Almost all popular knife companies, including Benchmade, have fake versions of their knives circulating globally. Sometimes it can be quite tricky to tell the difference between a counterfeit and a real Benchmade knife, but there are certain things that you can do to improve your chances of not getting a fake one the next time that you purchase a knife.
To avoid buying a fake Benchmade knife, see if the seller is legit and has a good reputation. Fake Benchmade knives are also often cheaper than real ones. If you have a potentially phony Benchmade knife, check it for inferior materials and quality or watch videos comparing fake and real ones.
While Benchmade and other knife companies try to shut the people creating illegal replicas of their knives down, there is no definitive way to stop criminals from producing more fake knives. Because they are so popular and often worth so much, fake Benchmade knives are prevalent in today’s market.
The only real way to make sure you are getting a 100% authentic Benchmade knife is to purchase it directly from Benchmade themselves. Check out Benchmade’s store on Amazon to make sure your next knife is fully authentic and not a phony.
In today’s article, I’m going to go over some of the things that you can do to improve your chances of purchasing an authentic Benchmade knife instead of a fake knock off. So let’s just jump right into it and get started.
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Ways to Identify a Fake Benchmade Knife from an Authentic One
Unfortunately, there is no surefire way to identify a fake Benchmade knife from an authentic one that works 100% of the time. But there are some things that you can do to help you avoid the scams and get a real Benchmade knife.
Sometimes, fake Benchmade knives stick out like a sore thumb, and sometimes they are REALLY hard to pick out. It all depends on how good the fake is and how good you are at spotting fakes.
In the following sections, I’m going to take a deep dive into all of the ways that I myself use to help pick out fake Benchmade knives from the real deal.
Some of the tips and tricks for spotting fakes work before you purchase the knife, and some are only applicable if you are buying from a physical store or have already acquired the knife. Either way, if you just read through this entire article, you are bound to be better prepared to identify the fake Benchmade knives you come across.
1. Check if Benchmade Authorizes the Seller
One of the first things to check when you’re purchasing a Benchmade knife is whether or not the seller has been authorized by Benchmade to sell their knives. You can do this by looking at Benchmade’s authorized seller list.
When a seller is on the authorized seller list, it just means that Benchmade recognizes and authorizes them to sell their knives. If a seller is on the list, the likelihood of them trying to sell you a phony Benchmade knife is very slim to none.
I do this every time that I am at a physical store purchasing a knife. However, if you are purchasing a knife from an individual online, they will not be authorized. But this doesn’t mean you shouldn’t ever buy from an individual again. In fact, you can find some of the best deals this way, but you just have to be extra careful and do your research.
2. Look at Reviews and Check the Reputation of the Seller
If at all possible, you should always check the seller’s reviews when you are purchasing a Benchmade knife. Checking reviews is invariably a best-practice for almost anything you are buying, but it is especially important when trying to avoid getting a fake product.
In addition to checking the reviews left by costumers, do a little bit of digging and find out the overall reputation of the seller. Usually, searching forums and other places online will give you a good indication of if the particular seller or store is reputable or not.
3. If the Price is Too Good to be True, It Probably is.
One of the biggest red flags that potentially marks a Benchmade knife as a phony is if the price is WAY below what others are selling their knives. You can also see what Benchmade themselves are selling the particular knife for and base prices that you see on that.
Sure, you can find some great deals online from private sellers trying to get rid of their knives, but if the deal is too good to be true, it probably is.
Benchmade knives are high quality and well-made knives that are worth a pretty penny. If someone is trying to sell you a genuine Benchmade for really cheap, either they don’t know that value of the knife, or it is not a real Benchmade knife.
This high price might be a deterrent for some, but there is an excellent reason behind Benchmade knives’ high price tag. Check out my article on the topic to learn why Benchmade knives are priced so high and if it is worth purchasing one.
Just be careful, and if a deal is too good to be true, be very skeptical because most of the time, it is.
4. Compare it to Official Benchmade Photos of the Knife
Another great way to help you spot fake Benchmade knives is by comparing them to photos of the genuine ones.
To do this, simply go to the official Benchmade website and look up the model of knife you are interested in purchasing. Then, compare the knife you are interested in buying to the pictures on the Benchmade site.
Some things to look for are the shape of the blade, the knife’s overall design, and the coloring of the knife. There are usually some pretty noticeable differences between genuine and fake Benchmade knives, and you can spot them if you have them side-by-side.
This method of identifying fake Benchmade knives is excellent because it works in-person as well as online. That is, if the seller is providing real photos of the knife they are selling and not some stock photo or a picture taken from the Benchmade site.
5. Check for Signs of Poor Workmanship and Defects
Benchmade prides themselves on the exact and precise quality of their knives. Phony Benchmade knives often don’t, which makes them easy to spot if you know the differences and ways Benchmade makes their knives.
Benchmade makes their knives using some pretty high-quality and expensive technology that makes their products very precise. You can read more about Benchmade’s revolutionary manufacturing methods in my article on the subject here.
While this method of finding fake Benchmade knives only works if you have the knife in-person, it is quite useful for weeding out the fakes if you know where to look for the imperfections and defects.
One of the most noticeable and recurring defects in fake knives is the edges of the handle. Frequently the edges will be rough and not sanded down all the way. Just take a good look over the knife, and if you find defects and imperfections, it is a major red flag that the knife might not be a genuine Benchmade.
6. Inspect the Knife for Poor Quality Materials
Another thing that Benchmade is very consistent about is using very high-quality materials in all of their knives. When you pay for a good Benchmade knife, the quality of the materials used is spectacular.
Benchmade knock-off knives aren’t so good at making their knives out of suitable materials. They will often make them out of cheap metals and plastics to cut down the cost of producing the knife.
This trick for spotting fake Benchmade knives doesn’t work very well if you purchase the knife online. The online seller can tell you whatever they want in regards to the materials used in making the knife, and there is no way for you to verify it.
However, if you are buying a Benchmade knife that could be a phony in-person, take some time to inspect the materials used to make the knife. If the handle seems like cheap plastic or the blade has a stamp that labels it as a cheap metal, you probably have a fake on your hands.
You can also check the materials used to make the particular model you are interested in and check for any inconsistencies between the official Benchmade knife and the potential fake one.
7. Find Comparison Videos of Real and Fake Benchmade Knives
This last tip is probably one of the most important ones that I can give you because it works even if you aren’t very experienced in spotting fake Benchmade knives.
All you have to do is look up videos of the particular model of Benchymae knife you are interested in, and there are many videos comparing fakes to the real deal. Not all Benchmade knives have comparison videos, but the web is a vast place, and most of them do.
This tip is great if you have already purchased the knife or are buying from a physical store, but it can also work if you are getting it online. Just scrutinize the photos of the knife if it is online, and do your best to spot the differences between a fake and a genuine Benchmade knife.
In the end, there is no definite way to know if a Benchmade is genuine or not in every scenario, so the only thing you can do is try your best and follow the tips outlined in this article.
If you are interested in some genuinely authentic Benchmade knives, check out some of my favorite ones, which I have linked down below.
