Etching on Delica zdp-189

[JuPaul]

Hi all, I'm new to the forum. I recently purchased a delica 4 in zdp-189 from Amazon, and the "Seki City" lettering on the blade appeared hand-etched (or poorly stamped). The lettering was uneven and slightly misaligned, some letters appeared a tad crooked. None of my other Delicas has this issue. According to the YouTube vids I watched on fake delicas, everything else on this knife appeared legit. However, I returned it and purchased another one from BladeHQ to be safe. Lo and behold, the new knife has the same issue! So what's the deal? Are all the zdp Delicas like this, or is this a recent production line thing?

In the pic, left to right: my delica hap40 wharncliffe, the delica zdp, and my delica vtoku.

Fyi, I posted this first in the counterfeit subforum, but never received any responses. Hoping folks might see it here...

[Doc Dan]

Looks like the stamps are getting worn.

[Joey]

Haha, yeah those letters look comical, but it’s legit. There are actually a lot of legit Spyderco knives from Seki that look similar, though mine are all uniform.
About 6 months ago or so there was thread on this issue, and I remember a lot of people chiming in saying they didn’t notice before someone pointed it out.

[SG89]

If i remember correctly at some point spyderco changed the way they engraved the seki-made knives... Something about a laser. Sorry I can't be more help. Hopefully someone more knowledgeable chimes in. Your knives in the picture above look legit to me.

[sal]

Hi JuPaul,

Welcome to our forum.

ZDP is a very hard steel and the stamping is probably affected by that. Unless someone chimes in with a counterfeit ZDP Delica, I would guess it's OK. Should stay sharp a long time. Don't let it get really dull before resharpening.

sal

[bearfacedkiller]

There were a lot of reports of wonky etching on the Vtoku run as well. We never got an answer. Maybe something wrong with the engraver? Maybe some seismic activity while they are being engraved? Who knows? I think your knife is probably legit.

[legOFwhat?]

Nice collection and welcome to the forum!

[JuPaul]

Thank you all! I'm excited to join here...mostly to listen and learn!