Call for discussion. Custom knife "clones" from other makers.

As crazy as it may sound, a LOT of time and effort went into the design of my Credit Card Knives. I still have many of the trial and error ones around the shop!! Seeing them copied....EXACTLY:eek: Really sucks. I kind of expected that they might be ripped off and produced in a foreign country but not right here in the USA :(

http://www.bladeforums.com/forums/showthread.php?s=&postid=1917452#post1917452

As I mentioned in this thread, I have met Bub many times at shows and CANNOT beleive he would have done this intentionally.

Neil
 
It is generally understood that makers find inspiration in one anothers work. It is also understood that new ideas are often born of old ones, and that so many variations of so many styles have already been done it's probably quite difficult to come up with something completely unique.

That said, there remains a huge difference between finding inspiration and copying, almost exactly, another maker's work.

A near exact copy is theft. It is theft because the copier receives money for another man's product.

How does one differentiate between an inspired design and a copy? Well, most of us just know it when we see it.

Neil Blackwood's credit card knife is a perfect example. A maker may look at that design and say "hey, that's pretty clever. I like the idea of making a knife that can be concealed as a credit card. I wonder if I can make a better one by maybe changing the way it's held, the shape of the edge, the material, and the appearance." A thief, on the other hand, might look at same knife and say "I bet I can make a lot of money off that person's design."

It's wrong to copy another maker. I would imagine that those who do copy, or steal others' designs know that it's wrong when they do it.

The solution? Quite simply, makers should not intentionally copy another maker's work. Buyers should not buy what they know to copies of another maker's work. Further, makers would be wise to document their work and speak out when it appears that that work has been copied or a design stolen.

That's about it though. Applying for patents or trademarks probably isn't worth the trouble in most cases. Simply doing things the right way and defending oneself is probably the best method. It won't prevent some people from behaving improperly or unethically, but then again, nothing ever does...
 
Hi Neil,

In the late 80's I bought a "credit card" knife. It was sharp on one side, had a monofilimint line cutter, on the other side it had inches marked and I belive it had 3 slots to remove bolts. Wish I knew where it was, it was cool knife. It was actually marketed as more of a survival tool. I think the back side may have even been mirror polished.

Also, in the late 80's Tekna came out with a credit card knife. It was actualy a blade that could be pushed out of a plastic case and be pulled back with the same button.

Now neither one of these was made out of titanium.

However, I think that has been done before as well. Im thinking Mission Knives or Warren Thomas. I think JSP has some kind of credit card knife as well.

Also, depending on the sensitivity of the machine, Titanium can be detected. I had a friend of mine travelling outside the US and he was "wanded" and they found his all titanium Crawford neck knife. This was years before 9/11.

I felt bad as I sold this to him and told him it was undetectable.

No matter what field it is, good ideas get continously re-cycled.

Darrel Ralph and I had a design ripped off by well known factory. Fortunately, my clientel doesn't carry that Sh*t so I didn't worry about it too much.

Neither should you.

Just my experience.
 
Les, I think that there's recycling good ideas and then there's making exact duplicates. Neil isn't trying to lay claim to the idea of a credit card knife - he's objecting to someone making an *exact* duplicate of his. This isn't another person's interpretation of the CC knife, this is another person copying Neil's interpretation. In general, I tend to give a lot of latitude on the inspiration vs. ripoff objections to the inspired by side (easy for me since it isn't my designs and hard work being copied, I'm sure) - but this one seems pretty clear cut - it's a clone.

To a large extent I think people kinda shrug when it's a cheap foreign copy. But this one also seems to be looking to be a "respectable" piece of cutlery - and I think that's another problem.
 
Hey Buzz,
No problem on the 52100 forged blade. I try to never say no.
I feel a good maker will make just about any configuration!
It takes time to get to every knife done, but they all get done .
I made a couple of Moran copy (st23 folders) autos for a client that waited 6 years.
There on my site.
They were delivered 6 months ago.
 
Personaly, I like Japanese tantos with stingray and menukis and turks head knots.

A lot of makers are doing that. Are they copying each other, or is this a universal style which is open for grabs?

I think copies in the knife world have to be judged on their own merits. Influence from another maker, I think that's ok. Copies...the tough part is what is inflence and what is a copy.
I think the best example is emerson and farid. Are his knives a copy of emerson, or is he just influenced by EKI?
Personaly, I think its influence. (sorry, but they are ugly knives...)

and Yes, JSP does have a credit card blade, and they have been out for some time.
 
i'd love to own a Kious Exposure subhilt, but Kious doesn't make fixed blades any longer, and i can't afford the 1400-1500 dollars if i could find one

would it be wrong to ask another custom maker to try and make me a copy of that blade?

i've held an original in my hands, but lost the chance to buy it

what do you all think? and is there anyone who could do it?

Tam
 
Tam, I am not sure what luck you would have finding a maker that will do an exact copy. Those that I have talked to about doing a design that I liked by another maker have always told me that they will make me a knife similar to the one I like, but in their own style.

I don't think there is anything wrong with you trying to get this done. In my opinion it is not that much different than me wanting to get a Scagel knife. They aren't being made by the original maker any more (he died in 1963) so the only way I am going to get one is to pay many thousands of dollars or have one made by another maker.
 
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