Fakes or copy knives is not just a modern problem. It’s been a problem always. It is also a very complex problem to distinguish what is a fake product and what is a similarity. If it is called a SAK
style knife then we cannot say it is a fake, but if it is called a Swiss Army Knife and made in another country without authorization then it is in the danger zone. If a copied knife should have Victorinox or Wenger on the stamp + a Swiss Symbol on the
scale then it is a fake.
The biggest problem today is not all the knives that people have misunderstood to be a genuine knife or all the SAK style knives made. The biggest problem is in the future!
The problem today is that knives are being copied and foreign manufacturers see themselves as competitors to the Swiss made knives. It is far more complex today with the legal systems and laws in the modern world. It is also a problem with the use of more
modern production methods that can make fake or copied knives in extreme numbers. The quality is always less even today but it would be possible to make a quality very close to the Swiss knives if they want. This would cost more and the profit less for them.
The Swiss have already made a modern SAK with probably the best production possible. It is a limit to how developed a knife should be. It is already close to perfection for what it is intended for.
We know in history the souvenir problems and knives made by different manufacturers and all the knives called Swiss Army Knife style.
It is no doubt
that all the fake knives in the world cause big problems for Victorinox and Wenger. It is no problem for us enthusiasts to distinguish a fake knife when it is in our hand. This is usually always the case from pictures as well. The problem is what changes this
is going to have for the genuine knives.
There is a problem that I see with the foreign markets competition with knives compared to the genuine ones. If they make an extreme amount of knives
that is very similar to the real product and they do not use any Swiss stamp or emblem then this is very difficult to call it a fake. Thus this product is now a competitor on the world marked under multiuse knives. Many would choose this product for
advertisings or store-chain purposes. Then this is a big problem! No matter how people twist and turn on the history of knives the original or genuine Swiss Army Knives are an icon in itself. It belongs and should only be known as a Swiss product.
The big advantage with the competition between Victorinox and Wenger in history is the amount of functions and knives made. It was a competition of Quality!
What we may have in the future is the competition of the Victorinox new global brand and all the loopholes knives made. Then we have quality on one side vs less quality and this is not a good situation at all.
I am very sure in my case when I say the merged Victorinox and Wenger total product lines represents 130 years of history and it is a world icon with quality.
I am also sure
that Victorinox will use the values and that the quality will be used to explain the differences compared to the foreign products. We collectors and enthusiasts may have a few ideas on how the quality could be even better. In general we are very happy with
the real products. A real Swiss Army Knife got a presence by itself that the fakes do not have. A genuine Victorinox or Wenger knife with advertising or name gives a quality impression. To receive a not real product will never be the same.
On the picture is just a small selection of some knives that is not made in Switzerland. Most of these are part of history and does not represent any special problem. Many would discuss if they could be called a knockoff
at all. The modern problem is far greater than these. The use of foreign advertising knives has already been used for decades but it is probably nothing compared to what may happen.
We live in a
world today with extreme amount of less quality products in all kinds of life. Sometimes it is better to buy one quality knife and not 5 lesser ones. In many cases the fake knives are cloned as best as they can and put into production. They use a different
color on the handle and no Swiss Symbols. This is robbery!
update
The versatility symbol
Every store-chain or sports magazine got a responsibility about the products used in the multiuse or versatile knife category. If you study the world history of knives then most would say that a multiuse knife is not
a new invention. It is extremely old for sure. But there is also no doubt that the symbol of a versatile iconic knife is Swiss. This started in 1897 with a superb patent and today the products are used as a high quality tool and a symbol of versatile use in
the world. Everyone immediately recognizes the little red tool.
It is for me negative that a fake product is used in safety, outdoors or in the sports category range or used as a symbol for survival.
It is not nice to see a low quality knife advertised as a knife for survival because this may have big consequences for the user. It is absolutely not so that the foreign competitors make a product that have
the same quality today, it would be a long way to go to make the same quality.
We SAK enthusiasts do not compete in who is the best SAK collector or user. We all have a little part with talking about
the products. There are even some collectors of fake knives and believe it or not this is important for sure.
All over the world there are people that modify SAKs and call then MODs. This is not
a problem and in some cases it is needed. It can be a problem for the factories in some cases.
It is difficult to find new words or explanations for what a fake is. I see it as a way of making profit
on a low quality item. It is important that advertising knives or outdoors products got some quality in them. They can never have the same symbolism that the real ones even if they try to make the impression of it.
The problem with fake knives is not only that the products may be cloned but also that the symbolism of a versatile SAK is being copied.