How can you determine if your paramilitary is a fake?

colubrid said:
I am a heart patient and nned my medication for my heart to tick. So this winter I had to travel to Brazil for 3 months. I just got back..in March.


Before I left I needed medication for 3 months supply . But insurance would only pay for one month. SO I asked how much the medication for this one bottle of medication that was 30 pill for 1 month supply) . The cost was $700. for 1 month for 30 pills.

So I left to Brazil because I did not have $1400 for my medication (2 months supply). When I was there I walked into a pharmarcy and asked if they had the medication. They did and I was blown away. IT WAS THE SAME EXACT KIND! Guess what it cost me?.. it cost me $22. That is twenty two dollars compared to $700.00

Now please explain to me the whole rights of patents when big pharma is taking advantage and so are other companies all in the name of freedom to keep us from buying from others ...
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This has absolutely nothing to do with what I said or knives
 
As much as I'm tempted to respond to the "why not just buy fakes" question, I'm going to ignore that foolishness and answer the OP.

The best way to tell if it's fake is to use it, particularly if you are somewhat experienced with various steels. If it's fake, the steel likely won't perform anything like real S35VN.
 
Honestly, the only way to tell 100% that it is not fake is to have spyderco look at it. If the OP is that suspicious he should just return it. Next best way to not get a fake is to buy from a reputable dealer.
 
Alternately, you could contact Spyderco with the dealer information and see if they can confirm them.
 
Blues Bender said:
I don't know, you tell us why...

Why are you looking for Sebenzas with specific birthdates when you can just buy a clone "of the same quality"?
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Ed Zachary, where will the "fake company" be when you need service or part? :rolleyes:
 
I'd reckon there's a reason all the reputable dealers are sold out of this sprint run. I'd be suspicious as well.
 
colubrid said:
So I left to Brazil because I did not have $1400 for my medication (2 months supply). When I was there I walked into a pharmarcy and asked if they had the medication. They did and I was blown away. IT WAS THE SAME EXACT KIND! Guess what it cost me?.. it cost me $22. That is twenty two dollars compared to $700.00
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The fact that counterfeits are becoming harder to visually distinguish from real knives does not make them as good. The counterfeit game is all about appearing the same and not about performing the same. Making a counterfeit as cheap as possible is their goal. This means not using a decent steel or not heat treating the knives because this would cost more. Fake knives are not meant to last and do not perform as well as cheaper knives that are made well enough for the the price. Fake knives are all about cheating unknowing buyers out of money. Chinese fakes could potentially be made of cheap recycled radioactive steel barrels and potentially endanger the factory workers and all others that get near them including the buyer. The fake knife hustlers do not care about respecting laws or endangering lives. This is not the same as generic drugs made by a country with laws and enforcement that ensures that you are getting something safe and effective. Having said all that, fake brand name and generics drugs are very common globally. Viagra seems to be one of the most counterfeited drugs outside the US. The more expensive drugs are often targeted by counterfeiters. Up to 8% of US imported generic drugs, have been fake. If your foreign made generics are essential to keeping you alive, do your research.
 
craytab said:
Honestly, the only way to tell 100% that it is not fake is to have spyderco look at it. If the OP is that suspicious he should just return it. Next best way to not get a fake is to buy from a reputable dealer.
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I personally try to buy knives from amazon. Out of a dozen or so purchases I've never been disappointed. Their customer service is absolutely incredible. Never received a fake either.

OP, if the knife ends up not being the real deal, amazon will refund you and pay for return shipping. However amazon will never be as 100% as say bladehq, but I've personally never had issues.

Once I ordered a pair of tritium sights for a competition pistol, got them overnighted, and one of our wonderful local vagabonds helped himself too my package while I was at work. Amazon overnighted me a new pair that same day and no cost, and were very friendly during the whole mess.
 
Colubrid,
Let's disregard the intellectual property issue for the time being. If you knowingly choose to buy a fake at a significantly lower price, that's your option. Many of these clones are being sold as the real thing, and for the same prices as the real thing, to unsuspecting buyers. Do you truly not see why this is a problem?
 
OP: Amazon is one of the more reputable internet dealers, even for knives. Low and behold, if it IS a fake, they will take it back under their fantastic return policy. I'm sure you're fine, but if you're still concerned when you receive it, just post pics of it on this thread and the members will help make sure. Many of us have been here before and know what to look for.
 
