Counterfeit

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Ricefarmer24

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Feb 19, 2018
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I’ve been looking online at knives, eBay and different knife sites, are there counterfeit knives out there?
 
Ricefarmer24 said:
I’ve been looking online at knives, eBay and different knife sites, are there counterfeit knives out there?
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Ebay and amazon are full of fakes.

The best place to buy knives it from reputable dealers who specialize in selling just knives. One of the best signs it is a counterfeit is if the price is lower than everywhere else. The wider the gap in price the more likely it is a fake. There is no such thing as getting good knives for “wholesale” price.

You can also check out the used sales section of this forum. That is the best place to get a deal and still get a genuine knife.

To someone new to the hobby they may think “so what if I get the counterfeit, it has a steel blade just like the real version.” There are huge differences like how the steel was heat treated and the fit and finish on your knife. Buy legit knives. They are well worth the price. 10 counterfeits that sell for 1/3 the price of the genuine are not worth that one real knife. Quality counts.
 
Wow, ok. Any key ways to tell by markings? I’ve ordered a couple of books, to learn more but would love to know a few key give always on fakes.
 
Know your knives, ask questions before buying, if it seems too good to be true, there's always another, etc...

Not many counterfeit Randall's that aren't REAL noticeable, just a few shop blades that were swiped and later rehandled by a former employee - a very, very few.
 
I don't know if your question was specific to Randall but there sure is on other high end makers. For a look at how bad it is just search eBay for "Sebenza clone" for example. You'll see some with the full branding, box, labels and certificate of authenticity. EBay has a notification method but they don't take down the ones I've reported. I imagine an experienced Randall guy can tell the difference, but not as easy for the newbie.
 
Good points. That said, I'd wager it might be easier to counterfeit a machine made, hand fitted knife, than it would be to counterfeit a 100% hand made knife. And you're correct, know your knives and if you don't, ask those that do before buying. :thumbsup:
 
There's one on Ebay now that's not exactly a "fake" but it's most likely being misrepresented. It appears to be a Crutch tip #18 but there are some pretty obvious discrepancies. The shape of the Hilt is all wrong and the tube is not "pinched". The blade is a Solingen Blade but those were available all the way up into at least the 80's. To be fair the seller does say it came from an employee of Randall so that goes a long way in explaining how this could be a later knife. I'm sure the seller has no idea that it's most likely a later made knife that has "some" of the Viet-nam era features...
 
See post #7 above. To wit, know your knives, ask around (here) before buying if you have any questions, buy the knife not the story. As to misrepresented knives; over the years I've had several friends ask me about their newest RMK purchase prior to arrival. It saddens me greatly to have to inform them that they purchased an altered or misrepresented knife. There aren't many out there, but there are a few. Life lessons don't come cheap, but they cost a lot less if you learn from other's mistakes first. Just ask. Seriously, just ask...
 
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