Two new Valets - two different knives?

H

herbs&spices

Joined
Aug 5, 2006
Messages
31
Just ordered a 485 Valet from Amazon, and got a nice one that matched the website photos, but had a small (but annoying) amount of vertical play in the blade. So I purchased another one from a different Amazon seller, and got what seems to be a different version of the same knife:
  • it's a different color handle (slightly blueish gray)
  • it's a LOT thicker of a handle which makes opening the knife a lot harder
  • it's noticeably heavier (68 grams vs 62 grams)
  • engraving is different
  • a few other differences here and there
It doesn't seem to be counterfit, but after a phone call with Benchmade, they suggested that it could be an earlier version of the Valet, and that I should post online to see if anyone could tell.

Photos:

Weird one on the right - chunkier handle (and different color) - you can see how the Axis thumb stud isn't as accessible:
jlYNOKd.jpg


Weird one on the bottom - color difference pretty obvious (blade finish also different, as is engraving):
ufebGUy.jpg


Any thoughts/advice here? Thanks!

john
 
The one on the right looks like a definite fake.
 
Yep, no machining marks on liners, no rough stamping on clip - definitely a fake.
Jokes aside - the biggest concern for me is the pivot screw - torx T6 or T8 (maybe with metric threads), typical for chinese fakes.
 
Thanks guys... pretty crazy. I'll obviously return the knife. Yeah the different size screws gave me pause as well. Too many slight differences to point out in my original post! The funny part is that the fake (?) one actually locks when open better than the real one - zero vertical play in it, compared to the very slight amount of wiggle in the real one. ¯\_(ツ)_/¯

Jimmy, if you work for Benchmade, let me know and I can PM you the seller info from Amazon. This really pisses me off, as I'm a longtime Benchmade supporter.

:thumbsup: john
 
herbs&spices said:
Thanks guys... pretty crazy. I'll obviously return the knife. Yeah the different size screws gave me pause as well. Too many slight differences to point out in my original post! The funny part is that the fake (?) one actually locks when open better than the real one - zero vertical play in it, compared to the very slight amount of wiggle in the real one. ¯\_(ツ)_/¯

Jimmy, if you work for Benchmade, let me know and I can PM you the seller info from Amazon. This really pisses me off, as I'm a longtime Benchmade supporter.

:thumbsup: john
Click to expand...

John, yes I do work for Benchmade. Please PM me. Thanks.
 
carvu said:
Yep, no machining marks on liners, no rough stamping on clip - definitely a fake.
Jokes aside - the biggest concern for me is the pivot screw - torx T6 or T8 (maybe with metric threads), typical for chinese fakes.
Click to expand...

No jokes here, man. The fake looks way better made than the real deal. Fewer gaps, smoother finish work, etc.
 
herbs&spices said:
Jimmy, can you PM me? I legit cannot figure out how to send PM's. It's almost like it's disabled for me.
Click to expand...

I don't think we can send or receive PM's on this forum without a higher level membership. You might have to call in or try BM's forum.
 
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