looks pretty legit, did he say why he thought it was a counterfeit? What supposedly gives it away?
Click to expand...

He said that the brass button on the sheath was one sign - that struck me as odd - and that the other was the lack of a deep stamp for the Strider logo. A lot of folks have looked at it (88 views so far), and nobody else thought it was a fake, but just the same, I like to ask the opinion of people who specialize in an area. Thanks for the help.
 
Does the box have a bar code label and what is the color of the cardboard on the inside of the box?
All legitimate Bucks have a bar code label and I have yet to see a counterfit with one. Most all counterfit boxes
I have examined have a white inside color, not brown. I have not seen a white inside color on a real buck box of that type.
 
I am not an expert on these although I do have a couple of which one I believe may be a fake. Most also have a tag on the back of the sheath with a flag scene. Not sure if that is a problem or if only some of the sheaths had this. The one of mine does not have the tag on the back of the sheath and the logo etc is printed on the blade and not stamped. Another one I have does have the tag and is stamped. Not sure the answer but seems fishy.
 
I do not have any Striders but as a general Buck knife collector I have one additional observation to stir the pot with.
The knife in this thread has a 2001 date code but that style box did not come into use until a few years later.
 
i'm the one that pointed out the fact I think it's fake on the bay.

I have a number of 888's. the real ones have the strider/buck logo deeply stamped into the steel and not printed or lasered on.

also, the sheath has the flag logo as pointed out above and there is no brass on the snap.

if i'm wrong, please tell me. I suspect buck could confirm this by looking at the strider/buck logo.

maybe buck used 2 types of logos?
 
Regarding the printing on the blade rather than stamping. I brought this up recently regarding the new pigstickers that have been turning up recently where the logo etc was etched or printed on the blades and the older ones were stamped. It was confirmed that Buck made a new batch which had the blades etched rather than stamped so it is possible but it still does not answer the other inconsistencies with the 888 Strider in question.
 
I have a 271 Alpha Dorado S30V with etching instead of stamping....I was concerned at first, until I saw other examples like that.

my CSAR-T 690 is etched instead of stamped, also....
 
Last edited:
DeSotoSky said:
Does the box have a bar code label and what is the color of the cardboard on the inside of the box?
All legitimate Bucks have a bar code label and I have yet to see a counterfit with one. Most all counterfit boxes
I have examined have a white inside color, not brown. I have not seen a white inside color on a real buck box of that type.
Click to expand...

I just looked at the listing....
The blade is marked 2001
Box has a barcode, model says B888-00-0 and label is dated 08/16/04
 
DesertChris said:
I just looked at the listing....
The blade is marked 2001
Box has a barcode, model says B888-00-0 and label is dated 08/16/04
Click to expand...

I was going to post the additional pictures of the box from my listing, but I didn't notice the date inconsistency until you pointed it out. The inside of the box is brown. I'm guessing the consensus is that the box is real, but the knife is suspect? There is no flag logo on the sheath; the sheath does have a brass snap. I haven't seen Joe Houser weigh in yet., nor have I gotten a response from Buck. I would hope to get a definitive answer from one of those sources. Still five days left, so I have plenty of time to pull this one. I seem to recall that a couple of years ago, the idea of identifying imported knives with a "permanent marking" was redefined to allow ink stamping (which comes off very easily) instead of stamping in the metal. I have seen a lot of faux-Striders, Reeves, Hinderers, Benchmades and high-end Spydercos for sale, which were not marked in any way. Once the counterfeits make it into the hands of collectors, they will keep recycling through the market for years without anyone knowing that they are fakes, and a lot of folks are going to be disappointed, and a lot of good companies are going to take hits to their reputations. Again, thanks to everyone for the help thus far.
 
Don't forget.... There are plenty of examples where older blades get used later on.
That could explain the sheath too....maybe they ran out of flag tags etc....
Also, I seem to recall reading somewhere that there wasn't much in the way of "buildout" records from the old factory days.
 
The Buck 888 Strider first showed up in the 2002 catalog and the blade appeared to have a different grind.
 
Last edited:
mbjannusch said:
I haven't seen a counterfeit that sports the Bos logo and the ATS34 blade steel. Knockoffs don't use high end steel.
Click to expand...

It is just the stamp You can put any stamp on anything, that doesn't proof it is what it says it is. Just saying it looks like real deal !
 
I was able to get in touch with Buck today and one of the good folks in the Warranty Dept. took a look at my pictures and told me, with 98% certainty, that the knife is a fake. I have taken down the listing on eBay. I'm leaving the pictures here so that folks can look at it and read about it to determine if their own knives, or knives they are thinking about buying, are fakes. He wouldn't say exactly why he was almost 100% certain why this one is a fake - but I have a feeling that the issues discussed here were involved

Thanks to everyone for their helpful advice and comments.
 
You must log in or register to reply here.
Back
Top