Spyderco Forums

Saw these in our local farm and ranch store today.





They appear to be copies of the discontinued G-10 Flight. Are they licenced?

Ariat is not a cheap brand. It's known for it's quality horseback riding gear here in Europe. Pricing does seem Ariat level. Can't believe Ariat would put a 5 dollar illegal copy under their brand on the market. But we will see what Sal or Mike has to say about it.

Steel seems to be 8Cr13MoV Stainless Steel. I like the "engraved silver handle" but my wife found the byrd brand "very ugly" she didn't knew i had a few and shook her head in disgust.

Jim Malone wrote: ↑

Wed Feb 02, 2022 6:06 pm

Ariat is not a cheap brand. It's known for it's quality horseback riding gear here in Europe. Pricing does seem Ariat level. Can't believe Ariat would put a 5 dollar illegal copy under their brand on the market. But we will see what Sal or Mike has to say about it.

They are a well-known brand here as well, which is why I was surprised to see these. My old G-10 Flight suffered a failure of the spring holder a while back, and I would consider replacing it with one of these, *if* they are licenced.

Those don't look like Spyderco serrations.

They aren't copies of Spyderco knives, either. I'm thinking I might just buy one and mail it to Spyderco to see what they say. I know the comet-shaped hole is a registered trademark, but I don't know if these are close enough to be a problem. They look like they are, but I was looking through a layer of glass and a layer of plastic and didn't have a Byrd on me for comparison.

That one looks like a pretty direct copy of a Byrd Flight in G-10 and the opener is definitely straight from a Byrd. Odds are the company has no idea they are putting their name on clones, they probably just found a manufacturer in China who doesn't have the skill to make original designs.

Jim Malone wrote: ↑

Wed Feb 02, 2022 6:06 pm

Ariat is not a cheap brand. It's known for it's quality horseback riding gear here in Europe. Pricing does seem Ariat level. Can't believe Ariat would put a 5 dollar illegal copy under their brand on the market. But we will see what Sal or Mike has to say about it.

Whether you can believe it or not, that's what they've done.

The strange thing is that there is complete silence on this thread from Spyderco. If they copied the knife some strong questions should be asked to their Chinese supliers.

The main problem may be that I'm usually answering authenticity questions rather than raising them.

There is nothing to say that the Ariat name and logo are not also faked.

JRinFL wrote: ↑

Tue Feb 08, 2022 8:40 am

There is nothing to say that the Ariat name and logo are not also faked.

That seems to be the case. Not on the official Ariat website.
I always wonder if these are made in the same factory with original plans and parts or that there are made "brand new". Bummer for the Ariat brand and Spyderco. How to f*** up the customer thrust in two top brands in making one fake knife. I hope they find out who the counterfitters are and get them of the market. I don't know if the Chinese governement acts upon these blantant copies. I hope they do.

Nope, they don't care. They may even sponsor those fakes.

If those where made in the same factory why change so much? Yes they look similar but the details are different. I think it's a clone of the Bryd made elsewhere in China. It's possible Ariat learned they where clones and removed them from their site. Of course Spyderco could help answer some of that.
Image with knives overlayed to show differences. The handles where matched up the best I could. The Ariat's blade is 3 degrees lower than the Byrd.

I seriously doubt they were made by the same maker as the Byrd. For one, it is flat saber grind rather than hollow saber like the Flight. As you note, the blade angle is a bit off, and although I no longer have my G-10 Flight to compare it with, I'm certain this one is much thicker.

Ah ok. Thx for the clarification. It looks like they just photocopy a knife and reverse engineer it.