Cutlery Industries version of RAPE!!!!

Tai Goo said:
Todd and Tanya, I definitely feel for you both, and I'm sure this "rip off" must be cutting into your business. Ethically, you are in the right! However, unless you had a “design patent“, legally there is nothing you can do.

Design patents are usually a waste of time anyway, because all they have to do is change it a "little" and it's fair by law... just the way it is. :(
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You are right, and "they" know it too. The 10% rule is strictly adhered to when it comes to "their" "design" modification.

I don't know how these people can live with themselves, but I DO know this.....there will be an accounting for their actions, perhaps not in this life time, but for sure a reckoning is coming, and I wish I could be there to see exactly what they think their souls are worth.


I had a wonderful conversation with Linda Hibben this morning....what a delightful woman she is!!! One smart cookie too!! She and Gil are up to their eyeballs in litigation against Master Cutlery and Hollywood Collectibles Group, and we will be assisting them in anyway we can.

In talking with her, she suggested that a "coalition" of makers ought to get together and bring a class action suit against Master Cutlery. What do you think?

I agree design pattens are worthless....but there is INTELLECTUAL PROPERTY RIGHTS, TRADE DRESS RIGHTS,and UNFAIR COMPETITION RIGHTS.....surely all the makers who have been ripped off by Master Cutlery could unite and make a case based on infringement of these rights.


Tanya Begg

p.s. Trace.....there are occasions where no other verbiage seems to quite fit the bill!;)
 
KenOnion said:
Todd, Call Gil Hibben, they are ripping him off also,and me ,and everyone else.... Sorry for ya bro! It comes with the territory. I've been ripped off so many times I lost count. BTW Be careful what you say on a public forum, The thieving bastards are more than likely reading every post and may try to twist it and use it against you if you sue them.
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Bottom feeders. They're just a chum of bottom feeders.

None of us will have anything to do with them ... ever.

If there was any way ... :mad: Sorry, I'm just an old scientist. All I can do ... is get mad.
 
ebladestore.com actually states on their website:

"Mtech Knives offer bargain priced knives for the thrifty knife buyer. Popular for innovative high-tech designs, Mtech Knives offers a variety of knockoff (replicas) of higher end knives including butterfly knives, folders and tactical knives."

No shit.
 
just proving that MC ( and CS ) are swap meet junk and there is no honor in owning either of them.

SHOT SHOW 2009 ... Bring the HEAT !
 
It truly is disappointing to see such blatant and outright thievery of such a wonderful and beautiful knife.
 
Unfortunately, it's not just knives that get ripped off. Watches, boots, leather goods, electronic goods can all be found at the local fair or flea market with 'tweaked' names or appearances. I take great pride in recognizing the 'replicas' and how the buyer is a cheap SOB who is worried about appearance rather than quality.

I do agree with Bladeandbarrel and Bruce Bump, use this to your advantage.

Begg Knives ... this you can trust.
Mtech... this you will rust.

or

Begg Knives... this you can trust, if you don't care about trust... Mtech.
 
Another quick question, doesn't all the print knife mags like blade accept considerable advertising from United Cutlery, Mtech, Joy cutlery etc.? (I've dumped my subscriptions years ago)

My suggestion would be to boycott those magazines, everyone writing a letter asking why the publishers support such thieves, provided the boycott holds for everyone, subscribers, photogs, article writers, and legit knife advertisers might pressure magazines to take a stand.

I suppose you could say that magazines aren't the culprits here, they are, IMO, for giving voice and therefore generating demand for thieves.

This is one of the pressure points that could be used against the thieves.
 
DaveH,

Here's the problem with a knifemaker boycotting an advertizing outlet:

They need all of the advertizing/publicity they can get and they don't need copycats/cloney bastids/ripoff artists gaining association of their brand with the original maker's designs.
 
Tanya, Im just funnin with ya for harrassing me in the Pit at Blade show;-)

Bottom line, nobody that knows Todds work would buy one of these POS's, but it is truly heartbreaking to see great design and craftsmanship basterdized like this.
You may as well print out that picture of Todds knife and carry it around in your pocket, at LEAST you would have a picture of a good knife.LOL>
 
I think I have hit upon an ingenious idea. I think the winning bid on ebay was 7.00. So if I can buy up as many as I can get my hands on for under 10.00 have Todd add 10% sparkle to them, just enough to be, you know "different" then slap our logo on top of the existing one and resell for 69.99!!!!!!! I'll be RICH RICH RICH!!!!!!!! muuuwaaaahhhhaaaahhhaaaa!!!!!!!!!!!


tanya begg

Trace, I luv ya! when we are neighbors I will pick on you relentlessly!
 
