I wanted to update this thread with a more detailed comparison of the fake Southard to a real one, so here we go. First, the blades:
Thickness at the spine is about the same on both, according to my calipers. The edges of the spine and the flipper are less rounded off than on the real deal, and the ends of the channel the stop pin rides in are more rounded on the fake. The detent hole is larger. While the external dimensions are almost exactly the same, the portion of the spine that remains full width along the top extends farther, around a quarter inch closer to the tip than on a real Southard (indicated by the small red line in the above image). Additionally, the blade tang ramp is much steeper on the clone.
The scale sides of the frame look like this:
Note the obvious difference in the bearing rings. Also, there is an additional hole on the real Southard that is not present on the fake (see the red arrow above). The fake's bearing ring is hollow, open on the opposite side of what is shown here.
Next, the lock side of the frame:
Again, notice that everything on the real Southard is stone washed, something that is not the case on the fake. There is an additional circular indentation on the real Southard near the pivot (see the red arrow). Also, there is a flat spot on each of the holes marked with arrows, including the pivot hole--this is not the case on the fake. On the real Southard the hardware (spacers, pivot center spacer) have matching flat spots that keep them from rotating with the screws, the fake is lacking these flat spots on the holes in the lock side.
To illustrate this a little better, take a look at the pivot center spacers:
The real Southard's one, on the right, has a flat side where the arrow is placed.
The scale has some differences outside of the fake I purchased featuring CF:
Notice the extra circular indentation and strange little pin on the real Southard scale.
There are some small differences in the external hardware as well:
Notice the bigger start pattern on the real Southard's pivot screw. Also, the holes in the clips have different sizes.
One last note, the fake is slightly heavier, at around 4.25 ounces, than a real Southard.
Hopefully this will help anyone who is trying to tell if a Southard is the real deal. One the one I have here, the easiest things to notice would be the lack of stone washing, the slightly heavier weight, the longer full width section of the spine, the simpler pivot screws, and the missing hole on the scale side.
Taking the fake apart and reassembling it, I was able to fix the center and smooth out the action a bit, incidentally. Don't expect one of these to feel like junk, they're really quite accomplished as far as replicating the Southard goes.
