I bought one of these fake global knives off ebay, well at the time of buying I did not know it was a fake. When it arrived in the post I could see almost instantly that it did not look right. It was not easy at first to see why it was fake. Luckily I happen to own 2 global knives which I know for a fact are genuine, bought over the counter at a John Lewis, so I could compare them.

So what am I doing now writing this several weeks later, well I feel a bit guilty for not leaving the seller -ve to warn other buyers, the seller fooled a few people but not all, I saw 2 weeks afterwards a buyer finally rumbled him and left -ve. Needless to say the seller has not come back, at least not on that particular account.

I now see there are more fakes for sale, including the G45 ceramic rod sharpeners, and thanks to buying one fake already, I know what to look for in the photos. Its only when you have the real thing and the fake side by side can you tell which is which, so I have written this little guide to help others.   

When I first got the fake knife in my hand, I could tell it did not feel right but I was not certain as to why this was, a true global is a quality product, heavy and solid, balanced. Next I tried it out cutting some bread, tomatoes etc. It was useless, it looked very sharp but could not cut worth a damn compared to a genuine global knife, they are meant to be razor sharp. These fakes will cut with a bit of effort but not as good as the real thing. 

The next big clue is the dimples on the handle, these should be perfectly round uniform dots of equal size and spaced evenly around the handle. Not close together where one might overlap the other IYSWIM. On the 2 knives I own the dimples are perfect in size and spaced evenly. Plus I have since been back to John Lewis to check this, having examined several genuine knives, they all have perfectly round uniform dimples, and evenly spaced.  No enamel smears, no dimples almost touching.

On the fake I noticed that the dimples varied in size and depth and looked more oval in shape than round, they were larger and smaller, the enamel paint dot did not always sit exactly in the centre of the indent and connected on some parts of the handle. But then this is a fake, the attention to detail is not as good. This is the only visual clue you can use, its the only way you can tell by looking if its fake. Any imperfection of the dots / dimples means its fake. You have to look very closely to see this, its hardly noticable but there is a difference in the finish. Its not nearly as neat and tidy as it should be. The dimples on a fake are also closer together and almost touch on some part of the handle. This is what I now see in some of the photos of items for sale on ebay.

NB: The dimples should all be the same size and diameter right across the handle, perfectly round and evenly spaced,  like these asterisks, evenly spaced, round, equal distance apart covering the handle  * * * * * * * * * * *  On a fake you may see something like this * * ** * * ** * and they will vary in size.

Finally all global products come boxed, there is a serial number on the box, inside the box is a leaflet giving instructions on how to care for your product etc, plus a list of other products. No box with serial number and leaflet means its 100% fake. The only exception is if its secondhand, even then treat with caution. Look for the first 2 clues to verify. Ok it may be a bit blunt if its secondhand and used. Here is another clue, the steel on a real global is soft or finer than cheaper quality steel. By that I mean if you run it across a metal steel rod sharpener to sharpen it, it will leave tiny scratches, thats why global advocate the use of a ceramic sharpener to prevent this.

I see some sellers are using the excuse, "this knife is part of a set which was broken up to give you a bargain", to get round not having the box. Some sellers will use a photo of a genuine knife, then when yours arrives in the post, guess what! surprise surprise, NO BOX. and theres a note saying sorry, the box got damaged. 

To recap, it must have the box and paper work if its new to be genuine. What possible excuse can there be for not having a new item in its original packing. You are either very careless or selling fakes. The price is also a give away, these are very exclusive items only available to a select few wholesalers who supply large stores in the UK like John Lewis.

If Joe Bloggs has a shed load of them on ebay, no boxes with serial numbers, they must be 100% fake

There is a Global Knife website where you can check the serial numbers, I have not included it but its there if you want to have a butchers.

I have now decided to try and buy a genuine global knife off ebay, to see if its possible. The hunt is on. Exciting isnt it. I dont hold out much hope of getting one. But I will try. Watch this space ( )

During this quest to find a genuine global product, I found this feedback which read "FAKE FAKE FAKE I got on to grunweg (global importer) DO NOT BUT FROM THIS PERSON" What is amazing about this is, it is not the first neg this seller has for selling fakes and people are still bidding silly amounts. I guess this means some people like fakes, or they do not realise that these fakes are no where near as sharp or cant be sharpened to the same standard as a genuine global. 

There are sets of globals in large boxes, I am not sure about these, I have not examined a box set but I think these are fakes as well. The price is a good indicator here. I certainly will not buy a set off ebay unless there is a till receipt and paperwork included. I see one clever buyer left neutral feedback stating he asked the seller to prove authenticity for a set of globals, needless to say the seller could not prove that the set was authentic. Good one that.