"fake" J.B.F. Champlin knives

Norcaldude

Norcaldude

Joined
Dec 19, 2014
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I happened to see a Champlin knife for sale on the auction site but wasn't impressed with the quality of the pictured knife. Did a little googling and found that it is one of a batch that the J.B.F. Champlin folks had made for them by Queen but the quality was so low they didn't accept the knives. Then with Queen going out of business these knives apparently were purchased by somebody now selling them off, but J.B.F. Champlin wants everybody to know that these are not actual J.B.F. Champlin knives.

Thought it was something that folks here might like to know about.

http://www.jbfchamplin.com/?p=1307
 
I saw that also. This is what happens when a company goes under. Everything, I mean EVERYTHING, was sold off. If not by Queen, then by the bank. If there was a whole run of finished knives sitting around just because they were rejected for being low quality, you better believe they got sold quick.
 
Those knives started showing up on the auction site shortly after Queen closed... over a year ago. Good "heads up", though. I bet a lot of folks don't know about it.
 
Unrelated but relative..

I've wondered about the stepped barlow collaboration with Esnyx. I never seem to see those and they look super nice.


Also in my short 5ish months collecting traditionals I've quicky learned the auction site isn't very reliable. Modern knives I never had a problem but the few traditionals I've purchased on ebay they've come with issues not mentioned in description or in response to inquiry.
 
I actually saw one within a few months of Queen closing on a different knife forum in the for sale section. I located the powers that be and they made the guy take the knife down. A few days later I got an email from the owner of J.B.F. himself and he thanked me for the heads up and explained to me the whole story of the knives and how he had refused to buy them because they were "junk knives" that's literally what he called them and by looking at the photos I think he's correct.:D
 
It's useful to know. But the problem is that because Queen did not destroy the rejected knives-as I think they should have done-after the company's liquidation anything can be sold off. So it is not technically illegal or a deception as such, but with his inside information it is good for collectors to know about.

Sadly, it also reflects the parlous state of QC that Queen was allowing back in 2013. To make up such an abysmal batch of knives for SFO customers is truly astonishing. I'm afraid things stayed too much the same-with exceptions-until the final end.
 
Pogonasong said:
Unrelated but relative..

I've wondered about the stepped barlow collaboration with Esnyx. I never seem to see those and they look super nice.


Also in my short 5ish months collecting traditionals I've quicky learned the auction site isn't very reliable. Modern knives I never had a problem but the few traditionals I've purchased on ebay they've come with issues not mentioned in description or in response to inquiry.
Click to expand...

I think the reason you don't see them is they are buried in collections, only 35 made and their owners don't want to give them up. Mine.

IMG_4819.jpg
 
Will Power said:
It's useful to know. But the problem is that because Queen did not destroy the rejected knives-as I think they should have done-after the company's liquidation anything can be sold off. So it is not technically illegal or a deception as such, but with his inside information it is good for collectors to know about.

Sadly, it also reflects the parlous state of QC that Queen was allowing back in 2013. To make up such an abysmal batch of knives for SFO customers is truly astonishing. I'm afraid things stayed too much the same-with exceptions-until the final end.
Click to expand...

Similar thing happened with Northwoods and Queen with those gunstock jacks they made. Quality was so low Derrick didn't want to sell them so he gave them away to people that spent a certain amount of money on his website.

The Everyday Barlows that Queen made for NW are also pretty terrible compared to other NW. Those two runs are a stain on the NW brand. It's unfortunate they were ever released.
 
To the OP, here is one I bought very cheap out of curiosity.o_O
Opening and closing it is like shifting with broken syncros, or grinding peanut shells!:eek:
The grinds on the blades must have been done by foot on the sidewalk!!:mad:
I will use this knife to pry things, and turn screws and mix paint.:p What freedom!!!:D
Too bad, because the concept was good!!:oops:UGH 1.jpg UGH 2.jpg
 
Yes, I've seen them, yes, they are low quality. Is it a jbf? That's an interesting discussion to have. Is a Northwoods a product of ksf or gec? I'm interested in what people think as to whom does an sfo belong? They certainly were built as a jbf sfo, even if poorly. I'm sure jbf had a contract for queen to make the product for them. I'd say it is a poorly executed sfo for jbf, unfortunate as that is. If it wasn't produced for jbf than copy-write laws would have been executed. I think it's some of all of the above, and we may never know the whole story. My opinion, a poorly executed sfo is still an sfo. What the manufacurer and the trademark holder agree to as a contract delivered product????? This could be interesting, I'm looking forward to your all's thoughts..
 
