Is weighing a reliable way to test for counterfeits?

J

James0723

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If you're like me, you sometimes browse ebay looking for good deals on knives. But sometimes it's hard on ebay and similar sites to know if you're getting a good deal or being ripped off with a counterfeit. Many times it's obvious from the ad that the knife is a counterfeit because the price will be way too low, but other times the price will be just high enough to make it seem like a good deal on the real knife. I've also heard of counterfeits being hard to detect sometimes.

Considering that the factory specs on most production knives list the weight to a hundredth of an ounce, and I'm assuming the counterfeits would use different steel, slightly different blade geometry, and different material for the screws and other parts, do you think weighing a knife would be the surest and most reliable way to determine if it's a counterfeit?
 
I've read stories of people being sold counterfeits by reputable dealers who themselves weren't aware of it.
 
I've seen the weights stated different for models that should be exactly the same weight.
For example, ZT says the 0301 and 0302 are both 8.6 oz., the 0300 is listed at 8 oz. even.
Then I've read ZT say that all 3 knives are the same model other than color.
If the weight they list on their site is correct that's obliviously not so.
So, if you are weighing a ZT 0300 and it weighed 8.6 are you going to say, FAKE!?
Or, if you weigh a 0301 and it's 8 oz. do you declare it a fake?
 
Last edited:
jill jackson said:
I've seen the weights stated different for models that should be exactly the same weight.
For example, ZT says the 0301 and 0302 are both 8.6 oz., the 0300 is listed at 8 oz. even.
Then I've read ZT say that all 3 knives are the same model other than color.
If the weight they list on their site is correct that's obliviously not so.
So, if you are weighing a ZT 0300 and it weighed 8.6 are you going to say, FAKE!?
Or, if you weigh a 0301 and it's 8 oz. do you declare it a fake?
Click to expand...

Exactly...

And youre going to need an extremely precise weight to pick up any difference between a wellmade counterfeit and the real deal. I dont even know if the difference in weight will be consistent.
 
Maybe that's just a mistake on the Zero Tolerance site. I can't believe the same model knife would have a difference of .6 oz.

Also I think production knives of the same model should all consistently weigh the same.

But, assuming weighing isn't a reliable way to test for counterfeits, is there some way to test for Rockwell hardness of the blade without damaging it?

Some counterfeits are obvious, but others are well-made counterfeits of high-end production knives. The more expensive the knife is being counterfeited, the more money they can put into making the counterfeit look good. During use of the knife a counterfeit would probably be revealed, but what if it's a knife you're just collecting and not going to use very much? That's why I'm concerned about this.
 
James0723 said:
Maybe that's just a mistake on the Zero Tolerance site. I can't believe the same model knife would have a difference of .6 oz.

Also I think production knives of the same model should all consistently weigh the same.
Click to expand...

I think its a mistake on the site too. The same thing happened to me when i was googling the weight on a Swisstool and Spirit. Different sites had different weights, which were obviouly mistakes.
 
If you are on ebay and the knife is sold out of China and it's too good to be true, it's probably a fake.
 
A counterfeit made with similar materials may weigh almost exactly the same.
Different types of steels don't have dramatically different weights.
However weighing a knife against a possible counterfeit to the precise values possible with a good scale along with other investigative techniques could help you determine the fake. I would guess it would only be one clue and not the most obvious.
 
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