Origin of the Kris switchblade

[DonC]

I'm in the "interesting exercise in blade grind but don't get really excited over them" camp. I have a few but not my favorites.
Viking: My 9" Latama kriss has a 4mm blade and back spring so it's in keeping with the slightly heavier vintage builds. Feels good and solid in the hand.





DonC

[john]

Hi Dave,
I'm also going to send you the two knives in the photo below one is a 12cm and the other is a B SVOBODY 28 cm. the 38 cm B SVOBODY needed scales. I put new Brazilian horn on it. Please shine them up for me. I'll put all of them in the mail.
John

[Fishtail Picklock]

I'm in the "interesting exercise in blade grind but don't get really excited over them" camp. I have a few but not my favorites.
Viking: My 9" Latama kriss has a 4mm blade and back spring so it's in keeping with the slightly heavier vintage builds. Feels good and solid in the hand.





DonC

That is a handsome knife. I like the 4mm thickness of the blade. Such a blade thickness is a good compromise between strength and slicing ability.

I would like to see these knives made in America today. I doubt that there would be many artisans that would have the patience to do so. As Bill DeShivs has said, "there are no young people that have the patience to put in on such artistic work".

[john]

Wow!!! Don your Latama is collector's dream come true. Did Dave aka Viking polish it for you? He offered to polish my knife for me. Back to your knife it looks like it was made yesterday. The horn is amazing and the stamp is nearly perfect.
John

[orangeboy]

I just checked out your sharperdeals post, very interesting stuff. My original point mainly was that the idea of the kris switchblade seems to predate the 1950's Italian stiletto makers by many years. I was mainly wondering if the designer of the 1950's Kris blade switchblades was aware of the earlier version or possibly versions of the knife. As I say, the blade shape and design of the 50's kris stilettos is strikingly similar to the older Ibberson knife given all the possible variations of a kris style knife blade. An updated switchblade book would be most welcome

If you look on page 80 of the new "Latama Legend" book you will see what is truly Pasquale Patrizio's signature (in blue ink) on the application he sent when submitting his design.

If you're looking for a new book on Italian switchblades, the Latama Legend is about as close as it gets for now. (Of course "Art of the Switchblade has an amazing section on Pre-WW2 Italian switchblades). It's not just Latama, there are 10,000 other amazing pieces in there of newly discovered material and facts. You can learn new things sentence after sentence. You won't find better information on the 1940's/1950's stilettos anywhere.

[daddyloko]

Fantastic knives guys. John That Swing Guard Kriss looks gigantic .

[big_slim]

wow, great looking knives! Nice Latama there. I'm gonna have to get a copy of the "Latama Legend" book, thanks for the info.

[lance]

Wow donice that's a beauty!!! Is it a minty survivor? It had to have been polished up at some point.right!? It's shining like a new dimension!
And John is right on point about the new latama legend book its worth itseeing weight in gold if you're interested in learning moreally about old picklocks.

[DonC]

John, big_slim and Lance: Thanks for the compliments. I prefer shiny knives so I go over them with 4 micron diamond paste and a 1" felt Dremel wheel. The diamond paste does a very nice job of polishing the metal without removing a significant amount as long as I'm a little careful with it. Any nickel parts get polished with white buffing compound and usually clean up very nicely. Scales are gone over with pink scratchless on a slow speed 6" loose cotton buffing wheel.
DonC

[lance]

John, big_slim and Lance: Thanks for the compliments. I prefer shiny knives so I go over them with 4 micron diamond paste and a 1" felt Dremel wheel. The diamond paste does a very nice job of polishing the metal without removing a significant amount as long as I'm a little careful with it. Any nickel parts get polished with white buffing compound and usually clean up very nicely. Scales are gone over with pink scratchless on a slow speed 6" loose cotton buffing wheel.
DonC

Im definitely going to try that Don,Diamond paste huh? Nice.I've also seen guys using semicrome. To protect their knives.I'm goin to try your regimen with a few and see how they go.thanks don

[gravknife]

I feel humbled by the blades shown here and the knowledge you guys possess.
All these knives are stunning and that swinguard John is a beauty.
Don C thanks for sharing the info on how to shine these blades, i know now why your knives always look museum quality,and have that killer shine..I love that Latama kris with pat number,its horn is brilliant,and im liking these kris blades after this thread.
Bigslim that's a real old gem you shared by Ibberson I've not seen many really old switches thanks for posting that old beauty..
Viking45
Love that snakewood example mate,it goes well with brass and a Kris blade I love that knife.
It's amazing how much eye candy can spring up from one thread,and how much you can learn.
Ian

[Switch.Rick]

That Renzo switch is a really nice looking piece, was that a limited run?

[ILikeStilettos]

I've been meaning to post this link for a while.

http://www.talkblade.info/viewtopic.php ... 0&p=262079

Post updated to restore the pictures.

[ILikeStilettos]

That Renzo switch is a really nice looking piece, was that a limited run?

Who are you asking, and what knife are you asking about?

[Rey Zhourej]

Interesting bunch of knives here! I own a fair number of auto knives but only one kris blade(I have several Kissing Crane non autos);and it has sheep horn scales.Got it from a friend of mine many years ago whose brother acquired it while stationed in Germany.