Received the $18 clone of Benchmade 555, purchased from dhgate.
Took 21 days to arrive… from California (reshipper)
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it feels great, works great, slices paper great, has hollow grind… seller’s ad says the steel is actually 440C… (marked 154CM)
the one I bought on Ebay for $90 (same knife sold without disclosure), reached Benchmade yesterday, and they contacted to inform me they are impounding the knife as a counterfeit, and have mailed me a letter to that effect.
Once I have the letter, I will ask Ebay for a refund, and maybe they will choose to close the sellers account. So far, neither Benchmade nor Ebay has shown any interest in stopping the seller. Maybe after Ebay has to refund me the $90 they will see things differently. They demanded the letter from Benchmade, before they will honor their money back guarantee. will update.
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One way to recognize this Mini Griptilian counterfeit, is by the box, which lacks a label. This difference is definitive.
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the Omega spring on the counterfeit has been improved, to match the original, that feature is no longer a “tell”.
The counterfeit blade is 0.08” thick, the genuine blade is 0.10” thick… this is a definitive way to ID the counterfeit.
The counterfeit handle material is not the same as the original, but if you dont have both, you would not know.
The weight of the counterfeit, with clip, is 70 grams… the original weighs 10 grams more. This is also a definite ID feature.