Latama 11 inch Switchblade Info Wanted

[waynes124]

Hello gentlemen,
First time poster here. I'm hoping some of you experts can help me. I recently acquired an 11 inch Latama Switchblade that I believe is from the early 1950's. Although the blade has pitina, it doesn't appear to ever have been sharpened, polished or cleaned. The knife functions perfectly and has a great spring. Two problems I see with the knife are... one of the handles has 4 or 5 small "bug holes" which I understand is common and can be repaired / filled. Also....when the knife is open, the blade leans a bit to the right which it looks like it could be repaired by tightening the front brass blade rivit. I've collected guns and knives all my life (i'm 66) but am not familier with switch blades. I HAVE done some research "on line". Since I am considering selling the knife, I was wondering what is it worth "as is" or would I be better off having it fixed and then selling it. Any info or opinions would be greatly appreciated. I have uploaded 3 pictures (I hope) Thank you.
Waynes124

[Austinaftermath]

Usually leaving it as is, is the best way to go. If you want to sell it I recommend Sharperdeals.

[hogwild]

Partner you need to have a chat with Bill DeShivs about this. He can tell you straight up what to do. You have quite a piece there and need to take your time making a decision. See his forum on this site. Greg

[jim d,]

Do not fix it if you want to sell it. Some prospective buyers would see it as a big negative and be driven away. Any buyer who wants it fixed would know Bill and would opt to do that. Sharperdeal is the place to sell if you wish to do that.

Jim

[waynes124]

Thank you all for your response.
Wayne

[Panzerfaust]

I agree with what others said about leaving it alone and also listing it on the SharperD auction site. If you decide to sell, I would be interested.

[waynes124]

Thanks for you reply.
No one has yet told me what they think it is honestly worth.
Wayne

[METALGOD]

this knife restored you may get more than it being not restored. in present condition i say $400 on low end and $600 possibly more on the hi end . restored/ mint ive seen them go for 1000 or more , there are a couple of websites out there that sell 11" Latamas for more than 1000 dollars. hope this helps

[waynes124]

That's what I needed to know. Thank you very much.
Wayne

[Panzerfaust]

That's what I needed to know. Thank you very much.
Wayne

I agree on the price range provided by Metalgod but disagree on restoring it. Unless something is broken and it needs to be taken apart anyway, leave it as is.

[Belmont800]

Agree with METALGOD also nice knife! However unless its minty and you are willing to ship it to some foreign land ... Asia for example, its not a 1K knife. 450 - 600 as it sits, restored by a professional probably more like 700 - 800. Cheers! Dan

[Panzerfaust]

Agree with METALGOD also nice knife! However unless its minty and you are willing to ship it to some foreign land ... Asia for example, its not a 1K knife. 450 - 600 as it sits, restored by a professional probably more like 700 - 800. Cheers! Dan

I could be wrong because selling prices can be unpredictable, but I don't see a refinished Latama bringing $7-$800. I sold one a while back for $425, though on mine, the blade had been sharpened and was a little short. Sell it as is is my recommendation and if you are not sure what to sell it for, put it on the SD site with a starting price or reserve of $500.

[waynes124]

Thank you gentlemen...I appreciate your opinions and advice.
Wayne

[Viking45]

I am not the "Company Expert" but I can give my 2 cents- The old horn scales have aged nicely apart from the few bug bites.
Many members here will agree that you don't see horn like that any more. (on modern stilettos)
The knife looks very straight and blade looks full.

If I were to sell the knife I would leave it as is. Two reason: One being that more buyers would prefer it as-is and although I am no expert I have seen knives like this sell for 4 to 500.
The second reason is that a profit is still to be made but also there may be someone looking for this very size/scale color etc. and they are willing to give a pretty penny to have it just the way it is.

A restored knife may or may not be worth the gamble,but selling it as is is a sure thing.
Another bit of advice is to not try to clean it yourself,you could do more damage than good..
Congratulations it is a beautiful knife. I have been collecting most of my life and I still do not own a vintage Latama. Seems they never make it to Missouri
Good luck on whatever you decide.

[Panzerfaust]

I am not the "Company Expert" but I can give my 2 cents- The old horn scales have aged nicely apart from the few bug bites.
Many members here will agree that you don't see horn like that any more. (on modern stilettos)
The knife looks very straight and blade looks full.

If I were to sell the knife I would leave it as is. Two reason: One being that more buyers would prefer it as-is and although I am no expert I have seen knives like this sell for 4 to 500.
The second reason is that a profit is still to be made but also there may be someone looking for this very size/scale color etc. and they are willing to give a pretty penny to have it just the way it is.

A restored knife may or may not be worth the gamble,but selling it as is is a sure thing.
Another bit of advice is to not try to clean it yourself,you could do more damage than good..
Congratulations it is a beautiful knife. I have been collecting most of my life and I still do not own a vintage Latama. Seems they never make it to Missouri
Good luck on whatever you decide.

Wells said, Viking, and I have a Latama that a prior owner cleaned with either sand paper or a wire wheel. Big mistake! FWI, though I have a collection of them, they have never turned up in my part of the world either. Most of them seem to come from northern states.