What knife did you get today?

Don’t get your hopes up. In a $20 counterfeit stamped S30V, you’ll be lucky to get 8Cr13Mov. There is an equally probable chance of 5Cr15 or even 3Cr13.

And that’s what is messed up with that . You have no idea what your really getting. Even if it is what is stated , the heat treat is so inconsistent . One D2 is great , the next one sucks .

Kizer Sheepdog mini with thumb flipper hole. Very nice little knife.

agree with this “….useless to me other than to look at.”

therefore, for my recent acquisitions, it either works or it does not.
i sold several NIB on Craig’s List since i was never going to use them.

yes, people invest in art to “look at”, so knives might be the same.
rarity and resell value entice others, but not me. not anymore.

Yeah, you’re probably right. At that price, likely not even D2. But as Rdubya18 said:

Yeah, just because they actually might use a metal alloy blend that qualifies as a specific blade steel type doesn’t mean it’s necessarily a quality one. That’s the thing too, about consistency… and that’s what keeps the clone market alive. All it takes is a few people hitting the “lottery” with a reasonably good rendition of the claimed steel, then other buyers think they’ll be getting that too.

Hence… brand importance.
Rdubya, that Finch looks really nice. I’d seen a review on that brand a while back and was impressed.

agree
some of the clone listings show the actual steel:
for example, I ordered one of these Mini Griptilians for $16

that listing discloses
“Blade:440C stainless steel”

the one I bought of ebay for $90, I believe is the same $16 knife… That one got mailed out of state, to my son, before I realized it was a counterfeit.

If Benchmade insists on him sending them the knife for verification, so they can shut down the ebay seller, I will give my son a different knife, probably the genuine 555-1 that I also bought last week…

the top knife…
.
it has a genuine box, and genuine blade thickness… I have learned how to recognize the genuine ones, thanks to my ebay seminar

Yep… it’s unfortunate that we need to do this kind of homework but it’s worth it in the end to avoid getting scammed like that. And you’d think that Benchmade would invest in having an intern scan eBay sellers to report those selling fakes. They know their knives best and can immediately tell the difference in most cases.

update
Benchmade requires that I mail the knife to them for Authentication. I will contact my son, who will be receiving the knife in the mail today…

Benchmade is not making any effort to look at the ebay seller, who has sold 15+ counterfeit knives. Ebay is also taking no action, until I provide a letter of Authentication from Benchmade.

I will probably mail my son the 555-1 w G10 scales, (bottom knife):
.
that I bought after mailing him the 555 w nylon scales… (second from bottom)

basically, hes getting a free upgrade, both in blade steel, and handle material… while I wait for the wheels of justice to grind out the “Ebay Guaranteed” refund for my counterfeit 555.

this will take a few weeks…

Sounds like pain in the a . But hang in there. If more people would stand up for what’s right , a lot of things would be better for all . :+1: :+1: :+1:

Thanks for encouraging me to deal w the counterfeit situation. Today I sent my son the 555-1, along with a prepaid label to ship the Counterfeit 555 to Benchmade.

Benchmade informed me they will not return the knife, if they confirm it is Counterfeit. They will issue me letter of Authentication Failure, that I will then provide to Ebay… who will then supposedly issue me a refund…

in the end all will be swell… lol

This whole situation stinks. Unfortunately, I’ve seen it happen too many times. I’m sorry to hear that rectifying this is so much work. It isn’t always. Hopefully, someone at Benchmade will step up. I haven’t heard a lot of good about their customer service lately but then again, my antennas might be biased. I’m still sour on Benchmade since I found out about their one-sided donations to the politicians that want to ban guns.

This kind of issue is why I try to only buy from trusted sources, whether actual knife stores like White Mountain Knives or known/certified sellers on eBay or AliExpress.

Recent procurement!

I like your style… thanks for the pic
my 945 Mini Osborne has displaced the 533 Mini Bug…

even though I like the form of the 533 better, the 945 cuts better… and reaches farther…

.

Sometimes new is good ! :+1:

Regarding counterfeit knives, the ones you know are counterfeit and branded with a copy of the makers mark, the best option is zero oxygen. Don’t buy them, don’t post links to them. Not saying they’ll go away, but it’ll help the genuine manufacturers like Spyderco and Benchmade if $16 clones weren’t being bought and sent for verification?

On a knife forum I used to visit, branded clones were a strict no. Unbranded copies (usually with design tweaks like the Sanrenmu, Ganzo, Navy knives), probably from the same factories were sort of ok to chat about as they didn’t pretend to be the genuine article.

I’m really liking those Finch knives, I’m off for a Google on those. Flippers are usually a bit menacing, those just look all cuddly.

Bought a Spyderco Military, it’s quite a bit bigger than I remember! The Digicam scales are coming off, the blade is being etched and tumbled, and I’m putting on some dirty micarta scales. I think I can make it look more of a beast than it is.:slight_smile:

This is a knife which I bought years ago but recently seem to have lost . I like it so well , blade profile , clean smooth handles , makes a nice looking dress knife . So it has gotten replaced before it’s too hard to find .

When the Eros came out it had a large and small and I had gotten both . The small one gets carried daily in a leather pocket pouch .

I’ve long wanted a Spyderco Spydiechef, as a surrogate for the now insanely priced discontinued Slysz Bowie… but haven’t had luck on the used market. My aim was to get a Spydiechef at about $160 with minor signs of use. Missed a few at about that price (some even with the blue anodized scales). Brand new it’s $350 from Spyderco, and can be had from some resellers for about $240.

Then I learned about the Kizer Wanderer. It’s very similar in design. Some have called it the “poor man’s Spydiechef.” It was originally priced at about $250, but since dropped down to about $180. But then I found a place having a blowout sale for under $100. Figured it would be worth checking out.

since Tramontina and other Big Knives
have been posted, might as well……

Condor Tool & Knife CTK412-17HCS Parang Machete

apparently, Condor quit making these parangs,
which accounts for its low price on Craig’s List.

this is BUDGET Light (and knife) Forum.

That machete shape is cool lookin . :+1:

The Kizers I’ve seen were all really well made , good knives .

Today I got this Camillus Equal End Jack #23 ( short line ) with Streaked Buffalo Horn Handles . It’s beautiful isn’t it !