$260.99 Multi-Tool

[supratentorial]

Wow!!! 

http://cgi.ebay.com/NOS-Al-Mar-Quickclip-2004-Mod-IV-multi-tool-knife-Box_W0QQitemZ220142017616QQ

[felinevet]

Yikes! Incredible.

[zackhugh]

The 4x4 and the Quickclip are pretty rare multis.  Is this price outrageous for one of these?  Seems like $150 or so would be pretty standard.  Maybe someone just really wanted it?

[J-sews]

The "going rate" for QuickClips a couple years ago was about $120.00, but they ain't making them anymore.

$260 still seems rather high though.

[zackhugh]

Just wondering.  Actually, if anyone would know, I figured it was you!

[J-sews]

 

Who knows though? I've heard some of those Al Mar collectors are real fanatics. Al passed away 15 years ago, and the knives produced when he was alive have gone sky high in price.

[zackhugh]

Are Al Mar collectors any more fervid than the corkscrew people?  No fun bidding against those guys in an auction!

The only concern I might have with Al Mar items is the supposed number of fakes out there.  If I overpaid for a Quickclip, well, that's just $100 or so.  A fair amount of money, but I suppose if I REALLY wanted it...

[supratentorial]

Are Al Mar collectors any more fervid than the corkscrew people?  No fun bidding against those guys in an auction!

The only concern I might have with Al Mar items is the supposed number of fakes out there.  If I overpaid for a Quickclip, well, that's just $100 or so.  A fair amount of money, but I suppose if I REALLY wanted it...

The high quality of the Al Mar tools would not be easy to fake.  Are there "corkscrew people"? 

I've heard some of those Al Mar collectors are real fanatics.

Crazy collectors!!!   

[CQC-7]

$260.99, I am in the wrong business?  Give me an Arc welder, a pair of pliers, drill press, blade steel, and a few nuts and bolts and about 15 minutes and I will make one that definately looks better.

[zackhugh]

The high quality of the Al Mar tools would not be easy to fake.  Are there "corkscrew people"? 

My understanding was that there were some Al Mar knives and tools illegally produced and sold by one or more of the factories producing them under contract for Al Mar.  I thought that the markings were slightly different and they sold them in secondary (non-U.S.) markets, but I could be wrong.  If true, the quality would be similar, if not identical.  I suppose in that case, no one would mind that much getting a "fake."

Oh, yeah.  There ARE corkscrew collectors.  And they are very involved in their hobby.  I tried to win an old European harp corkscrew since it's kinda like a multitool, but those collectors are tough to outbid.  Willing to spend much more than I am.

[J-sews]

Oh, yeah.  There ARE corkscrew collectors.  And they are very involved in their hobby.  I tried to win an old European harp corkscrew since it's kinda like a multitool, but those collectors are tough to outbid.  Willing to spend much more than I am.

Amen to that!! Those corkscrew people are a twisted bunch!










 ;D

[supratentorial]

My understanding was that there were some Al Mar knives and tools illegally produced and sold by one or more of the factories producing them under contract for Al Mar.  I thought that the markings were slightly different and they sold them in secondary (non-U.S.) markets, but I could be wrong.  If true, the quality would be similar, if not identical.  I suppose in that case, no one would mind that much getting a "fake."

If it were true that the original tools were manufactured by the original factories and are pretty much indistinguishable from the originals, it's a little ackward to call it a fake.  I'm going to need to do a bit of research on this one.  In 2000, someone posted on BF that he saw an easy to spot (cheaply made) fake Al Mar knife.  And Bernard Levine replied that he had never seen a fake Al Mar before.  But in 2003, there was a post on BF saying that a company that manufactured knives for Al Mar purchased the rights to manufacture their own line of knives labeled as Al Mar.  The post specified "their own line" and didn't indicate whether any knock offs of the original Al Mar line were manufactured.  I'll look further into it when I have a chance.  If you have references for this info, please let me know since it will save me the search time.  Thanks for the interesting post!

[zackhugh]

That story about the factories was a second or thirdhand one--not directly from someone who works at Al Mar.  What gave it at least a little credence was eBay stopping a few auctions I was watching (including a 4x4) because the items supposedly weren't authentic.  I don't know how they knew they were "fake" unless someone at Al Mar said something. 

Please let us know if you find out anything.  It's gotta be better than these half-baked rumors I'm spreading.

[zackhugh]

Oh, yeah.  There ARE corkscrew collectors.  And they are very involved in their hobby.  I tried to win an old European harp corkscrew since it's kinda like a multitool, but those collectors are tough to outbid.  Willing to spend much more than I am.

Amen to that!! Those corkscrew people are a twisted bunch!










 ;D

Boy, howdy!  I set you up perfectly there, didn't I?  Let the puns continue!

[Grant Lamontagne]

Oh no, not another pun thread...  my head still aches from the last one!

Def

[supratentorial]

That story about the factories was a second or thirdhand one--not directly from someone who works at Al Mar.  What gave it at least a little credence was eBay stopping a few auctions I was watching (including a 4x4) because the items supposedly weren't authentic.  I don't know how they knew they were "fake" unless someone at Al Mar said something. 

Please let us know if you find out anything.  It's gotta be better than these half-baked rumors I'm spreading.

