Revival of the "Estiletto Rizzuto Milano"

[Fishtail Picklock]

After all has been said and done about this legendary swing guard from Bell of South Korea, what would everyone say to make an identical replica here in the good ol' US of A?

Here's the idea:

1. Copy the knife in four sizes: 5.25", 7", 9", and 11".

2. Make the body from steel with brass liners.

3, Use either 440C or AUS-8 steel for the blades.

4. Make the scales from a higher-grade polymer.

5. incorporate the finer artistic touches. (The ornate bail, and tighter-fitting guards) to the unit.

6. Make them in both bayonet-grind and flat-grind style blades.

7. Finally, price them in the $150.00-$200.00 range (this was a bit above the originals, but still affordable).

These would make a lot of money for someone with enu\ough of the entrepreneurial spirit and initial investment capital to earn a substantial profit, while filling a market niche.

Comments? Opinions?

[whippersnapper]

I'll get right on it.

[jerryk25]

Should there also be the zinc metal sear arm with embedded steel sear pin
that cracks after 50 openings ?

[sammy the blade]

Of course!

[jerryk25]

I always thought someone could make a small investment
and crank out a few hundred Sear Arms to replace the zinc arms in Failed Rizzys.

There's probably enough broken Rizzys in drawers to last forever . . .why build them again.

Rizzys had zinc arms that grew stress cracks. . .
Just CNC some arm blanks.

[Fishtail Picklock]

I always thought someone could make a small investment
and crank out a few hundred Sear Arms to replace the zinc arms in Failed Rizzys.

There's probably enough broken Rizzys in drawers to last forever . . .why build them again.

Rizzys had zinc arms that grew stress cracks. . .
Just CNC some arm blanks.

You could build them with better internals and blades and have a better knife. While most of them would wind up as "drawer queens", many could be useful (an AUS-8 or 440C steel blade with a flat grind would see to that).

[whippersnapper]

I hope someone will.

Still think we should be prepping for a hard winter and not worry about collecting knives. But I'm bat shit crazy.

[TMD]

I think it would be a best seller as it is a clean and classic design, I would get a few.

One more feature I would like is make the springs as on a Mikov or Campolin Zero, so you can remove and replace a broken spring, if the spring can be removed it could be sold Worldwide without any hassle from customs.

[sammy the blade]

I hope someone will.

Still think we should be prepping for a hard winter and not worry about collecting knives. But I'm bat shit crazy.

We should all stock up on the essentials, toilet paper and beer! From the looks of things you're going to have to float a loan for ammo. On the bright side, jobs are plentiful.

[button_man]

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I heartily endorse TMD's suggestion about removable springs! I wish ALL autos had them....!!
I would make the bail removable too. Sometimes it's useful; sometimes it just gets in the way.

Bayonet and flat are my two LEAST favorite blade styles. Add half-grind and I'm right on board with the program!

Also: Ornately-designed swinguards instead of the insipid Rizzie swinguards might add only a dollar or so to the cost,
but would significantly increase sales! Who doesn't love a really dramatic swinguard?! I consider this to be so important
that I would advise several different styles from which the customer could choose.

Finally, I would very much like to see one of the handle options as the classic black synthetic scales that many
people think of when they visualize a vintage switchblade knife. It is very difficult to find a quality Italian
stiletto with a plain black handle. I only have ONE... an AB that I bought about twenty years ago.
I'd buy more, but you simply can't find them; everyone is obsessed with the fancier stuff now.

.

[Fishtail Picklock]

.

I heartily endorse TMD's suggestion about removable springs! I wish ALL autos had them....!!
I would make the bail removable too. Sometimes it's useful; sometimes it just gets in the way.

Bayonet and flat are my two LEAST favorite blade styles. Add half-grind and I'm right on board with the program!

Also: Ornately-designed swinguards instead of the insipid Rizzie swinguards might add only a dollar or so to the cost,
but would significantly increase sales! Who doesn't love a really dramatic swinguard?! I consider this to be so important
that I would advise several different styles from which the customer could choose.

Finally, I would very much like to see one of the handle options as the classic black synthetic scales that many
people think of when they visualize a vintage switchblade knife. It is very difficult to find a quality Italian
stiletto with a plain black handle. I only have ONE... an AB that I bought about twenty years ago.
I'd buy more, but you simply can't find them; everyone is obsessed with the fancier stuff now.

.

They could be made in 4 grinds (including dagger and half-grind). Made-to-order accessories might raise the cost a bit more ($250.00-$275.00) but the market is there. The total number of knives could reach 4,000,000 to make the ROI reasonable. Removable springs my add another $15.00-$20-00.

If the market would bear that many knives, it just may create something that would rival the originals from Bell. (such a reintroduction could reach biblical proportions)!

[jerryk25]

My neighbor is a "prepper", a dumb one, he told me where his stuff is.

I'll just eat him. . . use his stuff. . . .I could be a cannibal. . . .I have the knives.

[sammy the blade]

Or he might eat you, maybe he lied. Never know.

[john]

With all the enhancements improvements changes to blades, guards, bales, etc. that have been suggested it’s no longer a Rizzuto. It’s a totally different knife.

[button_man]

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Fishtail ~ Four MILLION...?! So this means that every single serious, hardcore spring-knife collector in the country
would have to buy about ten thousand of them. I think I might be a little short on a deal like that....
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