How Can I Tell If My Spyderco Is Fake??

[JaseRicco]

I tend to think this may be a much smaller issue than it appears here. I wonder what the percentage of fake Spydercos are, and it seems to me that following a couple of guidelines will pretty much eliminate the chance of getting a fake.

If it is too good to be true, it isn’t.

Buy from established retailers with a record of honest sales. I’ve purchased Spydercos from good dealers on eBay, from established knife retailers and from Amazon. No fakes received.

I’d say if one is very concerned with getting a fake, stick to those kinds of sellers.

As my OP stated, these are the things I did to mitigate receiving a fake...

- I purchased both knives from Amazon, and made sure that the knives were both Sold by and Shipped by Amazon. This eliminates receiving a knife from a vendor that I don’t know much about.
- The head of the Spyderco logos on both the box and knife are rounded instead of squared off.
- The mini triangle in the Spyderco logo head is inside not outside, with a little point petrduing from the top
- All the stamped information seems to match picutres I have seen from reputable dealers including Spyderco’s website.
- Torx screws are flush with knife scales
- - I also checked the price of the knives I purchased on Amazon against known reputable dealers to be sure that the price I was paying was right in line with what it should be, and not a “too good to be true” price.

Some of the above is common sense, and the others things I looked for were learned from forums and reviews.

The only reason I became concerned was because some reviews on Amazon stated that they received fake Spyderco’s. So that peaked my interest, and I wondered how they knew they were fakes. So when I took to YouTube, there was a video titled “Wow, Spyderco Knife Knockoffs Are Getting REALLY Convincing”. As I watched the video, I had to agree. The knife in the video was extremely convincing. So thats when I took to the one place I figured I would get a knowledgeable answer...the Spyderco Forum. But again, the only real advice I have gotten is to stay away from places like Amazon when purchasing Spyderco Knives. Which is sound advice.

:) :) :spyder: :spyder:

[TriggerThumb]

FWIW, if you're so set on finding "what differentiates a fake Spyderco from a real one" there's literally hundreds of videos on YouTube that go through different models (most you can find anywhere) and put them against their clones,

comparing and going through every little detail to spot a fake.
your search there should give you a very precise, thorough and easy to check visual guide :spyder:

The only problem, in theory at least, is the people that make the fakes could watch those videos and make better fakes. Or so I have read on this forum... Personally I'm not sure how much effort they would really put into making copies, but why not play it safe anyway. But I guess if you really must save (5 dollars?) and gamble on a fake, it's good to know what to look for.

[Bloke]

I've never handled a fake so I certainly don't speak from experience but I'd be inclined to think anyone familiar with Spyderco knifes would pick a fake after handling it for a couple of minutes. :)

[anagarika]

I may be wrong, but faking good FRN is more difficult than G10. The Seki VG10 series (except for Stretch 2) has the teeth missing from around the center logo on the fake. Since Sal mentioned that making the mold is costly, only after the fake makers recoup enough $, they will re-mold the FRN to be sharper and with complete teeth. Will they? I think they will and it’s going to be more difficult to tell them apart.

Unfortunately the Stretch 2 (genuine) has no teeth around the flat logo area either, making it easier for the fakers to do. However, fakers usually also only makes popular models (Endura, Delica, Dragonfly), and I have not found any fake Stretch.

To illustrate ease of manufacturing convincing G10 fakes: Cold steel has similar issue. https://www.bladeforums.com/threads/cou ... 763/page-5 , post#90
Fake molded part is less sharp & more rounded but the fake G10 is very close IMO.

[JaseRicco]

Maybe just easier if I post some pictures of the knives...here’s the Efficient box and knife...look real?

Not really sure why they keep posting sideways like that. I tried to adjust.

[JaseRicco]

Here’s the Persistence...

[Sharp Guy]

Given their low price I wouldn't think the Efficient and Persistence would be likely candidates to be counterfeited. I've never seen any reports of counterfeits of either model, especially the Efficient since it's so new.

How is the overall quality of the knives? Is the action smooth? Any blade play? Is the fit and finish what you'd expect? I ask because a few years ago a friend sent me a fake PM2. He didn't know any better and thought he got an incredible deal. So he bought two and sent one to me. To my (then) untrained eye it looked identical to the real thing based on pics he sent me. After I received it I knew right away it wasn't real. It just felt off. The G10 didn't feel right and the action was horrible. A little research confirmed what I already knew. It was counterfeit without a doubt. Once I got my hands on a real PM2 I couldn't believe the difference. I now own 3 PM2s and 2 Para 3s along with a bunch of other models. The quality of real Spyderco knives continues to impress me.

