Could you break a blossoming knife nuts heart?

stonproject

stonproject

Joined
Nov 22, 2013
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I was at a cafe today grabbing breakfast when I noticed the gentleman making my coffee had a spyderco sticking out of his pocket. I asked him what he was carrying and he enthusiastically whipped out a paramilitary 2. He went on about how much he loves it and that he's finally buying nicer knives. He handed it to me and I immediately knew it was a fake.

He's had this thing for years he said (looked like it too) but he was so proud of it, I didn't have the heart to tell him his prized knife is a fake. He had it so long he wouldn't be able to get a refund or anything.

If you were in a similar situation, would you have told him it was a fake?
 
I would have done as you did.
It is always good to let someone be proud of a prized possession.
 
Reminds me when my wife asks me if her outfit makes her look fat. Some things are better left unsaid
 
Don't matter if it's fake or real If he likes it he likes it. Now if he asked what you think you still say it's a nice knife you've heard great things about them or you have one and what you think of it. Only tell him it's fake if he asks if it's fake honestly. And if someone's happy with a cheap mtech let them be happy with it unless they ask about better ones


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I don't know - it's hard to say how I would have responded. It's one of those situations where you can say "I think I would have..." or "I hope I would have..."

There are too many variables for me to say for sure how I would have responded, but since he is obviously happy with the knife and has been for quite some time, I would probably not have outright told him "I'm sorry to tell you this, but I think your PM2 is a counterfeit!"

What I am more likely to have said is something like: "Wow! I've got a PM2 myself, and I've seen several more, but that's the first one I've seen that's exactly like that one! Do you mind if I ask where you got it?"

stonproject said:
I was at a cafe today grabbing breakfast when I noticed the gentleman making my coffee had a spyderco sticking out of his pocket. I asked him what he was carrying and he enthusiastically whipped out a paramilitary 2. He went on about how much he loves it and that he's finally buying nicer knives. He handed it to me and I immediately knew it was a fake.

He's had this thing for years he said (looked like it too) but he was so proud of it, I didn't have the heart to tell him his prized knife is a fake. He had it so long he wouldn't be able to get a refund or anything.

If you were in a similar situation, would you have told him it was a fake?
Click to expand...
 
rje58 said:
I don't know - it's hard to say how I would have responded. It's one of those situations where you can say "I think I would have..." or "I hope I would have..."

There are too many variables for me to say for sure how I would have responded, but since he is obviously happy with the knife and has been for quite some time, I would probably not have outright told him "I'm sorry to tell you this, but I think your PM2 is a counterfeit!"

What I am more likely to have said is something like: "Wow! I've got a PM2 myself, and I've seen several more, but that's the first one I've seen that's exactly like that one! Do you mind if I ask where you got it?"
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Tough one. Kinda like if you find out your best bud's girlfriend is cheating on him.
 
I can see two sides to this.

On one hand, telling him that the knife is a fake might prevent him from buying more fakes from the same source. Telling him it's a fake might help put him on a path to buying the real deal, and in doing so, he would have knives of high quality with good warranty service. It might offend him or hurt his feelings to tell him his knife is a fake, or, it might be doing him a big favor.

On the other hand, the guy didn't ask to have his knife authenticated. And unless I could prove to him that it is a fake, why should/would he take my word for it. I'm not the "Counterfeit Police". I don't feel it's my responsibility to go around telling people that their knife/watch/sunglasses/purses/etc are fakes.

I'm not sure how I would respond. I don't think I'd be to worried about his feelings. After all, if a person suffers emotional trauma simply because someone politely points out that their knife is a fake, then they are way too sensitive.
 
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Well, you could try to make friends with him. Then, you two could compare knives. When he sees what the real ones are like, you will not need to say anything about his. Plus, he gets turned on to some really good knives, since he is interested in them.
 
Let the man be happy in his ignorance. Apparently, the knife is good enough to please him. Nothing much to be gained in showing him that he's been taken for a ride.
 
I think you handled it quite tactfully. :thumbup: The guy enjoys his knife, no need to rain on his parade.

Even if it were a close friend, unless he asked a very specific question about it I'd likely bite my tongue.
 
You did the right thing. Guy loves the knife and evidently it's a pretty good one if he's been happy with it that long.
 
You were classy about it. I probably would have departed with friendly advice to beware of the counterfeiters I've heard about on the auction site in case he was in the market for another. Then he'd research it himself.

You were right to not bring him down, though. :thumbup:
 
Do any of you think that he could be a member here? Imagine if he came across this thread... that would be, well... not sure, good and bad, I suppose. Stonproject, I think you did the right thing by not ruining the man's day.
 
DocT said:
Well, you could try to make friends with him. Then, you two could compare knives. When he sees what the real ones are like, you will not need to say anything about his. Plus, he gets turned on to some really good knives, since he is interested in them.
Click to expand...

That's a great idea. He's a cool guy I have chatted with him in the past. I had my crkt otonashi on me at the time ( when I run to the cafe in pajamas I carry something I wont cry about if I lose) , and he asked to see it. When he opened it he said " oh s*** man what the hell is this, a katana? I want one".

So he may be interested in more nice ones down the line. ill make sure he doesn't get burned again.

Glad ya'll think I did the right thing, I almost blurted out immediately " this is a bad copy".
 
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