Picked up this Endura 4 FFG from someone second hand but it appears unused, came with box and paper work. Immediately i noticed when i opened it that something wasn't right, the action was VERY gritty and when the blade opened into position you can feel vibration from the spring through the knife.
This led me to look over the knife as suspiciously as i could, as I've never had a Spyderco with so many flaws/inconsistencies and it doesn't appear genuine to me, but I want to know what you guys think.
First of all the blade doesn't seem the same in terms of its finish, all the other VG-10 knives i have ever owned are more polished and take on a slight coppery hue in certain light where as the Endura here is more matt and the grind lines show more.
The blade spine is ground with the curves of a humpbacked whale and not the usual straight spine with dropped tip.
The pocket clip was different too, The Endura's (Center) is more shiny in contrast to the matt finish on the Stretch and Delica either side. Note also that the Spyder is higher up on the clip and that some of the flats are different on the Endura.
The reason its missing a screw is because the first time i took the clip off and screwed it back on the threaded hole for the screw stripped.
The lockback bar is also the worst i've seen, I know that there is some give in these lock backs, (up/down side/side) but even so, none of my lockbacks have ever been this poorly finished.
The gaps along with the seesaw lockback bar make it harder to close the knife because the boye dent is so much lower in the handle.
Lockback bar finish in comparison to Delica and Stretch in the closed position:
Inside the Endura the lockback bar appears to be unfinished unlike my Stretch and all my other FRN lockbacks which have the same polished finish as the blade
Stretch inside, nicely finished and uniform with the rest of the metal parts.
Next is the Contact areas between lockback and blade, as can be seen below. The Endura appears to be unfinished and slightly uneven whereas the Stretch is nicely finished as it should be.
Jimping is also poor on the endura, again not uniform with all the other FRN model's ive owned or seen in the past:
The insert doesn't look consistent with what i've seen in the past, with a large gap where the lanyard hole and pocket clip screws go, I thought that usually there is just one hole drilled out for the lanyard area?
The thickness in the Endura's FRN pattern was different in comparison to my Delica and Stretch too, a bit rudimentary but this kind of shows the thickness difference. (Endura on the Left)
*Also note the large crack inside the spydie hole.
That the fakers are able to make things that, unless you look very carefully and compare, at first one may not be able to tell.