Armenian doctor's knife

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ILikeStilettos
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Armenian doctor's knife

Post by ILikeStilettos »

This gorgeous knife belonging to Bellmont800 (from the other forum) showed up in my Facebook group and inspired me to copy it. According to the owner, it was built by an Armenian doctor. It obviously displays a great aesthetic and a high level of cutlery skill. That being said, the design has it's flaws.

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Note here that the firing mechanism is very short and fitted to a slightly elongated bolster. The extended picklock tab sticks past the end of the knife when it is folded and the bolster is built symmetrical, so that there are notches above and below the blade. One would suppose that you simply press down on the forward (thicker) part of the ramp to fire it. This can be accomplished by a double lever mechanism, or by pivoting near the thick end to raise the back end. I believe this is the methodology that was used judging from the elongated ricasso and the position of the sear hole in the blade. When I drew this out I realized that the ramp no longer moves downward, but rather has to roll forward, and you really need to apply all the pressure against the very tip of the thick end. This takes a lot of force! Also, because of the short arc, you begin to see the sear moving in a very distinct arc, so the hole in the liner needs to be elongated. I am conjecturing that the large sear hole is the result of this elongation process and the actual sear pin is smaller in diameter. For these reasons, I abandoned the copying idea and went instead for something more of a homage to a stunning piece.

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I liked the straight lines and the interesting bolster shape, and it occurred to me that it should have squarish guards extending from the full width area. The easiest way to eliminate the offending mechanism and still incorporate it into the bolster was to create an exposed rocker and notch it in. I love the original Damascus blade, but the bayonet shape had all the curves which the rest of the knife did not, so I created a sort of styled tanto shape. I didn't plan on imitating the inlaid bolster so I went for something simple, geometric, and all straight lines. I also realized that I could create a square lock tab, but operate it as a lockback knife. I did curve this portion, but it could have been a squared off notch in the scales/liner. The resulting design doesn't look much like the original, but if I color it correctly, the relationship will be apparent. It comes out to 13-1/8" long. The original may be 11" or 13", I suspect it's an 11". Please note in this side view the lockback mechanism is illustrated in the 'released' position.

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I've always draw big, wicked knives with slender blades, but lately I've started to design in more forgiveness for the builder. All points drop down 3/16" into the handle so there is no chance of peeking and there is another 1/16" of over-travel to make sure the blade can move past where the sear engages. This makes the knife close up very deeply.

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Your questions, comments and criticisms are greatly appreciated.
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."
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Belmont800
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Re: Armenian doctor's knife

Post by Belmont800 »

I'm here too :) I love this one, beautiful like a watch - functional like a tank.
Belmont800
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mick17
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Re: Armenian doctor's knife

Post by mick17 »

Fantastic design and execution! You should be very proud of this one.
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ILikeStilettos
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Re: Armenian doctor's knife

Post by ILikeStilettos »

mick17 wrote:Fantastic design and execution! You should be very proud of this one.
I assume you mean Bellmont's original, rather than my interpretation.
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."
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mick17
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Re: Armenian doctor's knife

Post by mick17 »

ILikeStilettos wrote:
mick17 wrote:Fantastic design and execution! You should be very proud of this one.
I assume you mean Bellmont's original, rather than my interpretation.
Ah yes I did, I misread the original post.
Fishtail Picklock
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Re: Armenian doctor's knife

Post by Fishtail Picklock »

Great looking stiletto.
Fishtail Picklock
gravknife
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Re: Armenian doctor's knife

Post by gravknife »

That Doctors knife is real classy.
I would love an example but i know they rarely come up for sale

Congratulations on that beauty Belmont800
Thanks for sharing it.

Ian
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last_vegas
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Re: Armenian doctor's knife

Post by last_vegas »

Hi, this switchblade is made by the same armenian master as these ones,
viewtopic.php?t=24767
if you need additional photos for your project, i can share
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ILikeStilettos
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Re: Armenian doctor's knife

Post by ILikeStilettos »

last_vegas wrote:Hi, this switchblade is made by the same armenian master as these ones,
viewtopic.php?t=24767
if you need additional photos for your project, i can share
Wow. I can see that! Do you know if he is still making knives? Did you obtain those in Armenia or Turkey?
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."
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TRYKER
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Re: Armenian doctor's knife

Post by TRYKER »

I CAN'T THINK OF ANY DOCTOR NEEDING A KNIFE LIKE THAT EXCEPT ''DR. DEMENTO''
TRYKER



A man who brags about how smart he is, wouldn't if he was.

