Dang it - is my Military fake?

[burns]

Hi Folks,

I recently bought a Military from a 3rd party dealer on Amazon for $129 or so. I'm concerned it might be a (very, very close) fake. The biggest reason is the font and positioning of the "Spyderco CPM S30V" on the blade. It appears to be further to the left than it should be, off of center, and the font looks wrong. Every other one I've seen has the writing closer to centered, see here:

http://i262.photobucket.com/albums/ii10 ... 0015-4.jpg

Also, the lanyard loop just doesn't look right. The metal isn't shiny like on the photos I've seen online, and the G10 is raised up slightly around the lanyard loop, like the loop was jammed in there. You can also see glue residue (very, very small amount) around the lanyard loop.

I will say that it the blade FEELS and looks like S30V, but I'm sure that is possible also.

Let me know what you guys think (see photos). No "Edge-U-Cation" or warranty cards were included.

Thanks,

Burns

[Invective]

The S in" Spyderco" and C in "CPM" definitely look off, as does the jimping. There shouldn't be any glue near the lanyard hole either, those are just pressed in as far as I'm aware. I'd definitely let amazon know and try to get a refund, they're really good about returns.

[burns]

I found a match:

http://www.aliexpress.com/item/Spyderco ... 18485.html

In the third photo, that spacing / font is identical to the one I received.

[xceptnl]

I checked your font against my S30V Military and yours sure does look a lot closer to that of the one in the Aliexpress listing the burns posted. You purchased through Amazon so send it back and let Amazon know the item being sold is a fake.

[burns]

I checked your font against my S30V Military and yours sure does look a lot closer to that of the one in the Aliexpress listing the burns posted. You purchased through Amazon so send it back and let Amazon know the item being sold is a fake.

It is an Amazon third party seller. So, I'm going to try to work it out with the seller. I already requested a return. If he doesn't comply, I'll proceed to reporting him to Amazon and posting his info on this board and many others.

[spike g]

The easiest way to tell is the plunge line and yours appears real. The fake ones have an angled plunge line at the choil

[burns]

The easiest way to tell is the plunge line and yours appears real. The fake ones have an angled plunge line at the choil

Thanks - what is a plunge line?

In the future, I'm buying everything from highly reputable dealers - this is more trouble than it is worth!

[burns]

I really want to know if this is indeed fake. The typing just looks unlike anything I've seen from Spyderco.

Response from seller :

"Hello,

We apologize for any confusion. We do not sell fake products, we get our products from the manufacturer and they are sold in the new, original, un-opened packaging. However, if you would like to return the item, we have included return instructions below:

As long as the item is still new and undamaged, you can send it back to us at:

<SELLER'S NAME HERE>

Please send your item insured and via a trackable method. Once you let us know the tracking number on your return, we will refund your money, less the 10% restocking fee as described in our return policy.

Please also include a copy of your packing slip. On the outside of the package, write the number (8589). That is your RMA number, and we will not be able to process your return without it.

Once an RMA is issued, you have 10 days to return the product to us. RMAs must be valid, unexpired, and issued for the product being returned Please feel free to let us know when this has been dropped off with the tracking number.

Thanks.

[rycen]

Take a picture of the liner lock.

[spike g]

Thanks - what is a plunge line?

In the future, I'm buying everything from highly reputable dealers - this is more trouble than it is worth!

The plunge line is where the grind of the knife stops. Almost parallel with the writing. The part I'm talking about is the little nub that sick out after the end of the word colorado

Second sign..the lettering in thicker...i put a real sprint side by side. And you can see the belly of the blade. The real one has a square Vs. the fake one slants off. Weight on the fake one is obviously heavier.
Fake:


Real.

[burns]

I got another Military before returning the first one so I can do a real comparison. If they are both real, I will keep both or sell one.

Take a look at attached photos, let me know what you think.

1. The presumed fake one, ordered first, is the one with the "thicker" font and the lettering is positioned further to the left of center. Has anyone ever seen this before?
2. The presumed fake Spydie's lanyard loop appears more sloppily installed, with a shiny (perhaps glue residue) ring around the edge.
3. The real Spydie shipped with the lockup being a bit "tight". As in, requires a bit more force to open. This has been the case with prior Spydies of mine. The presumed fake Spydie was actually, honestly, perfect.
4. The presumed real Spydie weighs 124 grams. The presumed fake Spydie weighs 126. Both would be within spec.
5. Font on the presumed real spydie's box label is slightly thicker also, and the bottom right hand corner says "1365" whereas the presumed real spydie says "1394". I have no idea what this means.

This is one of the reasons I do not buy Chinese knives (at least not intentionally).

I suppose the lanyard loop issue could just be a little "whoops" at the factory. The one thing that seems irreconcilable is the difference in lettering and the position of said lettering.

Please let me know what you think.

[haarspalter]

the jimping doesn't right, also check the liner of the lock - it's stonewashed on the fakes... on the real military it kinda angles towards the thumb - which it doesnt on the black one.
take pics of the linerlock, that could give us a clue...

the thing with the lanyard loop can happen if you try to remove the scales or try to change them - thats really hard ..

[The Deacon]

I can tell you that Spyderco box label lettering varies from batch to batch. I can also tell you that, AFAIK, nobody outside of Spyderco staff, knows what those little 4 digit numbers mean, but that there are a limited number of them, and they repeat both within and across models. I can also tell you that, although Spyderco knives are "production" knives, a fair amount of hand work goes into each one, so minor variations in almost all areas of "fit and finish" are not uncommon between specimens of the same knife. So, from where I sit, both knives could very well be genuine Spyderco products.

However, since you're obviously uncertain about the authenticity of the one, if you have not used it and it's still within the seller's return window, then I'd suggest that you send it back, as you never will be completely satisfied that it's real. FWIW, there are quite a few reputable online Spyderco dealers. I would humbly suggest you confine your future purchases to them.

[Freman]

Does the dealer sell a lot of Spyderco knives? Where are they located? Google is your friend.

To be honest they look and weigh about the same (apparently fakes are much heavier (20 grams?)), the G10 looks identical.

For example, LG Outdoors, who sell the Spyderco Military on Amazon, stock a large range of Spyderco knives, and have about 18,000 positive transactions. I seriously doubt that they're engaged in selling copies of anything.

Your best security against fakes is buying from reputable dealers.

[Kylems11]

Whatsup with this aliexpress website. What does it sell fakes?

[IG-88]

Whatsup with this aliexpress website. What does it sell fakes?

Aliexpress ONLY sells fakes! Stay away from there knives they are all rip-offs!

[Freman]

AliExpress is a direct trading website for Chinese made products. Unfortunately some of those products are copies of American made products like knives. You can get some good stuff there, but be aware that if something is badged "Spyderco" it'll be a copy, as is anything marked Strider, or Hinderer.