Frank Beltrame from 3knives

[Killgar]

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I can see why Latham's has them in stock.... the prices are prohibitive.
An Edwin Jay 23cm with horn scales for $900..... an IMCO 28cm with horn scales for $1,350.....
a "1948 to 1950" Latama 9-inch flat-guard for $2,250..... a late 1940s Latama 12cm flat-guard for $2,800!

Having a name stamped on the ricasso instead of just "Italy" often more than doubles the price!

I realize that time is money, and that it takes significant time and effort to find rare knives.
I just wonder if there are enough collectors with deep pockets to support these price levels.

I get the feeling that a site like this caters basically to either (well-to-do) one-time buyers who aren't actually collectors,
but just want a knife or two for fun; and hard-core completists, who simply MUST have a 1920s picklock with stag scales
and are willing to pony up $3,150 (an actual listing on page 5 of Latham's "Italian Automatics" section).

This reminds me of "JB" who ran two sites a few years ago: autoknife.com and switchbladekits.com --– this fellow ranted constantly
about his hatred for Americans: we are all spoiled, lazy, stupid, etc. His prices were beyond ridiculous: first of all, if you wanted to buy
a Rizzuto you had to swear that you owned a Rizzuto as a youth and now wanted to recapture that first magical experience. If you made
the mistake of admitting to being a first-time buyer, he claimed that he wouldn't sell to you. Then, if he deemed you worthy of buying
from him, he would allow you the privilege of purchasing a Rizzuto for six hundred dollars. Yes, you read that right. Six hundred.

Out of curiosity, I checked last week; both websites now appear to be defunct. What a loss to the hobby.

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The biggest surprise was seeing Latham's prices for manual-open stilettos! A late-1960s 14.5cm manual with plastic scales for $250!
A "1958 to 1968" 28cm lockback with horn scales for $300. Do people actually pay this sort of price for old manual stilettos...?

Here are 3 manual lockbacks that I got from the flea last year. All have brass-lined guards and horn scales.
The top two cost me $20 each; the fake-button piece cost me $50. I can't fathom paying three hundred for one of these.
Is reality somewhere in the middle.... perhaps these manuals are worth more than $50 but less than $300....?
Honestly, prices seem to gyrate all over the place with very little rhyme or reason to any of it.

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Like I said, if someone didn't want to go around searching flea markets, etc, looking for vintage knives. Not everyone has an interest, or the time to do that sort of thing. And if they did, and they never find what they're looking for (a decent condition vintage Italian stiletto switchblade), then between time, and gas money, such an activity could also be cost prohibitive.

The same applies to anything. If a person spent all their free time searching auto graveyards they might find an old vintage car they really want for cheap. Or, a person might be willing to pay considerably more not to have to go through that amount of effort, and just buy one that's already restored and fully functional.

Some people enjoy the search for treasure, and some people just want the treasure. To each their own.

As far as prices for vintage Italians, last September a member of this forum put up an old Latama for sale here, with a price of $2000. And someone bought it. Just one example.

As far as Latham, 3 things-

1. I don't know the man, and I have no connection to him.

2. It may not be your intent to cast aspersions on Mr. Latham by comparing him to JB, but in a business where reputation is everything, I think any whiff of such a comparison is unfair. I've never seen anyone say that Mr. Latham is a jerk (or a crook, or a liar).

3. I've been looking at Latham's site for years now, and I've seen his inventory of Italian stilettos change considerably over those years, and there are fewer than there used to be by a few pages. So it looks to me like people are willing to pay his prices.

There are lots of people out there with internet, and a desire for a genuine Italian stiletto switchblade, the kind that maybe they lusted for as a kid. And now that they're all grown up and have money, they're looking to satisfy that desire. In fact, it wouldn't surprise me if that described more than a few members of this forum .

[jerryk25]

I don't know. . . Lathams prices are not obscene.
$300 for a manual G.C.Co 11 inch stiletto with a full blade.
If you're a G.C.Co fan . . .you MIGHT pay it. . . .if you really want one.

I would have paid between $60 and $80 twenty years ago when I walked flea markets.

I could be evil, and put 500 manual folders on ebay for $40 plus shipping
and crash the whole market.

My G.C.Co automatic 11 inch is pretty beat up. . . .I'm not inclined to sell it for a mere $800
Inflation. . . . . and everyone hoarding their collections.
It seems 15 years ago, people were still finding drawer queens, and trading stuff.
We might be in a lull. . . a valley. . . and prices will come down when
old farts die off and unknowing kinfolk sell off everything.

[button_man]

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It may not be your intent to cast aspersions on Mr. Latham by comparing him to JB, but in a business where reputation is everything,
I think any whiff of such a comparison is unfair. I've never seen anyone say that Mr. Latham is a jerk (or a crook, or a liar).

And you haven't seen ME doing it, either. The only connection that I drew is that both sites quoted prices that seem very high.
I don't think it's unfair to characterize three thousand dollars as a steep price for a pocket knife. If merely mentioning in the same
post that both sites have eye-popping prices constitutes a "whiff" then I hope this clarifies the narrowness of scope intended.
I made no comment about Mr. Latham's business ethics whatsoever; I only said that his prices appear to be extremely high.

