PSA ~ Fake Benchmade Knives 

Dang! Thought it was the yellow one because of that hole difference, that’s an important reason to always buy from authorized dealers.

I just bought and received a Chinese bench made knock off. A $50 carbon fiber bugout. I had no clue it was a fake until today I received my Benchmade 490 Arcane and I could tell the difference right away after feeling the steel, the real Benchmade Arcane is drastically sharper. The fake Chinese knock off was good enough to make me fall in love with Benchmade knives. Authentic only. Know that I know what I'm looking for from the fake and realize how big counterfeiting is. The fake is still a beautiful knife.

Often CRKT fakes are better than the knife they are copying. We should have someone who runs a knife page run a list of sites selling clones and knockoffs so we can avoid those retailers.

I've called out a ton of people on buy & sells for trying to sell fakes as new. Once you've seen a few it's easy to tell. Immediately obvious when trying to sharpen and the steel is softer then baby shit. Here's my thing. Do clones suck ethically. Yes. Can you stop it from happening? No. I own the real models of all the clones I've bought (grip, bugout, 940) and for the price, they're a great way to use the knives I love, but in ways I'd never use the real model in fear of destroying them (contractor work, pry bar, screwdriver, hammer type uses) My problem exists when people are trying to pass them off as real and as something they are not. If you're buying a 20 dollar clone, no biggie. If you're buying a 20 dollar clone represented as real for 200 dollars, huge issue there.

Thanks so much for doing this. Videos like this are very helpful to spreading the word about this stuff. Obvious to the trained eye that the middle one has incorrect markings, but so many people who haven't owned benchmades would never know!

You can fool some of the people sometimes but you can never fool Zach about Benchmades anytime 🤣😂

When the fakes get really good, even Benchmade has a hard time to tell, then what? LOL

Well....I was wrong...lol!!! Guess I need to study up for the next test!!!!

Such good info to have, thanks a bunch Zach.

Awesome video and service to the community. Thanks for doing this.

Wow! It really is terrible how close fakes have gotten. It really stinks because I really enjoy going to shows and buying used/discontinued knives.

On the axis lick especially. On the fakes the spring doesn't wrap all the way around the crossbar

Thanks for making this video! There's no way I would have known that was a fake, so videos like this are very helpful.

Great video! Thank you Zach

Informative PSA. Thank you sir.

Dude that's crazy. Thanks for the knowledge👍

As someone who has just been through this I would think It would be incumbent upon Benchmade, who knows this is a problem, to post on their website that this is apparently industry wide problem. Adding a list of the companies you can purchase authentic merchandise from on the front of all their advertising. One would think if your companies reputation is at stake you would be doing everything possible to save it.

Dude I was wrong right off the bat, smh. This type of information is priceless. Thank you for all of the excellent content 👏.

The fake stands out as really obvious. The font on the Benchmade logo is completely wrong. The font for the steel mark is also totally off. The registered trademark sign on the Benchmade logo is huge for some reason. The laser etching is almost doubled and looks much less crisp. The etchings are really deeply cut into the steel, like they were dremeled on and then printed over. It would be even more obvious with the packaging. A lot of fakes have some really telltale signs. The fonts on the labels always seem to be wrong. The original labels all seem to use at least two distinct fonts, and fakes usually only have the same font for everything. Some parts of the label are in bold text but it's clearly the same font. The fonts are also significantly different. The quickest way to tell is if the model number has a 3: modern Benchmades have a flat-topped numeral 3 and fakes have a curvy ordinary 3. The graphics for the uses (everyday, outdoor, etc.) are sometimes weirdly blurry or hard to make out, like they had a smoothing filter applied to hide the pixels. The Benchmade wordmark itself for a lot of fakes, but not all of them, has a larger C than the rest of the letters. I can't find any historical variation of the wordmark that has the big letter C. The silver lower half of the box often has the wrong printed metal texture. The inside often has no foam at all, and sometimes it has foam but it's just on the bottom.

Zach thank you for the information

I guessed correctly but it’s a damn good fake when looking at it on its own without comparing the laser engravings. May be easier to tell while holding it, but it looks fairly good. Nice video!!

Helpful!

Thanks Zach!!