Norcaldude said:
Similar thing happened with Northwoods and Queen with those gunstock jacks they made. Quality was so low Derrick didn't want to sell them so he gave them away to people that spent a certain amount of money on his website.

The Everyday Barlows that Queen made for NW are also pretty terrible compared to other NW. Those two runs are a stain on the NW brand. It's unfortunate they were ever released.
Click to expand...

True enough, and yet their own Delrin handled economy Barlow with Sheepfoot was simple but well made and finished, likewise the Trestle Pine knives for TSA were really well turned out. Problem was it was a kind of Russian Roulette their QC:eek: you never really knew what to expect:confused:
 
I had one of the Trestle Pine knives, I think from the first batch they had made. It wasn't junk but it also wasn't GEC level quality. The grind was especially bad, pretty much 'done by foot on the sidewalk' bad.
 
I had one I bought cheap as dirt not long after Queen closed its doors. Like Charlie said, pretty rough around the edges.

Damn shame, I was pretty excited when the JBF guys first announced it.

I used to have the full JBF set, but I'm down to the bullet end jack now. One of my biggest knife collecting regrets was letting go of the 92 JBF in stag, not once, but I've bought and sold it twice!!

Still recall anxiously calling Mike on the phone to reserve the 92 stag thinking I had missed out!
 
JustinR said:
I had one I bought cheap as dirt not long after Queen closed its doors. Like Charlie said, pretty rough around the edges.

Damn shame, I was pretty excited when the JBF guys first announced it.

I used to have the full JBF set, but I'm down to the bullet end jack now. One of my biggest knife collecting regrets was letting go of the 92 JBF in stag, not once, but I've bought and sold it twice!!

Still recall anxiously calling Mike on the phone to reserve the 92 stag thinking I had missed out!
Click to expand...

:eek::eek::eek::eek:????

Not only selling it once but TWICE???:confused: That could be a certifiable offence:D A lifetime of guilt & regret.....;):thumbsup:
 
Shame those made it into circulation.
Note to self; If faced with a similar situation, accept them and destroy them. Then you know they won't get out.
These will make an interesting story 50-100 years from now.
 
I've been reading this post and have been debating whether to respond or not but figured what the heck. The Queen fiasco was tough to go through for sure. Derek and I never dreamed they would come out for sale after we rejected them. Thought they would have taken them apart and used the parts. The first time I saw one for sale was on ebay and I sent a message asking where he got the knife from and he told me from Queen themselves. When I questioned them about, I was told they were stolen? Funny thing but another knife site sold some with the Catt handles as seconds but also their club knife. Never got asked if it was ok which really pissed me off!

In hindsight I should have bought the ones with the Catt handles back or asked for the handles back, oh well live and learn.

The knives that GEC made are first class all the way. The Eureka's are beautiful, especially the ones with the Catt handles. Bill contacted me a couple of years after making the Eureka's and said he had parts for 17 knives and did I want him to make them. I of course said yes. 15, 2 bladed ones and 1, single bladed one he had cocobolo to put on them. There was one that he had old Catt handles for which he made also. The 15 2 bladed ones were sold to some of the people that bought the original ones. I kept the single and the double with Catt handles. I had the all etched JBF.

Picture of 16 of them. alljbf.jpg plumbers1.jpg plumbers3.jpg jbfspecials (1024x683).jpg

Here are pictures of 3 knives. The one etched Galvanic was an unnumbered one from the first batch and the others are from the 17 Bill made.

The other picture is of the pattern knife I sent to Queen for them to make the Electric whittlers
 
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