Certificate of Authenticity

Billco

Billco

Joined
Aug 6, 2013
Messages
56
If you purchased a Jesse Jarosz knife on the secondary market and it was delivered without the "Certificate of Authenticity," (others I've purchased have such authentication) would you be concerned. Should the knife be discounted if the Cert. is missing, or in your opinion, is it no big deal. This recently happened to me and I generally don't care other than, someday I may want to sell the knife to someone else. Do you think they would rightfully expect me to provide the Authentication Certificate?
Your thoughts would be appreciated.
Bill
 
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People lose paperwork all the time. If the maker has a distictive style and a recognizable mark, the certificate is not needed. Do not buy any knife if you do not know the maker enough to recognize their work. You may be able to get one if he's still around. Just the correspondence is enough to establish provenence in some cases. For some buyers, CoA are important, but not for hot makers.
 
Was paperwork discussed prior to the buy? On the second-hand market things like that are usually discussed pre-sale. If it was never discussed I don't think you can push it. Just enjoy the knife. Paperwork like that is like a pedigree for a dog---what use is it really? Once you're second-hand, if you're a good negotiator, lack of that piece of paper isn't going to kill you.

The only way you'll lose anything in resale now is if someone specifically asks about the paperwork. It might cost you $10 when all is said and done. I wouldn't worry about it.
 
How many times has said knife changed hands before it got to you? If you sold it it would add one to that number. By then there might be coffee mug rings and ketchup stains on any paperwork involved. Not a big deal, as the knife is not going to be sold as new, clearly it is not being passed around like knives usually are that are "too nice to use".
 
I really only think a COA is required if the knife is a brand new safe queen and is being sold as such. A used knife is a used knife and may be missing papers, box etc. I dont have any particular experience with that maker or his certificates but even if it was new I would say the COA worth would depend on how specific it is. If it is just a business card stating its a genuine article but lacks any identifying information relating to that specific knife I would argue that its worthless. If this was a brand new knife from a dealer and it is missing things then I might want some answers. But it could be as simple as the maker stopped doing them as most Certificates are easily replicated and dont really offer a true value for authenticating a product. In other words if a makers work can be replicated so can the COA. I call this stuff case candy. Which is just a term used for the random stuff that comes with a knife or in many cases for me guitars.
 
I own 4 Jarosz folders. I have the certificate for 1 of them. (love that it has a classy wax seal on it). 2 of them were bought used and I didn't expect paperwork. The 4th was a brand new pulsar with no paperwork. I was a little disappointed, but not worried at all about not having it. Jesse doesn't need to see the certificate in order to warranty the knife. His knives are very unique, and made with amazing quality.

From my standpoint, when i buy a knife, if it comes with the certificate and they say it's lightly used, it means they care about the knife enough that they didn't beat the crap out of it and they kept ahold of the paperwork. It's never a bad thing. If it didn't come with the certificate though, I wouldn't really care either...
 
Some guys are really picky about that sorta thing; others could not care less. If it was important to YOU, then you should have worked out that detail prior to purchase.
 
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