When one considers the extent of copying/counterfeiting that goes on, I am amazed that Knife companies even bother to contract in China. With over 1500 factories in Yangjiang it's no secret that some of these same factories that do legitimate OEM contract work also pump out these "copies". Cold Steel, SOG, Spyderco and Benchmade are heavily targeted but I seriously doubt there is any well known Knife Manufacturer that hasn't been victimized.
" The global counterfeit trade for all items, from purses to electronics to software, is worth USD
461 billion, about 2.5% of all trade worldwide. That is more than the global
drug trade. Despite attempts regulation, international trade in counterfeit goods has almost
doubled since 2008.
According to the 2018 Global Brand Counterfeiting Report, worldwide losses suffered due to counterfeiting amounted to USD 323 billion in 2017, with handbag companies alone accounting for $20 billion of that.
80% of the world’s counterfeit goods come from China, "
In addition to diplomatic pressure on China to eliminate this counterfeit industry, e-commerce platforms globally need to be held accountable for the marketing of such illegal products. Frankly. I think both knife makers and knife buyers need to end this myopic view of supporting the Chinese knife industry.