Chinese junk or what?

I have been impressed with my Rough Rider knives, and others on the forum seem to like their Byrds and Bucks. This whole thing reminds me of when I was a kid in the 50's. Anything from Japan was junk, period. The Chinese seem to be getting up to speed quickly.
 
A.P.F. said:
How does buying a Yugo, give you an idea what it is like to drive a Corvette? 'Knockoffs' are nothing less than design theft and as such, should be shunned. To support such companies, is saying that it is OK to steal designs and manufacture cheap junk, IMO.
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Agreed that the lack of creativity by knockoff artists is irksome. To Joe Blow who just wants a knife, or a car, if the Taiwanese steel cuts and the Yugo runs, that's the important thing.
 
They do make very close copy of branded knives. However, as shown on the Sebenza example, there are differences.

Knives have been around for a long time, it's bound to have certain similarity in design. Some is blatant copy (like the buck where the 611 comes from, or the CRKT design). However, Buck and CRKT are not available in my country, except if the price is 2-3x US retail price (due to high luxury & import tax). The SRM's actually came into bookstore as stationery, therefore the price is almost similar to US price (I got 611 at 10US$)

At least, they don't borrow the brand, so it's only copying design but not fooling customers pretending as something they're not.

I've seen other Chinese copy that put CRKT (but the model is not CRKT's ;) ), Benchmade (but actually a copy of Spyderco), etc. The quality of the material and workmanship is below SRM.
 
I worked for a guy who copied most of his products from other people or from antiques. He then had them mass produced in china for import and sale at stores like neman marcus etc. He and his wife (ceo and cfo) would then get pissed off at other companies copying them, having their products mass produced in china, and selling them at target. "How dare they steal our designs..."

guy was a total jerk. If someone is willing to lie to their enemy or strangers they will lie to 'friends' just as easily.

There is a copy of the kershaw E.T. knife out. In comparison it looks like actually using it is a request to have yourself cut up.
 
A.P.F. said:
How does buying a Yugo, give you an idea what it is like to drive a Corvette? 'Knockoffs' are nothing less than design theft and as such, should be shunned. To support such companies, is saying that it is OK to steal designs and manufacture cheap junk, IMO.
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Why are you saying a Yugo is a knockoff of a Corvette?
 
Keeping with this pace, they'll soon begin to copy the Microtech Scarab... oh, wait... it has already been done! :P
 
BTW, on their site it sais their knives carry a lifetime warranty. Strider , beware :))
 
iamtoast said:
He and his wife (ceo and cfo) would then get pissed off at other companies copying them, having their products mass produced in china, and selling them at target. "How dare they steal our designs..."
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Haha, priceless! If they can dish it out, they ought to have learned how to take it!
 
Copying an item isn't wrong...Like the style of your shoes or your shirt, plenty of copy's around...But to counterfeit something, that's where it get's bad. To put the name of the designer on your copy of his design on something you made that looks exactly like his, then that's forgery and that's plain old wrong and that's what I personally have a problem with. There are some China made knives out and around that do just that, tang stamped Stiletto Italy..That's what I don't like...But the others that don't claim to be made where there not, doesn't brother me at all. I think that's a good thing, to be able to spend your money on what you choose to, and being the type of country we are things like producing clones are made an option to us. It's an individuals choice to make, whether or not to indulge in buying a clone for little money and kick it around and then maybe buy the $400 original to keep on the shelf and not get any scratches on it because that's just what I do and I'm not at all ashamed. I've been a union construction worker all my life and some brother workers swear up and down they will not buy anything other that made in USA and I look down and their boots and work paints gloves, all made somewhere else...Just like my Harley...So many Harley riders think they won't ever buy a made a Taiwan replacement part for their bike, little do they know that on their brand new bike is a bunch of parts that are made in other countries.
 
iamtoast said:
patent infringements be damned, copying items isn't wrong...
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Hi,

First you gotta have a patent. Not all knife designs are patented. Then even if you do, the patent needs to be able to stand up in court. Just because you are issued a patent, doesn't mean it will holdup. Then in the end, it needs to be worth your while to pursue it.

dalee
 
Did anybody ever hear about how Spyderco tried to patent the hole they have in their blade for the Bird model folder, and could not because of it being a hole and one can't patent a hole?...I thought that was funny.
 
There are very few knives that aren't worth at least the $5-$7 you may pay for them. I have a half dozen or so Maxam knives that I bought before the knife bug bit. They still work, cut, sharpen and so forth. Not great by any means, but better than nothing. I gave someone the M-Tech shown below and was amazed...horrified, even, that he's been carrying it and using it every day for the past two years! In fact, he's told me several times how much he likes it. The point is, it cost me almost nothing, yet here's a guy who really doesn't know that it's not a great knife and he loves it. (It reminds me of the story of the fellow who had a happy childhood because no one told him he was poor.) Anyway, I think we're spoiled and we too often take our good fortune for granted.

MTech440.jpg


This is the knife I gave my friend. He's coming this way at the
end of the month and I plan to give him a better one.
 
Guyon said:
Please do illuminate us on how knockoffs are a good thing for the knife industry.
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Knockoffs create more choices for the consumer and and increases competition among manufacturers. This has been true since before there was a knife industry. Technology advances, companies and brands come and go. Yet the knife industry is stronger and more diverse now than ever before in the history of the world. And good knives can be had cheaper then ever before. Not only are there cheaper knives, the strength of the industry supports a huge boutique industry of custom and short run makers which simply could not have existed thirty or forty years ago. Despite the practice of knocking off designs being widely practiced, innovation continues more rapidly than ever before. You can thank competition.

There is a lot of hand wringing that goes on around these forums over stolen designs. It's almost always way overstated. Most designs and ideas are not legally protected. In this case, they cannot be stolen, because they don't actually belong to somebody else. And legally protected or not, manufacturers can pursue knockoffs as long as they can feed the lawyer's kitty. In the long run, though, this is often folly, using up resources where they may be more productively put to work. Such as designing newer and better knives.
 
really it doesnt matter, as the MSI song goes, you dont like it then dont buy it..... spend all your money on crack, buy all my records.

i dont see the knif eindustry going anywhere as a result of these knock-offs. i dont like them, they dont meet my standards i wont buy them. if they meet it for others good, and as far as im concerned the more people carring knives the better public opinion will be on the subject of knife carry :thumbup:
 
razorsdescent said:
really it doesnt matter, as the MSI song goes, you dont like it then dont buy it..... spend all your money on crack, buy all my records.

i dont see the knif eindustry going anywhere as a result of these knock-offs. i dont like them, they dont meet my standards i wont buy them. if they meet it for others good, and as far as im concerned the more people carring knives the better public opinion will be on the subject of knife carry :thumbup:
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I bought my first Spyderco (an frn Delica) based on my experiences with a cheap chineese knock-off.

Another example : I bought one of those "sebenza like" Sanrenmu folders, but it will never harm the prosperity of Mr. Reeve because I know I won't be able to afford a $400+ knife in my current life cycle...
 
Wow, what a great society. If I am not caught infringing upon someone patent then its fine. If I am not caught downloading pirated movies and songs then its fine. But stealing a car would be totally wrong...

I guess 'wrong' isn't anymore and everything is relative.
 
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