I thought three, I would fail the test. But yeah middle one is bad.

Good PSA thanks. Wow they are getting really good at fakes. I have seen a few but they usually have off color on the scales. Bigger screws and the marking are wrong. This one is pretty hard to tell. The only way I had my suspicions on the black was the color and texture of the font and butterfly. Your right on the grind lines and I’ll keep that in mind. Now I need to check my benchmades lol. Luckily I have a official dealer in the next town over.

Good info Zach 🤜🏻🤛🏻

eBay is full of fake knives, I only buy from known knife stores

Yeah a dad on my daughters soccer team was really proud of his Benchmade. I had to break it to him it was fake. He traded 9mm ammo to a guy at work for it. Lol 🤦‍♂️.

I did not older designs had the oblong holes. I wish they still made them that way

7:34 what really really is a bummer, is that Benchmade can produce the same knife with a 1000% markup.

Some great info! The yellow was my first guess but as you showed them the marks on the black one didn't look quite right. Great video 👍

The jimping is also a dead give away when compared to a real one.

Benchmade destroying fakes is why I didn't send my bugout in. A friend sold it to me (he owed me a benchmade cause he sold my lepord for $30 when I loaned it to him.) But after some time I was worried that it was a fake. Like if they could just tell people "ya its a fake sorry but we can't hold up the warranty" that'd be fine. But if someone geta ripped off and don't know it they're just getting fucked over twice.

Zach, thanks for passing on the information - very much appreciated. Too bad that these fakes are out there, but now we have a way to confirm the authenticity!

Buy whatever makes most sense. Make sure you pay the right amount for it.

The spring around the axis lock tipped me off right away which was fake.

I’m thinking 3 orange because the grind looked good on the other two

Hey Zach, just got my Atom with the Blue G-10 man thanks for showing us that knife it's Amazing, thanks again my friend 😀

I could tell the black one was fake because of the Mel Purdue placement it’s slightly off fro merge ither two. They’re getting good though you gotta have one to compare it to or it’s hard to tell

2 maybe? Don't ever remember you using a lanyard.

Yeah I was thinking the orange one(because of the black axis lock then remembered the custom shop) when they were just sitting on the table but the logo on the black one is just wrong.

I thought it was 2. The first thing I noticed was the jimping on the blade. Thanks for the insight.

I thought the orange one was going to be the fake. Just figured the 154cm models were your tried and true.

I’ve heard of people buying a genuine Benchmade someplace like Amazon then returning a fake for refund. Amazon resells the fake not knowing.

Never trust a lanyard😂😂

I'm going number 2, the black handle... the "154cm" looks off, and I feel like the jemping is odd, and the grind maybe looks off?... but maybe I'm wrong

I'm old and never seen a authentic benchmade with a hole like the yellow one.

Before it's revealed....I'm gonna guess the black one. I've seen the oblong hole on early 2000s knives and in old catalogs. The markings on the blade of black one are oddly dark/shiny. I've carried an all black d2 556 for 14 years now....the same one.

They look so real!

Please do more of these videos on spotting the goods. This is extremely helpful. I do not have a good dealer near me and online sales are tough to feel safe. I know people that have received fakes off @m@azom thinking they were buying real versions.

The first one. The hole. ? (Still watching ). Also the logo is down on the grind…..oooo. I was wrong. Lol (leaving it as stream of consciousness). Thanks for the psa. #dskfs

I like the lanyard 😂 thanks for this video brother it’s a shame that so many get fooled by fakes!

That’s crazy. Definitely would have fooled me

Thanks for the heads up. You should engrave “FAKE” into the blade before you send it back to the owner so nobody gets scammed by this one.

Pretty obviously the black handle one

Thank for this tricks! The fake is hollowgrind too?

Nice! Can you do it with the bugout? I think my bugout is kinda sus!

-1- Thx saw some the other day at a fraction of the price. New to the channel nice content

What kind of steel do u think the fake one is?

I thought that yellow one might even be old enough to have antennas!

That's a very good counterfeit, and if you didn't have a lot of experience with benchmades you could easily get fooled.

Great video

Sent email to benchmade a few days ago there is a benchmade store on Ali express.

Would love if you could have had the steel tested to see what it was ..

