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TalkBlade Infrequent Newsletter - March 2008
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The contents of this newsletter at a glance:
1) Due Buoi Forged Lever Lock now available in stainless steel
2) An interview with Ottavio Massaro
3) Goodbye Tinys
4) Map and Satellite View of Maniago Cutlery Places
5) Maniago News: Santiago was here (maybe)
6) All the hot TalkBlade topics at a glance
1 - Due Buoi Forged Lever Lock now available in stainless steel
---------------------------------------------------------------
Due Buoi is happy to announce the availability of the
Forged Lever Lock
which is the next step in the work that Due Buoi began with the Forged
Stiletto. The quality is the same, but the features are quite different as
this knife is made especially for carrying and everyday use.
Its key characteristics are its slimness, the AISI 304 absolutely
stainless steel which makes-up its body. As the Forged Stilettos, it
features an AISI 440C blade.
It's available in two blade styles, aptly named STAN:
http://www.duebuoi.it/bin/x.cgi/uk_usd/ ... lock~stan/
and OLIVER:
http://www.duebuoi.it/bin/x.cgi/uk_usd/ ... ck~oliver/
2 - An interview with Ottavio Massaro
-------------------------------------
As per request of some TalkBlade members, we interviewed Ottavio Massaro
to know a bit more about past and future of Massaro cutlery and wonderful
lever locks.
Here's the interview (TB=TalkBlade, OM=Ottavio Massaro):
TB: You've been manufacturing switchblades for a lot of years. When did
the whole thing start?
OM: My father, Guido Massaro, began producing knives in the early fifties.
He started working in this field shorty after he came back from World War
II: at the beginning he was working at Due Buoi, then he decided to create
a factory on his own.
There's no particular reason or likeness for the choice of the lever lock
as the main production item, and actually they were not making lever locks
in the Fifties, but only the classic Italian Stilettos which we no longer
make. The reason for the choice of the Italian Stiletto was, basically,
that it was what the customers of that time wanted.
TB: So the lever lock is more recent than most people think. When did you
start manufacturing it?
OM: Well, I began to work at my father's factory in 1968, and at that
time we were still producing Stilettos, mostly. In the early Seventies
some customers from The Netherlands began sending us request for lever
locks, and so we began producing them, and we actually specialised in
that kind of production.
TB: Is there any particular design that influenced you?
OM: I know many of you would love to hear a lot of stories about this, but
the truth is that there wasn't any real influence. We always manufactured
on demand. Basically, customers sent (and send) us requests, ideas and
drawings, and we create(d) the products.
TB: Where is you customer base located, mainly?
OM: Most of our bigger customers are located in Italy, Germany,
The Netherlands and France. We also have some business with the USA and
other countries with our web site, but that's smaller compared to the
four countries I just named.
TB: Are you working on any new knife?
OM: Not at present time. We're waiting for ideas.
TB: Will your business carry on after you retire?
OM: This is a difficult question, and there is no answer at present. My
sons are involved in other activities and are not interested in
carrying the tradition on. When I retire, the only chance for Massaro
factory to survive would be in another company that buys it. Time will
tell.
We hope you liked the interview. Ottavio promised us some pictures of
(very) old knives in the near future. Stay tuned.
3 - Goodbye Tinys
-----------------
One of the most important knife sellers in the USA and a great person,
Tinys, died at at age 52. The author of this newsletter met him several
times and is in one of his saddest moments while writing these lines.
Truly a "Good One", Tinys will be truly missed by the knife community.
This is the TalkBlade topic devoted to him:
http://www.talkblade.info/viewtopic.php?f=4&t=10533
4 - Map and Satellite View of Maniago Cutlery Places
----------------------------------------------------
We are building a map of all the past and present cutleries and
blade-related places in Maniago, with the help of Google Maps. This is
the map of the sites we gathered so far:
http://maps.google.decenturl.com/maniagomap
There's also an eye-candy satellite view available, which allows you to
see the buildings with a decent zoom factor:
http://maps.google.decenturl.com/maniagosat
Discussion of the map is ongoing and can be found here:
http://www.talkblade.info/viewtopic.php?f=1&t=10298
Suggest a missing spot!
5 - Maniago News: Santiago was here (maybe)
-------------------------------------------
San Giacomo (St. James) is a well-known Saint in the Maniago area. There
used to be religious celebrations every July in past years, which have now
been mostly replaced by a 3-days town festival featuring many events.
Our San Giacomo is the same which is now buried in Santiago de Compostela,
the Spanish town which is world famous for the peregrines who go there on
foot from many places across Europe, and which owes him its name.
A legend tells that Santiago was originally buried in the Cutlery Town
(well, maybe not even originally, but at a "certain" time, since its body
seems to have been stolen more than one time). After some time the body
was here, it was stolen again and brought in Spain.
There's no way to say whether this story is true or not, but we like to
believe it. If it wasn't stolen, besides for knives, Maniago would also
be famous for people coming here on foot - and maybe going away with a new
knife.
6 - All the hot TalkBlade topics at a glance
--------------------------------------------
==> Passaround II?
http://www.talkblade.info/viewtopic.php?f=1&t=10696
The latest passaround knife just finished his wandering into Tryker's
hands, and it seems a new one (15" Stiletto) is already being targeted
to be the next. If you're located in the US you can join for just US$ 20,
but you'll need to hurry because there a limit of 10 hops.
==> blade shaping.
http://www.talkblade.info/viewtopic.php?f=8&t=10526
Bill DeShivs' deforum is hosting a thread on blade shaping, that is: when
you make a knife you most likely want to decide the shape and grinding of
your blade. Read here to understand how to accomplish that.
==> Cheapest, ugliest, crappiest, junkiest switchblade you own?
http://www.talkblade.info/viewtopic.php?f=5&t=10464
This is going to become one of the funnies TalkBlade topics ever, which
might rival over time with the great "Imitation Horn" topic. This thread
is devoted to showing the worst knives you own, and to see what junk other
people were able to buy (maybe after a couple of beers).
==> PERU: knife "The Condor" engraving and carving
http://www.talkblade.info/viewtopic.php?f=5&t=10700
Peruvian knives are not being discussed that much, so we have a rare item
here. You'll just need a short glance at it to see how cool it is.
==> 2008 VOTE
http://www.talkblade.info/viewtopic.php?f=13&t=10272
With McCain being the official Republican candidate and with the Obama
vs Clinton battle closing in, this thread is growing more and more.
Whether you are an US citizen on not, take a look at what knife collectors
think of the most important election in the planet. And tell us you
opinion!
Come and join the discussion athttp://www.talkblade.info/ !!!
Sincerely,
TalkBlade Management.
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