Wilkinson Sword Woodlore

[Doc]

Here is a WS Woodlore with the Micarta handle on ebay, currently at £360, without a sheath.

http://cgi.ebay.co.uk/Wilkinson-Swo...ryZ13983QQssPageNameZWDVWQQrdZ1QQcmdZViewItem

My WS Woodlore is stamped 'Made in England' under the crossed swords logo, but this one isn't. I thought they all said 'made in England'. Can anyone explain?

 

[ArkAngel]

So is mine...so no i can't explain!

 

[Too Much Kit To Carry]

I'm sure this ebay seller has sold a few of these in recent months.

Phil.

 

[ArkAngel]

It'll be very possible, some members on here own at least 5 of them

(not me by the way, just the one for me! )

 

[spamel]

I'm sure some people have cottoned on to how much they are worth on eBay and are group buying a load and then selling them for profit. The profit pays for more of them and so on and so forth. I must say that this is quite annoying as genuine buyers are waiting due to this sort of thing. I'd love Alan Wood to keep an eye on people who buy umpteen blades all of the same design, and continue placing orders, as it is obvious what these folk are up to. He should turn them away and sell to genuine people who don't want to have to wait for ages for their knives and then this will in turn kill the ridiculous prices that keep coming up on eBay.

Just my little rant, I find it ridiculous as it isn't as if these knives aren't being made anymore. I can understand the prices on the Wilkie version, but not the AW version.

 

[Snufkin]

I can understand the prices on the Wilkie version, but not the AW version.

I can't understand why anyone would pay £360 for a £90 knife that is missing its sheath.

 

[spamel]

It's more to do with the fact that the Wilkie version isn't in production any longer. Saying that, they were factory made, I'd rather have the hand made version myself!!

 

[BorderReiver]

I think that the main point of Doc's post was the lack of "made in England" on the blade.

 

[Brian]

I've got the Wilkinson sword micarta and the Alan Wood, my Wilky has Made in England on it, for £95 it is great, not for over £300 I actually use it more than my Alan Wood, fits my hand better, but thats just me.

Brian

 

[Snufkin]

It does look a bit suss. But I'm suprised no ones tried to fake a wilkie before at the silly money they go for (not that I'm suggesting this one is fake).

 

[GearGuru]

Mine has 'made in England on it' too - which reminds me must flog mine b4 there's a load of these err 'similar' woodies flooding the market.

 

[JonathanD]

Bizaare as it is, there are now fakes being made. I have seen one Alan Wood fake made from Stainless steel and very bad stamping with a foxes head as the Woody logo. The three I have seen that were Wilkinson clones were quite good with the stamping very well etched, and without the 'made in England' branding, the only thing that let them down was the profile of the micarta slabs. Something hard to disinguish on ebay from just photos.

 

[Hoodoo]

Geezopetey!!! I should sell one of mine.

 

[Tadpole]

The ones I have seen look as if the Wilkinson sword logo is stamped on, and this one looks etched on. Were they all stamped or were some etched on?

 

[C_Claycomb]

I'd love Alan Wood to keep an eye on people who buy umpteen blades all of the same design, and continue placing orders, as it is obvious what these folk are up to. He should turn them away and sell to genuine people who don't want to have to wait for ages for their knives and then this will in turn kill the ridiculous prices that keep coming up on eBay.

This would be difficult since Alan is contracted to ONLY sell knives of that exact design to Woodlore. If you have a gripe about how the knives reach the general public, please direct it at Woodlore, not at Alan Wood.

 

[woodmunky]

Some poor fool's about to get ripped off i fear!

 

[Simon E]

Some poor fool's about to get ripped off i fear!

To paraphrase the owner of ebay (I think it was anyway)

If they dont know its a fake, then what does it matter?

 

[Klenchblaize]

I'm tempted to put this on e-bay but at what starting price given it is NOT a "Ray Mears" knife:

Happy bids!

 

[BorderReiver]

I'm tempted to put this on e-bay but at what starting price given it is NOT a "Ray Mears" knife:

Happy bids!

NOT a "Ray Mears" eh? Give you a fiver for it.

 

[Doc]

That's all very interesting.

I have often thought that fake Woodlore knives are inevitably going to appear, given the fact they are selling for up to £500 or so.

Is this one a fake though? If you were going to make fakes, then surely you would copy the exact inscription?

Presumably someone still owns the 'Wilkinson sword' trademark. Could this be made abroad under Wilkinson licence, now that the London WS factory has closed? When Schrade closed its US knife factory, production of identical knives was moved to China.

Or could it be someone has commisioned an overseas factory to make fakes and the factory declined to stamp their products with an untrue statement of origin?

Or were some genuine WS Woodlores not stamped 'Made in England'?

All this is speculation on my part, and I am not making any comment on this particular knife. But I would love to know the truth of the matter.