Could this Delica 4 be a fake? (apparently not)

[Matus]

I ordered a SE Delica in k390 a few days ago directly from German Amazon (Amazon is the seller). And I received a different one (photos below) in the box - and I was not able to locate such a particular model in the Spyderco lineup or online.

As the knife appears indeed new and unused - I am wondering, whether it was made by mistake, whether it is a Frankenstein Delica that someone put together by hand, or whether it might even be a fake. It would be easy to imagine a situation where someone orders the k390 model, swaps the knife and the returns it for a refund (something very easy to do in DE / EU).

The color of the handle is very dark green, but the color is weak, not saturated. Since to get a good color matching, I also did a photo with my black FRN Urban for a relative comparison.

What do you guys think?

[Wartstein]

I find it very suspicious that "Amazo is the [actual] seller" as you say for a K390 Delica (I know that you ended up not getting that variant anyway)..

I think Spyderco stopped quite some time ago having Amazon as a direct seller, and the K390 Delicas came on the market a lot more recently.

So while I could see that Amazon by themselves perhaps still sells "old" VG10 Delicas they have left in stock, but not the rather new K390

[Matus]

I just checked - German Amazon offers (directly from Amazon) most if not all k390 Spyderco models, though mostly at higher prices then elsewhere.

[Doc Dan]

That is not a K390, not the steel, nor the color. Send it back post-haste.

[ekastanis]

Any chance that it's a C11SFG?

[Matus]

That is not a K390, not the steel, nor the color. Send it back post-haste.

That's the plan, replacement was already requested at Amazon and is on the way

[Matus]

Any chance that it's a C11SFG?

I think you nailed it! This particular model is not in the Spyderco database, so I did not find it. But this must be it. But how on earth did an unused model that was made 2007 - 2009 end up in a k390 Box? Must be a collector's item today, lol!.

[apollo]

Any chance that it's a C11SFG?

I think you nailed it! This particular model is not in the Spyderco database, so I did not find it. But this must be it. But how on earth did an unused model that was made 2007 - 2009 end up in a k390 Box? Must be a collector's item today, lol!.

Isn’t this happening all the time when people order from Amazon?
You normally get a fake that somebody switched with the original but in this case it seems someone just wanted to switch an older version for a newer version for free?

[steelcity16]

Looks like a legit older Delica, just not a K390. Someone probably ordered a K390 and did a return putting the older Delica in the box. Pretty common scam on Amazon. Don't get any ideas people!

[Matus]

Yeah, I am thinking the same here. But is this particular model so 'worthless' that one would gain noticeably from doing such a little scam?

[Albertaboyscott]

Exactly why I deleted my Amazon account. Garbage

[Matus]

But again - isn't this particular model rather rare today?

[Skywalker]

Yeah, I am thinking the same here. But is this particular model so 'worthless' that one would gain noticeably from doing such a little scam?

But again - isn't this particular model rather rare today?

Possibly rare but not necessarily valuable. Plenty of other full SE saber grind Delicas out there even if they are black instead of dark green.

[Matus]

Yeah, there is little reason to look for a 'rare' model from 2009 when one can have exactly the same design just in a different FRN color.

[GonzoRider]

I buy a lot of things on Amazon. Knives aren't one of them. There was one time they had a Cold Steel Recon 1 for an excellent price. I rolled the dice and got lucky but I wouldn't recommend it. It does look legit though. I kinda wish you could still buy that color FRN. Reminds me of the British racing green on the ZDP-189's.

[RadioactiveSpyder]

It’s a FrankenDelica. Those are indeed the dark green (British racing green or BRG) scales off the ZDP-189 Delica from back in the day (not even the original color of those knives either, they originally used a beautiful light blue that really needs to come back). The VG-10 blade originally came in black FRN scales. So presumably there’s a corresponding black-handled ZDP-189 counterpart floating around in the universe.

[jabba359]

It’s a FrankenDelica. Those are indeed the dark green (British racing green or BRG) scales off the ZDP-189 Delica from back in the day (not even the original color of those knives either, they originally used a beautiful light blue that really needs to come back). The VG-10 blade originally came in black FRN scales. So presumably there’s a corresponding black-handled ZDP-189 counterpart floating around in the universe.

Agreed. This is British Racing Green and would have originally had a ZDP-189 blade. The C11SFG mentioned earlier would have been foliage green, a lighter, less richly saturated green color.

[Wartstein]

It’s a FrankenDelica. Those are indeed the dark green (British racing green or BRG) scales off the ZDP-189 Delica from back in the day (not even the original color of those knives either, they originally used a beautiful light blue that really needs to come back). The VG-10 blade originally came in black FRN scales. So presumably there’s a corresponding black-handled ZDP-189 counterpart floating around in the universe.

I actually once got a Stretch 1 in that exact "configuration" on the secondary market:
VG10 blade, but brg scales... clearly also "frankensteined"

[Wartstein]

I just checked - German Amazon offers (directly from Amazon) most if not all k390 Spyderco models, though mostly at higher prices then elsewhere.

Thanks for checking!

I am actually a bit confused: I thought Amazon has not been a Spyderco dealer any more for quite some time now (Amazon "direct", not vendors there).
So why and how do and can they sell rather recent Spyderco models?

[horzuff]

Though I wouldn't discount this being a fake - the "VG10" + ~BRG FRN combo was popular among the copies on chinese marketplaces, though luckily they disappeared from the typical AliEx, dhgate and banggood stores, so hopefully they are not produced anymore