An Older Knife

[ChipZ]

Hello! I’m new here and I would like some opinions on my latest knife.

CompositeViews.jpg (176.9 KiB) Viewed 4029 times

I bought it sight-unseen and it appears to be fairly old. When I got it, I noticed almost immediately that the blade and springs are made from 5mm steel as opposed to the thinner stock that my more recently made 13 inch stilettos have.

Additionally, it has what I’m sure is a “slip-in” spring even though I’ve never seen one before this. The opening is reliable but very slow compared to my 13” Frank B.’s. There is only very minor wiggle in the blade when open but the lockup is not great – the blade can be closed with a moderate amount of pressure. The guard swivels to close the blade normally. The only marking is “Rostfrei.”. It’s not very distinct but definitely has a period.

Does anyone have any ideas as to the age, maker, and value of this one?

My other oldest stiletto is an 11” manual opening picklock. The tang stamp is MADE/ITALY/6. It’s in terrible shape but is made with 4mm stock. This raises the question “Were stilettos generally made with heavier materials ‘back in the day’ than they are now?” I also have a newer MADE/ITALY/6 manual lockback and it has 3.3mm stock which only helps prove my quality question to be worthy of comment.

[john]

Hello ChipZ and Welcome to the TB Forum,

Please try posting the photo again.

A lot of older stilettos from the 50s were made with thicker springs and blades. Recently a few limited edition knives have been made with 4 and 5 mm springs and blades.

Your new friend on the TB Forum,

John

[ChipZ]

I did what I do with other boards - [img]photbucket%20address[/img]. It just didn't work for some reason. I will use the attachment feature from now on (now that I know what and where it is).

And it's those limited edition knives that make me raise the question. You easily pay an extra $100-150 for a 5mm blade now. Were these chunky knives "special" back then?

[Bill DeShivs]

You have a classic, 1960s-1970s "transitional" knife.
There were always thicker, thinner knives made, but in general the older knives used thicker steel.

[georgyboy]

[quote][/quote] i agree w/bill,except that with the slip in spring it may be from the 50's,when buying transitional knves ypu should look for these things =all 4 guards lined,D stamped liner button pivot,swedge ground thick unsharpened blade and wide backspring n nickle silver bolsterS
good hunting-ge0rge

[john]

Hi ChipZ,
The stag scales on your knife are absolutely gorgeous. They have beautiful texture and color. I don't know if you're into restoring or even cleaning the knife but this one looks like it needs just a little bit of TLC. Polishing the bolsters to look brand spanking new should only take a minute.
John

[ILikeStilettos]

Let me chip in with my two cents worth. First off, I'm not into vintage; I much prefer knives that are displayed in their best possible form (shiny, functional, etc.) and I like wild, customized knives. There is a lot of overlap between John and I in this area, for example, we both collect new production knives from Renzo Pascotto. So, if I get hold of a vintage knife, I'm the first to fix it up or change something that makes it 'better' in my own mind. John does a little mangling, and in fact I have knives that he has done for me.

All that being said, I understand how most vintage collectors operate. The rules are different there. In that case, you do absolutely nothing to the knife that doesn't involve preventing further deterioration (kill active rust, kill any active microorganisms that are producing bug bites.) Even a necessary repair, like replacing a broken spring is iffy. These collectors want a knife that has never been touched, never taken apart since it left the factory. If you want to preserve the most collector value for your knife, don't do ANYTHING to it.

If you plan on keeping the knife, then do as you like. However, if you plan on selling it at any point in the future, and because it is an older knife and transitional, don't touch it.

(See guys, I understand what you like and I agree ... it's just not MY THING.)

[ChipZ]

1. Thanks, Bill DeShivs, my very limited number of examples kinda suggested that thicker steel was, once upon a time, more the norm. And it’s a transitional! Woo hoo!

2. georgyboy, john and ILikeStilettos – Thanks for your comments! I am one of those poor anal retentive saps who doesn’t like to change things much. I don’t really care if this old knife looks old. It’s a shame that the handles don’t match better but, there’s no fixin’ that now!

The only thing with this knife that I would repair is the locking pin. As I mentioned, it can be closed without using the bolster. A little more metal added and machined would be nice. I assume that an experienced welder could do that. Another little problem is that I can see daylight through the knife. This is actually more annoying, to me, than the lockup problem but I don’t think that I would consider fixing it since the back spring has a very slow taper starting about half way – I would have to have it replaced to fix this problem.

All in all, I’m very happy with it and hope to have the luck to find more like it. I probably shouldn’t say this, but I would have paid a good bit more than $70 if I had had to.

I’ve seen some customs here that are nearly too good to be real. The prices paid are probably so high as to be un-real. I have to be happy with your regular Frank B’s, AGA Campolin’s, and similarly priced knives – I don’t think that I’ll ever have an old Latama or the like but, to be truthful, I do prefer the old ones, warts and all.

[ILikeStilettos]

ChipZ PM sent to you.

[lance]

I think ya have a great old knife there Chip,I'm a vintage Guy myself.and I agree with the fellas on this one let it be.the small flaws are a badge of Honor,the fact that the knife has survived lord knows how many people's "click therapy" and abuse for 60 + years and it still functions!! That's what is so appealing to me about these knives!!
You've got a Beaty of a knife keep a hold of it.if it ain't broke..don't fix it.

[rock-n-roll$$$$$$]

my 2 cents worth would be, put a VERY small drop of oil on the front and back bottom of the blade move the blade almost shut,then almost open,do this about ten times,with a clean cloth wipe off what is left of the oil,do not use paper towels,and most off all store all your autos OPEN. b.t.w. sweet blade