Guy sells fake spyderco knives?

[wildmike]

And people wonder why I wont buy anything that says made in china on it. This junk is state sponsored copyright infringement.

 

[Jim malone]

I have collected Spyderco knives for over +20 years now. The Byrd knives are made in China, and so is the Spyderco Tenacious.
Although i understand the frustration about counterfeiting, Spyderco did opt to get their Byrd line made in China, so it is almost impossible for Spyderco to prevent copies of their brand. They provided the Chinese factories with the knowhow, the design and production parameters to make a genuine Byrd knife. For all we know the same factory that produces the Byrd brand by day could produce this counterfeit by night.
I like my Tenacious but IMHO it will never be a Spyderco knife.
I realise that outsourcing is needed to stay in business, and the profit Spyderco makes on the Byrd line and the Tenacious creates enough cashflow for Spyderco to produce less popular models, but if you hand the Chinese a knife to produce you could expect them to get "creative". These obvious fake knives are not the real problem imho, it's the loss of Q.C. that could cost Spyderco a lot of money in the long run.
We have all seen that constant vigilance is needed when you produce a product in China. I don't believe any company is able to control the full production proces for 100% in China at this time.
Chinese factories will always try to cut corners, and make profit, by whatever means possible, on each and every opportunity that comes along.
In the end only specialists will be able to tell the difference between a genuine and a fake or "hybrid" Spyderco knife. And this could lead to confusion and mistrust toward the Spyderco brand in the future.

 

[Haze]

In the end only specialists will be able to tell the difference between a genuine and a fake or "hybrid" Spyderco knife. And this could lead to confusion and mistrust toward the Spyderco brand in the future.

To be honest I doubt that. I have never seen a fake that is even close to the real thing.
I see them pretty regularly here in Taiwan and only someone who is not familour with the real thing would be fooled IMO.

As you say "they" always look to cut corners and look for the easy rout, never mind the inferiour materials that are always used in fakes.
Having lived and worked in Asia for a while now I dont see China ever producing convincing fakes at any time.
It to much troube to get something perfect when they can get away with "good enough"

 

[carrot]

It's really bad. I've seen Surefire fakes (M3T, M4) that could only be determined as fakes by careful inspection of pictures... at first glance they look exactly like the real thing, only small details differentiate them.

 

[The Deacon]

Jim, I have to disagree with you. Every well known brand of knife is being counterfeited in China, not just Spyderco. Not even just those with lines being manufactured there. If they can buy one, anywhere in the world, the can clone it. If they can find a photo of the logo on the internet, the can reproduce that logo and slap it on anything they choose. Manufacturers like Spyderco with a presence there might, and I stress the word might, stand a somewhat better chance of getting the Chinese government to take action against the counterfeiters. I really doubt any distrust factor caused by these fake would be focused on one manufacturer.

Paul

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[Sal Glesser]

Hi Jim,

I have collected Spyderco knives for over +20 years now. The Byrd knives are made in China, and so is the Spyderco Tenacious.
Although i understand the frustration about counterfeiting, Spyderco did opt to get their Byrd line made in China, so it is almost impossible for Spyderco to prevent copies of their brand. They provided the Chinese factories with the knowhow, the design and production parameters to make a genuine Byrd knife. For all we know the same factory that produces the Byrd brand by day could produce this counterfeit by night.

There were Chinese makers counterfeiting our knives long before we began making Knives in china. We also work closely with our makers. If we learn that any of our makers are making counterfeits of our knives or anybody's knives, even competitors, we stop working with them. We're trying to convey the message that if you want to work with us, you have to consider ethics.

I like my Tenacious but IMHO it will never be a Spyderco knife.
I realise that outsourcing is needed to stay in business, and the profit Spyderco makes on the Byrd line and the Tenacious creates enough cashflow for Spyderco to produce less popular models, but if you hand the Chinese a knife to produce you could expect them to get "creative". These obvious fake knives are not the real problem imho, it's the loss of Q.C. that could cost Spyderco a lot of money in the long run.

You are correct in this question. It's often Q.C. issues that brings the copies to our attention. Certainly not a good thing for a customer that believes they have a "real" Spyderco.

We have all seen that constant vigilance is needed when you produce a product in China. I don't believe any company is able to control the full production proces for 100% in China at this time.
Chinese factories will always try to cut corners, and make profit, by whatever means possible, on each and every opportunity that comes along.
In the end only specialists will be able to tell the difference between a genuine and a fake or "hybrid" Spyderco knife. And this could lead to confusion and mistrust toward the Spyderco brand in the future.

I believe that is a potential problem. We believe that to "know your maker" is very important. We don't just "hand over a knife to be made". And we are very vigilant about closely watching what they make for us. That doesn't mean their "cousin" on the next street won't be a "villain", but we do try to curb that.

There is a certain prestige that comes with being able to make knives for us. We are known in the industry world wide for being long term, honorable, fair and very particular about our quality.

While there are scoundrels everywhere, there also good honest makers everywhere. 4 of the 6 makers that we work with are looking for long term relationships with us. One of the 6 appears to be involved in counterfeits of a competitor. We'll be dropping that maker for future work. The others are regularly investigated for copies. I will agree that it is a problem. But I don't think our working with Chinese makers does or does not have a big effect on whether the scoundrels not working with us will counterfeit.

All of our competitors are working with Chinese makers. Most of them are being counterfeited, especially for the Chinese and European markets.

'Tis a problem to be sure.

sal

 

[steelscout30]

It's nice to see a company with scruples in the twisted and corrupted international markets these days---especially in the knife industry, which was once decidedly divided by those diehard American brands---brands like Schrade, Marble's, Remington, etc.---and the Chinese junk that could be had for dirt-cheap at souvenior stands, pawn shops, outlet malls, and shady stands at gun shows. Increasingly, the line between honest makers and imports (though of increasing quality) seems to be growing murkier.

I respect what Spyderco is doing, and their attempt to offer a high-quality knife at an even lower price to let the masses receive a good cutting tool despite difficult economic times (e.g., the Tenacious). There product levels and designs leave nothing to be desired it terms of availability and price points for people in every budget tier (ranging from the Byrd line to the Delica/Endura to the three-figure pocket knives like the Superhawk). This is a great thing about capitalism. It is my personal belief that many knife companies will not easily submit to their knives being counterfeited, especially the honest and upright folks in Golden.

Thanks for doing everything possibly to remedy the counterfeits and giving us multiple forums to educate the masses and beginners, Mr. Glesser. It's a pleasure buying from you and trying to make the knife buying and using experience as pleasurable for everyone else. There is always a good lesson to be learned from these situations, and the one in this case is: research what you buy, before you buy.