How to determine if a knife is fake, counterfeit, or authentic?

[VorpelSword]

The sad thing is that these might actually be "good enough" in quality for the price point if sold as just another knife rather than as a real-dead brand name rip off.

 

[Hashishiin]

You could take it to a lab to have the steel analyzed with spectroscopy, but all that will confirm is what type of steel it is (although many fakes do NOT have the correct steel that the originals are made of).

Good idea here. You could also buy a second, exact copy of the knife direct from the factory outlet from the same batch (checked via serial number of course), take a sample of the steel and run it through a gas spectrometry/mass chromatography machine to make sure it is made from the same batch, exact same weight, exact same miniscule additions of elements.

OP: Are you asking in general, or about a specific knife?

 

[Hashishiin]

Fake, counterfeit a knock-off . . .or mfg under license.

In the early 200s, Darrel Ralph designed and marketed a line of folders he called "Madd Maxx". High alloy steels and Damascus blades with titanium frame-locking handles with exotic inlays. They cost over a grand. Camillus soon offered a close copy with D2 blades and simple anodized titanium handles for a tenth as much . . .under license. I bought one for $125 and should have taken out a loan for a hundred more. See what they sell for on e-Bay now.

That was not a fake.

I have a friend who owned a pawn shop. He is retired ow. One day we talked about watches, and Rolexes came up. He schooled me on fake ones and real ones and a few he knew to be collatable etc. Then he went into his office and came out with a watch and challenged me to tell if it was real or not. I said it was real based on what he had just taught me to look for. Nope! Not real he said.

Turns out, that watch had a movement correct for Rolex, in a case correct for Rolex and so on . . .all stuff that came from the factories that made parts for Rolex. But it was not from Rolex, it eas a back door item or maybe pieced together from otherwise genuine parts by . . .someone somewhere. The tell was that the serial number was so wrong for that model and year etc . .and it was not a "real" Rolex.

I was given a Spiderco knife for Christmas. Its a big one (too big for me) and lfels like a quality knife. I do not see a model designation on it anywhere. There is small engraving on the choil that indicates Spiderco and the alloy on one side and "China" on the other. I have wondered at this for months and still don't know. I have been told that Spiderco has knives made in China, but shouldn't it say what model it is?

It's a real Spyderco - probably a Tenacious, all their knives from different countries are marked slightly differently. Japanese, American, and Chinese Spydercos all look different. Chinese knives have exactly this kind of tang. Like I said, probably a Spyderco Tenacious - go look that up, the tang on any Chinese Spyderco (Persistence, Tenacious, etc), they all have this style of tang stamping. Also, it's usually only the Japanese, sometimes Taiwanese FRN models that have the model on them. None of my American Spyderco knives have the model written on it (and I have more than 15).

They're not bad!! Try it out!

 

[Frank Morris]

When I first got into knives about 5 years ago I bought a Rat II on Amazon. That knife I could barely open with 2 hands. Being new to the knife world I contacted Ontario and they sent me a free washer pack with a clip. The washers and clip they sent me didnt match what was on the knife. The knife currently lays in a drawer waiting for the trash as it has a stripped pivot screw.

I bought a Bladehq Benchmade 940 Exclusive. Jade Scales, Black Blade. The action was so tight I couldnt get it adjusted right. I took apart, cleaned it many times. Polished the washers and liners. It had a smooth action for say 50 openings then get tight again. I bought some phosphor bronze washers off of Etsy and the knife works like a dream. Fake knife? did someone return a fake?

I have a Spyderco Tenacious black blade from Amazon. Everything looks legit but I wonder if its a fake.

Buy from a reputable dealer but if they sell returns who are inspecting them?