Possible counterfeit Cold Steel Urban Pal spotted

[shecky]

I was curious about this no-name push knife on a web site called dealextreme.com:

http://dealextreme.com/details.dx/sku.5529

Being curious about this style knife, I figured I'd bite for the very low price. Took about a month to arrive. These are apparently sold and mailed directly from Asia. I was surprised when it arrived, marked a Cold Steel Urban Pal, complete in a fully marked, authentic looking box. But it seemed fishy. The serrations are similar, but not the same as the photos of CS products. Pictures can be seen here:

The physical details of the knife, including the very low price, made me suspicious about the authenticity of the knife. Can anyone here verify the (lack of) authenticity of this knife?

To their credit, at least dealextreme wasn't attempting to pass off these knives as actual Cold Steel products. And given the very low price and the generic, unmarked knife depicted in their pictures, I wasn't expecting something actually marked Cold Steel. However, there's nothing to stop someone from buying these in quantity and reselling them in the US to unknowing consumers.

Caveat emptor!

 

[Cyblade]

Looks like the real deal to me cause I've got one and thats the way mine looks exactly and I got it from Smoky Mountain Knife Works, this is the hi res pic off the cold steel dealer site:

http://www.neverunarmed.com/dealer download knives/pages/43LS.htm

Never mind I just saw a Boker Armed Forces model for 8.50 complete with blade markings they are knockoffs.

 

[Cutshaw]

Ah... but let us not forget:

Yup. I like the fact that copies exist. Even unauthorized copies. More choices for me, more competition for manufacturers, more designs come about in the never ending race to keep ahead of the pack. Nobody gets to rest on their laurels in a capitalist system. That is a good thing.

Every good idea will be copied. End of story. If you cannot deal with this harsh fact of life, you need to get out of the business.



Enemy of the State, here, by defending the reality of the marketplace. Despite all the hysterics over the destruction of American companies and jobs, US manufacturing, profits, revenue, exports, wages/compensation are at an all time peak. The US produces the largest share in manufacturing in the world, and outputs 2.5 times China.

Doom and gloom over the waning American manufacturing sector is a losing game.

 

[znode]

Dealextreme is a Hong Kong-based site selling exclusively knockoff items sourced by the open-air markets of Hong Kong. Items bought there should be presumed counterfeit until proven innocent .

 

[znode]

Looks like the real deal to me cause I've got one and thats the way mine looks exactly and I got it from Smoky Mountain Knife Works, this is the hi res pic off the cold steel dealer site:

http://www.neverunarmed.com/dealer download knives/pages/43LS.htm

Uh, then you must have not looked very closely at the very site you provided. The pictures seal the deal. Look at the serrations.

Left: Counterfeit, 3 serrations to 1 scallop.
Right: Real, 5 serrations to 1 scallop.

 

[shecky]

Ah... but let us not forget:

Yes, one cannot distinguish between a copy and a counterfeit.

Dealextreme is a Hong Kong-based site selling exclusively knockoff items sourced by the open-air markets of Hong Kong. Items bought there should be presumed counterfeit until proven innocent

I wasn't expecting a CS product. However, there's little to stop anyone from ordering these in bulk and putting them up on ebay as the real thing.

 

[enderwiggin]

I thought the same thing when I checked the link!

 

[johnu2]

I have had a look at their knives before. They also sell Smith & Wesson Extreme Ops and a Boker ( I think its called Armed Forces or something, not familiar with their knives). I think that they're counterfeit too since they don't have the brand names in their description.

Heres the Boker. It looks different from other pictures if you google it (look closely) http://www.dealextreme.com/details.dx/sku.6212

 

[johnu2]

I wasn't expecting a CS product. However, there's little to stop anyone from ordering these in bulk and putting them up on ebay as the real thing.

Not only that but it ruins a company's reputation when people think these inferior products are genuine and they perform less than expected

 

[Saberman]

You know it's kind funny seeing CS knocked off.

 

[Ludwig]

Serrations are obviously different. Seems like you got a counterfeit :thumbdn:

You know it's kind funny seeing CS knocked off.

I was thinking the same thing

 

[AustinTXShooter]

I was thinking that also. If you are willing to make a knock-off Okapi, which is a $10 knife, and have the nerve to say on your website that the originals are overpriced and of cheap quality, both untrue, then you deserve to have other people make counterfeits of your knives. Counterfeit knives suck and it does hurt the original maker of the knife, but I am not shedding any tears over it happening to Cold Steel.

 

[Walking Man]

I was thinking that also. If you are willing to make a knock-off Okapi, which is a $10 knife, and have the nerve to say on your website that the originals are overpriced and of cheap quality, both untrue, then you deserve to have other people make counterfeits of your knives. Counterfeit knives suck and it does hurt the original maker of the knife, but I am not shedding any tears over it happening to Cold Steal.

100% true. BTW.....
We are talking about a very small knife here. I can see Cold Steel selling a bunch of seconds or overstock or closeouts very cheaply to another distributer to resell. I think that knife cost way less to manufacture than you could imagine.

 

[shecky]

Counterfeit knives not only hurt the maker.

I was completely expecting a knockoff, and I have absolutely no qualms about buying knockoffs. Furthermore, Cold Steel didn't lose a sale, because I wasn't going to buy a Cold Steel product.

However, what I got was, I strongly suspect, is a counterfeit. A fraud. This is beyond knockoff. I'm not terribly bothered with this transaction because I wasn't paying for a genuine item. However, someone passing these off as the real thing will hurt more than Cold Steel. More importantly, they hurt the consumer who's expecting to get what they pay for.

 

[Lenny_Goofoff]

Fake one for sure. I've bought cople of them for $4 each - quite nice f/f and tight plastic sheath. Sharp out the box and makes good boxcutter.

 

[GIRLYmann]

johnu2
About that Boker AF tanto folder.
Originals have no steel colored surfaces.
Original Boker's come entirely fitted in black.
If that's not too hard to remember, the clip style on the PRC clone is a little different too.
Other than that, the dimensions of both knives are a splitting image but for the slight physical differences which has been previously described above.
BTW, I've previously seen a CS khukri clone too.
Who says CS sells junk?

 

[ashtxsniper]

I have one and it looks like that. They are junk IMHO. I though you liked counterfeit knives.

 

[Cutshaw]

Yes, one cannot distinguish between a copy and a counterfeit.

More "choices" for shecky. :jerkit:

 

[johnu2]

They've got a fake benchmade too http://www.dealextreme.com/details.dx/sku.5861 Anyone know what model they are trying to imitate? Theres also a copy of the Spyderco Spyderfly

Edit: nvm, I think its the Stryker

 

[shecky]

I though you liked counterfeit knives.

What's with the inability to distinguish between copies and counterfeits? Perhaps it's more a refusal than an inability.

In any event, there's an ebay auction for a CS Urban Pal that appears to resemble my knife more than the one on the CS site. Perhaps this is a counterfeit, too?

If so, this would be a problem, as a potential buyer may make the reasonable presumption that the item is legitimate.

I've emailed CS to get confirmation. Will follow up.