Counterfeit, anyone?

This has been an interesting thread to say the least. Some of these even I could tell were fakes, but many others are very hard to tell. I can appreciate all the effort that goes into maintaining this thread, but it would be very helpful if you could please add a line or two on how you know the knives in the pics are fakes. Either way, keep up the good work.

Thank you! Many people have contributed to the information collected in this thread, and I'm glad that you have gotten a lot out of it. I agree that sometimes the subtleties of the forgeries need to be highlighted. At this point, there are way too many entries to go back and make notes on all of them. If anyone has questions about specific models, just ask. There are some serious experts in this subforum (plus the Cold Steel Moderator, of course) who can help.

In the meanwhile, I'll continue to identify knives as counterfeits versus fakes versus clones. When I include counterfeits, I'll try to mention some of the features that identify them as such (though maybe not all of the features, so as not to give the counterfeiters an advantage).

-Steve
 
I am kinda new at this so each example posted on here is a test for me. A great idea to list the problems, but for me it would be nice to have the "answers" at the bottom. Or even better so I get all the information(good idea about not listing all for counterfeiters)answered in a PM. Or how about a finding Waldo type quiz for the knife in question. I am still amazed at them and have learned a lot, although I am sure I will get burned again(I just can't always buy into if its too good to be true....).
 
One of the main caveats to remember is: that if the price seems too good to be true, it is.
 
One of the main caveats to remember is: that if the price seems too good to be true, it is.
Actually that is not true, there are exceptions. Just a couple of examples( There are more too): How about a free 1911 Colt .45 ACP, yes free but I gave him $100.00 cause I felt guilty, it was brand new and in perfect shape but had an intermittent feeding problem that turned out to be an extractor issue that was fixed for $75.00(Didn't ask why he didn't warranty it). I skipped over it at first but said what the hell, you can imagine the OP realizing it was legitimate, I have screenshots of the whole thing(blows my friends away). Last year got a LNIB Magnum Tanto XII San Mai for $100.00 shipped, I could list more but I think you get the idea. Most of the time that is true, but don't let cliques rob you of a good deal.
 
Lest anyone mistakenly believe that counterfeiting Cold Steel is a recent trend, I present this clone from the late 1990s.

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I bought it at a knife show last year for a very low price, mostly to show it here and also to prevent someone from buying it who might think it was a genuine Cold Steel. It's sterile, so at least it doesn't besmirch the Cold Steel name.

The size matches a real Vaquero Grande, but that's where the similarities end. It's flimsy, the blade wobbles when open, and I wouldn't trust it to cut anything tougher than loose threads.

-Steve
 
I realize that these junk brands specialize in this kind of design theft. But it still bothers me that they get away with it.

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-Steve
 
I found these kukris on a Chinese language site. The Gurkha Kukri I have never seen before on Ali or DHGate. To my untrained eye it looks just like the real thing. The steel was listed as 9Cr13MoV or something like that. The second one I am not familiar with. Is it an older model or just a wannabe counterfeit? I was just copying and pasting Chinese from Google Translate into Google searches looking for fixed blades and ran across these. I am not sure whether they are pictures of the real thing or just really good copies. Like I said I haven't seen them being sold on Ali or DHGate but I guess it's good to be aware that they exist. I think there is a limit to the blade length on knives sold in China of 4"/100cm so while there are a few larger blades being sold, you won't find too many on Ali or DHGate.

fake kukri.jpg fake kukri 2.jpg fake kukri 4.jpg fake kukri 2-4.jpg fake kukri 2-3.jpg fake kukri 2-2.jpg fake kukri 2-1.jpg
 
FAKES! Listed steel is wrong, no CS Kukris with a fuller, name on the black blade is not even a CS model name. Your first clue that they are all fakes is "I found these kukris on a Chinese language site." That says it all.
 
Yes, I know they are fake. What about the Gurkha Kukri pictures, what stands out to you?
 
The first 3 pics for the Kukri Plus look good to me...if that one is fake it will fool a lot of people. The others are obvious fakes, due to fullers and/or incorrect markings.
 
Yes, I know they are fake. What about the Gurkha Kukri pictures, what stands out to you?
Almost looks like the fasteners on the Kukri Plus sheath are "white" steel and not black coated as on most such . Otherwise :Looks scary close to the real deal ! :eek:
 
Yes, I know they are fake. What about the Gurkha Kukri pictures, what stands out to you?

DocJD is right. The hardware should be black. Also, the cant is wrong on the obverse logo. Otherwise, it's a believable counterfeit.

Thanks for sharing these. The more photos and information we have about the fakes, the better.

-Steve
 
I just joined this site, but will be posting a picture of my CS Spartan when it arrives to confirm weather it's the real deal or not. It's a shame you roll the dice on these unless you're buying one from a specific source known to have real CS knives.
 
I just joined this site, but will be posting a picture of my CS Spartan when it arrives to confirm weather it's the real deal or not. It's a shame you roll the dice on these unless you're buying one from a specific source known to have real CS knives.
Yeah ! Welcome and yes there are lots of Spartan clones out there .
 
sues everyone but dhgate, alibaba, aliexpress,ebay and amazon. sounds legit. The simple matter is that they should be concentrating their efforts on working with the government to stop the billion of fakes that come into the country from China.

I mean yea, no point suing those places they will claim safe harbor but still..what a waste of money to sue individuals.

Fakes do suck! I cant stand that USA allows China to import whatever it wants.
 
sues everyone but dhgate, alibaba, aliexpress,ebay and amazon. sounds legit. The simple matter is that they should be concentrating their efforts on working with the government to stop the billion of fakes that come into the country from China.

I mean yea, no point suing those places they will claim safe harbor but still..what a waste of money to sue individuals.

Fakes do suck! I cant stand that USA allows China to import whatever it wants.

It seems to me that Cold Steel takes the counterfeit issue very seriously:

https://www.coldsteel.com//counterfeits


As for discussions about lawsuits, I specifically requested in the opening post of this thread that that issue not be rehashed here. This thread is to be informational/educational, supplying knife buyers with the data they need to avoid Cold Steel counterfeits, fakes, and clones.

If you decide to start your own new thread about the topic of lawsuits, I have several questions (based on the assertions you've made here) that you can answer in your opening post:

1) Which individuals has Cold Steel sued?

2) How does an American company go about suing the owners of foreign Web sites? Where are such suits adjudicated, and by whom? Is that kind of a lawsuit economically viable?

3) Did Spyderco's lawsuit against eBay over counterfeits turn out to be beneficial? Why did Spyderco agree to withdraw the suit? Have counterfeit Spyderco knives vanished from eBay since the suit was brought?

https://knifenews.com/ebay-settles-spyderco-counterfeit-lawsuit/


Back on topic.

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-Steve
 
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