I'm curious how well the fakes actually work in use. You'd think that a customer would be disappointed within a few days of receiving a fake Spyderco (or Benchmade, Kershaw, whatever) knife if he actually uses it and discovers that it doesn't cut like the real thing is supposed to or has F&F issues. Or are the fakes that good? (And no, I would not knowingly buy a fake name-brand anything; the designers/originators of a good product deserve to be compensated for their work.)
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I'm curious how well the fakes actually work in use
- Thread starter N8N
- Start date
I don't own a Spyderco or a fake.
But I assume (judging from the videos) the fit and finish are just as good but the materials used are not premium.
So no VG10, S30V or whatever fancy steel but the Chinese variant of 440c.
And somewhat less quality FRN or G10.
The main reason I think Spyderco's cost so much is the more premium steel used.
Take that away and you could sell a knife for $30 and still make a nice profit.
Most owners probably don't even notice until they directly compare it with the real thing.
Which is the reason I do not own a Spyderco. (I'm not paying double or triple for a bit more fancy steel which I probably won't notice)
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You get what you pay for............
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They cut corners on a lot of things. I had two SRM763s that I got for $11 each. Screw heads stripped out on the pocket clip after changing it to left hand tip up (glad it wasn't before). Couple of the handle scale screws stripped out even though I never touched them and they fall out occasionally. I had a second one that I took apart. Blade had 3 bronze (hopefully) washers and one teflon washer. Blade on the second one dulled after a few days of carry, and I only used it about 4-5 times briefly in that period.
Also had a S&W folder that I got for $16 when I first started getting into knives. Carried it for about a month. Blade started developing serious play in just a few days. Screws started falling out. The pocket clip was bent outward. One time, it just fell out of my pocket while I lightly jogged across the street. Paint flaking everywhere. The whole thing was falling apart. Lost it eventually, but not before it tore apart the left pocket on some of pants due to it not having a detent.
I think I'll take the "fancy steel".
I've read plenty of threads where Spyderco screws strip after removing the pocketclip or taking it apart.
I lost two screws as well from my SRM763 but I assumed that's just because they didn't use any locktite. Perhaps they used stripped screws like you said.
coiledwire
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You said you don't own fakes, so why discuss your SRM issues? And you don't own spydercos, so why continue to comment about the quality of them?
You realize you are in a PSA knockoff thread in the spyderco subforum right? A strange place to keep commenting when you own neither.
I've loosened, tightened pivots, body screws dozens of times over. I've switched pocket clips in the same knife like 12 times because I could not decide which carry I liked better. I literally don't know how you could strip them that easy unless you were drunk, and not paying any attention to care or detail.
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If i received a fake i would never use it, even to just see how well it was made.
I bought a pair of fake Oakley M-frames when i was a kid. I wore them for a bit, but they were terrible! Fit weird on the face, nose piece popped off, lenses were almost blacked out, and im pretty sure the ear pieces snapped off at some point. Those lasted maybe a month. A few years later in high school i bought some real M-frames. The fake ones were maybe $10 and the real ones $175. I've had the same pair for about a decade now and still going strong. Don't ever settle for fakes, the discount is never worth the lesser quality.
I bought a pair of fake Oakley M-frames when i was a kid. I wore them for a bit, but they were terrible! Fit weird on the face, nose piece popped off, lenses were almost blacked out, and im pretty sure the ear pieces snapped off at some point. Those lasted maybe a month. A few years later in high school i bought some real M-frames. The fake ones were maybe $10 and the real ones $175. I've had the same pair for about a decade now and still going strong. Don't ever settle for fakes, the discount is never worth the lesser quality.
Have never had one.
Wouldn't that bother you: that it's a fake?
It's like having a fake Rolex: would you actually carry one? I do not mind people carrying cheap watches, watches that remind or even look very similar to some popular expensive brands. I like the variety myself and am not an absolute believer that the more you pay the more you get. But carrying a fake is outright stupid in my opinion: if you know what I mean.
Wouldn't that bother you: that it's a fake?
It's like having a fake Rolex: would you actually carry one? I do not mind people carrying cheap watches, watches that remind or even look very similar to some popular expensive brands. I like the variety myself and am not an absolute believer that the more you pay the more you get. But carrying a fake is outright stupid in my opinion: if you know what I mean.
Somehow my post got spun off into a separate thread; it was originally a response to a thread about spotting fake Spydercos.
I'll repeat just for the record that I have no interest in owning one and definitely would either buy from an AD or do my research to avoid one. My whole point was that even if not visibly evident that a knife was a fake, you'd think a few days of use would reveal its fake-ness... unless someone's never handled and used a real quality knife before. Not so?
As for the cheap watch vs. fake Rolex thing... I've got a Seiko SKX009 on my wrist right now; in my humble opinion it's cheap (compared to a Rolex) but it ain't crap and if it's a copy of anything it's an older Seiko. So I do get what you're saying... (well, OK, the bracelet was crap, but a NATO strap fixed that problem right up.)
I'll repeat just for the record that I have no interest in owning one and definitely would either buy from an AD or do my research to avoid one. My whole point was that even if not visibly evident that a knife was a fake, you'd think a few days of use would reveal its fake-ness... unless someone's never handled and used a real quality knife before. Not so?
