So Dark Ops actually exist and have knives!

[The General]

Saw the Dark Ops stand at the IWA show yesterday. Interesting knives, I started by saying " these look familier?" Never mind Dark Ops, read Dark Looks! So I came right out with it and said E R? Even Darker Looks.

In fairness though the gent kept his cool and showed me the knives, not bad, in the same way E R knives are "not bad"

These are not blatent rip offs, rather they have taken the same model knives and improved the ergo's and added nice detailing, but these look like E R knives that have been bought and then re-worked. Is this a rip off or a modification?

The chaps at the E R stand were displeased to say the least that the Dark Ops people were there and what they were doing, I did not even mention it to them. I just listened to others complaining to them about Dark Ops. Lots of interesting stuff was said!

I am not getting involved in that kind of stuff though!

Now I am not siding with Dark Ops in the slightest, I feel very sorry for E R as I feel they are getting stuffed with this.

 

[Esav Benyamin]

General, this is the second time Dark Ops has shown knives. The first time they seem to have been repainted ERs. Did the knives you saw look like mock-ups or prototypes or were they actually for sale?

 

[The General]

The IWA show forbids selling so they were not for sale or they would get into trouble!

Seriously I did not enquire as to the cost or availability of these knives as I had had enough after a couple of mins...

My no BS estimate is these are ER knives that have been reworked and shown off as prototypes. I have handled dozens of ER knives and know them very well. These were ER knives in my opinion with a different skirt on them so as to say.

These did not look or feel like copies, but actual ER knives having been customised a fair bit.

I don't know if you have handled ER knives before, but they have a look and feel that is quite distinctive and I don't think it would be easy or cheap to get the same "feel" and quality. The folders in particular had fantastic lock up and fit and finish.

I look at it this way, how would Spyderco feel if Santa Fey knife works took the Military model knife and tricked it out, removed any Spyderco references from the knife and then called it a new knife? That is what Dark Ops are doing. I use the above example only because Santa Fey do amazing work on Spyderco knives and most of us will have heard or seen the work, I am in no way saying they do this!

What I can't understand is what they hope to achieve? They won't fool the armed forces community, they were the talk of the show in a negative light and though they say no publicity is bad publicity, that de-amination rubbish would stop 99% of people from buying these knives!

I am looking for the angle where they make a lot of money and I am frankly not seeing it. All I can think is they bought a few ER knives, tricked them up, will show these knives and take orders and after the books are full send out cheap knock off knives and run? I just don't get it, perhaps they are just trying to sell off excess ER stock in a new outfit and will use the money to actually develop knives of their own?

There must be money in this somewhere because advertising and visiting shows is not cheap.

 

[TorzJohnson]

All I can think is they bought a few ER knives, tricked them up, will show these knives and take orders and after the books are full send out cheap knock off knives and run?

That's an interesting prediction, I sure hope it won't come true... and yet a little part of me hopes it will - just for the sheer popcorn-fueled threadlicious entertainment it will be sure to spawn.

 

[The General]

Its a possible outcome, but I am unwilling to say I think this is what they are about! Its just one of the comments I heard about them... well mostly it was said they would fill the order books and run! But even I could not think this likely!

There was a lot of negitivity about this company and I am struggling not to be negative about them, I really am.

 

[gorlank]

Wahoo! Let the covert deanimation begin!

 

[Keith Montgomery]

I suppose this was another show where photography wasn't allowed? Pictures sure would be nice.

 

[Esav Benyamin]

I don't know if you have handled ER knives before, but they have a look and feel that is quite distinctive and I don't think it would be easy or cheap to get the same "feel" and quality. The folders in particular had fantastic lock up and fit and finish.

All I can think is they bought a few ER knives, tricked them up, ...

There must be money in this somewhere because advertising and visiting shows is not cheap.

I have a Nemesis folder which I carry frequently.

Frank Miller WAS the ER representative in the US and may have kept a few of the knives after they parted ways.

I am sure they believe their is a rich sucker born every minute!

 

[Gollnick]

There must be money in this somewhere because advertising and visiting shows is not cheap.

These guys have spent a huge pile of money on advertising. They had a huge, knifeless booth at Bladeshow last year with expensive furniture and huge custom-made banners and a large staff. They did a big showing at Shot Show too. And they've been running full-page, premium-placement ads non-stop in all the magazines. Not to mention all the graphic design. It just mystifies me to see a start-up company spend this amount on advertising in this market. It reminds me of the venture-fueled .com startup boom of the mid 90s. But that bubble burst. And I'm wondering if this bubble is going to get popped like comm bloc body armour too.

A friend of mine who is a very wise man and the CEO of a successful local company often says, "It don't matter how many page hits you're getting if your not making money."