Indian switchblade knife

[still77]

Hi friends, I have another question to ask ... I took this switchblade knife to be added to my collection and told me to be from India ... open size 28.5 centimeters ... some of you know what years Could it be and its possible value? Thanks and hello to everyone from Italy .... Jlic

[gravknife]

still77
I believe that is a" rampuri chaaku" fishtail indian leverlock switchblade.
Its a nice example with carbon blade and chiselled brass fishtail scales .
Giving an exact age of these will be probably difficult but im sure someone here will know.
I would guess this knife could be as early as the 1940s up to the 1960s .Its definitely earlier than 1990 as knives of this type were banned by the government from being made in rampuur
I quite like it the blades a nice organic shape .
I dont know the value of these but im sure someone with a bit more knowledge may comment later.
Interesting knife thanks for sharing it.

[john]

I'm pretty sure Jim Brown aka Jerry may have some knowledge about age and value. I can recall him collecting and/or selling a few. Send him a PM.
By the way nice knife!
John

[Belmont800]

Worth from 25 - 75 depending on where you sell it, I think it was made in Rampur, India.

[still77]

Thank you all ..... greetings

[JimBrown257]

I am pretty sure that is a legitimately older one (60s or 70s maybe). There are a lot of ones that look very similar to that one, and are sold as "vintage" but the fact that there seem to be no end to the supply of them (a seller in India told me he could get them in units of 100+) and they show no signs of age (like in the pic Grav posted), I think they are actually being made now. Those ones don't go for very much ($50 give or take). They went for a lot more than that when they first started appearing on the auction sites a few years ago but after the people who wanted them got one, the price dropped and the bids slowed down to a virtual halt.

If yours is indeed an actual old one, which I believe it is because it is not the same model (it's similar but not the same, yours has much more intricate design work). So it should be worth more than the new ones but you would have to find buyers who appreciate that fact to actually get a higher price. I think the easily available new ones will have made the old ones less desirable.

[still77]

Thanks a lot for jim brown information ....