Is One of My Czech Tools Fake?
- Thread starter eugenepark
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The one with the silver snuff spoon and cigar pick is the fake.?
At a guess, the one on the right due to the softer engravings. It’s just a few pieces of bent and stamped metal pinned together into a cheap multitool, though, and I seriously doubt that being fake is going to impair its ability to smoosh down tobacco, scrape dottle, or clear a shank to any meaningful degree.
If it works it doesn't matter.
Pipe nails are simpler. Give one a try if you haven't already
Pipe nails are simpler. Give one a try if you haven't already
Thanks. I'll still use both but it seemed odd to me that there would be variants of this tool unless it's an open design that can be made by anyone. All I can decipher is that both of these were made in the Czech Republic since there are no brand markings otherwise.
The one on the left feels about 25% heavier and the "keeper ring" is much tighter.
The one on the right may have come with a pipe starter kit so if it's a "fake" then that would explain why, although I swear I bought the "genuine" one on the left for $3 so it's not exactly a high value item in the first place.
Well, a fake could be leaking lead into your bowl with every tamp. Just sayin'... 
The original could be too.Well, a fake could be leaking lead into your bowl with every tamp. Just sayin'...
Yup, if it was made during the Iron Curtain era. ?
Even with the new. If you didn't make it, can you reeaally be sure what it's made of.
What if the pipe nail turns out to be fake too?
I’ve used my finger before but now I’m not sure if it’s real. There’s no nomenclature at all. What’s the test?
(But really, I also made sure I got the Real Czech Tool, because I didn’t want cadmium-laden waste metal from unscrupulous fakers, as Olkofri suggests. We had a rash of cadmium containing children’s jewellery from the Usual Suspects a few years ago in Canada and it caused a stir.)
After reading your post, I went to inspect my hand and it gave me a different finger than I usually use for tamping!
There are 2 different 3 in 1 tools available, including the cheaper one. I had one of the heavier ones, lost it, bought 3 from TP and they were the cheap pieces of crap. They work, but not as well as the original model I had. I bought 3 of the original from SP and all is well.
My fingers are all unstamped basket fingers. I've always just assumed that as long as they do the job, they're OK. Now I'm curious if they might be Dunhill rejects or something, and why they were rejected. Some are a little crooked and there are definitely some dings and scratches, so it might be for cosmetic reasons.
Yes, but in this case the stamping reads
MADE IN
CZECHOSLOVAKIA
(I still have one from this era, bought it in the late 60s)
I would suspect that any patents on the Czech tool are long-expired, which leaves anybody who thinks they have a market for them can make and sell the same design (with whatever markings they prefer).
My bigger worry is all the fake pipe cleaners flooding the market.
Somewhere I read an article that explained there are two current pipe tools available, one the classic Czech made version, and another from Asia. The Czech versions are so marked; mine is inherited down from my grandfather and dad, ordinary as it is. I think I have one or two of the Asian products too, but I agree, for shear simplicity, efficiency and low cost, the pipe nail is supreme -- effective and, because it costs nothing, almost impossible to lose.
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