Help Authenticating Knife

B

Boss Hogg

Joined
Jul 30, 2022
Messages
215
I just purchased this used Cold Steel Code 4 in XHP for a really good price online. The seller has perfect feedback, and I am pretty sure that it’s legit.

I just want to make sure because I got it for far less than any of the comparable listings that I’m seeing for this knife. That said, I paid about what it would have cost new when it was still available in XHP. I know that there are a lot of decent counterfeits out there, so any help is appreciated…

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For whatever it's worth, I checked the "usual suspects" for counterfeit knives, and although I see several spear point blade Code 4's, I don't see any with the clip point blade.

And I would be surprised if the counterfeiters would bother to produce and include the additional pocket clip.

Of course non of that is definitive, but it would cause me to think it's the real thing.
 
killgar said:
For whatever it's worth, I checked the "usual suspects" for counterfeit knives, and although I see several spear point blade Code 4's, I don't see any with the clip point blade.

And I would be surprised if the counterfeiters would bother to produce and include the additional pocket clip.

Of course non of that is definitive, but it would cause me to think it's the real thing.
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Thanks for checking.
 
I don’t think that I’d be able to tell that this is a clone:


I think that I’ll contact Cold Steel about mine. Lesson here is just to buy from authorized vendors no matter what I guess.
 
I'll be utterly shocked if GSM is any help whatsoever in the matter.

But do let us know what happens.

Look at it this way- You already own it, so as long as it appears to be a quality knife, and as long as you have no proof or solid evidence that it's a fake, just go ahead and assume it's real. The only other alternatives are to discard it or never use it.
 
killgar said:
I'll be utterly shocked if GSM is any help whatsoever in the matter.

But do let us know what happens.

Look at it this way- You already own it, so as long as it appears to be a quality knife, and as long as you have no proof or solid evidence that it's a fake, just go ahead and assume it's real. The only other alternatives are to discard it or never use it.
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You’re probably correct about GSM being useless. I’ll give it a shot anyway I guess.

I have no evidence that it’s fake. It cuts well, lockup is good, and it feels quality in hand. The grind lines and edge look good. The only thing is that I got it cheap as compared to what the other XHPs are currently selling for…but it’s not like I paid $30 or something.

I guess that my main concern is that if CS counterfeits are becoming so good that one cannot tell if they are fake without testing the blade steel, there’s no point in even considering purchasing from secondary sellers anymore. But that kind of sucks because I really like XHP.
 
Yeah I can’t tell the one in the video is a clone. I would never suspect it. Yours looks fine but who knows. Sometimes you have to price stuff to move fast when life hits hard, it’s not that uncommon to find a good deal depending on one’s situation and having to make ends meet. Been there before.
 
I pulled the clip screws, and found the same blue threadlocker applied to the same length of the screws as my Recon 1 (which is definitely legit). If someone went to that much trouble, hats off the them. I’m pretty sure that this is the real deal now.
 
Your not kidding! It looked real to me. Fakes i've seen in the past were nowhere near this level.
Not to sound like a know it all here, but damn. I think this one is actually real and the guy in that video is wrong. I know it is unlikely but dang.
I see none of the hallmarks of the clones, on the fit, the finish, the thumb studs, the logo and markings…even the box looks perfect but I know those are probably the easiest component to fake. I’ve had 4 of these in the past (that I’ve sold all of-too slippery for my hands/prefer at least 4” so blade a little shy) and I feel like it’s real.
Anyone want to chime in?
Hope I’m not derailing too much. I’m super interested now :)
Edit: wow I suck at posting. Edited to remove accidental quote and then screwed up the quote I meant to include!
 
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EveryDayIsHalloween said:
Your not kidding! It looked real to me. Fakes i've seen in the past were nowhere near this level.
Not to sound like a know it all here, but damn. I think this one is actually real and the guy in that video is wrong. I know it is unlikely but dang.
I see none of the hallmarks of the clones, on the fit, the finish, the thumb studs, the logo and markings…even the box looks perfect but I know those are probably the easiest component to fake. I’ve had 4 of these in the past (that I’ve sold all of-too slippery for my hands/prefer at least 4” so blade a little shy) and I feel like it’s real.
Anyone want to chime in?
Hope I’m not derailing too much. I’m super interested now :)
Edit: wow I suck at posting. Edited to remove accidental quote and then screwed up the quote I meant to include!
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Not at all derailing… I would encourage anyone to chime in here. If you’ve owned 4 of these and can’t see anything that indicates a fake, then it’s either real, or the fakes have become so good that it’s scary. I do think that my threadlocker check is a decent metric for testing, but who knows how far some company is capable of going to dupe people?
 