Input by others, subsequent to that observation, lead me to believe that four-figure price tags are not considered outrageous.
I admit that this is a revelation to me - - I had no idea that such sums have become routine in this hobby. It seems hard to believe.
Now I'm glad that I turned down $1,500 for the 'Marca Oro'. The way things are going, I could probably swap it for a Bentley.
.

[NorthCarolinaDude]

Is that you Jerry?

https://www.ebay.com/itm/394059954617

Just noticed a vintage manual GC Co up on eBay, current bid at $8.50...there goes the market!

Peace.

[VinnyLou65]

I know I’m a little late to this post, but coincidentally I was speaking with my knife expert friend, who’s had one of the largest Mom & pop knife stores since the 1960s; he knows everything about every knife brand, what knife trends are hot and what knives are improving or declining; he absolutely loves for knives so to speak.lol Anyways, we got to talking about authentic Italian stiletto brands, and he was saying that they’re currently a hot item, for a minority portion of knife collectors, yet production of most classic Stilettos from Italy are on the major decline; as most of the Italian makers are in their 70s-80s, so there’s bound to be many flaws to an already poorly made knife that’s more of a toy. He says that it’s absurd how much Beltrames and even Latama’s are going for right now; because they’ve honestly always been a cheaply made product to begin with. Being an avid knife collector and heavily involved in my local knife collecting community, i notice that many “avid” knife collectors dislike the Italian Stiletto knives, as they really only serve no other purpose than pocket jewelry now. I still like them and have a few Stilettos myself, but the authentic “Made in Italy” stilettos are unfortunately near extinction, as the Chinese market has largely taken over selling even crappier flea market stilettos. Plus, as more states have continued to legalize automatic knives, all of the top notch brands are now manufacturing more modern/reliable all purpose switch blades, tactical automatics and the current big trend of OTF’s. I’m not hating on avid Italian Stiletto collectors or anything, I always say collect what you like. One thing I see all too often with many Stiletto collectors, is that they tend to always have at least 5-20 of the same exact stiletto in their collection, which really makes no sense to me honestly. All of these factors are causing the price of Italian Stilettos to increase in value really, I mean Latama still makes pretty good knives and occasionally Frank B knives still fire strong, but those picklock Latamas aren’t worth even close to $500-$800. From a business standpoint, I understand why they price them like that, but we’re talking about flashy souvenir/toy knives here. Again, I really do love my two Latama’s and Frank B’s, but they really serve no purpose, except hurting someone, and they’re really not even that reliable of a weapon anymore either, as tactical knives, stun guns and especially in the USA, where everyone carry’s guns. I had an Uber driver once, who was like a 20 year old kid, and he had like a 50s greaser look to him, and he was bragging about his stiletto switchblade that he could use for self-defense. I’m a nice guy and all, but I can be very blunt sometimes, so I told him, “son, it’s a beautiful knife and all, but you’re unfortunately dreaming of a bygone era of 1950s Switchblade rumbles; most violent crimes in America involve guns, please don’t flash that at someone if you’re ever getting robbed, that’s just a fine piece of pocket jewelry.” Anyways, knife sales trends are a lot like the stock market, they change every 10-20 years or so; I’m sure the Italian stiletto market won’t completely die off any time soon, but a lot of the Italian brand stiletto makers have either given in to China, Tawain, the U.S., Germany etc. I heard that even some Latama’s are even made in the U.S. nowadays; I know that AKC Italy is now AKC World, meaning Chinese-made. Beltrame knives are definitely a hit or a miss, if anyone ever wants a Frank B knife, “ALWAYS” buy the ones with natural handles, because the acrylic Frank B’s are notorious for misfiring due to being a bit lighter in weight or warped plastic handles with visible gaps between the liners.

[Bill DeShivs]

VinnyLou65- Your "expert" friend is wrong.

While the 1950s stilettos were not made like normal pocket knives, they were very well made. The manufacture of these knives has morphed with the times-making them cheaper and easier to make. In the 1950s, almost everyone in Maniago made switchblades for the American market, and the competition was fierce to build the best product. Because people don't like the product doesn't mean they were not well made.

There are very few people making stilettos in Maniago. No one wants to be a cutler.

Latama is attempting to re create the quality of the 1950s. Unfortunately, the maker of his stilettos doesn't understand-even after having it explained. Latama has financed new tooling at great cost to improve their knives. Unfortunately, the safeties are still a weak point. Latama- being a reseller, does have American knives, but they aren't stilettos. The man that built his customized stilettos just passed away, so it looks like those are history now.

[Blitz]

As respons to my questions about flaws in a knife that i received, the owner of 3knives begged me not to buy from their webshop again because their knives ''Campolin'' are handmade and that the flaws in the knives are ''standard quality''.

Saying standard quality for knives above the $200 is insane.

This is what we have to deal with i suppose.

[Erik131065]

Before ordering from 3knives, ask in an accompenying email to do the quality control for you. Ask for deep closing, straight blades for instance. I did it last time and mine came flawless. (as far as stiletto's can be)