Ebay Fake Black Anodized Police??

Blerv · #1

http://cgi.ebay.com/Spyderco-Police-Bla ... 19b39fd40b

No box or paperwork. Serrations are anodized. I thought all serrations were ground post treatment but maybe that's just the other finishes.

I'm not looking to buy this. Just wanted to throw it up for discussion.

The Deacon · #2

No way to be sure, but I'd be more inclined to think it just an aftermarket coating job. John Jensen had a number of them done when he was a distributor for Spyderco. Believe at least a couple other dealers/distributors, especially those catering to law enforcement, did as well.

FIMS · #3

Anodizing can be done post-fabrication on a stainless steel knife.

supermatch38sa · #4

Isn´t anodizing an exclusive electrolytic coating process of non ferric alloys like aluminum or titanium? :confused:
Thanks.
Best,
Jose

224477 · #5

Not sure how it got black, but to me it looks like a real thing.

Blerv · #6

supermatch38sa wrote:Isn´t anodizing an exclusive electrolytic coating process of non ferric alloys like aluminum or titanium? :confused:
Thanks.
Best,
Jose

From my understanding because of the natural ability of steel to rust and the sulfuric acid dipping, even if you could anodize steel it wouldn't make it more protected from corrosion. You can hot-dip galvanize it with zinc but I don't think it gets that dark.

Perhaps black oxide coating?

Thanks for the feedback. It just looked a bit fishy and non-Spyderco.

The Deacon · #7

Am sure "anodized" is a misnomer on the part of the seller. More likely one of the titanium salt based coatings.

Jay_Ev · #8

supermatch38sa wrote:Isn´t anodizing an exclusive electrolytic coating process of non ferric alloys like aluminum or titanium? :confused:
Thanks.
Best,
Jose

Yes.
:)

Appler · #9

It's titanium carbonitride and it's real. Blak-Ti, they called it at the time

Dagon · #10

HERE you can find pictures of the plain-bladed one. Indeed, real and probably quite rare.

It looks really mean all in black. The knife that Darth Vader would use when his light-saber runs out of batteries.

The Deacon · #11

Just keep in mind that just because Blak-Ti Police exist, that does not prove the knife being auctioned is one. There have also been a number of Spyderco knives, including Police Models, to which black (and gold) coatings were applied after market. Without the box, at the very least, it lacks provenance.

Appler · #12

As I look at that again (after Deacon's point), something that bothers me is the bug on the clip. It's hard for me to remember, but I'm pretty positive that the bug replaced the patent numbers after those were originally discontinued from Spyderco. However, Ted's catalogues say it was ressurected in Ironstone as late as 1996 and the Vieles in that catalogue show the bug on the clip. No lanyard hole on this one as well...it would be nice to know the blade steel of the ebay knife.

Edit: I just looked at Dagon's link above and I'm not sure even that was one of the originals. Back in that time I'm pretty sure they were still G2/GIN-1 (not ATS-55).

DEE2 Millie · #13

Appler wrote:As I look at that again (after Deacon's point), something that bothers me is the bug on the clip. It's hard for me to remember, but I'm pretty positive that the bug replaced the patent numbers after those were originally discontinued from Spyderco. However, Ted's catalogues say it was ressurected in Ironstone as late as 1996 and the Vieles in that catalogue show the bug on the clip. No lanyard hole on this one as well...it would be nice to know the blade steel of the ebay knife.

Edit: I just looked at Dagon's link above and I'm not sure even that was one of the originals. Back in that time I'm pretty sure they were still G2/GIN-1 (not ATS-55).

I asked the seller what his blade steel was & he said ATS-55.

Mine is the earlier model w/o the word Police etched/stamped in the blade & doesn't have a bug on the clip either. It has a G-2 blade & didn't come w/a box. Does that make my C07 a fake? :rolleyes: Not stirring the pot, but just because a knife doesn't have a box doesn't make it a fake. I've bought several valuable Spydies over the yrs w/o boxes.

Is the knife in question a fake? I don't know for sure w/o being able to fondle it but it does look pretty good..... my Black-Ti Police has the same rainbow effect in the coating (like his) & yes, the coating was done after the blade was ground.

If I didn't already own a black-Ti Police model, I'd snap this 1 up in a heartbeat!! It's in great shape & the price is fair for an unsharpened knife.

JMHO

(btw - I've never seen a C07 w/a lanyard hole.....:rolleyes :)

D2 :)

rycen · #14

The question is not if the knife is fake but who did the coating.

Here is a police with a lanyard hole.

The Deacon · #15

rycen wrote:The question is not if the knife is fake but who did the coating.

Exactly, the knife itself is almost certainly genuine. But the coating may, or may not be original. Spydiewiki does note there were black coated Police in both GIN-1 (marked as G-2) and ATS-55, But after-market coated knives are also known to exist. So, without the box, it's impossible to know for sure.

As for the lanyard hole, as has been mentioned, Police Models with them do exist, but are considered fairly uncommon variants, so the absence of one is not a red flag.

DEE2 Millie · #16

The Deacon wrote:Exactly, the knife itself is almost certainly genuine. But the coating may, or may not be original. Spydiewiki does note there were black coated Police in both GIN-1 (marked as G-2) and ATS-55, But after-market coated knives are also known to exist. So, without the box, it's impossible to know for sure.

As for the lanyard hole, as has been mentioned, Police Models with them do exist, but are considered fairly uncommon variants, so the absence of one is not a red flag.

I posted a picture of mine to compare w/ the knife in question as they share the same rainbow effect on the blade. That, along w/ the blade being ATS-55 would lead me to believe that it is a genuine article.

Didn't mean to come across as a know-it-all since I'm new to the forum.... only trying to help shed some light for anyone who might not know.

rycen said: The question is not if the knife is fake but who did the coating.

Sorry about that..... I should've made it clear that I was talking about the coating on my knife being fake because I didn't get a box w/ it. & thanks for posting a picture of the C07's..... I've been a Spydie collector for about 15yrs, own several Police models, & have never seen 1 w/a lanyard hole. It's cool to learn something new about them!

D2 :)

The Deacon · #17

DEE2 Millie wrote:Sorry about that..... I should've made it clear that I was talking about the coating on my knife being fake because I didn't get a box w/ it. & thanks for posting a picture of the C07's..... I've been a Spydie collector for about 15yrs, own several Police models, & have never seen 1 w/a lanyard hole. It's cool to learn something new about them!

D2 :)

As with the one currently on eBay, yours may have been coated by Spyderco, or after-market by a dealer/distributor. "Fake" is the wrong word. Either way, the knife is a Spyderco. Either way, the coating is some version of ti-ni. The only real question is whether it left the factory coated, or not. To a user, it would make no difference, one will work as well as the other. But it does impact the value to a collector. A genuine "Blak Ti" Police is worth more than an after-market coated one and a properly labeled box is really the only satisfactory way of establishing authenticity.

anson argyris · #18

DEE2 Millie wrote:
(btw - I've never seen a C07 w/a lanyard hole.....:rolleyes :)

D2 :)

'In 1994 a lanyard hole was added to the Police Model. ... it was later dropped'
(from: The Spyderco Story by Kenneth T. Delavigne, page 81)

Captmaui · #19

Does anyone know what a Real C07 in Blak Ti is worth?? They seem to be Very hard to find!!