Counterfeit, anyone?

[jlauffer]

Starting to see AD-15 fakes on the bay now

 

[The Whip]

I just discovered a copy of the Trailmaster by Coleman. Its listed as a Coleman fixedblade on Amazon or as the Coleman Troublemaker at Grindworx. I saw the MTech copy here also. Since they're not counterfeits, just copies, were they licensed by CS?

No, rest assured that Cold Steel has never licensed the Trail Master design. These are pure clones.

I think some pictures are in order.

My guess would be that MTech and Coleman are buying from the same manufacturer and having their own labeling applied to the knife. It's a clear example of design theft, but I don't know how much can be done legally. What certainly is illegal, however, is using the name Trail Master (though I wonder if eBay is skirting the issue by permitting the seller to use the erroneously contracted name "Trailmaster").

Starting to see AD-15 fakes on the bay now

Thanks for the heads up on this! Again, I think photos are called for to keep people apprised. I suspect that the seller's photos might be of a genuine, second generation (gray yoke) AD-15, so I won't include all of the pictures, only one for reference.

The counterfeit war never ends....

-Steve

 

[jlauffer]

No, rest assured that Cold Steel has never licensed the Trail Master design. These are pure clones.

I think some pictures are in order.

My guess would be that MTech and Coleman are buying from the same manufacturer and having their own labeling applied to the knife. It's a clear example of design theft, but I don't know how much can be done legally. What certainly is illegal, however, is using the name Trail Master (though I wonder if eBay is skirting the issue by permitting the seller to use the erroneously contracted name "Trailmaster").

Thanks for the heads up on this! Again, I think photos are called for to keep people apprised. I suspect that the seller's photos might be of a genuine, second generation (gray yoke) AD-15, so I won't include all of the pictures, only one for reference.

The counterfeit war never ends....

-Steve

Ooh...it has a double smart pocket clip...gotta get one!

 

[The Whip]

I've finally finished fixing all of the photos in this thread that were wrecked in Photobucket's latest extortion scheme. Believe me when I say that it was a pain! But I think it's beneficial to maintain a record of the fraudulent knives so that people can both avoid being duped and witness what a massive detriment counterfeiting and design theft can be to a relatively small company like Cold Steel.

On the plus side, the effort permitted me to find some new items to add to the ever-growing compilation.

Another model that Cold Steel never made.

It doesn't matter what color blade you put on it, a liner-lock Rajah is a fake!

Same goes for counterfeit "Tri-Ad" Rajah IIs.

A phony first-generation AK-47.

How much lost revenue does this box represent?

-Steve

 

[hermit dave]

Photobucket's latest extortion scheme

I HATE Photofucket!!! I foresee their demise. That's not how you do business.

 

[hermit dave]

I laugh at the idiots who pay $20 for a $200 knife and cry about getting a knockoff. Yeah, the seller is into losing money and sells authentic knives for a huge loss.

 

[Kreese]

The AD15 clone looks pretty much identical to the real deal as far as one can tell from pictures, so make sure you buy from a good dealer.

 

[hermit dave]

The AD15 clone looks pretty much identical to the real deal as far as one can tell from pictures, so make sure you buy from a good dealer.

I think it has a cheaper look...https://www.aliexpress.com/item/4000281069415.html

 

[Kreese]

I think it has a cheaper look...https://www.aliexpress.com/item/4000281069415.html

Cheaper how? I'm not disputing your claim, just curious as to what you see.

 

[hermit dave]

Cheaper how? I'm not disputing your claim, just curious as to what you see.

I can't put my finger on it, it just looks cheaper. Also, there is no lettering and the lockbar looks like the wrong color and a bit crooked. In some of the pics, the liner doesn't appear to be flush too.

 

[Cold Steel Knives]

Just wanted to touch base on the counterfeit AD15. Yes they are fake. They're out there and China is selling a ton of them, like they do all of the fakes of our knives. We ordered some, checked them out and tested them. Remember not to buy from eBay, they can't be trusted anymore.

Notable things:
- Lock bar has a very apparent green tinge to it rather than the light grey (first run) or dark grey (second run) bar
- Scales are poorly done, feel like plastic rather than G-10, and feel crappy. They are a lighter shade of green and somewhat shiny compared to the real scales
- Lock action has a weird spring noise or some type of clicking, not sure if its on all of them
- Like other fakes, the font on the "Cold Steel" is wrong, it'll either be too thin or too thick
- Pocket clip has some discrepancies, width and bends are a little off
- It's definitely not S35VN, despite the labeling, this should be obvious though
- Quality is not even remotely close to the real model, it has that "cheap/harsh" feel. It feels like it's worth all of $9

Here are a couple of screen grabs from our testing video, apologies for not having any actual photos.

