How to tell if a Nikon Fe 35mm film camera is authentic?

I bought a Nikon FE 35mm film camera just recently and i noticed just now that the film rewind thingy is different from all the Fe's i see in the net. Now i have a bad feeling that i got a fake unit.

the rewind knob is all silver and the lever itself is a single piece.

I have never heard of a fake FE - I have one, great camera.
Two suggestions:

- look on ebay at genuine replacement parts & see if they match yours
- PM me - if you like I will email you photos of mine (which is genuine)

If some parts are fake you may be able to buy a broken one on eBay & switch over the needed parts

There's no such thing as a fake/imitiation Nikon FE. This is a great camera but not great enough that anyone has made copies of it. As far as I know, the only 35mm still cameras for which fakes actually exist and have been passed off as originals are Leica screw mount rangefinders.

What more than likely happened is just that the rewind knob assembly was lost or broken at some point in your FE's life and was replaced with a generic one or one from another camera. The FM/FE series cameras can share many parts and things like rewind knobs can actually be used from totally different brands if desired. Rewind levers tend to get broken by folks who rewind over-enthusiastically.

I think that your rewind knob is a unique part of the history of your camera and should be appreciated rather than feared, providing it works okay that is! If you wanted to switch it out, it may take some detective work to on eBay to find the original without paying an arm and a leg for it. But they are not hard to remove and install. Email me at JohnnyMartyr@Hotmail.com if you want help with that or anything else.

Enjoy your FE, these are excellent cameras; I've owned serveral but have largely come to prefer the FM2n and I do without the automation. I like that the FE has a battery check light and can mount pre-AI lenses though. If you haven't tried an MD-12 motordrive on your FE, I'd suggest one if you like heavier cameras and use longer lenses.

MANUAL AND METAL! FILM FOREVER!