Fake manbug? What the heck

[lonerider1013]

So i went to a store I know sells reputable spydercos. They were closed for half the week. Rather than waste the hours drive I went to my second option a sporting good store that was nearby. I had seen they sold some spydercos and other knives but never looked at them. They had one that looked like the rhino as well as a tenacious and manbug (pretty small selection). I had been looking for an atlantic salt but saw the rhino and manbug and on impulse asked to see em.
The rhino felt was bogus, and not called a rhino on the box but rather "battlestation"?. The manbug looked legit but I was skeptical.
I politely said thanks anyway and left, feeling completely screwed. I had wasted my entire morning because one store's advertised hours were incorrect and the other appeared -- unless I'm mistaken -- to be selling bogus knives.
Now I am curious though. Was the manbug bogus? The quality of all these knives seemed crude, but I've read there was no counterfeits of the manbug. However the blade marking said "seki japan" not "seki-city japan" like all the other spydercos. Could it be that this one was real and the other fake? Or what?
I'd like to know as I don't want to go back there if they are fake, but I also don't want to accuse anyone obviously.

Lonerider

[BornIn1500]

Are you sure it was a Rhino? There actually is a Spyderco Battlestation and it looks similar to the Rhino. BladeHQ claims to still have some Battlestations in stock.

[The Deacon]

Only Spyderco could tell you with 100% certainty whether a given knife was a genuine Spyderco or not. That said, I'd bet money the Manbug was real, given that my early production one has the same SEKI - JAPAN marking...

[lonerider1013]

Thank you! Looks like this was a big Ooops! Dammit maybe I should have gotten the little one then. But the Battlestation (I didn't know that was a real model, sorry) did feel rather crude in terms of fit and finish not what you'd expect in a high end knife (I looked it up it's about $200).
Funny thing I never even thought of the idea of someone faking a knife before (although I used to be into vintage watches so yeh I've seen fakes per se). But I own over five Spydercos, most Seki city, a few made in america and one Tiawanese one and this Battlestation just felt wrong.
Maybe I shoulda got the manbug but after seeing the Battlestations fit and finish I was skeptical.
I should stick to the place I know and trust but for some reason they were closed!

[Barty]

So i went to a store I know sells reputable spydercos. They were closed for half the week. Rather than waste the hours drive I went to my second option a sporting good store that was nearby. I had seen they sold some spydercos and other knives but never looked at them. They had one that looked like the rhino as well as a tenacious and manbug (pretty small selection). I had been looking for an atlantic salt but saw the rhino and manbug and on impulse asked to see em.
The rhino felt was bogus, and not called a rhino on the box but rather "battlestation"?. The manbug looked legit but I was skeptical.
I politely said thanks anyway and left, feeling completely screwed. I had wasted my entire morning because one store's advertised hours were incorrect and the other appeared -- unless I'm mistaken -- to be selling bogus knives.
Now I am curious though. Was the manbug bogus? The quality of all these knives seemed crude, but I've read there was no counterfeits of the manbug. However the blade marking said "seki japan" not "seki-city japan" like all the other spydercos. Could it be that this one was real and the other fake? Or what?
I'd like to know as I don't want to go back there if they are fake, but I also don't want to accuse anyone obviously.

Lonerider

I have Manbug Spring Run model with HAP40 and Ladybug H-1 SE both have "SEKI-JAPAN" on the blades. And I've never heard about counterfeits of MB or LB.

[lonerider1013]

Thanks!