Looks like some fakes are getting really good.

Heres another.

Wow, those are quality Knock-offs The only way I could tell the Fighting knives were fake was because of the plaque. How much are they selling for?

~wormtongue

Those... are... knock-offs?! Wow.

I too am impressed. Could you please private message me the link, I wish to examine their site and possibly come to my own conclusion.

I've been seeing those imitations around here and there on the web. I think they are manufactured by the same company that produced the "Faramir" sword I found. They do a much better job than S3 Knife Traders, but I can't seem to nail down exactly who they are.

By the way, is this thread going to be the new "Beware of Fakes" thread? I stumbled across this sticky. Unfortunately, the "Beware of Fakes" thread doesn't seem to exist anymore.

I'll fetch a new one. I gather old one got tossed. Shame. There was a lot of info in there.

I think Ravenswood has the same ones as Badtrack. There are a handful of other sites selling them too, but I can't find a common part-number or manufacturer name.

Some of the sites will say right away that these are not UC. They also say that they are made in China, as opposed to the cheap Pakistan versions. (But I don't think location or climate has anything to do with it.)

Part of me applauds the effort put into these, but the rest of me shouts BEWARE OF FAKES! It's a very fine line. They seem to do a better job than TNC, even though UC still tops them both.

What I find most startling is how this stuff is brazenly and so openly sold allover the internet, when it is such an obvious breach of copyright law. You can't go to a movie these days without having to listen to how downloading movies is a crime, the music industry continues its battle to shutdown music file sharing, and computer companies go on about how the evils of software piracy cost them millions annually, yet this kind of crap is here for any to browse and buy?!?

Where is the law in all this? Where is NewLine Cinema suing these manufacturers for copyright infringements? Where is UC fighting to protect its licensing costs and lost revenue?

People wonder why UC says sales are low and thus the LOTR line is winding down and less and less products are forthcoming. Well, if more was done to shut these operations down and bring public awareness to these fakes, then perhaps the sales of UC's LOTR line would be in better shape because let's face it, for the most part the consumer masses are ignorant and oblivious to what is genuine or fake, and while we here consider ourselves enlightened to this issue, we are the exception rather than the rule. With fakes getting to be as high quality as these we are seeing now, the situation is only going to get worse for UC, and ultimately for you and I, sitting here hopelessly waiting for them to make more stuff for our collections.

Here is my theory on these fakes, if they are indeed being made in China. With UC's Taiwan factory so close by, it is little wonder that lax security has tempted some industrious and dishonest employee from stealing the manufacturing specifications of UC's replicas and selling them off to some unscrupulous underground operation in mainland China that is now pumping these off with glee and profit. Not very hard to figure out, and really a wonder that it didn't happen sooner.

Upon further reflection on this issue, I just wanted to add that it is very likely that UC or even NLC do not have the legal reach and power to affect an illegal operation of this nature, especially in a country like China, with whom relations with the west are iffy at best. However, inability to strike at the source should not stop either of these two entities from exercising their legal rights in north america. It is obvious that these fakes are finding their way overseas, and likely this is where they find their greatest share of buyers. If the manufacturer can't be brough to legal account, then the sellers and the people that run these websites should be. Though laws regulating internet crime are still in their infancy, cease and desist orders seem to be the bread of butter of today's legal teams for big companies. Someone is obviously not doing their job in this particular case, and though we laugh at the fools that buy these fakes, ultimately we are the ones being hurt because it results in low sales for UC and less incentive on their part to continue this line as a consequence of that.

Thats the most sick fake I have ever seen.

Haha, that is comical :lol_blue: It's funny how they've over-elaborated on the vine work of the scabbard. And check out that pearlescent handle!
Beautiful!

Is that handle made of plastic? Because it certainly looks like.

I'd feel sorry for those poor people who didn't know there was a difference.

That is one mighty ugly fake. The sauron helm was ugly, but in a way, it was a cool helm if it wasn't compared to saurons helm, but this, nobody would want at all, even if it does include a scabbard. How much was this selling for?

~wormtongue

If it was done right, a white handle might look nice on Sting... Too bad it looks so plastic-like. I wonder if any of these companies have made a white-handled version of the "fighting knives of Legolas"?

Hey guys!

Take a look at what I´ve found surfing on the un-nameable site.... It´s Narsil, and it´s really cheap too!!!

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I found these ones on a french site, they call the first one : "The Sword of The Last Alliance" (made in Spain, gold plated fittings (interesting anyway), 135cm long, stainless steel blade).
The second sword is called "The Elf Sword" (made in Spain, metal fittings, 55cm long, stainless steel blade).

They sell the first sword about $235 and the second one about $180 (e xp ensive fakes... particularly for the second one).

Jarveye wrote:arent both those pictures the same sword? or is one a smaller version with a different name?

???? there are 2 different swords pictured below : the last alliance one and the elv one (but let me know if one of them is not visible). (I would have been interested in having a closer look on the Last Alliance one, the fittings look not so bad...)

the one that is supposed to be sting is completely horrid, has the classic pakistani wood handle look

the first one is clearly anduril or narsil... i mean it isnt good, but the shape and style of the hilt are roughly recognizable