Tim Britton copying Shane Sibert. Be Aware

waldizal

waldizal

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Tim Britton was called out on this over a year ago. He cont. to sell these Sibert knock offs on and off at a few shows. After the last communication we thought the issue was resolved but it has come to our attention that Tim Britton was again selling these Pocket Rocket knock offs at the EECKS this weekend. Just wanted to put this out there for everyone to be aware of. Thanks

A few dealer websites got these in stock awhile back and pulled them as soon as they realized the copy.

The Maker is Tim Britton.


From Shane:

A few months ago a situation arose that was dealt with professionally. At the time I was told by the individual in question only 2 were made, I naively thought that that was the end of that and shrugged it off and went back to the grinder.

I’m a bit crestfallen as drama is not something I generally subscribed to, and avoid if it can be resolved in a civil matter. But recently it has been brought to my attention that this prickly rash continues to fester. Unfortunately, I now need to necessitate a more forthright public action to raise awareness of this concern as this annoying dilemma may also encompass not only myself but other makers as well.

Now I understand the conundrum of either unintentional or coincidental resemblances in which I generally have no qualms with as it is part of the business; but when it is an almost crude duplicate, not just similar mind you…. but an explicit and malformed facsimile of the original knife which are being produced in quantity without permission and behaving indifferently and shamelessly for gain…. Now my hackles get raised. These appear to be foreign in origin while the perpetrator is claiming them as a custom.


Shane Sibert Pocket Rocket featured in Blade Magazine









Tim Britton Copy



 
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It's a shame. Last year at blade show I stopped by his table and he was warning against counterfeiters. Apparently he was attending a show and saw, what he though to be, a Medford Knife & Tool Pratorian for $50. I'm sure most of you have seen the full stainless clones with an acid wash? Well it was one of those. he bought it and had it on his table. IIRC he wouldn't even put out his new model for blade 2014 for the first day. For fear of counterfiters taking pictures and cloning it. Hell, I sent him an email when Kizer started posting on blade forums, just so he could tell his side of the story. I'm sad this happened. Shane seems like a chill guy, and is obviously a talented knife maker. Hopefully this will be resolved without a flame war from Tim.

Kirby
 
To me, while there are obvious similarities, the knives are NOT identical and its not as though Tim is putting a Sibert logo onto his knives. The latter, to me, is a true counterfeit. What's going on here is unoriginality taken to an extreme level.
 
ooitzoo said:
To me, while there are obvious similarities, the knives are NOT identical and its not as though Tim is putting a Sibert logo onto his knives. The latter, to me, is a true counterfeit. What's going on here is unoriginality taken to an extreme level.
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No its more than that. Hes selling these knives as if he created the design. He stamps his name on the blade and places these knives for sale at a knife show for all to come see the latest and greatest from Mr. Britons workshop. For some one who just recently called out Kizer for supposedly copying "his" design the balls this guy has to flat out copy another knife makers design is just laughable.
"
 
Nevermind, this is pretty much a shameless act of theft. Have to wonder what some folks are thinking when they do these things. It's not like no one will notice for crying out loud.
 
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RevDevil said:
Nevermind, this is pretty much a shameless act of theft. Have to wonder what some folks are thinking when they do these things. It's not like no one will notice for crying out loud.
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I'm pretty sure the man is fairly delusional in his own right, apparently he tried to claim at one point that Shane gave him permission to make them, or something to that effect. Considering this whole thing went down at some point in the past, I'm amazed he's giving it another shot. Must think everyone has a very short memory.
 
RevDevil said:
Nevermind, this is pretty much a shameless act of theft. Have to wonder what some folks are thinking when they do these things. It's not like no one will notice for crying out loud.
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^^^
Exactly!

If the statement's below are accurate, how is this guy even allowed into these shows & able to display his Sibert rip-off, "Made In China" knives?

Then there is this absolutely damning and indisputable fact--Mr. Britton has a history of ripping off other people's designs and this behavior got him banned from the USN. In that particular instance he ripped off a really great design from Shane Sibert. Mr. Britton even claimed to me, during our long email correspondence, that his copy of the Shane Sibert design was an authorized one. I contacted Mr. Sibert to confirm this (as any responsible person would, right?) here is what Mr. Sibert said:

Hello Anthony,

No, that is a blatant copy/stolen design of mine and he got banned from the USN for it. He continues to sell it claiming it is custom and charges custom prices when it appears to be made in china and he scribes his name on the blade...Fortunately, I have been able to stop dealers from selling it and the knife community has been very aggressive in response to this flaccid plagiarism.

