Frank Beltrame from 3knives

[Stilecttor]

Hello everyone.
I'm new here and I'm from Poland so excuse my english if it will look chaotic haha.
Anyways,
recently I bought a Frank Beltrame 11inches buffalo horn from 3knives. Upon arrival, I noticed the knife has a few issues (which you will see in the pictures below) and I'd like to ask you guys if it's normal in stilettos and if you would return it if you were me. I also sent the pictures of those issues to 3knives and they simply started ignoring my emails! Terrible customer support as I wanted to buy some more knives from their shop but I guess I'll have to look for AGA Campolins elsewhere...

In the pictures below you can see a "banana" blade and that the knife isn't really straight from the top down view when fully opened. Is it supposed to be like that? Or did I just get a FB with a bad QC? I know they're hand made but if they were at least a little bit more straight...
I'm kinda saddened to receive such a stiletto as my very first one

[Killgar]

Based on my experience with Frank Beltrame stiletto switchblades, I consider them to be nothing more than tourist souvenir level knives. I've owned 3, and handled several others, and each one had significant issues that would justify returning them. And I'm not someone who is quick to return a knife (I chose to rebuild the first two that I bought instead of returning them).

The last one I purchased was an 11" stiletto. It had multiple issues- 1. The safety switch was so tight I had to use a plastic ruler to push it down to fire the knife. 2. The blade was significantly canted backwards when fully opened. 3. The blade was warped and curved significantly to one side.

Just one of those issues would have been bad enough to make me unhappy with the purchase and request a refund, but all three was just ridiculous.

When I requested a refund from the vendor (not 3knives) due to the knife being defective I was told that my FB knife was "hand-made" and therefore not defective, whatever that means. I persisted in the matter and was able to get a refund, minus a restocking fee.

I would never buy another, nor would I recommend them.

I'm sorry you got a "bad" one Stilecttor, I hope you get your money back. When you ask "is it supposed to be like that?", that's a tricky question. Because if the maker doesn't care about quality control, and just bangs knives together and ships them out to make a buck, then it could be said that your knife is exactly the way the maker intended it to be.

In my opinion, for what Frank Beltrame knives cost ($140. on average here in the US for an 11" with the cheaper handle options), the quality level should be significantly higher than what you get.

[Bill DeShivs]

Bend it.
3 knives owns AGACampolin-same company.

[john]

All of my FB Limited Edition stiletto knives are top notch. However, regular production knives are a 50/50 shot. Keep trying to return your knife to 3knives and get a refund. They should reject FB’s poorly made knives. Try posting your issue one their YouTube channel and Facebook. A lot more people will see your issue and may help 3knives to refund your money.
Good luck let us know how you make out.

[sammy the blade]

Back in the day Frank's were the better made production stiletto's. Guess times have changed.

[button_man]

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I agree with john (above) -- sort of. Attached is a photo of two of my Beltrame knives (I originally identified the Damascus as a Walt's Latama in this post; but it's actually a Beltrame also). Although the blade is straight and the knife functions fine, the Limited Edition dated/numbered stag knife still has one of the most annoying minor issues common to modern Italian stilettos: pin burr. You pick up the knife, and sharp edges on the brass pins dig into your hand.
The Damascus has more attention to detail, and has no pin burr at all. I regret to say that this now seems rare in Beltrame knives.

(UPDATE: I just checked Walt's site, because this is just about the only current source that I know of, where you can be virtually certain of getting a problem-free Italian switchblade stiletto. There are no knives currently for sale in the "custom" or "classic" categories.... only 3 (nine inch) knives in the "picklock" category; and the cheapest of those is $498. Yikes! Collecting high quality Italian stilettos is becoming a hobby that only the wealthy can afford.)

In my admittedly limited experience, it seems that the more recent the knife, the more likely it is to have issues such as you describe. It is probable that Italian companies are experiencing the same situation now found with a well-known company in Germany -- the old master craftsmen have retired or died; and instead of the new, young guys being trained to achieve historically high standards, those standards have instead been lowered so that product can be churned out without the expense of time being spent on rigorous training and meticulous workmanship.

Stilecttor, have you considered spring-knives made in the USA? Yes, a Benchmade or Microtech can be expensive; but one of my favorite companies is Piranha -- well-made knives at an affordable price. Quality in the European stuff will continue to be shoddy as long as people keep buying their knives;
why bother to improve if you don't have to? There is no incentive for them to do better. Vote with your wallet -- avoid sketchy knives.
Good heavens, I've seen knives coming out of China that are BETTER than some of the current Italian stuff..... and that says a lot right there.

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[Stilecttor]

Tons of amazing replies in here, I really appreciate it guys.

@Killgar and @john
I think I won't return it and just live with these flaws. I paid nearly $100 for it and since they seem to be ignoring me right now, it means they won't even bother to exchange it for a less flawed one, so the only option I have left is to use their 14-days return policy in which case I'd have to pay for the shipping back myself, which from Poland to Austria would cost nearly 1/4th of the price I paid for the knife. So at this point I don't want to bother with it and will most likely keep this one, and never order anything from 3knives again, especially when before ordering I told them twice to pick the one that looks the nicest. If the one they sent me is their best one QC-wise (implying they even tried to pick such) then I'm worried how much worse are the others they have in stock.

@Bill DeShivs
I can live with the knife not being alligned from the top-down view, but is there any way to fix the banana blade? It seems that the hole in which the lock sets in is drilled just a tiny bit too forward, resulting in the knife not opening fully enough and having a bit of the banana look.

@sammy the blade
yeah I can imagine...

