This guide is a warning against the influx of counterfeit Global Knives being sold on Ebay at the moment. The most popular set available at the moment is a 12 piece set with a 'laptop style' carry case. Most of the sets are described as 'brand new' (which they probably are) but none are described as being genuine - for obvious reasons. These are more than likely fakes, they look pretty good at first glance but the blades are poor and dull within a few months - my sister has a set which she bought when we went to China as she doesnt cook much and they're just there to look good in the kitchen.

They are selling for around £200 on ebay which is about a quarter of the price of genuine Global knives. We recently returned from Beijing where identical sets are being sold in markets and on the streets to tourists for around $50 US (£25). Copyright law in China is pretty non existent.

The easiest way you can tell real Global knives is by the dimples on the handles - they should be perfectly symmetrical and evenly spaced out and not painted black - the metal itself is a darker colour. 'Global' should be laser etched (not painted) on both sides of the blade.

I've nothing against people paying £25 for a cheap set of knives which look like real Globals (I would have been tempted myself if I didnt have the real ones - my sister got some because she likes the look of them) but people decieving others into buying 'unwanted gifts / ex stock / bulk buys' etc for £200 appalls me. Remember THE AUCTIONS NEVER STATE THEY ARE GENUINE!

Ebay is a buyers market - auctions usually fetch their true value, items that seem too good to be true usually are. Unfortunately most of the people buying these sets dont even realise they're fake until a couple of months down the line when they start to blunt and rust - by then its too late.

Global currently do two sets -  a 5 knife set and a 6 knife set (both in blocks) for a current price of £199.00 in the shops at the moment - do yourself a favour and buy one of these if you actually want quality knives, not expensive ornaments!

Any honest sellers out there who are selling the real thing, I'm sure will appreciate this - people selling fakes get no sympathy.

***UPDATE 06/02/08***

I've just seen a seller today advertising the 12 piece set as described above and openly stating that these are replicas. I won't include a link to the listing but this does go someway to show the availability of these. The starting price is an incredible £85.00 but as yet doesn't have any bidders. Please be careful when buying 12 / 14 piece knife sets in carry cases - Global don't officially sell these as a set!