Armando Beltrame 9 inch ATS-34 Stiletto

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Vlad
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Armando Beltrame 9 inch ATS-34 Stiletto

Post by Vlad »

Hello Gentlemen,
I am new to the forums , but definitely no stranger to fine switchblades. I currently own a vintage Coricama picklock ( used to belong to my grandfather ) and a Frank Beltrame picklock stiletto with a bayonet blade which l purchased about two years ago. It's a beautiful knife , but clearly the bayonet blade is not useful for cutting anything ( naturally , being that the blade grind is meant only for stabbing ) and the 4034 steel doesn't hold a serviceable edge. I decided that l would like an Italian stiletto which l can use for cutting things as as EDC. A friend recommended that l get my hands on an Armando Beltrame flat grind Stiletto with a 9 inch ATS-34 blade .
I was told that a site called SKM sells them. Unfortunately , it appeared that SKM has shut down long ago. I was wondering if any of you could tell me if Mr. Armando Beltrame is still in business ?
I was also wondering as to how suitable the ATS-34 Stiletto is , for EDC use. My uses include : Cutting packages , rope , gutting fish , skinning , gutting and processing game , and wood carving. Can the ATS-34 Stiletto do all this ?
Thank you
sammy the blade
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Re: Armando Beltrame 9 inch ATS-34 Stiletto

Post by sammy the blade »

It probably would do those things but there would be better choice's. I'm sure others will join in and offer you a little more help. Welcome to the forum!
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Re: Armando Beltrame 9 inch ATS-34 Stiletto

Post by TRYKER »

as eye see it the stiletto is a novelty knife and not a user, you'd be better off with a good leverlock.
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john
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Re: Armando Beltrame 9 inch ATS-34 Stiletto

Post by john »

Armando is still making knives. I Googled his name and this is his business email address: maber-sas@hotmail.it
You can do all that with an Italian stiletto, but there are other knives they can perform the tasks you have listed. There are specialized knives for example for wood carving.
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Vlad
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Re: Armando Beltrame 9 inch ATS-34 Stiletto

Post by Vlad »

Thank you all so much for the warm welcome and the useful information. Just one more thing. I read that even though the blade is flat ground with good ATS-34 steel , that the problem with using this knife for gutting and fishing is that the 3mm backspring would break. Is there any truth to this statement ?
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natcherly
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Re: Armando Beltrame 9 inch ATS-34 Stiletto

Post by natcherly »

The 9" SKM ATS-34 flat grind knife is one of the best 9"ers out there. Mr. Vagrant, a long time member of this forum also speaks very highly of them and has used them for EDC. Alas as I am in CA, that option is not open to me....

Anyway, the knife can perform most of the tasks you mention, however, I would not use a folding knife in general for gutting fish and processing game. There is the cleaning issue which is made even more problematic by the additional parts unique to switchblades. Getting blood and guts out of the button / safety / sear mechanism, and from behind the kick spring is not something I would look forward to.
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Re: Armando Beltrame 9 inch ATS-34 Stiletto

Post by jim d, »

Mr. Natch nailed it in my opinion. Fixed blades only for cleaning fish and game for knife cleanup reasons.

Jim
Vlad
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Re: Armando Beltrame 9 inch ATS-34 Stiletto

Post by Vlad »

Thank you so much for the useful insights , sir :) One last question. Is the backspring really durable enough for the tasks at hand ? And has anyone here ever had a broken backspring on an AB stiletto ?
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natcherly
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Re: Armando Beltrame 9 inch ATS-34 Stiletto

Post by natcherly »

I must own a dozen 9" stilettos, most by AB. Otherwise they are all pretty much identical dimentionally. Two of my AB's are ATS-34. I have never had a problem with a backspring failing on these knives. Same with kick spring which is probably what should be of most concern. Some lever locks have a history of failing kicks. You could do a search on this site to ferret out that info. Good luck.
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Re: Armando Beltrame 9 inch ATS-34 Stiletto

Post by john »

I've only ever had a spring snap on me once. It was on a 4" closed SKM stiletto. You really shouldn't have any issues.
Last edited by john on Sun Sep 17, 2017 4:55 pm, edited 1 time in total.
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Re: Armando Beltrame 9 inch ATS-34 Stiletto

Post by Tom19176 »

The issue with the back spring is the pin lock design. When pressing down on a hard surface to cut an item, there is pressure put on the spring that can cause the blade and back spring to rise up from the handle ( try it and you will see). It varies from one knife to another, but if you have seen a bent back spring with a pin lock then this is how it happened. As a teen I carried an 11" bayo and or an 11" clip blade and used them for every thing you stated. They both held up well, but that was in the 1970s and the back springs and pins were thicker......
Vlad
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Re: Armando Beltrame 9 inch ATS-34 Stiletto

Post by Vlad »

john wrote:I've only ever had a spring snap on me once. It was on a 4" close SKM stiletto. You really shouldn't have any issues.
Now , that's sad :( how did it happen and what model was it ?
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Re: Armando Beltrame 9 inch ATS-34 Stiletto

Post by arthas »

Hello Vlad!
Vlad wrote: I was told that a site called SKM sells them. Unfortunately , it appeared that SKM has shut down long ago. I was wondering if any of you could tell me if Mr. Armando Beltrame is still in business ?
SKM site is indeed closed down at present time.
You will likely have and hard time finding a new ATS-34 (of which I has part in the initial idea, by the way): there are retailers (such as 3knives.com) which sell SKM knives, but I didn't see the ATS-34 ones.
You'll probably have better chances with a second hand one.

Cheers,
Michele.
Vlad
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Re: Armando Beltrame 9 inch ATS-34 Stiletto

Post by Vlad »

arthas wrote:Hello Vlad!
Vlad wrote: I was told that a site called SKM sells them. Unfortunately , it appeared that SKM has shut down long ago. I was wondering if any of you could tell me if Mr. Armando Beltrame is still in business ?
SKM site is indeed closed down at present time.
You will likely have and hard time finding a new ATS-34 (of which I has part in the initial idea, by the way): there are retailers (such as 3knives.com) which sell SKM knives, but I didn't see the ATS-34 ones.
You'll probably have better chances with a second hand one.

Cheers,
Michele.
Hello , sir. Thank you so much for the useful information :) You will be pleased to know that l purchased another Armando Beltrame 9 inch stiletto yesterday. It is a bayonet blade ( 420 steel ) and is my first swivel bolster stiletto. Now l currently own two picklocks and one swivel bolster. Of course , these are unsuitable for EDC , but my father ( being in former law enforcement ) carries an 11 inch AB picklock bayonet Stiletto for self defense. I am still desperately searching for the ATS-34 flat grind Stiletto , but l don't think Mr. Armando Beltrame makes them anymore. Out of curiosity , how did you come up with the idea of an ATS-34 flat grind Stiletto ? And what year did you come up with this grand design ? Seems like a great story :)
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arthas
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Re: Armando Beltrame 9 inch ATS-34 Stiletto

Post by arthas »

Hello Vlad!

I'm happy you got another AB knife yesterday.

As far as the ATS-34 Stilettos are concerned, it was an idea which came out in the early 2000s. At the time, most of the stilettos were made using AISI 420 stainless steel (and it's not much different nowadays). I was working with SKM and we were receiving requests for stilettos with a better steel, so that the knife could be used not only for collecting but also as a tool to work with. So, we began investigating some options and decided to choose the ATS-34, which was well-known, high-quality and versatile enough.
Now, not working with SKM anymore, I don't know much about what is being manufactured, but I'm pretty sure the ATS-34 - as well as many other special items - is unfortunately out of production.

Cheers,
Michele.
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