Why do you think that the auctions were stopped because the knives were fakes and not for another reason (or reasons)?  In my experience when Ebay stops an auction before it closes then the auction usually just disappears--there's usually little or no explanation given to potential buyers.  Ebay will close auctions for many reasons (e.g. no age disclaimer on a knife auction, account payment problems, etc) but I've rarely seen Ebay intervene because something is a fake or reproduction.  PLEASE tell me that you took a screenshot or saved photos of the knives from the stopped Ebay auctions?!? 

The problem with rumors, is that there is seldom any real evidence and they are therefore buggers to prove or disprove.  When there's evidence, then you can evaluate the evidence and determine whether it is sound.

I haven't seen a large number of the Al Mar multi-tools (they are somewhat rare) but I have seen variations in the QuickClips and Toolmate.  All of the engraved Toolmates that I've seen have looked identical to the one I own but I've only seen a few of them.  Although I don't own a standard Toolmate (I only have the engraved version), I have seen a photo of one variation of the standard Toolmate.  The majority of the Toolmates that I've seen look identical to a photo that J-sews posted on BF in 2004.  But I have seen a photo of a Toolmate with different markings.  In my opinion, it probably has an earlier production date. 

I'm still doing a bit of digging.  Since I injured my shoulder, things are slowed down a bit for me.

I think that J-sews has likely done a lot of research on the Toolmate so I'd love to get his input.

Here's a photo of a Toolmate variation:


Here's a photo of a QuickClip variation:


Here are two engraved Toomates:

     

[zackhugh]

The auctions I saw were 4-5 years ago and I didn't save screenshots.  Nothing concrete, just my hazy recollection.

Interesting pics.  I have a standard 4 x 4 (not the nice engraved version) that I'll have to take a closer look at this evening.  I do believe mine looks more like J-Sews' but can't exactly recall.

[J-sews]

.....But I have seen a photo of a Toolmate with different markings.  In my opinion, it probably has an earlier production date....

Hang on, what exactly are the differences?


4x4 Toolmates


At first glance, these two look the same to me. What am I missing?


QuickClips


Come back to this one in a minute. I've got the explanation.


Valade 4x4 Toolmates

     
These two look the same to me also.

Bob

[supratentorial]

J-sews,

In case it was not clear, I believe that all of the photos are of authentic Al Mar ToolMates.  The difference in the first group is the red Al Mar logo.



I believe the difference in the QuickClips is that yours is numbered.  Does yours have a logo on the blade?  I couldn't find a photo of the other side.

[J-sews]

Let's start with the number thing:

Regarding serial numbered Al Mar's: From the day that Al started producing knives (1979) he ordered 200 from the factory on the first run. When those 200 came in they were sent out to the dealers. If the dealers response was good then Al ordered some more. If the dealers response was bad then that was the end of the knife in production. Either way good or bad that means that there are only 200 serial numbered Al Mar's of every knife that he produced. This of course makes each one of these pre-production knives very desirable.

So I happen to have QuickClip #148 of the original 200. (the one you pictured is a photo I stole from an eBay auction years ago) Mine has the red Al Mar Chop logo on the knife blade, but not on the plier head.

...more to come....

[supratentorial]

WAIT A SECOND!  Upon enlarging the photo of the ToolMate that I labeled as "Older?", I noticed that it looks to have a serrated blade rather than a saw!!!  Do you agree?  Now I'm not so sure about the authenticity.   

Edit: Nevermind.  Just remembered that's normal.  The Toolmate has a serrated blade and the engraved version has a saw.

[J-sews]

I agree it has a serrated blade, but so have all the other "standard" 4x4's I've seen. The Valade 4x4's are the only ones I've seen with saw blades.

Okay, so skip that issue.

[J-sews]

The 4x4 you pictured with the camo background is another stolen ebay picture.

Instead, here is a picture of mine:

[J-sews]

Different locations for the red Chop logo, right? But check out the plier pivot.....some of them have pins (ground flush) and some have screws & nuts.

[supratentorial]

The 4x4 you pictured with the camo background is another stolen ebay picture.

Instead, here is a picture of mine:

That's a third variation.  (1) No red logo (2) Red logo on pliers and blade (3) Red logo on blade

[supratentorial]

Different locations for the red Chop logo, right? But check out the plier pivot.....some of them have pins (ground flush) and some have screws & nuts.

Hmmm... didn't notice that one.

[J-sews]

In my opinion, NONE of them are knock-offs. The quality is just too damn good. They simply represent subtle variations from different production runs. As I understand it, Seki Japan is full of many small knife makers. Probably different production runs have components produced by different subcontracted craftsmen.

[supratentorial]

In my opinion, NONE of them are knock-offs. The quality is just too damn good. They simply represent subtle variations from different production runs. As I understand it, Seki Japan is full of many small knife makers. Probably different production runs have components produced by different subcontracted craftsmen.

I fully agree with that opinion.

[J-sews]

So...ahem....how high did you bid on the $260 dollar QuickClip?     :grin:

[supratentorial]

Have you ever bid out of spite?  The high bidder put in multiple bids so I pushed up the price until I thought there was actually a chance that I might dislodge her winning status.  I know its evil.     ...By the way.  I wasn't even the fourth highest bidder at the end of the auction!   

...so...ahem...how much did you spend on your Al Mar multi-tools?      :grin: