Is this a Fake Spyderco Endura 4? (SG)

B

Bohan Jones

Joined
Oct 4, 2018
Messages
5
Hey guys,

Just received a sabre ground Endura 4 in the mail today. I'm in Australia so it's especially difficult to find a genuine seller of Spyderco knives. This is because knife laws here are relatively strict. I use a pocket knife as a utility item for work, and therefore it's not an issue.

To the point however, I've noticed a couple signs that indicate that mine is possibly a fake Endura 4. Such reasons include the etching on the blade, as well as a couple minor dents in the handle/clip.

The etching actually looks pretty much fine to the naked eye but when zooming in with my phone it looks pretty haphazard. If I'm honest it looks like someone handed flea a miniature Dremel tool. Also it may not be as recessed as it's supposed to be.

Attached are pictures for your viewing (dis)pleasure. Sorry about my dirty mattress!! I would very much appreciate any help. If it is indeed a fake, does PayPal process refunds for fraudulent items? I purchased it through the (supposed) reseller's website although it appears they primarily use eBay to sell their goods. I only went forward with the purchase as the distributor had 99% feedback on eBay anyway. Cheers.


https://imgur.com/a/D3RNzNG
 
It looks a little off, I can see why you question it’s up authenticity.

The badging on the scales looks different than mine. The letters of “Endura 4” aren’t as big on mine.

Also, the “Seki-City Japan” on yours looks really sloppy; almost looks free-hand.

The Spyderco logo in the blade also looks to be darker than the ones I have.

Are the liners skeletonized? Is the pocket clip springy or stiff?

On my example the pocket clip covers the words “Endura 4”

Of course, it could be that mine are fake too. I purchased them on Amazon instead of a trusted dealer. Won’t be doing that anymore!
 
MolokaiRider said:
It looks a little off, I can see why you question it’s up authenticity.

The badging on the scales looks different than mine. The letters of “Endura 4” aren’t as big on mine.

Also, the “Seki-City Japan” on yours looks really sloppy; almost looks free-hand.

The Spyderco logo in the blade also looks to be darker than the ones I have.

Are the liners skeletonized? Is the pocket clip springy or stiff?

On my example the pocket clip covers the words “Endura 4”

Of course, it could be that mine are fake too. I purchased them on Amazon instead of a trusted dealer. Won’t be doing that anymore!
Click to expand...

The clip is pretty tight, even slightly snags on my pocket. I'll just say that's because it needs a little wear to loosen up to a normal level though.

Liners are definitely skeletonised. It is really weird about the Seki-City Japan stamp though - If anyone can take a close up image of a recent and legitimate endura's stamp, that would be interesting to compare.
 
Don't know about the box, the knife looks legit to me. I've owned many Enduras over the years and it looks like the real deal. If I had it in my hand, I could tell you if was real or not. The Spyderco bug can vary in darkness and depth from model to model. I think it can even vary from steel to steel as well.
 
Let me start by saying that I am not any kind of expert on Spyderco authenticity.

Recently, however, there was an extensive discussion on the Spydie forum regarding "sloppy" Seki-City etching on the Vtoku2 run of Delicas. A bunch of examples looked almost "hand etched", just like yours, including my Delica. The prevailing theory, last I checked in, was that the engraver broke and they actually had someone hand etch some blades.

The Delicas under discussion were definitely real but had the same gnarly script your Endura does. I think you probably have the real deal.

And welcome to the Forum!
 
I'm looking at my Vtoku Endura right now and the laser etching looks clean on both sides. The font is smaller though.
 
I had to take a magnifying glass to my Delica to notice, but it was janky looking for sure.
 
Sorry about the poor pics and dirty blade (this knife has a lot of pocket time).

I agree with the other posters that there is some variability in production. The etching threw me off mostly.

39F6C7F1-F077-4F27-A6A8-C3F3FF2276A1.jpeg 4C0C345F-388F-49F1-AE38-03B6A6EFA8D9.jpeg 6E626A27-BE53-4CF1-8DB5-AC1A79B20AD7.jpeg 80529B79-6FBF-4A1F-BD1A-E0202608BD27.jpeg
 
That SEKI-CITY looks really strange. o_O

The jimping looks way to rounded.
 
That looks bogus to me . I'd make a claim that it's fake to eBay / Paypal and ask for a free return and full refund . Unless they can prove it's real . There are many counterfeits on eBay and some of the sellers even have high ratings .
 
Kiteman72 said:
......
Recently, however, there was an extensive discussion on the Spydie forum regarding "sloppy" Seki-City etching on the Vtoku2 run of Delicas. A bunch of examples looked almost "hand etched", just like yours, including my Delica. The prevailing theory, last I checked in, was that the engraver broke and they actually had someone hand etch some blades....
Click to expand...

I saw that thread. The end result was the forum treated the etched Seki city like yours as a unique and rare marking that was favored.
 
Kiteman72 said:
Let me start by saying that I am not any kind of expert on Spyderco authenticity.

Recently, however, there was an extensive discussion on the Spydie forum regarding "sloppy" Seki-City etching on the Vtoku2 run of Delicas. A bunch of examples looked almost "hand etched", just like yours, including my Delica. The prevailing theory, last I checked in, was that the engraver broke and they actually had someone hand etch some blades.

The Delicas under discussion were definitely real but had the same gnarly script your Endura does. I think you probably have the real deal.

And welcome to the Forum!
Click to expand...

Megawatt308 said:
I saw that thread. The end result was the forum treated the etched Seki city like yours as a unique and rare marking that was favored.
Click to expand...

Thanks for the welcome. Great to see the discussion going on in this thread - it's all very mysterious and interesting. Would you guys happen to have links or screenshots of the thread you are talking about? I would love to see it.
 
Hi Bohan,

Welcome to our forum.

It's getting harder to tell Chinese counterfeits these days. It's a big problem. We can't tell for sure unless we have them in our hands. Zen is the importer and I believe they can tell you where to source models locally?

sal
 
Sal Glesser said:
Hi Bohan,

Welcome to our forum.

It's getting harder to tell Chinese counterfeits these days. It's a big problem. We can't tell for sure unless we have them in our hands. Zen is the importer and I believe they can tell you where to source models locally?

sal
Click to expand...

Wow, if Sal can't tell by the pictures, I sure as hell can't. I looked at them and I would have said it was 100% real.
 
From the FRN teeth around the Endura 4 panel and one small tooth at the butt, I tend to believe it’s real. The gleam of VG-10 blade also looks similar to mine.
Like Sal said, the fake is really getting better but I haven’t seen any with perfect FRN teeth (yet).
 
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