Counterfeit knives: do you encounter them often?

So I went to the shop another day, hoping to get some real-world imagery to match my newly acquired (mostly theoretical)
kitchen knife knowledge. Shop owner suggested I take a look at ~$60 Arcos damascus santoku. Blade has VG10 written on it.
Low price made me kind of suspicious. Then he said it's a German knife (what a dumbass, how difficult is to look up Arcos on
the net to find out it's in fact a Spanish company?). No "made in" was to be found neither on the knife nor on the box.
When back home I checked Arcos' site only to find out they don't have any damascus in their catalog.

My question is (mostly curiosity, I'm never setting my foot in one of those shops again, reputable online vendors only):
how widespread knife counterfeits are?

Just because it isn't in their catalog or website doesn't mean it isn't real. No one in their right mind is counterfeiting Arcos knives....

there are counterfeit knives but 99% are not kitchen knives... I believe Shuns have been counterfeited in the past

vai777 said:

... I believe Shuns have been counterfeited in the past

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....and Globals

mikemac said:

....and Globals

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yes

vai777 said:

Just because it isn't in their catalog or website doesn't mean it isn't real. No one in their right mind is counterfeiting Arcos knives....

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LOL. Won't trust everybody to be in their right minds though. Also found nothing by googling for 'Arcos damascus'.

No one in their right mind is counterfeiting Arcos knives....

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The only things in Spain that worth counterfeiting is their food, wine and history

Ruso said:

The only things in Spain that worth counterfeiting is their food, wine and history

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Not all of Spain's history. You wouldn't want to wish their nasty civil war on any country.

If I remember correctly there were fake Kramers on bay a while ago


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If it is VG-10 it would have to be made in Japan wouldn't it? Normally Japanese blades are marked.

I've got a Jenuine, Made in France, China, Sab kicking around in a drawer somewhere - could be had cheap...

if it was on their website, and was an "authentic" arcos knife, would you consider buying it?

BTW, i was not able to find any references to a Damascus arcos knife in their catalog also.

doesn't necessarily mean it's a counterfeit though, but, if you go to the trouble and counterfeit a san-man Damascus vg-10 knife, why brand it "Arcos" and charge 60$ for it, when you can brand it "Shun" and charge much more....

kind of like counterfeiting pennies

Arcos or not, according to my (admittedly very limited) understanding of the market, 8" VG10 damascus santoku is at the very least ~$150 value,
so although personally I'm sold for carbons, I would wholeheartedly recommend it to someone who can't or doesn't want to take care of the carbon
blade.

Pure conjecture, but It is also might be the reasoning that while VG10 damascus Shun for $60 is an obvious counterfeit, it is not necessarily so for a 'cheaper' brand
(and the upper value market niche is somehow tightly controlled by distributors).

Aldi, a German discounter, offers from time to time knives with a VG-10 core and faux-Damascus clad, Solingen made, for about €20. Design is terrible, F&F as well, blade mostly bent or warped.