Trapdoor

[David76]

Hello all. Can anyone clear up a rumor about the possibility of the trapdoor making a comeback from Mantiago?

[john]

Two years ago or so, Frank Beltrame was planning to make a reproduction. He ran into issues and he put it on hold. If and when he resolves them he'll go into production with it. This was a fill in project for him. If he hasn't found the time in the past two years I have a feeling we'll never see a reproduction of the trapdoor by Frank.

[David76]

Dude, that is not what I was hoping to hear but thanks for the info John. Between the trapdoor and the rizzuto I'm crossing my fingers the Italians make a move.

[john]

When Frank told me he was planning to make a trapdoor reproduction I asked him if it was OK to let the collectors know what he was up to. So, I did. I and a few other collectors were very excited that Frank was going to make a reproduction of the trapdoor. The main issue was a loose blade. His goal was to make a trapdoor with no blade movement in the open position. The last time I spoke to him about his trapdoor reproduction project Frank said he would work on it when he had time.

Your best bet is to try to find one that's being auctioned off. I've seen several for sale in the past few years. Hang in there one will show up eventually.

You have probably done a search in this forum for the "trapdoor stiletto." I've been fortunate enough to be in the right place at the right time. I have two in my collection. I have posted photos of them on this forum. They are two of my most favorite knives.

[big_slim]

I find it interesting that the issue Mr. Beltrame was having was blade movement in the open position. This seems to be the unsolvable problem that plagues otf knife design. Having said that I'd love to see somebody start making those trapdoors again. I saw one for sale the other day and I clicked on the link to look at the listing and it was already gone, it wasn't cheap either...

[Tom19176]

Look at the Sharper Deals site.....They are listed there pretty often

[David76]

Right on, thanks bro. The journey begins!

[merKar]

He ran into issues and he put it on hold.
royal1688 เล่นผ่านเว็บ

[bigfatross]

Dude, that is not what I was hoping to hear but thanks for the info John. Between the trapdoor and the rizzuto I'm crossing my fingers the Italians make a move.

In my opinion, they already have topped the poor quality rizzuto .............It's called the swing guard.

[David76]

Fair enough

[krakenten]

All that would be needed is a bail, and the swing-guard becomes the Rizzuto...except that the Italian swing guard predates the Rizzuto by decades.

The Rizzuto is a copy of a classic Italian design. And rather an inferior one, too.

[john]

Almost all trapdoor or otf's have some blade movement. He wanted to improve the functionality. This was a side project for him; something to do when he had some down time. I've asked about it, but it seems to be taking a back seat to all his other projects. It would be nice to see a reproduction made of the classic trapdoor, but I wouldn't count on seeing one in the near future.

[Tom19176]

here is one:

http://www.sharperdeals.net/auction_det ... _id=105840

[limabravo]

I had never heard of a trapdoor before so I looked it up on sharperdeals, and found one available for $695.

Those knives are awesome, but that is way out of my price range. I am more of a $10 Nato Military OTF guy.

Does anyone know of a knock off or other name of a knife that resembles the trapdoor that is more reasonably priced?

I hope someone makes a reproduction, and that it doesnt cost too much.

[big_slim]

I don't think there's any kind of lower end trapdoor knockoff out there. I've never had one but I don't think they're very high quality or anything, my understanding is that most of them still have typical blade wobble when opened. There's a panzer messer up on SD right now w/ a trapdoor, it's a different style but also pretty cool. Those aren't typically as pricey but don't show up for sale that often either. I also wish somebody would make a repro trapdoor but nobody seems to be doing it, the general feeling seems to be that it's more trouble than it's worth.