RX-79G said:
Alternately, you could contact Spyderco with the dealer information and see if they can confirm them.
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That won't help anything. We know Amazon sells spyderco. The issue is when a fake is returned as real it gets mixed in with the real ones. Amazon does not know the difference. A real knife dealer like the ones who support this forum will. that is what makes them much more reputable than even some authorized dealers.
 
craytab said:
That won't help anything. We know Amazon sells spyderco. The issue is when a fake is returned as real it gets mixed in with the real ones. Amazon does not know the difference. A real knife dealer like the ones who support this forum will. that is what makes them much more reputable than even some authorized dealers.
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No they aren't. See my above post why. This has been confirmed to happen, especially on the more counterfeit knives like the PM2. It happens other places that don't know their products very well also. By from a dealer who mostly deals in knives. Almost 100% safe.
 
craytab said:
That won't help anything. We know Amazon sells spyderco. The issue is when a fake is returned as real it gets mixed in with the real ones. Amazon does not know the difference. A real knife dealer like the ones who support this forum will. that is what makes them much more reputable than even some authorized dealers.
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How often does someone buy both a fake and real one just to return the fake as real? I can see it happening occasionally - to any Spyderco dealer. Not sure why Knifecenter would be immune - especially if it came back in the real box. The fakes are so hard to spot that people on this forum doubt it can be accurately done, why would some volume knife dealer be so much shrewder?


And I was assuming that this could have been an Amazon seller as well as Amazon itself.
 
RX-79G said:
How often does someone buy both a fake and real one just to return the fake as real? I can see it happening occasionally - to any Spyderco dealer. Not sure why Knifecenter would be immune - especially if it came back in the real box. The fakes are so hard to spot that people on this forum doubt it can be accurately done, why would some volume knife dealer be so much shrewder?


And I was assuming that this could have been an Amazon seller as well as Amazon itself.
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It does happen. How often? Enough for people to get fakes. Never heard of it happening to an actual knife dealer. They know their products much better than some amazon employee who is taking returns on blenders as well as knives. How easy it is to tell depends on the fake. A little education and anyone can tell most of the fakes. I know I can.
 
ejames13 said:
As much as I'm tempted to respond to the "why not just buy fakes" question, I'm going to ignore that foolishness and answer the OP.

The best way to tell if it's fake is to use it, particularly if you are somewhat experienced with various steels. If it's fake, the steel likely won't perform anything like real S35VN.
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Actually, genuine S30V performs like crap for me, and this is from a real $2000 RJ Martin...

I would not be surprised at all if the counterfeit could easily match the edge holding of the real thing, or exceed it, but the difference is under shock, you will see the counterfeit shatter as the tempering is usually where the work is skipped...

It does mean the counterfeit is less safe under some circumstances, though most won't notice. Edge holding is certainly not a great way to tell them apart.

Gaston
 
Gaston444 said:
Actually, genuine S30V performs like crap for me, and this is from a real $2000 RJ Martin...

I would not be surprised at all if the counterfeit could easily match the edge holding of the real thing, or exceed it, but the difference is under shock, you will see the counterfeit shatter as the tempering is usually where the work is skipped...

It does mean the counterfeit is less safe under some circumstances, though most won't notice. Edge holding is certainly not a great way to tell them apart.

Gaston
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I didn't say edge holding. I said steel performance. I think impact strength falls into that category.
 
craytab said:
It does happen. How often? Enough for people to get fakes. Never heard of it happening to an actual knife dealer. They know their products much better than some amazon employee who is taking returns on blenders as well as knives. How easy it is to tell depends on the fake. A little education and anyone can tell most of the fakes. I know I can.
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In that case, the OP can post his knife here when it arrives and you can let him know if it is real or not. That's why he posted.
 
Honestly buy from an authorized dealer or from someone on this forum( feedback/always use paypal)
I must admit..personally its just experience
I have owned/done custom work on too many pm2s to count so for me I can just tell
I bought one off craigslist before and in person I examined it closely/checked the box numbers, paperwork ect..
I avoid the "auction site" and just buy in person or from someone here
 
Alrighty well let me start off by saying this thread got way more attention than I thought it would, so thank everyone for your input. I agree that if I had purchased the knife from a website such as BHQ or knifecenter or things of that nature, there would be almost no doubt that the knife is real. When I recieve the knife I'll be sure to post pictures and get everyone's input.

Thanks again guys
 
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