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sammy the blade
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Re: Armenian doctor's knife

Post by sammy the blade »

Dr. Demento doesn't need any knives, are you crazy?
2024 candidate for president
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last_vegas
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Re: Armenian doctor's knife

Post by last_vegas »

ILikeStilettos wrote:
last_vegas wrote:Hi, this switchblade is made by the same armenian master as these ones,
viewtopic.php?t=24767
if you need additional photos for your project, i can share
Wow. I can see that! Do you know if he is still making knives? Did you obtain those in Armenia or Turkey?
The knives were made in Armenia by Karo, i bought them in Moscow at knife show. I contacted the maker and he allowed me to post his email\phone for those who are interested in his works to contact him directly.
Because this discussion is about project of "ILikeStilettos" i`ll post them in thread i started (if its against forum rules, please let me know)
viewtopic.php?f=1&t=24767&start=15
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Belmont800
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Re: Armenian doctor's knife

Post by Belmont800 »

gravknife wrote:That Doctors knife is real classy.
I would love an example but i know they rarely come up for sale

Congratulations on that beauty Belmont800
Thanks for sharing it.

Ian

Much Thanks. :)
Belmont800
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ILikeStilettos
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Re: Armenian doctor's knife

Post by ILikeStilettos »

Well, I haven't built anything yet, but there is a new chapter to the saga. One of my Facebook connections posted the following picture from the Gator show. He had also requested a business card from the seller, who turned out to be the President of the Gator Knife Club, which gave me a phone number and also allowed me to locate him on FB. The phone number worked, but it wasn't his primary and he seemed reluctant to text me. This prompted me to reach out to Boombotz111 who I knew lived in Florida and turned out to have known the gentleman for two decades and immediately vouched for him. After a bit of back and forth, he explained that he (the seller) sent materials to Armenia and the doctor made up knives and sent them to him in Florida to sell as an exclusive representative. He was sending me pictures, but they weren't good quality and I got a bit confused. Finally I worked out that I wanted the one and only silver colored blade and to the best of my knowledge all the other Damascus ones are still available. I could have any knife for the same price. I won't quote it here, best you talk to the man himself if you are interested. He doesn't do PayPal, but would accept my check. At that point he decided he was hinky about me and reached out to Boombotz111. Sal, out of the goodness of his heart, volunteered to have the seller get the knife to him and he would get it to me ... that's what we did. To the best of my knowledge, all the rest of them, all Damascus blades, are still available. PM me and I will pass the contact information along.

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The knife is stainless, beautifully engraved, about 24,5 cm overall and weighing about 171 g.

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The rosewood scales are laser engraved, but that doesn't detract at all from them.

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The blade and pommel engraving looks like it's machine done from a pattern, and while this is not handwork, it's still elegant and stylish. I didn't even realize what I was buying, but I was most pleased when I saw it in person.

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It's a rather slim picklock with a concealed pin. It's leaf spring fired, but like everything else on the knife, it's an unexpected approach. The spine is split, but the spring appears to be dovetailed into a pommel spacer.

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The good doctor appears to have great skills, but little knowledge of traditional side kicker design. He could have set the pivot further back so that the knife would be stable without the extended locktab. However, that would take up real estate that he wanted to use for the unusual short rocker mounted to the bolster. It works and snaps great, so regardless of weird, it's a successful design and pleasing execution.

Image

I primarily bought the knife because I wasn't able to understand everything from pictures. It's a beauty and I am happy to have it in my collection, though I probably won't add more from the same source. At this point I'm not even sure that there is anything here I want to use in my own designs. That's not diplomacy, I will need to mull it over for a while before deciding. I am going to put it in Duke's hands to examine and study and then have him return it to me.

Thanks for reading along.
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."
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DonC
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Re: Armenian doctor's knife

Post by DonC »

Good looking example of an alternative design. Thanks for the photos and narratives.
DonC
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