We were visiting at friends who had a knock off Durand type opener…it worked fine.
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Knock-offs have been available from China for years. The patent expiring hasn’t changed anything.
There is some difference between a legal knock-off and an illegal knock-off.
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FWIw I’m glad my wife didn’t give me a knock off for Father’s Day haha
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The differences between the real thing (I own one) and knockoffs I purchased from Temu last year ($17 delivered) are 1) the tines and worm are a quarter inch shorter on the knockoffs and 2) the worm screws into the handle. For the latter, a friend suggested supergluing them together as the worm can become unattached on a cork that’s less than cooperative.
My Durand stays at home. I take a knockoff to offlines. If it gets lost or broken, that’s fine.
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Agreed. I waited until the patent expired to get my knockoff.
$20 from Ebay. It’s relatively heavy and seems to be of decent quality.
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And how many thousands of dollars worth of wine have you opened effortlessly over the past 17 years using your Durand? This is why I think the comments about the cost of the device are objectively funny. Obviously, mileage varies…
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I didn’t mind spending more on the one from the company of the guy who created it.
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I’m with you Eric. I have two at work and one at home. I use them several times a week. The original creators got my money and I am a very happy customer. Sometimes it is not about saving a few dollars, you have to reward the innovators.
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I have had the Durand for a number of years. When I first bought it, I operated from the real men don’t need directions philosophy. I tried to put the tongs back through the holes in the screw mechanism and had a hard time getting it to work. By happenstance, I saw a video on use of Durands where they did not do that. It thus has worked much better for me for quite a number of years and, if not foolproof, it is awfully close. But, as you said, only if you give up trying to be a real man.
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No you won’t. You will love the idea of being morally superior to people who try to do that. And, you will really feel great when these others give up and copy you in getting a Durand.
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I sell tools for a living. The Chinese are real good at making things that look like the original but they never work like the original because the quality is always garbage.
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I think it depends on the knockoff… there’s no way the Durand uses close to $145 in materials. There are a lot of “fake” products from china that are identical to the “real” product and made in the same factory/assembly line.
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This message was brought to you from the 1980s through a wormhole in the space-time continuum.
You are aware that many high-end things (from iPhones to Adidas shoes to drones to EVs to you name it) are made in China?
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I live it every day. Customers buy the cheap tool on eBay or Scamazon and when it doesn’t work they come to me to get the quality one.
It’s the same with auto parts. The majority of replacement parts are made in China. The fit and function is horrible. Fenders, hoods, bumpers, headlight assys that never fit properly and create hours of work for the tech having to re-engineer them to make them fit.
Parts that don’t function. In the past 2 months I have purchased 5 different parts for my work truck. Grill mounting clips that don’t fit into the holes in the factory grill. An exhaust brake that sticks closed causing the truck to stall. A solenoid where the electrical plug was incorrect. A door weatherstrip with mounting tabs placed 1” off from where they need to be. Brake pads with only half of the mounting hardware included. Last but not least, replacement headlamp assys that have inoperable adjusters and lenses that yellow within a year.
Enjoy your iPhone but Chinese quality control on the whole is garbage.
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So how long until we get a Durand knock off from Puegot or Wusthof that is made in the EU?
Has anyone used any of the current Durand knock-offs and can speak to their quality with actual experience. Obviously, since it has only been on the market for months, such judgments will have limits. They will nevertheless be better than the current opinions of them based on nothing at all.
I’ve had mine for 9 months. I’m a happy customer.
I have the knockoff that I linked to in a previous post. It feels heavy for it’s size, it seems well made (there are no rough edges nor anything loose), and most importantly it works well. Admittedly, I don’t have the genuine article to compare to.
Have you actually used a knockoff and physically compared its look & feel to a Durand?
My Epiphone ES335 guitar was made in China. The two instructors I’ve had have been impressed with its quality, both from the build and playing standpoints. My first instructor did try out 6 of them. Only 2 met his standard. The equivalent Gibson is 6x more expensive.
I’m not at all dismissing your experiences with car parts. But that’s just one piece in the overall picture.