In line with the thinking that has been presented here: There is considerable provable physical evidence that even the largest Solingen makers at times used components made elsewhere when it was in their best economic interests to do so. When you factor in smaller makers with less resources - logic dictates that they did the same on an even greater scale although who did what might or might not be provable based on the objects themselves.

Which means that as George stated that sometimes the �red flags� may be the result of normal business practices rather than an attempt to counterfeit an item. FP