Going crazy with fakes?

[wonderwolf]

Been out of work for nearly 2 months and going a little crazy while waiting for work to start back up (another 2 weeks I'm told) and have been trying not to spend too much of course but I got a wild hair that I want to try a single bladed folder again (its been 7-8 years since I've carried one, been using a SAK trekker for nearly all that time on the belt) anyways I have several Ontario RAT  fixed bladed knives and really want to try one of their folders which I keep seeing get fantastic reviews everywhere. Yes they are made in Taiwan but I think that makes spotting fakes a little harder...or is there such a thing as a fake Taiwanese knife at this point?  Anyways Looking on ebay I see some offered with different versions of the handles that are not on Ontario's website, also the gimping doesn't look like some of the other pictures I've been scanning trying to tell if its a fake or a what. 

Not looking to spend new type money and really want to try one of these but want one with the RAT triangle on the blade....has anybody with a genuine purchased one of these "direct imports" and compared it with theirs?


http://www.ebay.com/itm/112146987875?_trksid=p2060353.m1438.l2649&ssPageName=STRK%3AMEBIDX%3AIT

[G-Dizzle]

Im interested in this now.. I bought one off the bay and boy is it solid feeling but just makes me wonder


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[wonderwolf]

Im interested in this now.. I bought one off the bay and boy is it solid feeling but just makes me wonder


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I was doing as much reading as I could last night on these and found another forum where a rep from OKW replied to the same concern and said they look like fakes to them....but really if they are made in Tiawian whats to say that the mfg isn't just getting creative with the handles and offering colors that are not "approved" by the contractor.

[G-Dizzle]

Im interested in this now.. I bought one off the bay and boy is it solid feeling but just makes me wonder


Sent from my iPhone using Tapatalk

I was doing as much reading as I could last night on these and found another forum where a rep from OKW replied to the same concern and said they look like fakes to them....but really if they are made in Tiawian whats to say that the mfg isn't just getting creative with the handles and offering colors that are not "approved" by the contractor.

Who knows? Either way I got it for 10 bucks and it is an extremely solid feeling folder. Even has a very nice factory edge. If I spent a lot of money, got it to be my main folder, or if I was a RAT collector i would be upset but it is a beat-around so who cares? As long as it holds up to my expectations Im fine. That being said, if I got a fake Leatherman, SAK, Spyderco, etc I would be upset. It probably helps that this is my first RAT folder and I went into it not expecting much at all.


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[metasyntax]

I don't trust eBay unless the seller has a good rep. I don't trust Amazon at all, because I've heard they mix their own inventory with stuff they ship from 3rd party sellers (which could be fakes). I still trust places like KnifeCenter and BladeHQ, but it seems inevitable that the fakes will reach them as well...

[Moose]

I have a couple of these (with the RAT triangle on the blade) in Coyote brown G10 handles from a Chinese website (Ontario does not offer this variant as far as I know). 

The fit and finish is excellent (solid lock up, great blade centring, detent and grinds) and having put one through its paces as a beater over the last few months have found the blade retention perfectly adequate and it has performed flawlessly.  It certainly has not performed any worse than other knives I have in AUS8 or 440C.  It is my understanding that the clone is slightly beefier in all dimensions with longer, thicker blade and is slightly heavier (despite having nicely skeletonised liners).  There is a lot of real estate on these knives with room to spare for my size large hand and the is comfortable in all orientations.

Whatever the stance a person wants to take on fakes (I hear the RAT vs Ontario saga is a whole other shooting match of a company appropriating a designers IP) these knives are imho great value for those on a tight budget.  Personally I was not duped into thinking it was an genuine RAT1 nor do I try to pass off a clone as authentic etc etc. 

t

A perfect bob or camping folder but a bit heavy for an urban edc unless you currently edc a Buck 110 or such in which case the weight won't be an issue.
Saying that, the slim footprint of this design is comfy in the pocket and I have at times forgotten I was carrying it...

The RAT 1 is a future design classic in my view and the clones I got are a  great rendition of the design.

I think mine were $14 each (so I got 2) which is a darn sight cheaper than I could get hold of a official one this side of the big pond.

I think you made a great purchase in this era of factory produced $200+ 'working knives',

Kind regards