no flames please

spyken

spyken

Gold Member
Joined
Apr 29, 2002
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hi hi, just read a thread where someone mentioned that they picked up imitation spydies at gun shows? anyone know where I can get these imitation spydies? I'm thinking of picking up some as gifts for colleagues - can't afford real spydies as gifts... :D
 
If you can't afford Spydercos, get your friends other, cheaper high quality knives like Victorinox Swiss Army knives or maybe Columbia River knives. Introduce your friends to quality pieces, not junk.
 
Late at night on Home Shopping Network they have the "Knife Collectors" segment. I think you can get some very cheap knives, such as the "fifty tactical folders for fifty dollars" deal. This could meet your requirements.
 
Rev Pete

With all respect, I wouldn't use one of those cheap knives and I certainly wouldn't give one to a friend or colleague. They're so cheap because there is little manufacturing effort (read quality) put into them. I have handled a few and the locks can and do fail under little stress. The money saved isn't worth the risk. If spyken can't afford to give a knife of acceptable quality (and I agree with the Victorinox or CRKT suggestion) then he should come up with a different gift idea.
 
The aforementioned segment of HSN does serve the public well...............it provides some of the very best late night comedy on the airwaves! Where do they come up with people that can take so long to say NOTHING as do those on HSN?????

Larry S.
 
I wouldn't use one of those cheap knives and I certainly wouldn't give one to a friend
Click to expand...
Nor would I. But perhaps spyken would. I doubt that any BladeForum regular would give those knives a second look except out of morbid curiosity. However, someone has to be buying them. Maybe our friend spyken is the target market for these "extremely low cost" knives? If a Spyderco is too expensive and a SAK too plain it would seem that he is looking for something in the "knives by the pound" category. Perhaps spyken can let us know if I was on the right track?
 
Spydie knockoffs are really not a good gift, for several reasons:
- you will promote and support thieves
- you will give a crappy gift, that may in fact hurt the user
- you will not make any new knife converts by giving them crap

I suggest you look at knives made by Buck, Gerber, Victorinox, Wenger, or CRKT in the $10-$20 range. You can afford fewer, but they will be more appreciated. I have right now a CRKT Mo Skeeter in my pocket. I have several better and more expensive knives, but for about $15, with the clip removed it's a great EDC in an office environment, where I don't want to avoid using a knife for fear of the sheep. I'd rather carry something small that I can use, than a SIFU that I have to hide. The Skeeter is no Spyderco, but it's better than a knockoff in more ways than one.
 
With all due respect, I'm with the others here that recommend a 'real' knife rather than a rip-off...er...knock-off.

Why? The quality will speak well of you and the receipients will have something of real value.

I say this as one who often requests, receives, or desires to receive knives as gifts. By now my family and friends have learned that it is better to give a $10 Old Timer penknife than a $5 Chinese knockoff.
I'd rather have 1 of the former than 20 of the latter. I have quite a few really nice albeit 'cheap' well made production folders that I have gotten this way.

Suggestions? As above, Swiss Army Knives, CRKT, small Bucks, Cases, Schrades, Kershaws, etc. I would check out the clearance pages of reputable online distributors and look for models they are trying to get rid of-there are deals to be had for sure. Another thought-depending on how many pieces you are looking to pick up you may even get a discount from some of the dealers out there if you buy 5 or 6. If anything you will save on shipping.

Don't forget to check out the 'Individual Sales of Production Knives' forum here. I have seen many GREAT deals on some of the low end of the REAL KNIFE market.

For me to receive a cheap knife is a let down and almost insulting; I suggest you go for quality here.

No-flames here...

Mongrel
 
thanks guys!:D I should explain - I'm not a supporter of knock offs, but think that there's some novelty element there (like those who buy budget autos). altho I carry the endura for edc and sometimes my CQC7, I happen to also have a knock-off spydie harpy SE obtained in NZ. I don't know about the lock failure, but after sharpening it with my 204, it cuts webbing like butter. But, ya, thanks for the views. I hope I didn't ruffle any feathers (sorry!) - just that a couple of bucks as compared to $30-50 does seem attractive....sigh.
 
spyken - no feathers ruffled here

and Rev Pete - sorry if I misinterpreted your comments :)
 
I agree that knock off knives are generally low quality.

In addition to the knives mentioned I would add Outdoor Edge. Their Paragee and Magna knives are lower priced but equal to Camillus and CRKT.

Since they don't market their products well they are usually available as a special or on clearance. One site for low cost Magna's is knifeworks.com, hurry they won't last long.

There was also a recent post on specials that listed numerous other web sites for good deals on good knives.
 
I wanted to do the same for a friend and also didn't have very much money. He uses knives primarily for cutting open packages, cord, etc. I found a 3" CRKT serrated mirage for 12 bucks new. He loves it.

