Your SharpStone appears 100% authentic, it is simply an older model of the product. This was likely before the manufacturer registered their patent and obtained a registered trademark. Earlier SharpStones will have will have � instead of the ®, because this was before they registered the trademark the the USPTO. Also please note that sharpstone pollen presses (not including T-Presses) will also have the � instead of the ®. I'm not sure why the company hasn't changed that over yet.

The center hole that was mentioned only applies to reeling handle models! There should not be a hole there, unless you're looking at a reeling handle model grinder.

What tells me that your SharpStone grinder is authentic is:
the hole pattern and teeth pattern are 100% as expected
the quality of the cnc machining is apparent even in low quality images
you told me you received a bag and pick (I haven't yet seen a fake that included them, but this shouldn't be used as a guarantee!)
and finally the logo appears to be the proper color (if it was fake, you'd likely have a white logo)


Quote Originally Posted by EciRonTog
Very interesting thread, but in my case it created more questions than it answered as my SharpStone grinder does not appear to correspond to either your authentic or counterfeit examples. Perhaps you could help me to determine if mine is authentic or not?


From the top, lettering looks correct however it has a "TM" and not an "R" so does that mean it's counterfeit or just older? (Got it a few years back).



Your picture shows there as being a hole in the middle, but on mine, that is where the magnet is.






View from the bottom. I don't see any "Pat No" listed at all.

IIRC it did come with a little blue bag and a little black spatula, both of which are long gone by now.

It's never failed me and I don't recall ever having any metal shavings, etc, so I'm leaning toward it being authentic but I'd like to hear your opinion.