CHINESE Rip off TANGO Tim Britton.....Beware !

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blademaker2

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already a rip-off of my TANGO.....company was at BLADE showing off a knife that was a clear violation of my US copyright. Some of their knives were unmarked (illegal) and all had what seems to be aluminum sideplates. Machine work is mediocre and kinda flat. Finish of blade is bead blast and handle is some sort of tan coating. Claim to be s30v but to my knowledge, this is not available in CHINA. Bottom line....ALL of my Tangos have my signature on the blade and are very clearly titanium. Company seems to be using 2 names, KIZER and Toubitou. BLADE management is aware of this copyright violation and illegal unmarked knives made in CHINA. They choose and chose to do nothing about this and rented booth space to this company for 2014 show. Basically all I can do at this point is to alert US Customs. They'll do as good a job keeping this stuff from the US market as they do drugs and illegals. This is so frustrating !!!!
 
Sorry to hear that, I understand your frustration, and continue to believe the US needs to plot drone strikes against all chinese factories that produce knock offs or clone knives.
 
That sucks man. You should try and get table space next to them and make giant signs warning of counterfeit knives, maybe arrows pointing in their direction...

I am no legal brain, but would it be worth it to talk to a lawyer? I know there are lawyers that specialize in copyright infringement and such. And since you know the company's name and all it might be worth a shot. Sue the snot out of 'em.
 
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That sucks Tim...I had the pleasure of stoping by your booth and taking a look at your knives (they were beautiful by he way!) at blade, tuffthumbz (Geoff) posted a vid a few days ago about these rip offs

[video=youtube_share;Slp7FcMkjcU]http://youtu.be/Slp7FcMkjcU[/video]
 
Tim let me first say that you make truly beautiful knives.

Like 9blades stated and linked Geoff made a whole vid from Blade talking about this issue.

It absolutely disgusts me to no end how these Chinese companies get away with this stuff.

Annnnddddd the fact that they were able to get table space at Blade this year and next year, SOO beyond absurd.

I really hope something can be done at some point to shut these fools down.

Please everyone, DO NOT SUPPORT KNOCKOFFS!!!
 
If they had a physical presence at BLADE, that means they must have employees here in the USA - so go nail them for the copyright issues in court. At the very least if they retreat to China, you should be able to remove their presence from future shows.

What is really appalling here is that BLADE SHOW still gave them a spot next year after you told them what happened. The community as a whole should put the pressure on blade show to not allow counterfeit sellers at the show.
 
Does anyone have contact info for someone high up at Blade? Is it the same people that run the magazine? I'm sure quite a few people would contact them and let them know how they feel on the issue.
 
Allen R. said:
and continue to believe the US needs to plot drone strikes against all chinese factories that produce knock offs or clone knives.
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I think there are a few things on that list before knock off knives....

Knock off medicine
Unsafe food
Illegal firearms
Etc.

I get your point but wanted to add an additional point...officials have worse things to worry about
 
blademaker2 said:
already a rip-off of my TANGO.....company was at BLADE showing off a knife that was a clear violation of my US copyright. Some of their knives were unmarked (illegal) and all had what seems to be aluminum sideplates. Machine work is mediocre and kinda flat. Finish of blade is bead blast and handle is some sort of tan coating. Claim to be s30v but to my knowledge, this is not available in CHINA. Bottom line....ALL of my Tangos have my signature on the blade and are very clearly titanium. Company seems to be using 2 names, KIZER and Toubitou. BLADE management is aware of this copyright violation and illegal unmarked knives made in CHINA. They choose and chose to do nothing about this and rented booth space to this company for 2014 show. Basically all I can do at this point is to alert US Customs. They'll do as good a job keeping this stuff from the US market as they do drugs and illegals. This is so frustrating !!!!
Click to expand...

I am sorry to hear all this, especially the part with BLADE ignoring the issue. You have at least one guy here that now knows that design is yours and will not be buying the forgery.
 
Im not sureprised Blade ignored this. Blade is the biggest, but not the best. Anyone remember that epic pic of the Microtech booth next to the ZT booth showing their knockoff of the 0777?

Sorry to hear your designs are being infringed upon.
 
Tim, I've handled many of your knives. You've been making knives for a very long time and the quality is impeccable. It's a shame that they've chosen to target one of the best makers in the industry.
 
jeffsenpai said:
If they had a physical presence at BLADE, that means they must have employees here in the USA - so go nail them for the copyright issues in court. At the very least if they retreat to China, you should be able to remove their presence from future shows.

What is really appalling here is that BLADE SHOW still gave them a spot next year after you told them what happened. The community as a whole should put the pressure on blade show to not allow counterfeit sellers at the show.
Click to expand...


is that the rules? Ive seen quite a few out of country makers that show their wares at blade and dont have any employees in the USA. They have dealers and purveyors that distribute their knives.

blademaker2 said:
Claim to be s30v but to my knowledge, this is not available in CHINA.
Click to expand...

More than likely it isnt. But there is no real way to know for sure without getting the steel tested. A few guys ive talked to say that they have imported higher grades of steel from sandvik and Crucible but they supposedly arent bought directly from the manufacturer. They claim they get many of their materials from sources in russia. Who really knows though. Ive seen many pictures that chinese makers provide that show raw steel with what appears to be the steel companies markings identifying it as the material they say it is but there are a couple issues with that. 1. there is no guarantee that the photos are actually their photos. If they will steal designs why not pictures? 2. They cut out blanks by the 100s by stacking and welding steel plate then cutting it all at once. Ive seen as many 25 steel plates stacked on top of each other. Its entirely possible its only the top plate that is S30V if any. 3. Many chinese makers have a habit of taking alphabet steel equivalents to high quality steels and calling them D2, 440C etc. If they dont have a direct equivalent they will use the next closest thing. So a knife in VG10 is more likely a 9cr18mov. Bottom line there is absolutely no way to know for sure. And really even if it is real D2, VG10, Or S30V it doesnt really matter unless their heat treat methods are up to par. You can get lucky and you can get garbage. Big issue they have is a lack of consistency. No matter what though, I would never assume they are telling the truth about anything. Sorry to hear they took your design.
 
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As long as China continues to support counterfeiters or at least turns a blind eye toward them, there will be nothing anyone anywhere can do to stop them. This is the stark reality of the situation. It basically means that, as a knifemaker, it's only a matter of time before your ideas get stolen , , , particularly if you create something that becomes popular. And the more expensive your creation is or the higher the price goes due to market dynamics, the more likely it is to get ripped off.
 
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PURPLEDC said:
is that the rules? Ive seen quite a few out of country makers that show their wares at blade and dont have any employees in the USA. They have dealers and purveyors that distribute their knives.
Click to expand...

I have no idea myself, but I imagine that there would be at the very least a company paying people to man the table at the show. Inform at those individual employees. Be a thorn in their side so that they feel uncomfortable doing business at a venue like blade. He can also make an effort to inform dealers that KIZER/Tabitou knives are infringing on copyright, to prevent them from selling their knives through legitimate knife websites/business in the USA. Basically, drive them off to ebay and the fringes of the internet where they will impact his sales the least.
 
It's a tough nut to crack. Sorry to hear that. I wish our Atlanta management folks were a bit more patriotic.
 
Very disappointed to hear this. I can make the promise that if I look to buy one of your designs I'll make sure it's either the real thing or a properly licensed production.
 
What's really disgusting to me is that BLADE didn't do anything about it. Then, they rent them a booth for next year.
 
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