I would go with your gut feeling on your Efficient and Persistence. If they feel like high quality knives then I would trust they're real. Use and enjoy them. I had a Persistence (bought from Amazon) and I thought it was excellent regardless of price. I was still new to Spyderco knives but I had no reason to question whether or not it was real. My son now has that knife along with Delica and PM2 I've given him.

Enjoy your new knives!

[anagarika]

There was a fake black Tenacious in the wild. So it’s possible. Even Sanrenmu is being copied

[JaseRicco]

Given their low price I wouldn't think the Efficient and Persistence would be likely candidates to be counterfeited. I've never seen any reports of counterfeits of either model, especially the Efficient since it's so new.

How is the overall quality of the knives? Is the action smooth? Any blade play? Is the fit and finish what you'd expect?

I would go with your gut feeling on your Efficient and Persistence. If they feel like high quality knives then I would trust they're real. Use and enjoy them. I had a Persistence (bought from Amazon) and I thought it was excellent regardless of price. I was still new to Spyderco knives but I had no reason to question whether or not it was real. My son now has that knife along with Delica and PM2 I've given him.

Enjoy your new knives!

I wouldn’t have thought that lower priced knives would be worth counterfeiting, but if you think about it, it completely makes sense.

Because these are my first Spyderco’s I really have nothing to compare them to. But if they are knock-offs, they are certainly high quality ones. I have fully disassembled both knives and everything looks as it should, IMO of course. Action on the Efficient is extremly smooth, I mean it just feels great to open and close. Action on the persistence isn’t as smooth, and it’s a bit stiff, but still smooth enough to flick it open with my thumb and middle finger so quickly that it feels like an assisted opening. So no real complaints there. G-10 feels and looks nice and of high quality. The knives did not come with any blade play at all, but blade play is relative depending on the adjustment done to make the knife action looser and smoother. Knife center on both knives is d%&n near spot on.

So my gut feeling...they are real Spyderco’s.

[Hal Ling]

I want to answer OP's original question about ways to detect a fake/clone with a question of my own that I am hoping someone with a bit more experience with these types of things can definitively answer: Would you not be able to tell a fake from a legitimate knife through weight -at least on some models?

It seems to me that with the stringent manufacturing and production QC processes that companies like Spyderco use, any variations in the materials used to produce a clone might show up as a disparity in weight when compared to the real deal. I was thinking of how this would particularly apply to handle materials where there can be lots of parts whose material that could be easily substituted for a cheaper lookalike (i.e. a titanium back spacer being replaced with steel or plastic). "In the hand" maybe the weight difference would be negligible, but when weighed using a more granular unit of measure like for example, milligrams, a sizable difference may show up.

I thought that it might be worth asking the question since I have never tried this myself. In seems sound in theory (as long as the fake is NOT made out of the same material). Has anyone noticed this to be a consideration when trying to determine whether a knife was real or fake?

[JaseRicco]

I want to answer OP's original question about ways to detect a fake/clone with a question of my own that I am hoping someone with a bit more experience with these types of things can definitively answer: Would you not be able to tell a fake from a legitimate knife through weight -at least on some models?

It seems to me that with the stringent manufacturing and production QC processes that companies like Spyderco use, any variations in the materials used to produce a clone might show up as a disparity in weight when compared to the real deal. I was thinking of how this would particularly apply to handle materials where there can be lots of parts whose material that could be easily substituted for a cheaper lookalike (i.e. a titanium back spacer being replaced with steel or plastic). "In the hand" maybe the weight difference would be negligible, but when weighed using a more granular unit of measure like for example, milligrams, a sizable difference may show up.

I thought that it might be worth asking the question since I have never tried this myself. In seems sound in theory (as long as the fake is NOT made out of the same material). Has anyone noticed this to be a consideration when trying to determine whether a knife was real or fake?

It would be great if weight could be used to determine whether or not a Spyderco is counterfeit, however, counterfeits have become so convincing right down to something as particular as weight. There is a video on YouTube where the poster compares a counterfeit Endura to an authentic Endura, and both weighed exactly the same. And this was posted a few years ago, since then Spyderco counterfeits have become even more convincing then they already were. Differences in boxes, paperwork, and even the most minute knife details like liner milling and weights are all spot on.

