can we talk akc knives, please.

[Tom19176]

Just wondering if you looked at the link I sent above for the 10" model Perryknife works sells? This is a group of the new (non auto) AGA swing guards.

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[Tom19176]

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[snakebit]

Just wondering if you looked at the link I sent above for the 10" model Perryknife works sells?

yes, i did. it certainly looks like the knife. but...they all look alike to me. i bookmarked the site to dig into it later. right now, to me, it's buyer beware cause it seems every "reputable" on-line vendor is out to screw the buyer by not revealing everything. implication is everything. i certainly got buffed paying 99 bucks for a knife i could have gotten for $29.

i saw those cheaper knives...some of them anyway...and figured a higher price meant quality. guess not.

i never mentioned i wanted to get back into collecting knives, but i'm changing my focus. i use to collect pocket folders and focused on spyderco. now i've got an interest in italian automatic button and lever openers. this buy was my first step into that. then i had questions, then i found this site while trying to get answers. in the last week all i've learned is even reputable dealers want to take you for a walk into your dark hole. some want to go deeper than others.

if any of you are paying attention you've noticed i'm very confused. i've flip flopped on sending my knife back more than a few times since i started this thread.

[snakebit]

i just ran down the specs on both my knife and the one from tom's link. there are some subtle differences. my knife is heavier and my blade is thicker for example. the glaring difference is "country of origin". mine says italy and the other one says china. i'd love to get them side by side in person just to compare build quality.

[JPD1998]

I went through this same process a few months back after getting ripped off by a “reputable dealer “ and being in denial.
And I went as far as ordering a known fake from Dhgate to compare.
Bottom line ,Bill is correct, regardless of what it’s marked, they’re made in China and can be bought for $30.

[snakebit]

I went through this same process a few months back after getting ripped off by a “reputable dealer “ and being in denial.
And I went as far as ordering a known fake from Dhgate to compare.
Bottom line ,Bill is correct, regardless of what it’s marked, they’re made in China and can be bought for $30.

so every damn stiletto knife advertised as made in italy is really made in china? this is worse than buying a car.

[JPD1998]

No ,just most of the current swing guards and swivel bolsters, marked “AKC”
Someone from 3Knives told me that AKC hasn’t produced an Italian made , AKC marked swing guard in years.
I bought a Frank B Swing guard a few months back and it’s made in Italy.

[snakebit]

my god, i can't help but think you guys are messing with the new guy but there's got to be an italian stiletto knife authority who has definitive answers somewhere on planet earth. my job is to find them.

on the agenda first today is to call the fine folks who sold me this really neat knife (yes, i mean it...it's cool) and get them pissed at me cause i'm going to pepper them with questions and rattle cages.

i wonder if you all are getting tired of me yet cause i'd like to post back and report to you what i've learned from that call. maybe something new, you never know.

thanks for participating in this thread and being civil to me. it's easier to learn this stuff with help while trying to not rock the boat.

[Tom19176]

Assuming it was Grindworks, they have heard about this issue from many of us

[snakebit]

Assuming it was Grindworks, they have heard about this issue from many of us

so...give up, be complacent?

[Tom19176]

No...Tell them you know of MANY complaints about their miss labelled products.....

[sammy the blade]

There are some expensive high end knives coming out of China that aren't rip off copies. I have a We knife I paid $100 for and it was the cheapest one they made. Solid and really impressive, don't recall the model but I haven't seen them for sale for quite awhile so I figure that model is out of production.

[Killgar]

I think you're spinning your wheels snakebit.

I wouldn't expect to get accurate information from a vendor, especially if all you get on the phone is some customer service employee. And no matter what anybody at a vendor tells you, whether it's the owner or an employee, how would you know if it's true? Vendors today seem more concerned with making a buck than with where their products come from or if the branding is legit.

I originally thought this thread was about the "Roma" swing guards marked "AKC Italy", but I see now that you were referring to swing guard stilettos. JPD1998 was correct when he said that AKC hasn't produced swing guard stilettos in years. If you go to the official AKC website you won't see any swing guard stilettos on it. Here's a link to that site- https://www.akc.it

There is a lot of uncertainty in the world of switchblades. Whether it's counterfeits, or knives marked "AKC", or the "Mago" out-the-front switchblades (some vendors call them "Italian", others call them "Italian style", but they're all Chinese), or whether it's trying to figure out if a knife described as "assembled in the US" is assembled in the US using parts made in the US, or if it's assembled in the US with parts made in China. And good luck getting a straight answer from the vendors or manufacturers.

In the end it's just a knife, nothing to get obsessive over. If you want a switchblade that is sure to be a genuine "made in Italy" knife, get a Frank Beltrame, or a Latama, or one marked AGA Campolin, or spend some big bucks and buy a vintage stiletto. Or, get an AKC side-opener that is listed on the official AKC site, just make sure you buy it from a "reputable" source, if you can find one. They are getting harder and harder to find.

[JulesVane]

Here are two genuine AKC 9" swinguards I bought directly from Angelo roughly 6 years ago, while the Chinese were still busy counterfeiting MICROTECH and BENCHMADE automatic knives. I've got no COA, no receipt, and would likely have to defend the fact that they are 100% authentic, if I ever thought to sell them.

[snakebit]

ignorance is bliss i heard someone say. yeah, customer service gives me the impression they read stock answers out of a binder. i sent the knife in question back yesterday. not because i thought it was junk, quite the opposite. i thought it was good quality...and even before i found out it was made in china. i was mad cause i couldn't get a vendor to tell me for sure country of origin and what exactly did "world" indicate that was stamped on the blade. i'll look around for another to replace it with.