what knife is this S&W a copy of?

B

blade_guy

Joined
Jan 7, 2006
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I liked the design and utilty of this knife, but since I disposed of all of my cheap S&W knives, I want the real thing.

Can anyone help?

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Nick Hyle said:
It looks more one of last year's Gerbers - the Harsey? to me.
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You could be right also. However, I've read here that Gerber also rips off other designs, so maybe the Harsey is a copy of the CRKT?

Anyway, I've got an excuse to buy the more expensive/better CRKT M-16 now. :D

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Agree it looks like a CRKT M16, which are great knives.

I feel you on the S&W line. I can't believe a great maker of revolvers would resort to inferior knives. The S&W knives are to the better end knives, like HiPoint handguns are to S&W handguns.
 
S&W, the firearms maker, does not have contol of the "S&W" name on knives.

That English group that owned them for too long sold that right.
 
blade_guy said:
You could be right also. However, I've read here that Gerber also rips off other designs, so maybe the Harsey is a copy of the CRKT?
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Don't believe it. Bill Harsey doesn't need to be ripping off anybody's designs. He's had too much success on his own, including collaborations with Chris Reeve!

That S&W is a Gerber Harsey clone. In this case, the Gerber is probably worth buying. If you like the look of the slightly different design of the M-16, go for it, that's definitely worth buying, of course.

All these gun manufacturer names on knives are just branding, picking up a few bucks by contracting our their name to some -- usually otherwise unnoteworthy -- manufacturer.

The S&W knives are a problem. They were a terrible example of selling the name because their products were so poor. Lately, they've been putting out some much better knives -- along with the older, poorer models. How are you to know which are worth the money ??
 
Isn't that S&W and Gerber built alongside each other in the same factory in China? I'm sure either one would be fine.
 
It looks exactly like the harsey air ranger but with the CRKT M16 handle holes... the screws are in the perfect position and the blade looks quite similar.
 
I carried a Gerber Harsey Air Ranger knife at work for about a year. I had no complaints about it. It locked up tight and was very smooth to open. When you open it quickly, it makes a distinctive sound I have never heard from another knife. I have given some away as gifts and I still have a couple of them. They are available in 4 colors and there is a larger version made. The handles are aluminum and have a very fine checkering which is easy to hold on to. At the $20-25 you can catch them on EBAY for, they are a great deal.
 
I've handled that S&W and it instantly made me sad that my friend's parents are still buying terrible pocketknives. This folder was subpar even for a fleamarket pos. The Gerber will out-perform it by FAR.
 
"Do you have any information on that. or are you guessing based on similar looks?"

It's not that they're similar it's the exact same knife in materials, configuration, appearance and size - short of the holes. I'm assuming at the price it's selling for that it was made in China. If so, it's certainly the case that it is indeed, the same knife.
I'm sure someone can confirm for us where the Gerber was manufactured.
 
I have Bill Harsey standing next to me and he would like to respond to this. I will turn my computer over to him since he is having "technical" difficulties getting logged on to respond himself....

Here is Bill:

Thanks guys for pointing out the Smith and Wesson knife and the kind words of support. The Harsey/Gerber has been around for years now and I wouldn't rip off my friend Kit Carson or the guys who run CRKT.
Sometimes as makers/designers we may come up with the same solution for a design problem as someone else but I always work very hard at breaking new ground with the work I do.
If anyone wants to check my identity for this message, log in at Professionalsoldiers.com and I will confirm this is my message.
Thanks again, Bill Harsey
 
Here's Bill one more time:

PiterM,Yes I received the magazine you sent to CRK for me. Great pics but I can't read any of it! Thank you.

You guys can use that for an ID confirmation. Bill Harsey
 
gunnerjohn said:
I have Bill Harsey standing next to me and he would like to respond to this. I will turn my computer over to him since he is having "technical" difficulties getting logged on to respond himself....

Here is Bill:

Thanks guys for pointing out the Smith and Wesson knife and the kind words of support. The Harsey/Gerber has been around for years now and I wouldn't rip off my friend Kit Carson or the guys who run CRKT.
Sometimes as makers/designers we may come up with the same solution for a design problem as someone else but I always work very hard at breaking new ground with the work I do.
If anyone wants to check my identity for this message, log in at Professionalsoldiers.com and I will confirm this is my message.
Thanks again, Bill Harsey
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Hi Bill, thanks for the clarification and reply.

I meant no offense when I said that I had read some older / other posts by other people that Gerber had ripped off other designs. I am a long time knife lover but just getting educated on knives in general.

I've been immersed in bladeforums for the last week, having spend probably over 100 hours reading threads during my off/ quiet time.

The one thing I will say that is striking is that the major knife makers / designers are all very classy people.

I just read a thread about assisted openers, where both Sal Glasser and Ken Onion posted opinions about the ethics of knife making, and why people always look for loopholes in IP to try to take advantage of the inventor's ideas. Bottom line is that I find most, if not all, well known and highly regarded knife makers to be outstanding and highly ethical people.

With that said, Bill, I will have to get a Gerber Harsey in the future. I love the design, and spending money on ethical knifemakers' products will make me feel good.

I feel bad that I threw away some money on S&W taylor cutlery junk. I will never ever throw away money on cheap, copy-cat stuff again.

Thanks to all who educated me on the knives. People like Hair who posted a number of times on my initial questions were of immense help.

My collection of quality stuff continues to grow, much to the chagrin of my wife. :D
 
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