In fact this madness started for me with a cold steel el hombre and two 4" mirages......
 
Spyken, there are BILLIONS of quality gifts you can give a friend without breaking the bank. Believe me, I am the cheapass of the gift giving world, but I still try to give quality stuff. If you have to give a cutlery product, it whittles down the choices a bit but there is still quality stuff to be had.

Buck has many useful things for under $15. There Mini Buck is neat, as is their Access 2.5 mini folder. For some novelty, they have a thing called the Metro, it's a little knife/bottle opener jobbie that has that "hey-cool-thanks" factor.

A little surfing around will net you 12 dollar bargains like the Mirage from CRKT mentioned above. And the good ol' Camillus Peanut knives and similar items from Schrade are always good. Heck, a trip to Smokey Mountain Knife Works will probably have you swimming in 10 dollar choices.

I have a store right down the street that has little spydie knockoffs for $1 apiece! I use those as gifts to people I don't like. Not only will it probably chop a fingertip off them some day, but they think I am a good guy for giving them a gift. Man, that's deviously low, but hey.... I wasn't issued a halo. Please don't give these as gifts to people you actually like.
 
A fairly impressive but relatively cheap knife are the Fred Carter Gigands. They're a well engineered knife with extremely good fit and finish. You can pick them up on the auction sites for under $20. I personally feel that they're an underappreciated knife. They're not a MicroTech or Benchmade, but they are definitely superior to the other low and medium end imports.
 
I've handled those imitation spydies at the gunshows around here. The only thing even resembling a Spyderco is the shape. The blade steel is absolute trash that won't hold any kind of edge. The play in them is enough to drive a car through.
I'd second the idea of something like a Victorinox Classic for a gift knife on a budget.
Doc
 
had a lady try to whittle on me with one of the hawkbill knock-offs, funny thing, at the moment i wouldn't have given a damn whether it was a China rip off or a Sebenza, I didn't want nuthin' to do with the thing. I got a chance to look at it in the Security office before it went away, and it really, really was pretty darn trashy, and I wouldn't think it would have half as much warm, fuzzy gift appeal as a decent SAK, Gerber LST,CRKT. etc. but that's just my meager perception.

Oh, and just to be candid here, the lady with the crappy knife was going for it in her purse and I just wrestled the purse away from her. no cool tough guy moves or nuthin'....sorry!

Conversely, i have a friend that gets CRKT Crawford/Kasper clones for $2.50 a piece and resells them for $5.00 each, that are amazingly well made for the price, they have 440 steel, adjustable screw pivots, and they actually take a pretty decent spine whacking. damn things are so shamelessly cloned they even have the cut out from the LAWKS, even though it doesn't have that part. I boughr one as an expendable/glovebox knife, and cause i was so morbidly curious about the things.

it actually worked pretty well, but I felt so uhmm...i dunno...guilty or traitorous about buyin' the darn thing it didn't give me ANY warm and fuzzies, I eventually sent it off unsolicited in a knife trade, figured the other guy could maybe use a POS toolbox knife.

If you're determined to buy the knock offs by the pound that way, they're usually found pretty easily in "Shotgun News"

Hope ya' find what yer lookin' for!
 
Personally, I won't carry a knockoff and doubt that many BF members will. However, a friend of mine buys 2 Delica sized cheapos at a time, uses them for a few months and tosses them. He never worries about sharpening or prying with them. I've given him a real Spyderco but he continues to carry the knockoffs. I guess it works for him.
 
I have to say the wee hours of the morning Knife shows use to be the best......come home from the bar, sit down with a slice of pizza, turn on the HSN Knife show..... "SUNDAY Dress Knives" -- now that was THE BEST (and still used to this day) phrase I ever got from that show.

....I miss those days....Money....Partying.....Blondes....ahhhh ;)
 
Frank brings up an interesting point that I totally missed in my last reply.

Who are the knives intended for? While most if not all of us bladeforumites would frown at the very mention of 'knockoffs' perhaps there are those out there who would be better served by these typically garbage blades.

Case in point:
Before I knew my brother in law well enough I bought him a really nice $30 Estwing framing hammer because he had lost his on the job. What I should have realized from the condition of his other tools,was that this is not a man who either knows the difference or cares to know the difference between that Estwing and a $5 Home-Depot special. It really bummed me out to see that Estwing tossed into the back of his Pickup and left exposed to the elements etc. The final straw was when it was stolen out of said truck!

So, to sum it up-I take care not to give good stuff to people who are either too ignorant or just careless with their things. Maybe I'm anal-retentive, but it kills me to see something I have given away mistreated like in the example above.

As I said, I don't cast pearls before swine anymore :p

Mongrel
 
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