My Benchmades thank you! All pulled, inspected and cleaned. No fakes 👍

Hi Zech! Yes there are a lot of fake Benchmades. On the street we call them clones. You can tell by the blade material. However some folks are happy with clones because if you lose it, you did not not lose much!

The black one

I first said 1 but shifted to 2

Thanks Zach for the great information and looking out for all us knife enthusiasts!

Benchmade puts pin holes by the pivot for this reason. 2018 and up.

ebay seller that goes by "perdidojim" selling fakes even after being reported to ebay.. buyer beware

Jimping is different on the blade as well.

Actually thought all 3 were 🤣

I was wrong, had my eye on the yellow one first but seen up close the laser markings are indeed different between the clone and the real deal. Would have been very hard to spot I think if one just had pics from a seller to go by.... However, very informative, thanks for sharing Zach! By the way, what is a PSA??

Wow, that is darn good of a fake😬yet another reason to avoid ebay haha. Note to self 😂hope yur Monday is a good one brother 🙏 tnxs for showin 🍻 👊 🤜 💯 🤛keep on keepn on

Black one

Now that they seen this video they’ll fix that lol. They are definitely good at what they do for sure. Ugh. I like to see a performance test. Or would that promote them? Ya never mind. Anyways thanks for the heads up

Wow! That's a good fake, that sucks.

I’ve read thousands of comments and this is the first time I have come across so many people who prefer originals. Luckily I don’t live in america so I don’t suffer from Stockholm syndrome😂 Blonde haired, blue eyed baby Jesus please bless the Chinese.🙏🏼

I understand there is a massive number of chinese D2 and other blade steels being used in clones

Zach this should mean a lot to everyone watching because you are trying to educate your viewers so they don't get beat or cheated! However Benchmade should do more for their customers. What do I mean? Ok on the Knife Channel I made a suggestion about upgrading the Adonis knife. I could not understand how Benchmade had not taken into consideration how heavy this knife is and also the steel. Well as you, I and everyone else knows the mini Adonis was created with a new steel and is lighter! Another of my great suggestion was the Spyderco Tenacious. Well the Tenacious also received an upgrade! I made one more suggestion about one of my favorite small Benchmade models. Thd Vallet! The Vallet would be a wonderful O.T.F and slightly bigger, a BEAST! The Vallet got no love but the others did. I did not even get a thank you.

I always look at the pivots and the axis lock springs. Also, on the clones the model number is usually between the gap in the butterflies wings and on the real ones it’s usually below the wings slightly. It’s sad to see people selling these as the real deal to people that don’t know better but I’ve seen it several times.

At a 1:16 the blade hole on the yellow one. But I am wrong.

Black handle.

1 the hole, the clip on 3 is different

Don’t mean to comment twice on your video but after thinking for a moment I was wondering so what are you actually getting here? Steel quality? Are these junk? Ya I would assume probably not even heat treated or quality steel? Again have a fantastic day and thanks

Wow that's pretty damn close to the real thing.

I immediatly had bad vibes by the black one and lucky me i was right. It's a good fake but that's what it'll ever be; a fake. On photo's you might be fooled easely though, so second hand should be watched carefully. Thank you Zachster.

No idea which one was fake

It’s so messed up that this happens. I don’t blame benchmade for destroying any fakes that get sent to them.

👍👍👏

Number three's the fake

Don't send it back to them. Benchmade wouldn't. I wouldn't either especially if someone tried to rip me off like that. Knowingly or unknowingly!!!

Zach I have 2 Bugouts that are fake and should have remembered the term “to good to be true” I think the Yellow grip is fake, I know the pronounced raised Butterfly is a dead giveaway, you shouldn’t be able to feel the Butterflies. Great Video my Friend stay safe and Semper Fidelis

You can tell the jimping isn’t as pronounced on the black one…

What other counterfeits are out there

This is why I only buy from authorized dealers.

The fake came from ali express or dh gate

This shit has me wondering. Cuz I got a benchmade presidio II cf elite for 120. I'm lowkey scared it's a fake but it was in a case from an actual seller not a private person so I'm not too concerned

i cheated, i knew it was the black one cuz, "lanyard fans rejoice" lol