Counterfeit knives of the Swiss Army soldier

Before anything else the notion of counterfeit has to be understood (illegal) :

Counterfeiting is a violation of intellectual property rights by making an exact imitation of something valuable with the intention to deceive or defraud (plagiarism) without having the right or by stating or implying that the copy is authentic.

 

... And not to be confused with the notion of reproduction (legal under certain conditions) :

Reproduction consists of making a replica as faithful as possible to the original article, this assumes, in advance, that the original is "royalty free" or permission has been obtained from the rightful owners.

 

In the following examples, the counterfeit knives are virtually identical to the originals, however, a less careful overall finish distinguishes some, but this is not always the case.

At first glance the main differences for these knives are the blade, the handle or the tools :

  • The blades do not contain a vintage stamp nor the manufacturer stamp of a recognised Swiss Army supplier.
  • They do not contain a “Waffenkontrole” control stamp on the handle.
  • The tools sometimes have different shapes and sizes to the original knife.

Amongst the most well-known counterfeits are those with the following stamps : INOX – PRIMA QUALITAT - ROSTNEVER... Or no stamp at all.

 

Counterfeit knives of the Swiss Army soldier