Counterfeit ka-bar?

R

robijn112

Joined
Jan 7, 2015
Messages
2
I want to buy a ka-bar and found a listing that doesn't have crazy shipping costs for the Netherlands (almost always 30-50+ USD), but the price is very low (30 EUR), so I want to know if it is counterfeit and I figured that is one of the best, if not the best place to ask.

Here's the ebay link:
http://www.ebay.nl/itm/Coltello-USM...t=Militaria_Collezionismo&hash=item2c93d3f046 (It's in Dutch because Ebay turned up empty on ebay.com)

Thanks in advance!
 
It certainly looks like a fake to me. There are a few things to look at, that stick out pretty seriously here.

The crossguard looks perfectly straight. All my KA-BARs have a crossguard that's bent slightly downward at the points past the handle.

Notice how the handle and blade are perfectly in-line with each other. That's a dead giveaway that something isn't right.

The bare brass rivets/snaps on the sheath look just plain wrong. I haven't look at my 1217 in a while, but I remember them being painted brown.

The sheath also looks suspicious. The leather looks rough, as well as thin. The pattern on it looks far more consistent with thin leather upholstery than a strong sheath.
 
I checked it out and I would be a bit skeptical. The photo looks generic, which should make all the components of the knife and sheath spot on. However, the sheath is missing the "KA-BAR" wording at the top where it should be on all KA-BAR USMC sheaths. Anytime you buy from a third party you do not know you are taking a gamble. If I were you I would potentially look at spending slightly more on shipping from a trusted source. You might be saving money by buying this knife, but it could cost you more in the long run if you have to return it or you get something that is anything less than what you thought it was. Hope this helps, sorry the answer wasn't more black and white. More photos would have helped in the listing. Good luck.

-OKB
 
Charlie_K said:
It certainly looks like a fake to me. There are a few things to look at, that stick out pretty seriously here.

The crossguard looks perfectly straight. All my KA-BARs have a crossguard that's bent slightly downward at the points past the handle.

Notice how the handle and blade are perfectly in-line with each other. That's a dead giveaway that something isn't right.

The bare brass rivets/snaps on the sheath look just plain wrong. I haven't look at my 1217 in a while, but I remember them being painted brown.

The sheath also looks suspicious. The leather looks rough, as well as thin. The pattern on it looks far more consistent with thin leather upholstery than a strong sheath.
Click to expand...


Good catches, Charlie_k. I was drawn to the same spots but the generic photos that are used aren't always the best representation. Thanks for the feedback and for helping robin112 out.

-OKB
 
Thanks for the information, I don't want to risk wasting money on a counterfeit product, so I will save up a little more and buy a genuine knife!
 
Besides the good points already mentioned the black spacers by the guard and the pommel look much too thick.
 
sac troop said:
Besides the good points already mentioned the black spacers by the guard and the pommel look much too thick.
Click to expand...
Agreed, the handle isn't 'shaped' as much either. The fuller looks a bit narrow the ends too oval.
 
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