Pakistani knives sold as USA-made customs?

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Accutron
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Pakistani knives sold as USA-made customs?

#1

Post by Accutron »

I'm looking for some help identifying some suspicious-looking knives. There's this guy who has started selling at various gun shows and flea markets in Ohio over the past year, offering a wide range of knives as his own "hand crafted knives made in the USA". I'm 99% sure that most or all of his knives are Pakistani, but I wanted some more opinions before I call him out at the next gun show. The knives could be entirely of Pakistani production, or he might be putting (really bad) custom handles on Pakistani blanks/mules. Here are some pics; I've obscured all of his identifying information for now.

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Some of my own observations...

I'm positive that the railroad spike and the forged karambit are Pakistani. They are exactly identical to Pakistani examples, including the style of railroad spike, number of twists in the handle, surface finish, blade profile, sheath construction, etc. All his sheaths appear to be Pakistani, but he says he doesn't make his own sheaths. I think it's very convenient that Pakistan just happens to have the exact right sheaths for all of his knives. His pricing is very low for USA-made, but completely in line for Pakistani stuff plus a profit margin. His knives seem to vary in quality, as though they were not all made by the same person.
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Xplorer
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Re: Pakistani knives sold as USA-made customs?

#2

Post by Xplorer »

I certainly can't say for sure either way, but those wootz steel looking blades sure look like the cheap Pakistani stuff you can get as blanks (mules) from a lot of on-line sources.

That said, what will you accomplish by calling him out if he does buy those blanks and makes them into complete knives? They are custom. He does make them in USA. The blades might be sourced from outside of USA but, is he saying he forges the blades or that all parts are made in USA or just that he makes the custom knives he sells in the USA? The signs I see in the pictures are just vague enough for him to explain that they are true statements. Misleading to some..but still true enough not to be complete B.S. My impression is that they may be crappy and not worth much, but those are just good reasons not to buy them. I am a little offended by all the American flags on everything...seems to be trying to be misleading...but buyer beware, gun and knife shows always have their share of "snake oil" salesmen. I bet if you ask him he has some cure-all elixir that he'd like to sell too.

Personally, I think this just points out how important it is that custom knife buyers know what they're looking at before they decide to put their money down for it. Every knife show I go to has tons of crappy knives that I would not spend $2 for. My bet is he is not going to generate enough money, and he'll go away soon enough on his own.

Best regards,
Chad
Last edited by Xplorer on Mon Apr 15, 2019 9:17 pm, edited 2 times in total.
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The Deacon
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Re: Pakistani knives sold as USA-made customs?

#3

Post by The Deacon »

I agree with Chad. While there are those in the knife community who feel knives assembled from blade blanks should not be called custom knives, the simple fact is that there's no legal definition of "custom knife". OTOH, there are laws requiring knives made and assembled in other countries to be marked with country of origin.
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Accutron
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Re: Pakistani knives sold as USA-made customs?

#4

Post by Accutron »

He's not just using weasel language to vaguely mislead people. I've talked to him at length in person, and if his knives are anything other than 100% hand-forged or hand-built by him from raw blade stock and handle materials, then his intention is to overtly defraud customers.
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SpyderEdgeForever
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Re: Pakistani knives sold as USA-made customs?

#5

Post by SpyderEdgeForever »

That is a real shame, too, because those bushcraft-style knives without guards look like a pretty good design, if they were made right. I like the thick blade grinds and the multi-color handle slabs but I would not buy that trash steel.

Accutron, the guy reminds me of the flea market seller who sold me, many years ago before I had a better grasp of knife quality, a folding marlin spike knife made in either China or Pakistan, and he told me it was "guaranteed to be the best pocket knife in the world or my money back". I went home and gave it a tap on a pine board and the blade snapped right in half. The flea market was open for another day but I went back and the stall was empty and the seller was gone.

Smoky Mountain Knife Works sells knives with those same basic design patterns made in Pakistan:

Like this:

https://www.smkw.com/smooth-natural-bon ... ni-hatchet
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Re: Pakistani knives sold as USA-made customs?

#6

Post by SpyderScout »

They knives all look horrible and certainly do look akin to the Pakistani ones, we have seen over and over again. Especially the 'crapmascus' ones.
Fodder for the easily impressionable no clue buyers.
Seller blurb sounds like it was taken from the usual scammer playbook. Quite a coincidence in regards to the sheaths.
As for the railroad spike, it doesnt matter where it came from; I doubt any knife made from a spike will work well. Theyll look fancy on the desk, for those interested in that sort of thing.

The infamous scammers from Perkin knives sold Pakistani knives for years (and still do) claiming first UK made by 'the finest craftsmen,' now made 'outside the UK.' Some of them similar. If you see a Perkin, dont bother walking away - RUN!

If their motto isnt, it should be: 'Theres another one born every minute.'
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Re: Pakistani knives sold as USA-made customs?

#7

Post by Crux »

Oh yes, these knives come from all over, but they are not the problem. The problem is the lack of knife education in the general populace. For the novice all knives are the same, sharp, pointy and scary. Buy 1 get 3 free only $9.99 with free shipping and that's the average knife.

Even my wife who knows how I feel about knives abuses them like they are some garden utensil. I used to have my expensive chef knives in the kitchen but soon I realized that they need to be saved after what can only be called agaivated and habitual knife abuse.

Education is our only hope to conquer this scourge of knife abuse.
Can you find it and can it cut? :eek:
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anagarika
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Re: Pakistani knives sold as USA-made customs?

#8

Post by anagarika »

This one received many 5 stars rating.
https://www.amazon.com/Norse-Tradesman- ... th=1&psc=1

:eek:
Chris :spyder:
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Re: Pakistani knives sold as USA-made customs?

#9

Post by Accutron »

Crux wrote:
Tue Apr 16, 2019 9:21 pm
Even my wife who knows how I feel about knives abuses them like they are some garden utensil. I used to have my expensive chef knives in the kitchen but soon I realized that they need to be saved after what can only be called agaivated and habitual knife abuse.
My wife is similar, so I've been reluctant to buy new kitchen knives. I did finally manage to convince her to stop cutting on ceramic plates, stop putting them in the dishwasher etc., then I bought her a halfway decent Wusthof set. I plan on getting her a nice chef's knife if the Wusthof set survives the year.

anagarika wrote:
Thu Apr 18, 2019 3:21 am
This one received many 5 stars rating.
https://www.amazon.com/Norse-Tradesman- ... th=1&psc=1
It actually has better reviews than some of the Condor knives showing up in related items.

I came across this one a while back...

https://www.amazon.com/Custom-Handmade- ... 00ZA0WLT8/

"Disclaimer : We request other Sellers, kindly do not copy our goods. Any un-authorised Seller shall be reported."

Now don't you be copyin' their goods!
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Re: Pakistani knives sold as USA-made customs?

#10

Post by SpyderScout »

Accutron wrote:
Thu Apr 18, 2019 5:59 am


I came across this one a while back...

https://www.amazon.com/Custom-Handmade- ... 00ZA0WLT8/

Ohh, dear .....
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Re: Pakistani knives sold as USA-made customs?

#11

Post by The Meat man »

anagarika wrote:
Thu Apr 18, 2019 3:21 am
This one received many 5 stars rating.
https://www.amazon.com/Norse-Tradesman- ... th=1&psc=1

:eek:


I like how they say it's only "semi-razor sharp". Lol.
- Connor

"What is a man profited, if he shall gain the whole world, and lose his own soul?"
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