Definitions?

[Grant Lamontagne]

There's been a number of discussions about what is a knockoff, what is a counterfeit, what is a cheapo etc.  Here's how I see it:

Knockoff: Any tool that looks like a big name tool that is branded as the original- the Victorinox Rescue Tool fake and Gerber DET fake fit in this category, as do models that are branded similarly, like "Leahterman" or in the case of one of my brother's watches, "Rolax."

Copy: This is the category that the Mammut Wave fits into.  It looks like a Wave but has it's own brand name.

Counterfeit: Any tool marked Leatherman, Gerber, Victorinox etc that is obviously (at least to the average MTO member) that is absolutely not produced by that company.  We have seen some Gerbers that fall into this category, but the most recent one we have discussed is that Leatherman folding knife.

Cheapo: This is a non branded tool, often rebranded as another tool, but this type specifically has no markings whatsoever, or may be marked CHINA or something similar.

Off Brand:  Lowes, Kobalt, Lansky etc- basically a store brand or anything with someone else's logo on it like Smith & Wesson, Craftsman etc.  Any brand name that isn't one of the "mainstream" type brands we are used to.

That's how I usually see them, although these aren't hard and/or fast rules, and the terms are often interchangeable.

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[Lynn LeFey]

The definition I use for counterfeit is best described by the Wikipedia: 'A fake replica of a real product'.
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Counterfeit

Which, as is pointed out at that link, and seen in your definition, is commonly called 'Knock-off'.

To me, a counterfeit must be attempting to pass itself off as a name-brand object. Whether or not it has the same features isn't relevant to me.

I agree with your definition of 'Copy'.

I don't tend to differentiate between 'Cheapo' and 'Off-Brand' since sometimes the difference is really whether or not someone put a brand name on them. Literally the same product, just one says 'Sheffield' or 'Kobalt', for instance, and the other says 'Happy good most no rust hardness for your imagination' on the package.

if you feel that Cheapo and Off-brand need clearer definitions, I'm cool with that.

Maybe we also need 'Bargain' or something, to denote things that OUGHT to be off-brand or cheapos, but just (maybe accidentally) turned out to work REALLY WELL.

[Grant Lamontagne]

I was just tossing some ideas out there since definitions seemed to be debated in the other thread.  Of course "bargain" to me is virtually any tool where it's function outweighs it's cost.

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