fake chris reeves

Imitation is the highest form of flattery...seriously though what scum bags. What should we call this design? "The Chinaman" What a Banana Republic.
 
Its been well posted about these knock offs. I do like the name of justin2992 knife name though! =D
 
lol This site actually has some fake spydercos with the logo and s30v stamping on them as well!
 
Oh Man, Thats A BAD Fake....lol. I love the lock to hold the lock bar closed and the arrows pointing to it.....lol. Talk about Cheesy.
 
Decorated fake Sebenza's with CRKT Lawks feature??? Man that's wrong on lots of levels. What next - fake Mammoth Bark Damascus Annual Sebenza's?
 
I have a Chris Reeve 7" fixed blade Green Beret style knife, a very nice design, which comes with a real spec ops sheath. It is part of my collection of the best military knives. There are also Chinese knockoffs of this and the Pacific, complete with the Chris Reeve circled R and the Harvey signature on the Pacific. While it would be nice to say the knockoffs are all crap, the fact is the Pacific knockoff is a very adequate poor man's knife but nothing I would want to use.

Here are a few differences between the real Pacific and the knockoff:

1) Steel: properly tempered CPM S35VN on original, adequate Chinese 440C on knockoff (i.e., you could use the knife)

2) Coating -- knockoff uses the usual low end black coat you find on U.S. production knives as opposed to the high end grey family KG Gun-Kote on the real knife

3) Handle shaping and material -- original uses a shaped bead blasted canvass micarta. Knockoff uses some kind of really slippery plastic. It is not countoured like the original and piss poor for grip comfort and retention.

4) Glassbreaker -- original has same kind of exposed tang glassbreaker as on Green Beret knife, knockoff smoothed that angle out, perhaps not realizing when they copied an original that it was an intentional feature.

5) Sheath system -- Reeve original has $50 Spec Ops Combat Master in foilage green. Copy has Chinese knockoff in a brighter green. Side reinforcing material on copy and screw are cheaper. Original has Kydex insert, copy has cheap plastic (as in probably broken) blade holder insert. The Spec Ops sheath is a real gem, the copy is essentially trash material unless you replace the Kydex insert. Even then, I don't think a U.S. paratrooper would risk jumping with one.

Fastest way to recognize the copy -- does the handle look like shiny/slipper plastic, is the sheath NOT a U.S. military green color. I would also see if the blade is black, but I have now seen photos of the copies with grey blades so I guess that's out.

Regards,

Oh, and P.S. -- I loved doing business with Chris Reeve Knives. I bought my Green Beret knife from them so I didn't have to worry about it being a fake. When I called I got to speak to a real person who not only knew English but could actually help me! Despite warning me there would be a waiting list, within two weeks a spot opened up for my specific model, they shipped it. Knife arrived in perfect condition and has no moving parts to break.

I would highly recommend their services.
 
These very detailed descriptions of how to tell the real from the fake are two-edged swords. That is, they are also texts for the fakers on how to make a better fake.
 
Switching the steel, using properly applied Gun-Kote, and a real micarta, shaped and bead blasted handle, plus popping for a Spec Ops sheath, would be so expensive it would put them out of business. All they would be doing is skipping the design fee and using cheaper overseas labor. If the knife were to be patented, imports could be confiscated. While I can't see a custom maker patenting a knife, a high quality production knife might make sense.
 
When customers buy based on a picture, changes are as cheap as Photoshop. What shade of green did you recommend? Color of blade? I should say the handle is made of what? The liner is made of what?
 
Materials and finish on the Sebenza are obviously off, but I observe that the shape and general look is rather close to the original. I wouldn't buy it either, mostly because I am sure that whatever I receive afterward will only have a distant resemblance to the pictures and because if I want a something that resemble a CRK knife then I will buy a CRK knife! plus I would wonder if the steel has actually been heat treated? I know some of the damascus knives from from india had no treating/tempering and are actually dangerous to use.
Oh and I forgot... illegal copies are, well, illegal... so if customs checks the package as it passes the border, not only they will confiscate the knife (not a big loss at 10-15$ a piece) but there will be a fine too. Happened to a cousin of mine last year with some knockoff Oakley sunglasses...

I haven't seen them on the net in at least 5 years, but a china based company used to sell pretty convincing copies of the CRK Kathathu in 7,5" version. The coating was obviously wrong but general shape and grind looked fine. I wonder if any made their way into the hands of someone on this forum, I would love to know how they compared in reality.

PS: not all stuff from China is crap, in fact their quality improvement curve is pretty quick, probably quicker than the japanese during the 50's and 60's. Obviously all imitations are by nature of a suspect quality. But if you check out original models made by chinese custom knifemakers or industrial knife making companies you will see that quality at low cost is actually possible. The utilitarian cutting tools and the kitchen knives are particularly impressive (almost as good as japanese ones for 20% of the price). Anyway, I am veering off-topic so I'll start a new thread of this subject some where on the forum next month.

Ciao
 
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