11" Panamex Finekut Picklock

[mick17]

Hey guys I recently acquired this 11" Panamex Finekut and was wondering if you might be able to tell me a bit more about the knife and the manufacturer. I know it's a fairly rare stamp, but that's about it. I have a few vintage and modern stilettos but am no means an expert, so hit me with whatever info you have.

The blade appears to have been sharpened, but there are no sharpening scratches on the blade. Nice mirror finish. The buffalo horn scales are in such great shape that I almost think they could be replacements. Thoughts? They are in as good condition as any new scales I've seen, yet the blade shows use. You can see in the last pic the safety cutout in the horn has a circle at the bottom. Just pointing that out as a possible way to tell if they are original scales or replacement.

Any idea the time period it was made or the ballpark value?

The first few pics of the knife were shot by someone with much better equipment than I, and the rest are ones I took.

[niceguy2]

Hmmm

[niceguy2]

Looks to have been restored to me but still a cool 1950s knife !

[jim d,]

Very desirable tang stamps, likely 50's vintage from the Maniago cottage industry, great addition to your collection

Jim

[DonC]

It does look like it might have been restored but whoever did it did a very nice job.
Nice score.
DonC

[Bill DeShivs]

I don't think it has been restored.

[fastr19]

Most of these that I have seen have a red dot safety at the top of the slot. Bill why do you think this has not had a scale replaced although dark horn is common is this stamp?

[Bill DeShivs]

It just looks original to me.
Without actually seeing/handling it I can't be sure.

[jim d,]

If Bill doesn't think it has been restored it probably hasn't been. Granted Bill can't say for sure based solely on the pictures, but his assessment is as good or better than that of anyone else. If that knife is original then you just hit one out of the proverbial park with that acquisition.

Jim

[niceguy2]

The blade looks to have been refinished/cleaned/restored, whatever you want to call it is pretty obvious and still a cool knife.

[mick17]

Thanks so much for the input everyone. Keep 'em coming with your opinions, I love getting educated on these older knives.

The horn on this is stunning for sure, I've been looking for a nice Finekut for awhile now. The scales are in pristine condition which I haven't seen when collecting knives this old, but I sure hope it's original.

As I understand it the Finekut knives were manufactured by the same places as Coricamas, no?

[Bill DeShivs]

Yes

[Viking45]

Just a gut feeling but if I were a betting man I would put my money on it not being restored.
Not impossible by any means but very few would bring those scales down flush with the bolsters and the horn itself has the old school black white that was so popular on the vintage knives.

Either way it is a superb knife and an outstanding score.

Bill, wasn't it fairly common back in the day to use brass for the pivot pin?

[Bill DeShivs]

Most of those, the Coricamas, and Edwin Jays had brass pivots.

[ILikeStilettos]

Cutting edge toward tip seems to be flat, no curve. Is that real or just photo distortion? If real, is that typical for a Panimex? It looks really cool.