Ebay knives

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Bret4

Joined
Jul 3, 2017
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They sell a lot of inexpensive or cheap knives. I just started making knives and I can't understand how they can be priced so low. Are these knives factory made or handmade.
 
Usually it's either cheaper Pakistani or India handmade being rebranded for makers or companies. Or they aren't really makers, but knife blank finishers. Lots of guys are doing that on Ebay. Very few real makers sell on Ebay, the ones I know that did used Ebay as marketing tool to gain exposure, and then stopped. Or they are established makers that sell off odds and ends or small bread and butter type patterns.
 
This stuff is cheap Pakistani garbage, and they use handmade as a description to explain the poor workmanship. To the non knife people who buy them they think it's perfectly logical that a handmade knife will have some imperfections and flaws which " make each one unique and special ".
They're not as handmade as they lead you to believe and don't have the imperfections in a good way.
A good example of handmade imperfection would be machetes made by blacksmiths in the jungles of southeast Asia, which don't try to be or look like anything more than they are.
these cheap eBay blades are knives which are mostly factory made with some hand work that try to look like a proper production knife but miserably fail at it. It's the importers who sell and market them as handmade by craftsman or artisans.
The Damascus ones may be a bit different, but either way the Pakistani makers know they can market them as custom or handmade to explain away the products flaws.
 
Some big bowie style knives, look like they have a full tang, but`s really only an inch with the rest being welded on with a couple of spot wells that easy break as one buyer found out when chopping some wood the 1" tang broke though the handle, It vitally impossible to see it`s not full tang without remove the handle.

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The knife below has a full tang with a bit welded along the bottom, maybe so the blade guard can be fitted.

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John.
 
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for other hobbies, i can buy a $20 watch, or a $20 fake shoe, just for fun, and watch them break down. but, for knives, breaking down is not fun and could cause serious injury. just don't do it
 
I can't add much more than what has already been said. However, I can say the qualifications for being considered handmade are pretty lax. A plate can be completely done by machine buy as long as one part of it even a single line is painted by hand it can be considered "handmade". I am pretty sure the same can be said for knives. Pound one pin in or sharpe a handle and it's now handmade. Steer clear of any of that.
 
jill jackson said:
You get what you pay for.
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And sometimes you can get excellent knives for little $$$ on ebay. I've snagged some great deals on ebay. You just have to know what you're looking at. All but one Schrade I've owned came from ebay. They've since been given away.

The last two knives I bought on ebay were a Kinsfolk 395 and a Case 325-6. As I recall, the two cost me about $60, maybe a little less, in two separate deals.

Kinfolks%2520395.JPG

Case%2520325-6.JPG
 
josh yu said:
for other hobbies, i can buy a $20 watch, or a $20 fake shoe, just for fun, and watch them break down. but, for knives, breaking down is not fun and could cause serious injury. just don't do it
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So do you have any moral objections to buying a fake/counterfeit knife (apparently you have none with shoes or watches), or are your issues with counterfeit knives merely practical?
 
marcinek said:
So do you have any moral objections to buying a fake/counterfeit knife (apparently you have none with shoes or watches), or are your issues with counterfeit knives merely practical?
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that was really crappily worded, sorry. I haven't bought a fake shoe since middle school (90s), and i've never bought nor will ever buy a clone knife or fake watch. I was just commenting on the practical use of really cheap goods from ebay.

for the other part of your question, I'll be completely honest, my morality compass is a bit tainted... i honestly don't feel as bad for HBO, nike, or rolex. As an accountant with a degree in economics, i understand the black market and counterfeit market are just part of life (not justifiying this nor am in interested, please note my premise). I feel more strongly against counterfeit knives as this is a smaller industry with much smaller players. prevalence of counterfeits and clones hurt knife makers margins and discourage entry to market for aspiring knife makers. it hurts the industry and hurts the community on a macro level. so, in conclusion my objection to counterfeit knives is more so a due to the negative impact on the overall "knife world" rather than morality kicking in

*edit: i mentioned HBO above because i gotta watch Game of Thrones, and i don't have cable...
 
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leghog said:
Yes, please do. Improves my chances of finding and getting good deals.
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this thread is mostly referencing the very cheaply made ebay specials. not the legit sellers selling legit knives. i've bought a handful benchmade, spyderco, and CRK from ebay after vetting sellers. that's not really what's being discussed here
 
leghog said:
And sometimes you can get excellent knives for little $$$ on ebay. I've snagged some great deals on ebay. You just have to know what you're looking at. All but one Schrade I've owned came from ebay. They've since been given away.

The last two knives I bought on ebay were a Kinsfolk 395 and a Case 325-6. As I recall, the two cost me about $60, maybe a little less, in two separate deals.

Kinfolks%2520395.JPG

Case%2520325-6.JPG
Click to expand...
Quality vintage knives aren't of concern, what's being discussed are newly made cheap stuff being sold on eBay.
Those are a couple of nice classic American fixed blades BTW:thumbsup:
 
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