What's The Most Detailed & Precise Counterfeit You've Seen So Far?

Mistwalker

Mistwalker

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I have some anomalous knives that if they are counterfeits they are exceptionally well made counterfeits. So I'm curious what the most precise and detailed counterfeits other people have encountered have been.
 
The Winklers sold on an auction site. Looking at the action pics you can't really tell the difference, right down to the boxes and paperwork that comes with it.....Makes you wonder how many Winklers sold as used knives are real.

Name of vendor removed as we will not promote counterfeits, those who sell them or where to find them. - Staff
 
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Arathol said:
Phony Winklers sold by on an auction site. Looking at the action pics you can't really tell the difference, right down to the boxes and paperwork that comes with it.....Makes you wonder how many Winklers sold as used knives are real.
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I ran across some Microtech fixed blades last year, that the only thing that gave it away to me was the model No was wrong in the logo and the box labels were a little crooked. When I pointed that out, my friend was able to get his money back from the person who sold them to him. He said he reported him to Microtech, I hope so.
 
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I guess I should say here, just in case anyone read the thread before it was removed, the Benchmade Adamas 375 I have has been identified by Benchmade as a fluke accident not a counterfeit. Which with the level of precision and detail in the tool, I was glad to hear that. The counterfeiting is getting ridiculous, and I suspect it will only get worse
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Counterfeits, fakes, hurt the industry, the knife company in question, and defraud both buyers and sellers. therefore it is my opinion that a thread about detailed Counterfeits can turn into a discussion of accidental admiration if we aren't careful.
Again, my opinion
 
ShaiHulud said:
Counterfeits, fakes, hurt the industry, the knife company in question, and defraud both buyers and sellers. therefore it is my opinion that a thread about detailed Counterfeits can turn into a discussion of accidental admiration if we aren't careful.
Again, my opinion
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I 100% agree. I work in marketing with multiple high end companies of whom I love the owners like brothers.

I have zero admiration knockoffs and clones regardless or how well done. For me the whole point is to raise awareness of how precisely detailed the counterfeits are becoming with the increasing affordability of CNC equipment and lasers. So we can maybe curtail their support to at least some extent.

Ten years ago the only thing that immediately gave away that some knives were counterfeits was the molded plastic handles rather than the CNC milled micarta handles the company actually uses. They've gotten a lot better at deception since then.

If I hadn't stopped and took a macro photo of the logo of some MT counterfeits and compared the marking with the same model on the MT website, my friend would have never known he had bought some counterfeits. because we are both aware of MT, and how sought out they are, but neither us are really into that style of knife so we don't know much about them. After seeing the wrong model name in the engraving, a closer inspection of the boxes revealed things that looked off as well.
 
Blues said:
Do not name sellers or where to find counterfeits in this thread.
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Who to watch out for and where they are being sold is kinda important. Without that information the rest is a bit ambiguous. How's anybody supposed to know they are buying a fake if the important details keep getting hidden? Kaela at Winkler has told me that Winkler is having a hard time stopping them as it is, why not try helping by getting this out there so nobody falls for the fakes and buys one ? This has been discussed before on the Winkler thread and elsewhere without issue.....
 
In my opinion I think some companies don't really mind knock offs. For example the uninformed/unknife educated person may buy a fake because it is cheaper than all the others on the auction site. If the knife pleases them and does not hurt them they like it and the brand, then they make some money and buy the real thing. They may or may not ever notice the difference. On the contrary if you get cut from the fake its hard to prove it was the knife that caused the issue. SO why do I think they don't really care? Because they could put hologram stickers on their blades or even those scannable little stamps could be lasered on each blade. My SIG M11-A1 has a similar stamp on the receiver.
 
Arathol said:
Who to watch out for and where they are being sold is kinda important. Without that information the rest is a bit ambiguous. How's anybody supposed to know they are buying a fake if the important details keep getting hidden? Kaela at Winkler has told me that Winkler is having a hard time stopping them as it is, why not try helping by getting this out there so nobody falls for the fakes and buys one ? This has been discussed before on the Winkler thread and elsewhere without issue.....
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I had no intentions of outing any sellers as the ones I've found were in resale shops and flea market stalls run by older men who have no idea of how bad the counterfeiting has gotten. I think most of us know the websites who are notorious for selling the counterfeits and where they are from and how little chance we have of controlling any of that. But having seen where people have bought counterfeits and then swapped them out for real versions at some poor unsuspecting and unaware vendors store or booth at a show etc., I think it's important to know which ones are out there with the most precision cloning so we can learn small details to watch for, no matter where we shop.
 