 

[Your Name Goes Here]

Just wanted to touch base on the counterfeit AD15. Yes they are fake. They're out there and China is selling a ton of them, like they do all of the fakes of our knives. We ordered some, checked them out and tested them. Remember not to buy from eBay, they can't be trusted anymore.

First, let me say - Thank you Cold Steel for providing this information here on this forum - the information is Very helpful. I hate seeing ALL of the different fake knives on ebay, All of the time.

I love CS knives and all of their different products - I know that the fakes damage CS's reputation enormously.

Could you tell the forum, besides the advice to not buy from ebay, what is CS doing to actively remove the fakes that are currently for sale on ebay ?

It seems, that I see the Exact same Sellers, year after year, selling the same Fake knives:

As a member reported on Oct 20th, fake AD-15. Same Seller (?), still being sold. One Seller, listed as being on ebay since 2012, has sold ( 22 ) fake AD-15.

Other examples sold all of the time - Rajah black blade (and many various others), first-generation AK-47 (with flipper), Magnum Tantos, ETC.

As just a collector - personally contacting ebay, on the phone and through their 'report a fake' online system - Nothing is done, the knives are not removed. I used to report every obvious (cold steel never made the model or the AK-47 flipper, or just really bad fit & finish) fake I saw. Ad cliché here - but most appropriate is, when dealing with ebay about this problem - spitting into the wind.

Again, thank you CS. And, if you would send me the lineup information for 2020 now, that would be great.

 

[Titan]

Fake AD15 really looks fake in video

 

[hermit dave]

If you think you can get an authentic AD-15 for $39, you are an idiot and deserve what you get.

 

[22MEANTXGUNS22]

I decided to try something new and modify some Cold Steel Hawks as well as their war hammer. Throughout the process, I noticed the Norse Hawk was just nothing like the rest of the hawks. Right out of the packaging, I noticed that the finish was not like the others, the steel the head is made out of, not like the others, the sheath I bought for it is actually a very tight fit, as to where the sheaths of the other three hawks can be put on and taken off with one hand. I spoke to a customer service agent for the company and she was quick to assert that it was the real deal, but done with a different kind of steel. I found it odd that they didn't ask for photographic proof or anything like that, but after catching even more inconsistencies post modification, I may ask again. What do you all think ?

 

[Cold Steel Knives]

I decided to try something new and modify some Cold Steel Hawks as well as their war hammer. Throughout the process, I noticed the Norse Hawk was just nothing like the rest of the hawks. Right out of the packaging, I noticed that the finish was not like the others, the steel the head is made out of, not like the others, the sheath I bought for it is actually a very tight fit, as to where the sheaths of the other three hawks can be put on and taken off with one hand. I spoke to a customer service agent for the company and she was quick to assert that it was the real deal, but done with a different kind of steel. I found it odd that they didn't ask for photographic proof or anything like that, but after catching even more inconsistencies post modification, I may ask again. What do you all think ?

It is authentic, we stopped painting our tomahawk and axe heads and began leaving raw finishes last year and continuing into 2020.

 

[The Whip]

Different version of a phony Rajah II. This one includes a fake box.

________________________________________

I found this eBay trash over the weekend while looking up some information about the SRK.

The write-up didn't even try to hide the flagrant design theft. Instead, the seller decided to tout it.

Another seller had the audacity to offer the knife for more than the current street price of a genuine SK-5 SRK!

Unfortunately, I doubt a Citadel company truly exists for Cold Steel to act against. I suspect it's just another Chinese fraud.

-Steve

 

[DocJD]

Different version of a phony Rajah II. This one includes a fake box.

________________________________________

I found this eBay trash over the weekend while looking up some information about the SRK.

The write-up didn't even try to hide the flagrant design theft. Instead, the seller decided to tout it.

Another seller had the audacity to offer the knife for more than the current street price of a genuine SK-5 SRK!

Unfortunately, I doubt a Citadel company truly exists for Cold Steel to act against. I suspect it's just another Chinese fraud.

-Steve

At least the SRK "Citadel" clones don't claim to be genuine Cold Steel . That's good because they look scary close to the real thing .

The Rajah 2 fake doesn't even look anything like the real deal .

Thanks for the notification ! I hadn't noticed these before .

 

[Wannabe Rambo Guy]

I ordered a Rajah 2 from Chicago Knife Works off of Amazon thinking it wouldn't be a clone, fake, etc. Now my brain is fidgeting wondering if it's going to be legit or not

 

[willc]

I ordered a Rajah 2 from Chicago Knife Works off of Amazon thinking it wouldn't be a clone, fake, etc. Now my brain is fidgeting wondering if it's going to be legit or not

Since it is from an Amazon secondary seller there’s a good chance it could be counterfeit.
But the good thing is Amazon is decent about returning stuff and getting your money back.