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It seems Cold Steel is now in the blatant ripoff business

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YoungCutter

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I was going over the review of 2003 SHOT SHOW at www.gunblast.com (great site) when I stumbled accross a picture of Cold Steel's latest, their Black Talon Folder:

DSC05711.jpg


Look farmiliar? Let me help you a little...

sp12gsjb.jpg


Just another reason why Cold Steel sucks...
 
If they ain´t goin for historically influenced designs (navaja to vaquero) they suck in the imagination department.
seems they don´´t wait till a blade shape becomes historic. they take recent ones.:grumpy:

matthias
 
There is a reasonable similarity in blade shape, though I'd only say it looks 80% like the Spyderco. The serrations are different, the blade opening hole is different, the blade is coated black as well as serrations on the thumb ramp. Overall I like the blade shape better than Spyderco's only I prefer Spyderco's serrations. Also the handle is of obvious different shape, of different material, screws instead of rivets, and clip placement at the opposite end of the handle.

Don't get me wrong, I frown heavily on knockoffs and companies that condone them but I don't think that really has happened here. I actually prefer Spyderco folders over CS ones, though I think CS has some functional straight blade designs.

Peace! :)
 
They do look similar, but I personally wouldn't call the Cold Steel knife a knockoff.

The handles are totally different and the blades aren't quite the same. In addition to the differences that Stompy pointed out, the CS blade looks like it has more belly, has a point that's shaped differently, and has a hollow grind that starts higher up.

I think that the reverse s-curve edge on the Civilian is so unique, you automatically think "Spyderco" when you see it on another knife. Maybe Spyderco has a patent on that feature and they licensed it out, or the patent expired.
 
That Cold Steel Black Talon is plain ugly.:barf: They must be running out of ideas to release a Spyderco Civilian/Matriarch wannabe. It's not the first time. Remember the crappy Swiss Steel (Chinese SAK ripoffs) they introduced? Anyway, that Black Talon folder is obviously "inspired" by the Spyderco Civilian. Maybe Lynn Thompson needs a new team of designers that can come up with unique and innovative designs rather than imitate whats already out there.
 
Similar yes, but similar enough to present a patent infringement? I personally don't think so. Then again that is only my opinion and I could be way off here.
 
Close enough to have been inspired by the Civilian,should be paying some sort of royalties imho.
 
Originally posted by TOMBSTONE
Close enough to have been inspired by the Civilian,should be paying some sort of royalties imho.
Click to expand...

I agree, Most if not all clones have some small differences and there is always a different (usually cheaper) material and screws used. The Civilian has a very unique look and that design has to be known throughout the knife community. There is no doubt the folks at Cold Steel talked about the similarity and decided to go with it regardless.
 
I have had designs drawn out from when I was a teenager and "before" the Civilian was ever introduced that has a blade shape similar to these two knives. Nothing new under the sun. Besides, CS's has more belly, less hook. Spyderco's has less belly and more hook.
This all looks a little to nitpicky to me. :rolleyes:
 
Originally posted by Harry Callahan
Yup. US patent #349,

Fourteen year patent, issued 8-23-94.

Cheers.
Click to expand...

Ehh... that figures. Guess that means any of us custom makers who want to make a reverse curve harkbill blade are just S.O.L. if Spyderco ever decided they didnt like it.
Oh well... I shant let it faze me... a knife is a knife is a knife and its all been done before anyway... my own plans for reverse S curve hawkbill knives (fixeb blades) shall continue. :)

Cold Steel isnt the most reputable company in the world... but their design looks more like a knock off of a Steve Ryan model five than of the Civillian. All three are reverse S curve hawk-bill folders with opening holes, but comparing them all, the Black Talon looks more like a Steve Ryan than a Civillian.
 
To me it doesn't even matter whether it's a ripoff or not... I wouldn't buy that knife simply because it's FUGLY!

And while we're asking the question, "Are they ripping someone off?" let's consider the name "Black Talon." Shouldn't Winchester be pissed off? (Well, I know they're already pissed off at that racist/murderer Colin Ferguson...)
 
the way i see it, it's not a rip off. apart from the fact that it's ugly, the only thing that seems same is the blade shape. now how can you patent a s-curve blade shape ? i mean, come to think about it, no one would be able to make any knifes any longer if everyone patented 'his' bladeshape.
 
Look, it's simple. Spyderco was awarded a 14 year patent on that "ornamental knife blade" design. The drawings in the patent spell it out. They OWN the reverse "S" or sinusoidal edge profile and they use it on the Civilian, the Matriarch, the Cricket, the Dodo, SPOT, and one version of the Meerkat. The different serrations don't matter. Serration profile or style isn't part of the patent. The reverse "S" profile is what US Patent 349,837 covers.

Learn more about patent law here: http://www4.law.cornell.edu/uscode/35/
 
To view US Patent 349,837 click here
To view US Patent 344,006 click here

If you want to check out the drawings, a small download from QuickTime may be required. Didn't take long to download however. I'm on a dialup connection and it only took a few seconds. Cheers.
 
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