13" Lizard import

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gravknife
Posts: 1499
Joined: Fri Dec 11, 2015 9:34 pm

13" Lizard import

Post by gravknife »

Hello my freinds at TB

I have finally got my first 13 inch knife and i absolutely love it.
The knife is by Tarry Levigne and is marked with a stamped lizard over import.
Its a true transitional with 5 mm blade and backspring ,swedge blade full with a few sharpening scratches ,nickle furniture ,D stamped liners and lined bolsters ,nice dark horn scales with 1 minor bugbite ,but nicely shaped.

It was sold as broken as the blade wouldnt close and was shipped fully open .I knew about the safety but owned no 13" knives so took a punt and got it cheap .
When it arrived i hurriedly opened the huge oversized box with foreign labels all over it and finally got through the bubble wrap and foam to find what was a beast to my eyes as i havn't had a 13 " switchblade before.
It was a beauty ....killer horn, heavy but its stuck fast i thought....
I had a distant feeling when buying that the man that sold it hadn't known how to properly close it.But i wanted it closed for getting through customs, but he said he had the knife for years and it was stuck fast ,blocked ,and explaining the working of switchblades in my language is hard enough but in French on a translation page .....try it. :)

I squirted the bolster with some DX spray grease moved the tight top bolster and the blade swung down ...i was over the moon and to make things better there was no peak and it fired slower than my 11s but fired fast enough and locked up tight.

I have looked up Tarry Levigne and have found mostly French lock knives and folders .This knife feels italian so i surmise it was made for the French and his name added ,so its a maniago cottage industry piece .What age would these be and do most 13s have 1 piece springs or 2 ?
This example is a 1 piece spring .
Id also be grateful if anyone has any info on these Lizard import knives approximate age etc.

I hope everyone here is well i have only been popping in a bit due to lots on at home but you lot look after yourselves.

Apogies for poor pictures ,i cant get my photos under 1mb on this new phone so have to use pictures i had.I will add some when i figure this out .

All the best to all here.

Regards

Ian
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ILikeStilettos
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Re: 13" Lizard import

Post by ILikeStilettos »

Score, Ian!
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gravknife
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Re: 13" Lizard import

Post by gravknife »

Thanks for looking and commenting Dave,i hope you are well my freind.

I know its nothing out of the ordinary, but its a real score to me this side of the pond,i am really buzzing with it as i havnt many stillettos and none at 13".

Take care Dave

Ian
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ILikeStilettos
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Re: 13" Lizard import

Post by ILikeStilettos »

It's great and I am happy for you. Thanks for the write up and back story. Without a story, they're just knives.
Dave Sause
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"And you're telling me this because, somehow, I look like I give a shit?"

"Let a smile be your umbrella and you're gonna get your dumb ass wet."
Fishtail Picklock
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Re: 13" Lizard import

Post by Fishtail Picklock »

Love it and the story, Ian. That is a beautiful picklock. (Perhaps you can get the top of the safety button repaired). The horn is great and the plain stiletto blade is better than I have seen in a long time. The history and backstory complete what is already a wonderful piece of history.

Great stuff, Ian!
Fishtail Picklock
gravknife
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Re: 13" Lizard import

Post by gravknife »

FishtailPicklock
Thanks my freind.

Its not a picklock knife unfortunately but a transitional, although it looks like it on these pictures .....its a swivel bolster mechanism .

Thanks for taking a look and commenting ,wish i could get this camera on my Samsung S6 phone sorted .Its taking pictures all above 1mb which wont load here and it used to work fine until a recent new update occurred.
Anyone know about phones and their camera settings? :roll: :?:

I am a bit gutted at the safety loss but i think i'll have to live with it as i believe i would have to remove the scales to replace it ,and apart from a few scratches they will clean up beautifully.

Keep well mate ,its good to hear from you.

Ian
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Fishtail Picklock
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Re: 13" Lizard import

Post by Fishtail Picklock »

Sorry, Ian. I could have sworn that was a picklock. (My mistake). The straight bolster is what led me to believe this. Polishing those bolsters will make this vintage piece "come alive".

