Real vs Fake Spyderco (lots of pics)

[Colonel26]

Some while back I bought a "Spyderco" Military from a friend (an honest and honorable guy who'd been taken in himself). I loved the knife. It was very well made, tough, good steel, and held up well to hard use. But one day I hung the pocket clip on something and bent it all to pieces. I even stripped one of the screws on the pocket clip.

So I called up Spyderco and ordered a new clip. Lo and behold the screws were too small. So I called up Spyderco and described my knife and the problem and the guy at the Spyderco outlet told me it was probably an older model of the military ad they no longer stocked the exact screw size.

Next I contacted Spyderco warranty and repair and they confirmed that at some point they had changed the design of the clip and the screw sizes and they could probably modify my knife to take the current set up. So off to Spyderco it went along with a $5 check for return shipping and the clip and screws I had purchased.

A few days later I received a phone call from Spyderco. They informed me that although mine was about the best they'd seen, it was still a fake. Now that will ruin your day right there. They gave me two options. 1) they would send my m knife back to me just like I sent it in. 2) they would keep my knife and destroy it, and sell me the real deal at a 45% discount. According to Spyderco it's worth it to them to get the fakes off the street, and to quote the tech that called me, "we want to take care of you guys." I thought that was a nice touch.

Since I couldn't pass up a deal like that, I bought the new Military straight from the factory. Also, when I informed my friend, he did apologize and gave me another one of the knockoffs which my oldest son now carries like it is a rare treasure.

In the next few posts I'll put up some detailed photos of the real and the fake, including the boxes. Hopefully, this will serve as a good resource for anyone buying a Spyderco in the future. Even if you're buying another model, many of these things hold true across models.

[Colonel26]

First, let's compare the boxes.

Notice difference in the red and the stripe that goes up the front of the box.

There is a difference also in the font of the writing between the real and the fake. Both the size and the style. Also there are ver subtle differences in the Spyderco on the box. In the fake the mouth comes to a sharper point and the body is a bit larger and more square.

There's also a difference in the paper work that comes in the box.

[Colonel26]

There is a slight difference in the blade shape. The fake has more belly, and gradually slopes up to a point. The real one has a sharper point and the belly is more shallow. On the fake there is more metal between the top of the thumb hole and the spine of the knife. The transition from tang to blade is cleaner on the real knife and the lettering looks cleaner too. Notice the spider on the real knife looks much more detailed and darker, just like the tang stamping.

Also notice the difference in lanyard holes. You could drive a Mack truck through the hole on the real knife, but the one on the fake is much smaller.

[Colonel26]

This was hard to get a good pic of, but the real Spyderco is quite a bit thinner than the knockoff. Also the knockoff has a rectangular spacer in the back and the real one just has posts to separate the liners. Now granted the knockoff could be based on an older version of the military, I'm not sure of all the design changes over the years. The real Spyderco is also much lighter than the fake. It's much more refined and svelt even for a big ol knife.

The tang is cut different on the real vs the fake where they meet the liner lock.

Also, notice the difference in the jimping on the choil. In the fake is is much larger.

[Colonel26]

There is a big difference in the G10 that the handles are made of. On the fake the pattern is much more open making it feel smoother. On the real Spyderco the pattern is tighter making it noticeable rougher and more grippy. Also, there is a difference in the screws. On the real Spyderco the screws are real torx screws. On the fake they look similar, but are not real torx screws. The size of the screw heads are also different.

On the real Spyderco the stop for the blade looks like a pin with no screw head. On the fake it has a screw head. Also the blade pivot screw has a head on one side on the fake and both sides on the real.

Also, the liner lock jimping is different. Like on the choil the jumping is larger or more open on the fake and smaller on the real.

[KnifeSlinger#81]

These are very good comparisons Wade, thank you for posting. There's a couple things I would like to add for posterity.

I have included two of my genuine militaries below, one a cruwear steel sprint run (gray) and one a 204p steel sprint run (green). They illustrate some of the recent subtle production changes. There are earlier versions of the military that are more different, but I have no examples of those.

The frame screws have gotten larger and the front most screw has been replaced with a pin. The clip is more rounded near the end on the newer ones. The lanyard holes have gotten larger, the smaller hole on the fake is the same size that was on real ones for a long time until relatively recently.

And lastly the newer ones have a pivot screw on each end, as opposed to the old screw on one side cap on the other.

Another thing about the fakes is they are rarely marked with anything other than s30v steel and the texture of the g10 handle is more smooth than the real deal.

[Colonel26]

You're right in the texture. I tried to capture that in the photo and describe it, but it's hard to get in a photo.

Thank you for sharing about the lanyard hole. When I bought the fake I looked at a lot of photos on line trying to check it out and it looked real. It was a good fake.

[KnifeSlinger#81]

Spyderco fakes are too good, it's a very bad thing.

[Colonel26]

Spyderco fakes are too good, it's a very bad thing.

I agree. This fake I have is a good knife. If whoever is making them would just go into business as their own brand they would do well.

[ken98k]

It sucks getting stung. (Rooskied) I bought 6 of them.
The seller had them listed at $60 apiece and when I talked him down to $45 each for 6, I thought I had gotten the deal of a lifetime.

[KnifeSlinger#81]

At the tulsa arms show I saw a spyderco paramilitary 2 fake that was $240. You can get a real one for about half of that

Because of how good the fakes are I would recommend only buying spyderco's from an authorized dealer.

[Old Hunter]

Good, educational post Wade. The biggest issue I see, that even being informed, you would need both side by side to tell the difference unless somehow you can keep all the tiny details in mind. Buck is having the same problem with some of their knives. Afraid to buy anymore except from reputable dealers - sure should cut down on the ebay sales. OH

[KnifeSlinger#81]

Buck is having the same problem with some of their knives. Afraid to buy anymore except from reputable dealers - sure should cut down on the ebay sales. OH

I had no idea about that, glad you said something. Do you know what models they are faking?

[Colonel26]

I didn't know that about Buck. Thanks for sharing.

As to Spyderco, I know there are many differences, and you have to take into account model design changes over the years too. But I think there are some things across the board that are important to familiarize yourself with that could probably help a person avoid most of the fakes.

1) What real Spyderco G10 feels like. I've herd from more than one place that this is one area that the fakes just can't duplicate at this point.

2) The jimping on liner locks and choils. Again this is something that the fakes just don't seem to be getting right.

3) The color, graphics, and font on the boxes.

4) The shape of the spider on the box, the blade, and the clip.

5) The color of the stamping.

6) The size of the thumb hole and the amount of material between the top of the hole and the spine.

[treefarmer]

Wade, that's quite a detailed comparison, even hard to see when it is pointed out. That's all very interesting! Does anyone have any idea who is building these Spyderco fakes? If they are such a good copy, it seems there should be some kind of paper trail or such unless everyone that is involved is part of the scam, that is every one but the consumer.
Treefarmer

[Old Hunter]

Buck Knives has been fighting the counterfeit knives issue for several years, in fact their VP, Joe Houser, has as his main emphasis fighting this problem. There is a sticky thread dedicated to fake Bucks on the Buck sponsored sub-forum at Blade Forum's - lots of pictures and discussion on the models affected with the intention of assisting collectors in being aware of fake Bucks. OH

http://www.bladeforums.com/threads/knoc ... m.1062142/