American Sardinian

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ILikeStilettos
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American Sardinian

Post by ILikeStilettos »

This one is more imitation than imagination, but it's something "knifemaker55" (Duke) has wanted me to address for a while now. He, myself, and others think that these escutcheon plates are the ultimate in coolness, so here's what I came up with. The commercial knives that come with these seem to be few and far between, perhaps only when Lelle Floris is in the mood. His knives are excellent, and I am not trying to compete with him, however I do want the latitude to make a knife my way. His are usually 35 cm (about 14") and mine is a more conventional 33 cm (13"), his blades are wide and rugged, sort of a swedge. I'm going for the more narrow and sinister look and have envisioned this as a dagger grind. In LF's conception of the knife it has an antique look; lots and lots of pins surrounded by brass collars, blackened finish, and several different kinds of filework. I've gone for sturdy stainless pins, but with a minimalist approach (other than pinning on the S guards) and high polish. There are some decorative lines in mine and we will have to do something on the escutcheon, but I think mine will seem less decorated than Lelle's. I am posting two versions of the open and closed knife, a simple view of only the external features and with hidden lines omitted, and a full version with all internals for those who are curious about the details.

Image

Naturally, we will create this in 1095 and nickle-silver, but we will use stainless liners and perhaps a brass button and guards to get that contrasting color effect. We will probably scale it in some pretty stabilized giraffe bone or stag, as opposed to the black or ram choices from LF. His handles are pretty much straight sided with longitudinal decorative grooves, mine will have a slightly curved profile to swell at the midpin and should be smooth and shiny. I've seen priolettas both with and without pommels, but I'm doing this one bottomless as LF typically does. Please note the large diameter lockpin and the octagonal tab.

Please note that as the button is depressed it appears to move backward, so I am showing the button "fired" in the open views and "at rest" in the closed views.

Image

The next two views show the complete details with all internals for those who might be interested. In a previous thread I asked if the escutcheon might be functional and the consensus seemed to be that it was not. Jerryk25 provided some excellent graphics of how he thought the mechanism worked (I sure wish I could illustrate it as nicely as he does!) While he agreed with the widely held view, he showed the sear pin operating as a part of the escutcheon. This seems impractical to me as it gets very long and as the rocker pivots, the sear hole has to be significantly elongated. I just went the other way, with a conventional rocker beneath a decorate plate, though that still proved to be challenging to design. In my version the plate is partially inlaid into the scale and secured by three pins; a scale pin aft of the button and two guard attachment pins on the back edge of the bolster.

Image

If you look closely at most Italian picklocks, you will see a slight, tapered gap between the top edge of the bolster and the underside of the locktab. It will be much easier to create the blade with a horizontal seat for the locktab, that is no departure from the norm. However, on mine I have followed the locktab contour on the liner and bolster, so the gap is now concealed. I have also used Latama's patented kick spring design orginally conceived for the square buttons. The picklock and the kicker only need one pin each to secure them and prevent them from rotating thanks to the square shoulder and recess approach. This is much cleaner than creating a dovetailed spring.

Image

As always, your questions, comments and criticisms are greatly appreciated.
Last edited by ILikeStilettos on Wed Jan 31, 2018 2:28 am, edited 1 time in total.
Dave Sause
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"And you're telling me this because, somehow, I look like I give a shit?"

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Fishtail Picklock
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Re: American Sardinian

Post by Fishtail Picklock »

That's pretty slick, Dave. Damn, that looks meaner than the proverbial "junkyard dog". The dagger blade could, (and probably would) prove extremely painful!

Love the drawing(s).
Fishtail Picklock
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DonC
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Re: American Sardinian

Post by DonC »

Nice work.
DonC
gravknife
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Re: American Sardinian

Post by gravknife »

Dave

You had me when you mentioned " Sardinian "

These knives are amongst my favourite knives as I think they have great looks and panache.
I love the escutcheon and the contrasting brass and steel on the originals aswell .
I would love a highly polished then charcoal fire blued 1095 steel blade ,white bleached bone handles and polished nickle escutcheon,brass bolster and button .....though I have no idea on the cost of having that done.

Would it be cheaper to build than an original by Lelle Floris, even though its probably more available.?
Either way a fine design and yet another cad image you have created that i would love in the flesh.

Again thanks for explaining the workings and difficulties ...helps a laymen like myself on a design of knife that i truly admire.


Keep them coming

Ian
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ILikeStilettos
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Re: American Sardinian

Post by ILikeStilettos »

Right now, Duke wants one and I want one, so it may be incarnated as a pair. I always thought LF was charging a high, but appropriate fee. This is the single most complex design I've ever done considering that the bolster, the escutcheon and the guards all have to mate together. So, I'm not going to undercut LF's price, but we will be offering more latitude to specify what is wanted. With LF it's either satin finish black horn or satin finish ram - we can do virtually anything. I'm not a fan of stag, but it would look great in stag. Bluing the blade would not be difficult. For white, I'd go with white micarta or one of the good synthetic ivories. Duke told me that brass was great to work with and 'underutilized' in the modern world, so yep, brass bolster and button OK. I was going with stainless liners, but brass is also possible,thought I'd thicken it to .09" (2,3 mm). The guards can be almost any shape. Consider my drawing as a starting point for additional customization.

LF's knife is not historically accurate, but is a deliberate attempt to look like an old, old piece. Mine is the same idea, but modernized and shined. I have made some functional changes (Count the pins on his vs. mine!) His leaves a bunch of blade exposed when it's closed, mine is more hidden.

Thanks for the kind words and vote of confidence. That's music to my ears.
Dave Sause
oldandfat@cox.net
(405) 694-3690

"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
Posts: 2207
Joined: Sat May 03, 2003 11:10 pm
Location: Forest Grove, OR

Re: American Sardinian

Post by Fishtail Picklock »

Dave:

Are you misgivings concerning stag a question of wear, shrinkage, or damage from modern cleaning chemicals? I realize that being impervious to hydrocarbons is helpful when it comes to the removal of grit, dirt, and grime. With a piece such as this display it the primary concern.

Please fill us in with some of your vast knowledge.

Thank you.
Fishtail Picklock
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