Hot stuff, champ!
Fishtail Picklock
gravknife
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Re: 13" Lizard import

Post by gravknife »

Thanks F.P
Heres a couple of pictures that i cropped
i am experimenting with the phone and think the knife looks well in Black and white.
I'll fix it if it kills me :D

Ian
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lance
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Re: 13" Lizard import

Post by lance »

Thats a terry levin piece w the lizard stamp,a very desirable knife.you certainly scored on that one.its a very rare piece.in my exp.collecting autos these only come up once in a blue moon!! Its a french piece.the french were and are just as prolific auto knife makers as the italians.
Only theyre pieces fetch 3 times as much as theyre italian counterparts as they dont covet them like we do..they used them like we use ratty old screwdrivers.so not many survived.
Thats a Hell of a cool old stamp.imo just as cool as the veniza stamp ya found a wile back!!
Congratulations!! You scored big!!
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ILikeStilettos
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Re: 13" Lizard import

Post by ILikeStilettos »

Ian, you can set the S6 to default to a lower resolution and reduce the file size. I cable mine to the PC and transfer the pictures. Then I can call them up in Photoshop and do crops, fixes, and reduce resolution to 1000 pixels wide. This still makes for sharp pictures, but the file size is around 100 MB instead of 4 GB.
Dave Sause
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"Let a smile be your umbrella and you're gonna get your dumb ass wet."
Sunny
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Re: 13" Lizard import

Post by Sunny »

Ian,

Congratulations! There are a few more that you can collect.

These are the Tarry Levine’s in my collection with the exception of another 13 inch stiletto and the only auto that TL may have really made, the beautiful OTF.
All the knives pictured have all NS hardware except for the brass pins and liners and D-stamped liners.

Image
Pictured first top to bottom, then right to left.

Starting at the top:

Tarry Levine 33 cm horn handle.

Tarry Levine 28 cm horn handle.

Tarry Levine 20 cm stag handle.

Tarry Levine 20 cm horn handle.

Tarry Levine 18 cm horn handle.

Tarry Levine 16 cm horn handle.

On the left side:

Tarry Levine 16 cm lock back identical to the larger one in design and materials.

Tarry Levine 18 cm horn handle.

On the right side:

Tarry Levine 22.5 swing guard that has slightly better materials than the original Virginia.

Virginia 22.5 cm lock back that is the base model for the contract TL design below. Note the thick angular handles that I have not seen on any other Italian knife. And the old, upswept Virginia logo.

Tarry Levine 16 cm lock back identical to the larger one in design and materials.

Tarry Levine 18 cm horn handle.

“BTE = S.G.D.G.“ which means: BREVETE S.G.D.G. (sans garantie du gouvernement) a long obsolete mark used in France from 1844 which some say absolved the government from any responsibility should the object malfunction, but means "patent without government guarantee"
sammy the blade
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Re: 13" Lizard import

Post by sammy the blade »

Ian, glad to see you got something rare and the size you really wanted. Bet you feel like a kid at Christmas!
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whippersnapper
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Re: 13" Lizard import

Post by whippersnapper »

Nice score!
gravknife
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Re: 13" Lizard import

Post by gravknife »

lance

Thanks for your kind words andencouragement as usual .It's strange but hardly any 13"knives come up for sale on ebay so i grabbed this one .
I hope alls going well with you my freind .

Dave
I think I have found a way of posting pics .....I had to edit the photo and place it in a separate titled album in my gallery ,this seemed to downsize it ready for TB.Thanks for the advice ,I never get on my computer my autistic daughter has it full-time in her room :)
Thanks for the tip though ,you always post lovely pictures of your knives my freind.
I posted a couple more edited pics here.

Sunny
WOW! 8)

I have seen only one Tarry levigne stiletto in my 2 years trawling the web and ebay.
It was a 9"and it went for a fair sum of money in a bidding war on ebay
.I wish I could come over and see that collection you have in the flesh,that must have been really difficult to assemble over the years, and yet again there are knives I have never seen.... the knives on the left and right of the stilletos .The angular scaled knife is an absolute beauty and the swinguard.
Have you a separate photo of just these 4 knives on there own as i have never seen them here or anywhere else before.
It's yet again a great learning tool for all on a supplier/knifemaker that I can find little information on .
I have seen the Terry Levigne otf a few times and its the nicest looking otf knife ever made imho.
Thanks for posting here Sunny ,its really appreciated as great eyecandy and education to a newbie .
Always look forward to your information and pictures here on TB.
I hope alls well.with you.

Sammy
I was like a child getting his first bike hidden by the parents mate :D,
its a shock to get a knife through the gauntlet but i thought this was a certainty for seizure.being fully open .You get a double Buzz this side of the Atlantic at beating the C men and then opening the knife ,but its a bitter pill to swallow when they find a rare knife trust me.

Good to hear from you as always Sam

Terry
I hope all's well at your end .Thanks for looking and commenting my freind and I will speak soon.

Best to all of you

Ian
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Markco the Mad otter
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Re: 13" Lizard import

Post by Markco the Mad otter »

Really nice! I have a few 13"ers but no transitional. That is really nice. Matter of fact I don't have too many transnationals at all.
Nice to see them though.

Don't think I had ever seen the Tarry Levine knives before. I like 'em! Would like to see one first hand. ;P
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