Painful knockoff alert?

[Grant Lamontagne]

Any of our UK members familiar with Jack Pyke?

http://www.surplusandadventure.com/ishop/800/shopscr3213.html

The new Multi-function Mole Grip Multi Tool from Jack Pyke is ideal as a general purpose molegrip fieldcraft tool. Features include fully adjustable molegrip, knife blade, saw, file and screw drivers.
Solid 100% Stainless Steel construction with many useful features make the Jack Pyke Molegrip Multi Tool a winner!

THE Multi Tool for outdoor people - Great for everything from fishing to fixing your crampons.

Supplied in black nylon sheath with belt loop.

Looks an awful lot like a Crunch to me.  Is Jack Pyke a respected dealer?  Seems a little fishy- maybe he has an underground source on Mole Grips?

Def

[I'm Still Bison]

 I smell a knockoff,even allowing for an exchange rate of 2 dollars US to the British pound,12.98 British pounds is awfully cheap.

[Roadie]

It doesn't look awfully like one.....it's identical!!! Can't say i've ever heard of the brand before, but looking at their website they're knives look familiar (i.e. cheap ones i see in shops and never want to buy)

[NeitherExtreme]

Yikes, that hurts!  If imitation is the most sincere form of flattery, then Leatherman has just been very sincerly flattered 

[Grant Lamontagne]

Is anyone near Worchestireshirehamptondale?

I would love to get my hands on one of these and see how it stacks up to the real deal.  The Crunch is a design that I really like, and I wouldn't mind a side by side shootout of them.

Def

[I'm Still Bison]

It doesn't look awfully like one.....it's identical!!! Can't say i've ever heard of the brand before, but looking at their website they're knives look familiar (i.e. cheap ones i see in shops and never want to buy)

But their corporate logo says"Quality Assured"!

[NeitherExtreme]

Is anyone near Worchestireshirehamptondale?

I would love to get my hands on one of these and see how it stacks up to the real deal.  The Crunch is a design that I really like, and I wouldn't mind a side by side shootout of them.

Def

Yeah, I think it would be pretty impressive (not to mention surprising) if the cheapo can actually function well. It seems like a kinda difficult design, but I guess almost anything can be copied.

[Grant Lamontagne]

Yes, and if you notice, many of the cheap tool manufacturers offer lifetime warranties on their products- but the cost of mailing it back to the manufacturer (the warranty is never honored by the retailer) is often equal to or greater than the tool itself.  Plus, at a cost of less than $1.50 each, the manufacturer (in this case the distributor because the manufacturer is usually a warehouse full of 5 year olds) can afford to replace it a few times, and hopefully get one happy customer who will sucker his friends into buying them after seeing what a great company they are.

Def

[NeitherExtreme]

Yes, and if you notice, many of the cheap tool manufacturers offer lifetime warranties on their products- but the cost of mailing it back to the manufacturer (the warranty is never honored by the retailer) is often equal to or greater than the tool itself.  Plus, at a cost of less than $1.50 each, the manufacturer (in this case the distributor because the manufacturer is usually a warehouse full of 5 year olds) can afford to replace it a few times, and hopefully get one happy customer who will sucker his friends into buying them after seeing what a great company they are.

Def

Yeah, but if keeps breaking before the job is done, won't that make for a very long project?  ;D

[Roadie]

Def
http://cgi.ebay.co.uk/JACK-PYKE-MOLEGRIP-MULTI-TOOL-NEW-12mths-GUARANTEE_W0QQitemZ6630185519QQihZ012QQcategoryZ72047QQrdZ1QQssPageNameZWD1VQQcmdZViewItem
The seller says he will ship worldwide...might be worth asking him how much.

Roadie

[Grant Lamontagne]

Yeah, but if keeps breaking before the job is done, won't that make for a very long project?

That's not their problem, now its it?   

I may have to look into getting one- I'd rather deal with the man himself since it appears to have his name on it, and I may be able to backtrack it a little further.  Maybe I'll contact him on behalf of Multitool.org and see if he's willing to talk to us about it.  I was hoping that with so many members in the UK that someone may be near enough in case they had a retail outlet- might be a nice field trip for one of you!

Def

[Roadie]

That site does have a retail outlet....but its not particularly close to me! Don't know about the other uk lot. Anyone near Worcester??

[Mike, Lord of the Spammers!]

That site does have a retail outlet....but its not particularly close to me! Don't know about the other uk lot. Anyone near Worcester??

Nope I,m in deepest darkest kent mate

surplus and adventure have a bit of a ''mixed'' reputation

[I'm Still Bison]

Yeah, but if keeps breaking before the job is done, won't that make for a very long project?

That's not their problem, now its it?   

might be a nice field trip for one of you!

Def

Especially to pay a visit if it the tool turns out to be a first class stinker

[Spoonrobot]

Huh. Never thought I would see a Crunch knockoff. I am curious how well it works and the overall fit and finish of a copy of such interesting design.

[trickknife]

The crunch came out in 1999.  I saw the first knock off of it about 4 years ago on a chinese website.  I can't remember the name.  They also had knock offs of other LM tools as well as SOG and Gerber.

[CQC-7]

I am not a snob or anything but I really HATE knockoffs.  They are fishing for people who buy tools and lure them in to thinking that their tools are good when in reality they suck.  There was an article in a gun magazine not long ago where a deputy carried a "knockoff" spyderco.  His sergeant, trying to make an exampe tried to pry a desk drawer open and the darn thing broke.  This is not the only example I have of poorly constructed knockoffs.  I would just rather pay for the real thing.

[Grant Lamontagne]

That's all well and good, but for every one of us that would, there's a thousand folks that just buy the cheap ones, which is why there are so many of them out there.

Def