This was the reason for my original post. There must be ways that Spydero themselves tell the difference between counterfeit and authentic, because I have heard of knives sent in for warranty work being returned due to authenticity problems. So I was hoping to receive some helpful hints.

[Hal Ling]

I want to answer OP's original question about ways to detect a fake/clone with a question of my own that I am hoping someone with a bit more experience with these types of things can definitively answer: Would you not be able to tell a fake from a legitimate knife through weight -at least on some models?

It seems to me that with the stringent manufacturing and production QC processes that companies like Spyderco use, any variations in the materials used to produce a clone might show up as a disparity in weight when compared to the real deal. I was thinking of how this would particularly apply to handle materials where there can be lots of parts whose material that could be easily substituted for a cheaper lookalike (i.e. a titanium back spacer being replaced with steel or plastic). "In the hand" maybe the weight difference would be negligible, but when weighed using a more granular unit of measure like for example, milligrams, a sizable difference may show up.

I thought that it might be worth asking the question since I have never tried this myself. In seems sound in theory (as long as the fake is NOT made out of the same material). Has anyone noticed this to be a consideration when trying to determine whether a knife was real or fake?

It would be great if weight could be used to determine whether or not a Spyderco is counterfeit, however, counterfeits have become so convincing right down to something as particular as weight. There is a video on YouTube where the poster compares a counterfeit Endura to an authentic Endura, and both weighed exactly the same. And this was posted a few years ago, since then Spyderco counterfeits have become even more convincing then they already were. Differences in boxes, paperwork, and even the most minute knife details like liner milling and weights are all spot on.

This was the reason for my original post. There must be ways that Spydero themselves tell the difference between counterfeit and authentic, because I have heard of knives sent in for warranty work being returned due to authenticity problems. So I was hoping to receive some helpful hints.

Good to know. Thanks for replying. In regards to anti-counterfeiting, probably the best process, in my humble opinion, would be for Syderco to microprint or micropattern some occluded area of certain parts on each model in a spot only they would know where to look (and what to look for) the same way your vehicle vin is hidden in multiple areas of your car. Then theoretically, they and only they would be able to verfiy a fake from an authentic. Technology is providing broader and more creative options every day -all at a cost, of course.

[ThePeacent]

I'm not sure weight would be agood measurement to rely on, especially not in milligrams, centigrams or decigrams.
I've had many Cold Steel, KaBar and other brands' folders come up at a 5% variation in weight from the specs given by the company,

and even among Spydies, my 6 Pacific Salts all have different weights;



all have the same clip, washers, and hardware





83.7g, 82.6g, 82.1g, 83.5g, 83.6g, 83.0g





that makes a 1.6 gram difference between the two extremes, which is 1600 milligrams

I don't know about the fakes, but they ought to weight very close to the real knife's weight if they try to pass off as the real deal
CNC gives very precise thickness, length and girth values for a knife if reverse-engineered or laser scanned

[JaseRicco]

I'm not sure weight would be agood measurement to rely on, especially not in milligrams, centigrams or decigrams.
I've had many Cold Steel, KaBar and other brands' folders come up at a 5% variation in weight from the specs given by the company,

and even among Spydies, my 6 Pacific Salts all have different weights;

all have the same clip, washers, and hardware

83.7g, 82.6g, 82.1g, 83.5g, 83.6g, 83.0g

that makes a 1.6 gram difference between the two extremes, which is 1600 milligrams

I don't know about the fakes, but they ought to weight very close to the real knife's weight if they try to pass off as the real deal
CNC gives very precise thickness, length and girth values for a knife if reverse-engineered or laser scanned

Agreed

[dreadpirate]

Given their low price I wouldn't think the Efficient and Persistence would be likely candidates to be counterfeited. I've never seen any reports of counterfeits of either model, especially the Efficient since it's so new.

This is my thought as well. The knives that are faked the most are something like the Military and Paramilitary 2; something more expensive.

[JaseRicco]

Given their low price I wouldn't think the Efficient and Persistence would be likely candidates to be counterfeited. I've never seen any reports of counterfeits of either model, especially the Efficient since it's so new.

This is my thought as well. The knives that are faked the most are something like the Military and Paramilitary 2; something more expensive.

You would think this is the case, but the Value Folders are quite often counterfeited.

[Daven82]

I called Spyderco and asked for and received a catalog. The knives in the catalog are detailed and actual size so i can actually place my knife on the picture and like a jigsaw puzzle it fits perfectly. All the specs are there so you can measure the suspected fake and I’m sure a fake will not be exactly the percise weight so that should help you determine real or fake.