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Chinese Avalanch Lookalike
- Thread starter gearfreak
- Start date
You're saying that it has the same torsion opening system as the original Ken Onion stuff? Holy crap! This is scary.
BTW, I think the torsion thingy is patented, so if Ken or Kershaw gets this, some prosecution might actually be possible.
It's a pity that someone with brains enough to open up and copy the original torsion system had to use his brains in ripping off other people's work. What a waste, but I hope he gets prosecuted to the fullest extent.
BTW, I think the torsion thingy is patented, so if Ken or Kershaw gets this, some prosecution might actually be possible.
It's a pity that someone with brains enough to open up and copy the original torsion system had to use his brains in ripping off other people's work. What a waste, but I hope he gets prosecuted to the fullest extent.
- Joined
- Jan 28, 2001
- Messages
- 3,709
Joy Enterprises (Fury brand) offers a ripoff of the Kersaw/Onion Whirlwind.
- Joined
- Feb 3, 1999
- Messages
- 3,180
I saw a dealer at a gunshow a couple of weeks ago with the Chinese Whirlwind. They also sold real Kershaws side by side with them.
Two of the copies were sitting on the table. I picked up the first demo piece and I could feel it "moving" in my hand. It was assembled so haphazardly that the body parts would slide around, like the screws had been loosened, almost to the point of falling out. I sat it down real fast not wanting it to literally fall apart in my hand.
The second one was much tighter. It did open with a torsion bar, exactly like the Kershaws. The action was looser and the torsion bar felt a hair "chunky", but it did work. (at least the two times I opened it)
I passed.
John
Two of the copies were sitting on the table. I picked up the first demo piece and I could feel it "moving" in my hand. It was assembled so haphazardly that the body parts would slide around, like the screws had been loosened, almost to the point of falling out. I sat it down real fast not wanting it to literally fall apart in my hand.
The second one was much tighter. It did open with a torsion bar, exactly like the Kershaws. The action was looser and the torsion bar felt a hair "chunky", but it did work. (at least the two times I opened it)
I passed.
John
- Joined
- Dec 16, 1998
- Messages
- 1,066
These "copycats" are realy Chinese made knock offs that cost $1.25 when bought by the thousand from jobbers in China. These knives are then brought into the US under questionable circumstances. No liscencing from Kershaw, no royalty to Ken Onion.
This isn't a case of someone that is skilled copying a good design and some day they will start coming out with their own knives. This is clear theft for the purpose of making a profit, and that goes not just for the Chinese manufactures and the jobbers, but the Americans that have them brought into the US and the "distributors" and dealers that get them to you.
If you think that folks like Ken Onion that spent the time coming up with you cool toys and the manufacturers like Kershaw that risked their corporate money bringing the cool toy to you should give all this hard work away to some group of people that only rip off sucessful designs, go ahead and pay them for their "effort" or refuse to buy and tell the dealer that you won't buy anything from him/her as long as they sell knock-offs.
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TANSTAAFL
This isn't a case of someone that is skilled copying a good design and some day they will start coming out with their own knives. This is clear theft for the purpose of making a profit, and that goes not just for the Chinese manufactures and the jobbers, but the Americans that have them brought into the US and the "distributors" and dealers that get them to you.
If you think that folks like Ken Onion that spent the time coming up with you cool toys and the manufacturers like Kershaw that risked their corporate money bringing the cool toy to you should give all this hard work away to some group of people that only rip off sucessful designs, go ahead and pay them for their "effort" or refuse to buy and tell the dealer that you won't buy anything from him/her as long as they sell knock-offs.
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TANSTAAFL
- Joined
- Feb 21, 2001
- Messages
- 1,981
You'd think that maybe the zealots at the Customs service could make some effort to crack down on items that closely resemble popular, patented/copyrighted/trademark "legit" items. Seems a lot better use for their time than throwing their shoulders out of joint at CRKT's warehouse trying to make M16s open by "gravity."
You'd also think that if they were going to truly enforce the switchblade laws, that the assisted openers would really grab their attention. For sure, a whole lot faster than a linerlock, thumbstud opening knife. I'm not saying I want that, because I believe the assisted openers are most at danger from such enforcement, however silly or stupid the underlying statute may be.
I have to confess that on two R&Rs and a 30-day "basket" leave in Taiwan when I was in Vietnam, I made a few purchases of pirated material. I bought several books, for about $2 US, rather than the $20 they were selling for in the US. I got a couple 33 1/3 albums for similar price breaks. Obviously, those purchases are now recognized for what they were. But, one of my purchases there, quite probably of pirated rights bothers me. In the downtown area, called "She min ding" (sorry, but haven't before tried to phonetically spell one of the few Mandarin words I learned 30+ years ago. I bought a pair of prescription glasses for $8. Girl waswith hassled me all night for paying such an inflated price, insisting I paid more than double what a Chinese/Taiwanese person would have had to pay. When copyrights/patents, etc. are used to inflate prices far beyond the "real" value of something, and perhaps deprive people in need, am not so sure that I can take as clear a stand on piracy as I do in other areas.
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Asi es la vida
Bugs
You'd also think that if they were going to truly enforce the switchblade laws, that the assisted openers would really grab their attention. For sure, a whole lot faster than a linerlock, thumbstud opening knife. I'm not saying I want that, because I believe the assisted openers are most at danger from such enforcement, however silly or stupid the underlying statute may be.
I have to confess that on two R&Rs and a 30-day "basket" leave in Taiwan when I was in Vietnam, I made a few purchases of pirated material. I bought several books, for about $2 US, rather than the $20 they were selling for in the US. I got a couple 33 1/3 albums for similar price breaks. Obviously, those purchases are now recognized for what they were. But, one of my purchases there, quite probably of pirated rights bothers me. In the downtown area, called "She min ding" (sorry, but haven't before tried to phonetically spell one of the few Mandarin words I learned 30+ years ago. I bought a pair of prescription glasses for $8. Girl waswith hassled me all night for paying such an inflated price, insisting I paid more than double what a Chinese/Taiwanese person would have had to pay. When copyrights/patents, etc. are used to inflate prices far beyond the "real" value of something, and perhaps deprive people in need, am not so sure that I can take as clear a stand on piracy as I do in other areas.
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Asi es la vida
Bugs
Steelwolf,
After playing with my Avalanch copycat for a while, the function sure does seem like a clear violation of the Onion patent. However, I've noticed one difference in form. The Kershaw has something loose detectable inside and the copycat does not. I've heard from other members on this forum that this is normal for the Onion design. So, it makes me wonder if the copycat made some small change to make the mechanism different.
By the way, the copycat is clearly the inferior knife, both in terms of alignment and in construction detail.
In any case, if I were a Kershaw lawyer, I'd be looking at my options in protecting the patent.
After playing with my Avalanch copycat for a while, the function sure does seem like a clear violation of the Onion patent. However, I've noticed one difference in form. The Kershaw has something loose detectable inside and the copycat does not. I've heard from other members on this forum that this is normal for the Onion design. So, it makes me wonder if the copycat made some small change to make the mechanism different.
By the way, the copycat is clearly the inferior knife, both in terms of alignment and in construction detail.
In any case, if I were a Kershaw lawyer, I'd be looking at my options in protecting the patent.