Chinese manufacturers being more clever?

[Mario]

So I’m sure you’ve seen all the Chinese “AKC” variant stilettos that have been flooding the market. It’s gotten so bad that AKC themselves are now having certain knives manufactured in China like the Roma swinguards and those curved stilettos under a banner called AKC World. One of those “if you can’t beat them, join them” situations with regards to how the market is now. I was on Etsy yesterday and noticed a couple stilettos pop up with “INOX” markings on them, but if you look at the knives themselves, they’re the exact same fit, finish, and pin placement as the Chinese “AKC” stilettos. They have the two pins on the back as opposed to one like normal Italian stilettos.

Here’s a 9” one that’s marked “ITALY INOX,” but it’s shaped and pinned exactly the same as the usual Chinese knives. https://www.etsy.com/listing/1549224932 ... rv-2&sts=1

Here’s a 13” one that’s marked “J INOX” but it has two pins on the back and the fit and finish is exactly the same as the 13” AKC clone that I have. I got a real J INOX stiletto last week and it only has one pin on the back. It doesn’t look anything like this knife. https://www.etsy.com/listing/1563411635 ... ve_6&sts=1

So I guess what I’m wondering is maybe too many caught onto the phony AKC markings, so the Chinese knife makers have switched to using older Italian stamps thinking it will fool people easier? I don’t know.

[Tom19176]

You are correct they are using new markings....High prices too!

[sammy the blade]

Sneaky little shits aren't they. If people buying from those sites think they're buying the real deal send them to me. I have some magic liquid that will grow hair on your head. Smells a little like urine but it's advertised to grow hair on a bowling ball.

[Squire80]

In the process of rebuilding my switch collection. after several years away from these, things got sneaky. One of the recent things I discovered were AKC swinguards in 10". I thought, hey, they look really good, and the price was fair, so I bought two. An imit. Ivory and another in Pearlex. I was very pleased with both, materials looked good, fit and finish seemed fine and they worked great. The spine and blade lined up however both had a very slight downward droop.
I rectified this with a carful filing of the rear stop edge of the blade, got them both very close to in line with the handle and the swinguards were now very tight, no looseness. So, it all looked fine and then I watched one of the reviews on how to tell the real thing from the clones and I said crap. Even though these two looked and worked great, the AKC logo had the word "world" below it and just a dot inside the top of the A. So, it seems I have two very nice Chinese clones and now am in a much better position to check the descriptions closely when buying.
Also, thanks to a number of the members for letting us all know what to look for --