@button_man
Gorgeous knives!!
One of the brass pins on my Frank sticks out quite a bit that the first few times I tried to lock/unlock it without looking, I grabbed the brass pin with my thumb thinking it's the locking sliding button!
And yeah! $498 for a 9inch picklock is insanity!
I did consider a Benchmade Infidel or Microtech Dirac Delta, but as a huge fan of 1950s America, I just had to get a classic stiletto, especially after seeing the knife fight in Rebel Without a Cause with James Dean I know it's not that "classic" as in the movie they had picklocks, but it is close enough for me
I think I'll go for a Mikov Predator next, which is made by our slavic brothers, the Czech Republic. I saw tons of reviews of them online and they seem like great switchblades, which are actually razor sharp too! And the fact that they also sell them for left-handed people (such as myself) makes them even more awesome
And I have to completely agree with your last point. I saw tons of those Chinese stiletto clones that seemed to be made way better than the real Italians (at least from the QC perspective)...
I'm actually looking for some nice Chinese 9 inch swing guard with black acrylic scales.

[Bill DeShivs]

It can be fixed, but it's expensive.

[Luke_of_Mass]

I'm going to go ahead and post a few pictures of "virtually certain to be problem-free" knives from Latama.net

Resized_20181018_043208_zpslhxdzaob.jpeg (34.68 KiB) Viewed 4999 times

Resized_20181018_042300_zpsro2y1oxm.jpeg (42.44 KiB) Viewed 4999 times

CAM02996_zpstghbsya2.jpg (132.53 KiB) Viewed 4999 times

In conclusion, the $400 price tag will guarantee only a few things that have little to do with the mechanical issues befalling your knife: 5mm hardware, nickel silver bolsters, and (probably) slightly nicer scales. Buy with extreme caution.

Now, Mikov is a pretty solid choice and if you go that route, I'd love to point out that David S. (Tanto on TalkBlade) is indisputably one of the "good guys" ; he will hook you up

Overall, if you're a big fan of 1950's americana, getting an actual vintage Italian piece really is your best bet.

[button_man]

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Luke ~ I thought Walt's knives went through really rigorous inspection before they shipped....!
Frankly, I'm shocked to see something like this. Did Walt's repair or replace to your satisfaction?
(I have 4 Walt's and they are all very nice.)

I picked up a Kershaw Launch 8 today at the flea for $115. Brand new in box with brochure (and
a store sticker that said $149). Of course, you can find these online for around $110 but it was worth
the extra five bucks to be able to inspect it before buying instead of waiting and wondering whether
I might receive a "problem knife". It's a decent little knife -- about the same quality as a Piranha --
except that my Piranha Virus blade has a needle tip, and the Launch tip seems blunt by comparison.
Still, that's a relatively minor issue; and overall I'm satisfied with the knife.

https://www.bladehq.com/item--Kershaw-L ... tic--94067
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[jim d,]

button_man - I too have a Launch 8, a blue one, but the blade tip on mine is so sharp that if you look at it hard you bleed. I wonder if the difference is variation in the manufacturing process, or whether yours took a hit.

Jim

[jerryk25]

Fixing a Banana Blade Knife

Stilecttor . . . . Do Not try to straighten that particular knife.
It is not uncommon to have that much of a banana blade. ( a small amount )
It's the "Luck of the draw ". . .random chance that you get a perfect knife.
The longer the knife, the more noticeable any mis-alignment will be observed.

There are two types of BANANA ,
Type "A" . . . is a bend like you were prying a paint can open. . .
You see it rub a liner when closed, it is most likely the pivot pin curved or bent
when being assembled because the guy with the hammer did not hold it true vertical.
You might bend it in a vice, but it might loosen up the knife too much.

There is probably NOTHING WRONG with any part or hole position on your knife.
IF ALL THE PINS ARE REMOVED, AND THEN RE-ASSEMBLED, IT WILL ALIGN STRAIGHT.
It's just a pain in the butt to drill out all the pins, OR just the one pivot pin. . . .
clamp it up straight. . .and then tap hammer peen the new pins to hold it "True"

Type " B " . . . is a bend like it did not open far enough or opened a bit too far.
This is a lot tougher to fix. . . but not impossible either.
Once again. most likely there is nothing wrong with the major knife parts.
It's just the parts were shifted when it (the pins) was tightened up.

The following are illustrations posted for your amusement and my ridicule.
(that jack*ss doesn't know what he's talking about, I kin fix it with duck tape.)
_ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _

Disclaimer . . . . I am a MANGLER . . .and not an actual repairman.
I'm showing these illustrations of things I've done over the years gone by,
to show options, and potential hazards of working on a knife yourself.
These are mostly OTHER SITUATIONS involving mis-aligned blades.

If you have a common everyday carry knife. and you want to experiment.
Then please have fun butchering up a common knife,
and expect to start a "junk pile" of expensive mistakes. . . . .but it's often fun.

If you have an expensive knife, and it's condition offends you.
THEN IT IS BEST TO HAVE AN EXPERIENCED REPAIR GUY ADJUST THE KNIFE.

The repair guy will know that a repair for one type or size or fragile vintage material
might not be best for a different application. . .
Because he's already wrecked a few. . .and has learned thru trial and error.

I'm a mangler. . . I often bough JUNK and just wanted to get it back to somewhat operating condition.
So if I was reckless with my attempt, or it flicked and just looked good, but was still crappy.
I was happy with the effort. . .and moved on to my next disaster.

PLEASE DO NOT ATTEMPT MY SUGGESTIONS AND THEN SUE ME FOR LEADING YOU INTO PERDITION.

Cheese Macaroni.

[jerryk25]

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[jerryk25]

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[jerryk25]

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