"Spyderfaux" and other Fakes -- Gallery?

I might sound naive saying this, but how can these guys get away with this? I mean, the pages that el cid has posted look like they come from a decent catalog, not some back of a magazine or gun show.
What is stopping either the makers or the designers from legal action? Are knife design not usually copyrighted or patented or something like that? Frankly, "borrowing" someone else's good idea without permission REALLY bothers me. Some of those cheapies are direct knock-offs.
 
mgeoffriau, I agree. They are all knock-offs. Unfortunately there are companies out there that will import cheap "clones" just to make a quick buck at the expense of others. I refuse to buy such rubbish.



[This message has been edited by el cid (edited 05-11-2001).]
 
I'm curious, el cid, what is your source for these wondrous pieces of crap? I noted on, I think, the first page you posted, that the POS' allegedly had AUS8 or 440C steel. I'm sorry I used the word worry in my earlier post, but it seems to me possible, that if perchance the manufacturers of some are the same manufacturers who are making the originals, and using decent components, that while they won't be dirt cheap, they may not realistically be a completely worthless knife. As I tried to point out earlier, they sure could kill a person, especially if they had not been abused by the owner prior to using for assault.

Oh -- if you've an online source, I wanted to be able to give them a "piece of my mind." Won't bother if it is just a paper catalogue.

By the bye, I got a couple catalogues by what appears to be a Boker subsidiary -- Marlin? my memory escapes me MAGNUM!-- selling knives mostly for under $10 that basically look pretty good. Lots of zinc handles, etc., but nothing jumped out at you in the way of poor quality. The catalogue was selling Bokers and Magnums. Anyone ever bought a Magnum?

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Asi es la vida

Bugs
 
<font face="Verdana, Arial" size="2">
Just a note, mentioning "ripoff", "copy" etc, and using someones image _could_ result in
lawyer type action. Probably not, but you never know.</font>
Click to expand...

We aren't using their images; we're posting LINKS to their images which, thanks to the wonders of UBB software, we can view in-post without clicking on the links. Were we downloading their images and then uploading them to different web space (like photopoint, for instance) there might be a problem, since that's not proper.

As for calling a ripoff a ripoff, the First Amendment protects my gods-granted right to call a spade a spade.

-Razor

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AKTI #A000845
And tomorrow when you wake up it will be worse.
 
I was really amazed when I noticed this advertisement at http://www.knifezilla.com! Go to the ‘folders’ page and look for the ‘Jaguar Silver Whirlwind’ (POS that it is) and notice how ‘substantially similar’ to the design/name to one of the Kershaw/Ken Onion 'speed safe' line. INCLUDING the ‘assisted opening’, which Ken developed! Some knife makers might consider ‘imitation the highest from of flattery’ while some will ‘sue the pants off’ the company responsible. However, when they ‘creatively acquire’ the patented mechanism for opening the blade, I would think, the manufacture would go after them with guns blazing! I have known Ken for years (i.e. I met him back when he just made knives in his garage part time and sold them at gun shows in Honolulu) and he is a really nice guy and not at all the ‘litigious type’. I haven’t had the time to show him this yet but I’m sure when I do he will be ‘peeved’ to say the least!
 
BUGS My brother (David Rock here on the forums) and I sort of "inspired" my nephew to go purchase a knife. He was 12 and had about $25 to spend. He decided to buy two cheaper "imitations" and save some money rather than buy one better quality (in my opinion) folder like a Spyderco Dragonfly or Ladybug. One of the knives he bought at a local outdoor sporting goods store was a Magnum. It had a metal handle with a pocket clip and thumb disc. He asked me to sharpen it for him after he played with it for quite some time (it was really dull out of the box). I worked on that thing for about 5 hours and couldn't ever get a burr on any portion of the blade. I don't think the thing can even start to get sharp. He paid about $13 for it. The other knife he bought was some knock-off with a black plastic handle and combo edge blade just under 3" with dual thumb studs. This knife really looked like it wanted to be a Spyderco Delica. However, it felt pretty flimsy in the hand, got dull in a hurry but sharpened up reasonably well. He paid $3.99 for it. At least it could get usably sharp quickly unlike the Magnum. I don't know if the Magnum was exactly what you were inquiring about, but I would have taken a hammer to the thing and my nephew was more than a little disappointed that it wouldn't sharpen. I asked my brother about it and he said something to the effect of, "You might have better luck sharpening a bar of soap." I think maybe he was right.
Sorry I don't have access to the knives to scan some photos!
 
At least most of you are able to compare a well made knive against a cheaper one, as far as I've seen in Mexico the situation is quite different: here it's very difficult to get a fine production knive; all you find in some sport stores among camping and hunting items are SAK´s, spanish knives such as Muela or Aitor (sure you know these, el Cid), Gerber or Leatherman multitools and with good luck some old model Buck. On the other hand the market is full of Fury folders and other unnamed knives made somewhere in Asia with shapes "inspired" by the big brands, so the inmense majority of customers and even vendors only have seen these "variations" and never the real thing.
 
Orozcov, you are correct. I visited Mexico a few years ago and all I saw were the traditional Spanish navajas as well as cheap imports from China. Many people have never seen the real thing and opt for the only thing available to them. It's the same in many other places as well. Even in parts of Spain.

[This message has been edited by el cid (edited 05-15-2001).]
 
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