As for the cheap watch vs. fake Rolex thing... I've got a Seiko SKX009 on my wrist right now; in my humble opinion it's cheap (compared to a Rolex) but it ain't crap and if it's a copy of anything it's an older Seiko. So I do get what you're saying... (well, OK, the bracelet was crap, but a NATO strap fixed that problem right up.)
I have a couple of knives from Boker designed by Chad Los Banos and a knockoff of one of his designs. The back of the blade is sharper than the edge on the copy no matter what I do. Fit and finish are dodgy. I could see a person that has no knowledge of knives and resources like this and others would not know they bought a turkey (despite the $1 price for it in my case) and then not buy other items from the real brand in the future.
Harbor Freight has knock offs of Swiss Army knives like a Swiss Champ for $9. Blade had no edge and the pins failed after a week. My real Swiss Champ has been used quite a lot in the years and only shows a few knicks in the grip for it's abuse (slight).
There might be a few decent knockoffs but most I have seen at flea markets are far from it. And I don't pick up knockoffs unless I have the original subject. And then not very often, twice that I can recall. Cheap beaters? Yes I get them but not blatant copies.
Harbor Freight has knock offs of Swiss Army knives like a Swiss Champ for $9. Blade had no edge and the pins failed after a week. My real Swiss Champ has been used quite a lot in the years and only shows a few knicks in the grip for it's abuse (slight).
There might be a few decent knockoffs but most I have seen at flea markets are far from it. And I don't pick up knockoffs unless I have the original subject. And then not very often, twice that I can recall. Cheap beaters? Yes I get them but not blatant copies.
dericdesmond
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Ive done it thousands of times with hundreds of Spydercos (clip screws). 1, a $35 value line tenacious that I stole for $20 is the only one I have had an issue with. Fact. Much of what you read is user fail.
ETA-Nearly forgot. fakes and everything about them along with those who knowling support it = epic fail, no question about it :thumbup: Had to add that sorry : )
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Not saying or knowing if this is a "fake", this is quite possible if you buy counterfeit.....
A while back (before I knew a little more about this kind of stuff) I unwittingly received a fake UKPK in a trade. I really thought it was real until a fellow forum member pointed out some obvious clues to me that it was indeed a fake. I did some research and he was correct. When I tried to get back with the trader about making the deal right, I basically got a bunch of bullsh*t from him and then he quit responding to me..... So anyway I decided to keep it and use it as a beater in the garage, yard, etc. The fit and finish is actually quite good. There is no blade play and the action is very nice. The blade is marked S30V, but surely it's a lesser steel. It takes and keeps a decent edge (for a while.) Still though, it's a decent little knife. A non-knife person would be thrilled to have this knife and I'd say it's leaps and bounds better than the cheap knives you see in gas stations and stuff like that. Still drives me crazy that I got a fake in a trade though.....
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Not saying or knowing if this is a "fake", this is quite possible if you buy counterfeit.....
What the heck happened there?!
The difference is, if this happens to a fake you're screwed. Since its an Esee they would probably just say thanks for using our knives here is a new one. I would imagine Spyderco being fairly helpful in this department as well.
Oh and what bh49 said.
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I got a fake crkt, not on purpose, about 15 years ago and it developed enough slop in a few weeks of carry to cut me. I replaced it with what I meant to get to begin with and it was a world of difference.
It took me about a year to find spyderco. Since my first one, I've had 1 benchmade, 1 Emerson, and 1 Sebenza, everything else spyderco, and it's all I carry anymore.
Fakes are garbage, and probably usually not even safe to use, in my limited experience.
It took me about a year to find spyderco. Since my first one, I've had 1 benchmade, 1 Emerson, and 1 Sebenza, everything else spyderco, and it's all I carry anymore.
Fakes are garbage, and probably usually not even safe to use, in my limited experience.
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Fakes are junk. I have never had a fake Spyderco, but I have had the displeasure of getting a fake SOG folder in a trade and it was junk on many levels.
I did recently get sent a Navy folder in the PIF thread, and even though it isn't a fake, it resembles Spyderco's style and has a spyder hole. The knife is made out of some kind of 440 (says 440c) and if I remember correctly it's something like a 10$ knife. The problem is that the 10$ Emerson I picked up last week is head and shoulders better, having a legit American brand backing a product means that the quality control will be much higher. It is an alright cheap knife, but if you are looking for even moderate F & F, spend 50$ and get a decent folder.
Never buy a knockoff period. It only hurts everyone involved, and you won't get what you pay for because a lot of the expense is in copying aesthetic details that have little to do with quality.
I did recently get sent a Navy folder in the PIF thread, and even though it isn't a fake, it resembles Spyderco's style and has a spyder hole. The knife is made out of some kind of 440 (says 440c) and if I remember correctly it's something like a 10$ knife. The problem is that the 10$ Emerson I picked up last week is head and shoulders better, having a legit American brand backing a product means that the quality control will be much higher. It is an alright cheap knife, but if you are looking for even moderate F & F, spend 50$ and get a decent folder.
Never buy a knockoff period. It only hurts everyone involved, and you won't get what you pay for because a lot of the expense is in copying aesthetic details that have little to do with quality.