Respectfully,

Shane-
 
Why is this not a surprise?

This is the same clown who had everyone believe that Kizer ripped off his 'Tango' model....

That was until all the evidence was put out on the table.

I guess this time his strange logic told him to just rip off someone else's design and not even worry about trying to hide it....
Tim must be related to that elusive guy 'Kevin John'...
 
RIPtastic said:
No its more than that. Hes selling these knives as if he created the design. He stamps his name on the blade and places these knives for sale at a knife show for all to come see the latest and greatest from Mr. Britons workshop. For some one who just recently called out Kizer for supposedly copying "his" design the balls this guy has to flat out copy another knife makers design is just laughable.
"
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I am admittedly new to this drama and there seems to be some back story that I am missing. My original message should not be read as condoning Mr. Britons actions but simply stating that there was an apparent difference.

With that said, I think its worthwhile to call this stuff out. Particularly if its a repeated instance. I am not sure what else we can do beyond that. Also, I have to wonder why a "custom" maker would continue to do this despite having been called out more then once. If he can make a decent copy of an otherwise fantastic knife then why can't he just make his own design. How hard would it be to add / remove / alter some design elements?
 
ooitzoo said:
I am admittedly new to this drama and there seems to be some back story that I am missing. My original message should not be read as condoning Mr. Britons actions but simply stating that there was an apparent difference.

With that said, I think its worthwhile to call this stuff out. Particularly if its a repeated instance. I am not sure what else we can do beyond that. Also, I have to wonder why a "custom" maker would continue to do this despite having been called out more then once. If he can make a decent copy of an otherwise fantastic knife then why can't he just make his own design. How hard would it be to add / remove / alter some design elements?
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This is a very valid question.
Tim Britton is a very talented knife maker.

My person theory was always that Tim's 'usual' work is not modern folders/flippers like the Tango or this obvious copy of Shane's work.
It's no secret that these are the types of knives that are popular right now.
So I put that together and added in 'short cut' and 'money'....

Only Mr. Britton can actually answer this question however.
 
JR88FAN said:
This is a very valid question.
Tim Britton is a very talented knife maker.

My person theory was always that Tim's 'usual' work is not modern folders/flippers like the Tango or this obvious copy of Shane's work.
It's no secret that these are the types of knives that are popular right now.
So I put that together and added in 'short cut' and 'money'....

Only Mr. Britton can actually answer this question however.
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Talented or not this kind of stuff greatly attenuates the number of people who would be willing to buy his product. I am a strong believer that your conduct outside the literal tasks of performing your job are important.

For example, how many people want to have their car fixed by a known thief (even if they are perfectly honest as a mechanic)? I would guess very few.
 
Thomas Linton said:
Does Britton even make these knockoffs?
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Not likely, they're probably made in China like the Tango and labeled as a hand built custom. He does own a kit knife company that has all of its parts made in China so it's not much of a stretch to assume that he has them producing these as well.
 
Wow, I have met this guy a few times in the past. He seemed nice. I actually have one of his custom fixed blades from many years ago when he had started making. He apparently has taken a turn for the worse. That knife is unquestionably a rip-off of Shane's design; the similarities are too numerous to say otherwise. Now, it also appears he is actually using semi/production knives and pawning off as handmade - even signing his name on them as a "makers mark" -looks like it was done with a dremel tool by the way. Very shameful. I too am curious as to why knife show promoters let him in the door??
 
There is a big difference, Britton's knives are facing left in the photo ! LOL, if it were not a rip off. And from NC he was kinda a state hero in knife making. I have spoken with him about 2 years ago when a member here, suggested I had to have a Tango.
He was all pro USA, and stressed the money he charged was for his Personal time and skills. Glad I did not listen to my west coast friend on this one. WOW.... EVEN HIS COPIES ARE PRICED TOO HIGH !!! I bet no one will confront him at any show, certainly not Blade, these type guys do it because they are allowed to without recourse. I hope Sibert will seek legal action.
 
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