My friend has a gin 1 model with a thin steel clip with much smaller than the usual screws there are three the handle seems like it may be thinner than the normal to the blade is relatively hard to deploy. To think it might be a knockoff anyway to tell for sure.
sounds lke the real deal tell him to wash it out with hot soapy water then dry it very well then reoil it.
Or send it in to service .<img src="wink.gif" width=15 height=15 align=middle border=0>