The knife in the pictures below is definitely a fake. I took these pictures from one of the big China sites that sell fakes. The pictures are from the vendor that sells the fakes, as opposed to the vendor using pics of a real Code 4 from the Cold Steel website.

I post them only for educational purposes, not to promote fakes.

etmqUm6.jpg

wyPUvjj.jpg
 
killgar said:
The knife in the pictures below is definitely a fake. I took these pictures from one of the big China sites that sell fakes. The pictures are from the vendor that sells the fakes, as opposed to the vendor using pics of a real Code 4 from the Cold Steel website.

I post them only for educational purposes, not to promote fakes.

etmqUm6.jpg

wyPUvjj.jpg
Click to expand...
Thanks for sharing those.

All that I can say is if mine was a spear point in S35VN, I’d be worried.
 
Boss Hogg said:
Thanks for sharing those.

All that I can say is if mine was a spear point in S35VN, I’d be worried.
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Yep, most definitely.

But I haven't seen a single clip point blade Code 4 on any of the counterfeit sites, or anywhere else online. Maybe the counterfeiters chose to just stick with one blade type.
 
killgar said:
Yep, most definitely.

But I haven't seen a single clip point blade Code 4 on any of the counterfeit sites, or anywhere else online. Maybe the counterfeiters chose to just stick with one blade type.
Click to expand...
After you informed me about the spear points I’ve been searching myself…and I can also not find any clip point copies. Honestly, I’m not trying to obsess over this one knife purchase, but I can’t help but think about how many potential fakes are out there being used by oblivious owners. That’s really not a good thing.

As much as I like to scour EBay for deals, I think I’ll have to only buy my Cold Steels from authorized dealers from now on. I mean, if there are fakes of this caliber, I don’t even think that many of the resellers would know that they’re selling counterfeits…unless they bought the fakes directly from DHgate or AliExpress. Anyone selling what they know to be a fake tool that could possibly hurt someone really deserves to be called out imo…that’s just messed up.

I guess that I’ll now try to keep an eye out for fakes…maybe I should start a thread for people to post them, and I’ll take it upon myself to report to Cold Steel (or other manufacturers). I’m guessing that something like that might already exist, but I feel like it can’t hurt to have redundancies when safety is on the line.
 
Boss Hogg said:
After you informed me about the spear points I’ve been searching myself…and I can also not find any clip point copies. Honestly, I’m not trying to obsess over this one knife purchase, but I can’t help but think about how many potential fakes are out there being used by oblivious owners. That’s really not a good thing.

As much as I like to scour EBay for deals, I think I’ll have to only buy my Cold Steels from authorized dealers from now on. I mean, if there are fakes of this caliber, I don’t even think that many of the resellers would know that they’re selling counterfeits…unless they bought the fakes directly from DHgate or AliExpress. Anyone selling what they know to be a fake tool that could possibly hurt someone really deserves to be called out imo…that’s just messed up.

I guess that I’ll now try to keep an eye out for fakes…maybe I should start a thread for people to post them, and I’ll take it upon myself to report to Cold Steel (or other manufacturers). I’m guessing that something like that might already exist, but I feel like it can’t hurt to have redundancies when safety is on the line.
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There's a thread up in the "stickies" (threads at the top of the first page of the Cold Steel subforum) specifically dedicated to counterfeits. It's entitled "Counterfeit, anyone?". I noticed that they discuss the Code 4 on the last page, maybe elsewhere in that thread as well.

But if you have questions about a knife being a counterfeit you're not required to post it there. You can start a new thread just like this one.
 
killgar said:
The knife in the pictures below is definitely a fake. I took these pictures from one of the big China sites that sell fakes. The pictures are from the vendor that sells the fakes, as opposed to the vendor using pics of a real Code 4 from the Cold Steel website.

I post them only for educational purposes, not to promote fakes.

etmqUm6.jpg

wyPUvjj.jpg
Click to expand...
The dead giveaway is the stamp on the pocket clip. I wonder if the one in the video is legit?
 
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