fake Native 5 FRN CPM S110V?

A place to list and reference all Spyderco counterfeits, clones, and replicas that are found. Anything that isn't a legitimate Spyderco fits in this area.
edcjournal
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fake Native 5 FRN CPM S110V?

#1

Post by edcjournal »

hi guys,

I am new here and need you help. I got this new Native 5 from off ebay for a very good price (price $60) and the seller claims it's 100%authentic but I am not sure. My doubts are especially screws that look weird and the clip has some strange finish instead of satin one. Is this clone or fake? Any help appreciated
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screws-native-recieved2.jpg
Sjucaveman
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Re: fake Native 5 FRN CPM S110V?

#2

Post by Sjucaveman »

Far too hard to tell by 1 pic

The frn looks in rough shape like its either used or fake though.
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Adam
edcjournal
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Re: fake Native 5 FRN CPM S110V?

#3

Post by edcjournal »

thanks Adam, I attached more pics but went through only this one. what bothers me most is that the screws material looks very cheap and the size is definitely bigger than T6, even bigger than on Pivot screw
Attachments
Webp.net-resizeimage (1).jpg
Webp.net-resizeimage.jpg
screws-native-recieved1.jpg
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embry386
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Re: fake Native 5 FRN CPM S110V?

#4

Post by embry386 »

The FRN doesn't look fake to me. As far as I know, no other company has managed to perfectly duplicate Spyderco's FRN molds, and that handle is exactly like the ones on my Natives. It's hard to tell in your photo, but the clip seems to be fine as well -- I have a Native with a slightly-darker-than-the-blade clip that has a strange non-satin finish too.

It does look as though the two screws towards the butt end of the knife may have been replaced at one point though. Your photos are kind of blurry so it's hard for me to tell, but, are the corners of the FRN texture kind of chewed up around the screwholes, or is that just the way the light is hitting it? It is super weird that those screws are bigger than the pivot screw, none of mine are like that (although I don't own the s110v version).

At the very least, I'd say your knife has had the screws replaced for some weird reason. At worst, maybe one of the previous owners disassembled the knife and swapped a cheap fake blade into the Spyderco FRN.
edcjournal
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Re: fake Native 5 FRN CPM S110V?

#5

Post by edcjournal »

embry386 wrote:
Thu Aug 23, 2018 9:53 am
The FRN doesn't look fake to me. As far as I know, no other company has managed to perfectly duplicate Spyderco's FRN molds, and that handle is exactly like the ones on my Natives. It's hard to tell in your photo, but the clip seems to be fine as well -- I have a Native with a slightly-darker-than-the-blade clip that has a strange non-satin finish too.

It does look as though the two screws towards the butt end of the knife may have been replaced at one point though. Your photos are kind of blurry so it's hard for me to tell, but, are the corners of the FRN texture kind of chewed up around the screwholes, or is that just the way the light is hitting it? It is super weird that those screws are bigger than the pivot screw, none of mine are like that (although I don't own the s110v version).

At the very least, I'd say your knife has had the screws replaced for some weird reason. At worst, maybe one of the previous owners disassembled the knife and swapped a cheap fake blade into the Spyderco FRN.


thanks embry386, I know my cell phone camera is not the best. the FRN texture is kind of chewed up but honestly just a bit. I managed to find out that this knife was purchasedfrom massdrop in May18 with the delivery in June18 (on the box there are letter ER which would correspond to May18) so did Spyderco change few details or is this a factory second or massdrop exclusive?
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embry386
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Re: fake Native 5 FRN CPM S110V?

#6

Post by embry386 »

You can tell if it's a factory second by looking at the spine of the blade -- the factory seconds will have a small notch filed into it to mark the knife as a second. If the notch is there it'll probably be near the jimping but not right on it, just a little more towards the tip from the jimping.

This isn't a massdrop exclusive, that color and bladesteel combo are sold on Spyderco's website. Looks like a standard Native 5 LW S110V.

If it was sold as new, the FRN shouldn't be chewed up at all -- it's still very weird, even if it's only "a bit". My best guess is that the ebay user did something to the knife, either just swapping the screws or swapping out the blade for a cheaper one along with swapping the screws. I guess it could be CQI but that seems unlikely to me, although if anyone has recently purchased a knife of this model and it uses the larger screws then please chime in?

Something else you can try is to look through the "feedback as a seller" history section of the ebay person you bought it from, see if they're selling lots and lots of suspiciously low-priced knives or if this is a one-time deal and they just wanted a quick way to turn a rarely-used knife into some cash.
edcjournal
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Re: fake Native 5 FRN CPM S110V?

#7

Post by edcjournal »

I checked the massdrop discussion and all guys that got Native 5 S110V FRN and posted photos have the screws like this. So apparently this should be a legit Spyderco model the mystery why this kind of screws remains though....thanks for your help
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embry386
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Re: fake Native 5 FRN CPM S110V?

#8

Post by embry386 »

Huh, that makes it even weirder that the FRN is chewed up around the screw edges -- now I'm really wondering what the heck was going on with that. Anyway, glad your knife is legit, hope you're enjoying it :) The Native is one of my favorite models, and my favorite "small knife" that's just super easy to throw in a pocket and go. That S110V steel should hold an edge like mad too.
edcjournal
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Re: fake Native 5 FRN CPM S110V?

#9

Post by edcjournal »

I was blown away when I opened the box and held it for the first time. This knife was made for me and now I am basically selling all other knives because I won't use them anymore :) :) :) It's my first experience with a premium steel so I am looking forward to using and bit afraid to have to sharpen it one day :)
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