Buy from authorized dealers. If in doubt, contact the maker(s) to find out who they may be. Too many folks don't care about the legitimacy, and would rather get something that looks like the real thing at a cheap price. Like fake Rolexes and Luis Vuitton luggage.

I agree that it is sad to see people taken by hucksters. And they will always be around as long as there is a profit motive.

You can discuss what to look for in determining a legit knife from a clone, what you can't do is point out where to get them.

If someone asks if their widget is real or one they are thinking of buying is legit, they can share an image and the "experts' can point out the salient features.
 
donnord said:
In my opinion I think some companies don't really mind knock offs. For example the uninformed/unknife educated person may buy a fake because it is cheaper than all the others on the auction site. If the knife pleases them and does not hurt them they like it and the brand, then they make some money and buy the real thing. They may or may not ever notice the difference. On the contrary if you get cut from the fake its hard to prove it was the knife that caused the issue. SO why do I think they don't really care? Because they could put hologram stickers on their blades or even those scannable little stamps could be lasered on each blade. My SIG M11-A1 has a similar stamp on the receiver.
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That's another reason I posted this thread, thinking it may inspired companies to do some sort of detail work the counterfeiters won't bother to put the effort into preventing counterfeiting. Because one friend just texted me and told me the only way he knew a BM he bought was a counterfeit was because it didn't have the right color bushings.
 
Blues said:
Buy from authorized dealers. If in doubt, contact the maker(s) to find out who they may be. Too many folks don't care about the legitimacy, and would rather get something that looks like the real thing at a cheap price. Like fake Rolexes and Luis Vuitton luggage.

I agree that it is sad to see people taken by hucksters. And they will always be around as long as there is a profit motive.

You can discuss what to look for in determining a legit knife from a clone, what you can't do is point out where to get them.

If someone asks if their widget is real or one they are thinking of buying is legit, they can share an image and the "experts' can point out the salient features.
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I get that completely, no intentions of sending them more business, just trying to help hinder their business by raising awareness for some people who may be new to the addiction and haven't been watching this issue get worse and worse the way people like you and I have. A few of my older regulars at my store have just started getting into some companies and all they know is they are high value knives and highly sought after, but no idea how bad the cloning has gotten.
 
I just saw a news story about how the first import ships from China bearing goods with the145% tariffs are arriving to the USA half
empty. I have also heard reports that shipping is nearing a standstill from China. If true thats one way of stopping fakes.
 
Mistwalker said:
I get that completely, no intentions of sending them more business, just trying to help hinder their business by raising awareness for some people who may be new to the addiction and haven't been watching this issue get worse and worse the way people like you and I have. A few of my older regulars at my store have just started getting into some companies and all they know is they are high value knives and highly sought after, but no idea how bad the cloning has gotten.
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(1) Whenever possible, the best options are authorized sellers (2) or buying directly, if the company sells on their website. Be knowledgeable of map pricing and what one knife usually goes for also helps detect a fake if the sale seems 'too good', it might be. If the suspected fake is also mirroring the price of the genuine item, then refer back to points 1 and 2
 
I got suckered into buying a counterfeit Kershaw Leek at a knife show. Box looked legit, knife looked legit, flipped it open and played with it some and I couldn't tell at all. I have owned Leeks before and there was nothing that stood out to me about the knife or packaging. After I got home I realized that the etch on the blade was raised and a little fuzzy. Started researching online and found out it was a counterfeit out of China. I put it back in the box and threw it on top of my bookshelf, wrote "counterfeit" on the box with a sharpy so no one will mistake it for a genuine. I haven't touched it since, just makes me mad to think about it.
 
chevyrulez1 said:
I got suckered into buying a counterfeit Kershaw Leek at a knife show. Box looked legit, knife looked legit, flipped it open and played with it some and I couldn't tell at all. I have owned Leeks before and there was nothing that stood out to me about the knife or packaging. After I got home I realized that the etch on the blade was raised and a little fuzzy. Started researching online and found out it was a counterfeit out of China. I put it back in the box and threw it on top of my bookshelf, wrote "counterfeit" on the box with a sharpy so no one will mistake it for a genuine. I haven't touched it since, just makes me mad to think about it.
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You gave it better treatment than I would have. If I couldn't return it I'd dismantle it and throw it away in pieces
 
Copies, well marked arising in China trade. Buck, Benchmade, Pro-Tech and Kershaw are what one sees often. A Paradigm with everything one will find. Correct box and inserts, all markings correct. Stuff like magic bolsters, Magna-Cut, so on. A Stimulus with only a safety difference. Launch models.

It will be interesting to see how US dealers of autos will stay in business.
 
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