Well T&T, welcome to the real world. You have just experienced what many, many of us have. for what it's worth, It does show that your designs are industrially marketable.

Mike and Patrica Walker were probably the first to experience this in a big way. What they learned was that rather than try to sue, all the fuss brought more attention to their "Truly Original Work". It shed more light in a short time on their work than they could ever have been able to buy with advertising!

For Manuela and I, it was CS. There have been many makers bitten by CS as well. I was told at one of the shot Shows that a Tanto Blade and an American Style grip married together would never sell! Of course a few months later they came out with the Recon Tanto. Go Figure! You are not alone Guy's. Now go back to work and enjoy the extra attention the free advertising will bring you! After all there is going to be more than one thread, not to mention private conversations at shows, etc. about the Rip off, and the superiority of the Real Begg's. Buddy, you can't buy advertising like that!!

Still want to sue? Get in line behind Roles, Gucci, Cartier, The list is endless, You have arrived friends! We have found no way to sue a company in China. If it could be done. China would probably be bankrupt in a year! Haa!!! I dont think they've had an original Idea in of their own in a century or three!


Mike and Manuela
 
Hmm. I didn't know Ken Onion posted here.
I'm sorry to here this. Mtech is a very big name. I looked at buying a bunch of there stuff, wholesale, once to entertain me. I didn't, and decided that $30 is bettter spent on a CRKT or Kershaw than it is on 30 Mtechs.
Unfortunately, Mtech has a big market. Where? Place like gift stores and roa stops, selling knives to stupid teenagers (Yes, believe, a lot of teens are stupid when it comes to knives) and dads buying there kids knives as souveniers. Gatlinburg knives, I suppose they should be called. No kid's first knife should be a POS Mtech.
I feel sorry for you guys, but I don't know if we can do anything, besides buy good knives ourselves and educate people about good knives.
The sad thing is, a lot of these knives are priced comparitevely, in gift shops and such, as several Buck, Gerber, Victorinox etc models are elsewhere.
Whoever on Bladeforums owns a shop, or knows the owner of a shop, tell them to boycott Mtech and buy stuff from the lower-end models of Buck, Gerber, Vic, Okapi, Opinel. Or at least Rough Rider. Rough Rider makes decent knives, at least.
 
They took the Work of a True Artist and Raped Todd's Work.The Bastards Should be Dragged Out Into The Street & SHOT In The Freaking Head.Freakin' JERK-OFFS Kill Em All!!!
Buddy S.:cool::thumbdn:
 
A customer of mine just sent me this. A direct copy of my Kerambit, supposedly "Handmade in Taiwan". This knife is listed on EBAY.
 

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R.J., its maddening isn't it? We have to find a way to do something besides commiserate with each other...............just don't know what.
 
I'm a very small fish in the world of custom knives... but reading thru the post I didn't see this asked.

Is there anyway you can get paid off this blatent rip-off f/ Mtech? I know you said they wanted Todd to do some design work and he declined, but if you were to say make 10-20% due to the blatent rip-off of this design... then getting that would at least be some compensation for your work. Plus, not everyone who would LOVE to purchase a true custom, can actually afford it. There are a lot of people who would drop $10 for one of these cheap copies that would never be able to afford or be willing to pay over $400+ for a custom... even if it's truely worth the difference in price.

Another thing I often wonder... when it comes to people copying others designs... where would we be today if there were only Fords (Model T) allowed to be mass produced, only Firestone Tires, Only One major oil company because they where the first to drill and find oil, Only one tooth paste, Only one brand of light bulb or power company, etc... and on and on.

I'm NOT trying to make light or tell you to back off... just thinking outloud. I really do think you guys should make a LOT of $$ off this, but I'm not sure how.

I can promise you that I will NEVER buy anything f/ these cheap knock-offs. Of course I can afford a custom if I save a little. However... I can also tell you that I wear a Panerai Homage watch... cost me a couple hundred $$ vs. $5000+ for the real McCoy... I know, apples to oranges... but hopefully my ideas got across.
 
the best way to patent any thing is piece by piece then when they do rip off a design they have to change every piece by at least 10 % i ve seen this in the archery industry many times and the plantiff usally wins not always but usally
 
What scum.... they ripped me off too. Unfortunately there was little I could do about it. Feel for ya Todd! but in the end, serious knife buyer will never give their money to that company for an inferior product over your fine work!

These companies and their practices give Knife making a bad name.
 
RJ Martin said:
A customer of mine just sent me this. A direct copy of my Kerambit, supposedly "Handmade in Taiwan". This knife is listed on EBAY.
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Rj, I saw that too! It's even supposedly made of D2 and not some 420 or 440 steel like they usually are. Insane!
 
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