Rizzuto quality?

[Mario]

Hey guys,

As someone who has been collecting switchblades for a while and has had many Italian stilettos, cheap Chinese knockoffs, OTFs, etc., one type in particular that I’ve never gotten my hands on is a Rizzuto. What do they feel like in hand? People have said they’re really cheaply made compared to other knives. Quality wise, do they have the feel of those modern $15-$20 Chinese stilettos with the “Italian Milano” stamp on the blade? I’ve had a few of those and they’re about the cheapest you can get (flimsy brass liners, pot metal back springs, plastic scales that will easily crack if you squeeze them hard enough). Just wanted to hear some thoughts on them from collectors who have them. Thanks!

[Jackalope]

Spend your money on vintage Italian knives.

[sammy the blade]

I think the Chinese Milano is of better quality, but not a whole lot better.

[Tom19176]

They were cheaply made but they are OK. I find them a bit better than the new low end China models. They have lasted for 50 years and most have been used.

[jim d,]

As someone who has spent my entire career in Quality I have to chime in. Don't conflate quality with grade. To keep it simple and to the point being discussed, grade is essentially the materials used and quality is the design and fitness for use (freedom from defects). Rizzutos are clearly low grade, think thin guards, cheap plastic scales, cheap steel etc. The quality of those I have seen has not been very good either; loose guards, loose blade lockup, liner gaps etc. Whether these defects were due to poor quality of assembly or design, or whether they were due to years of abuse, I don't know.

I agree with Jeff, spend your money elsewhere unless you find a particular appeal in Rizzutos. Based on my limited input, what I have heard is that Rizzuto collectors like them because it was the first switchblade they ever handled or owned, and the knives bring back memories.

Jim

[button_man]

I have 3 Rizzutos, plus 1 knife that is absolutely identical to a Rizzuto but has no markings of any kind anywhere on the knife.
When one of these knives snaps open, you can literally feel this..... well, a sort of flimsy, tinny quality..... in your hand.

I have no emotional or nostalgic fondness for Rizzies; I never owned one until a couple of years ago, when I began seriously collecting auto knives. Two of mine were somewhat pricey -- I paid $200 a few months ago for a white-handled knife in the 11" range and a black-handled knife in the 8.5" range -- and the only reason I paid that much is because both knives had been kept in a bureau drawer since they were bought, and both are in like-new condition.

The only reason that I have picked up a few Rizzies is because of the place they hold in switchblade history..... after the 1958 ban, they were just about the only game in town for Americans looking for an auto knife. Rizzies and similar Japanese-made or Korean-made knives have appeared in countless movies and TV shows from the 1960s; and no discussion of switchblades in America is complete without them. For anyone who believes that flimsy Japanese products from the late 1950s and early 1960s are unworthy of notice, I invite you to take a look at early stamped-tin toy robots made in Japan during this time period. The prices will knock your socks off. Just as with the Ruzzutos, they were cheap and did not hold up well over time; but they hold an important place in the history of SF toys and the values reflect this.

[sammy the blade]

Just blows my mind that you can get an Italian swing guard for less than a Rizzy.

[Mario]

Just blows my mind that you can get an Italian swing guard for less than a Rizzy.

I know, right? PVK has new AGA swinguards for $150 while Rizzy’s usually run anywhere between $200 or $350 when they pop up. The Italian style Chinese clone lockback swinguards that crop up on Wish and DHgate seem to be of decent quality. So there’s obviously better quality you can get for your money. I agree that the old Japanese Rizzy’s and Korean ones mostly have sentimental value due to their frequent appearances in movies and TV shows over the years. If I ever ended up getting one, it would be for that reason alone.

[Luke_of_Mass]

Rizzy's are a crapshoot, even the best of them are low quality knives to begin with. For the life of me I can't understand why anybody wants them, let alone for well above the price of genuine Italians who's quality is far superior to that of Rizzy's. I can only chalk this logic up to some sort of weird cult following that chases after them because they were used in movies when Italian alternatives were no longer available...

After many years of collecting real stilettos, seeing a "serious" gangster in a movie wielding a Rizzy is a consistency error for me, and I laugh it off as a Hollywood gaffe. I also cringe when I watch those hoodlums kicking around that Latama on the ground at the planetarium in Rebel Without a Cause, but that's neither here nor there.

Bottom line: just spend serious coin on serious knives. And let's skip the existential nightmare of examining whether practicably unusable stilettos are serious

[Mario]

The Super Automatic and NATO Military OTFs seem to have a similar sentimental value like that of the Rizzy’s. I’ve had and handled those before and they’re really cheap knives with a lot of blade play, issues with slipping off the track upon deployment, springs breaking, etc. Yet they draw a good penny when they come up for sale. Granted, they’re not quite as rare and sought after as the Rizzy’s and never go for nearly as much. They did make a lot of appearances in movies over the years though, so they too have that collectibility factor that doesn’t exist with other cheap knives.

[button_man]

"Rizzy’s usually run anywhere between $200 or $350 when they pop up" -- Seriously??? I thought I was being slightly gouged when I paid $200 for the pair of Rizzies mentioned in my above post. I cringed at paying that much.... but they really are in like-new condition. Paying over $200 for just one of these knives seems absolutely nuts.

"I also cringe when I watch those hoodlums kicking around that Latama on the ground at the planetarium in Rebel Without a Cause" -- I can't say for certain about the knife that was kicked; but the piece held by James Dean was not a Latama.... it was an Astor, and it sold a few years ago for $15,000. Not to me, I might add.

[button_man]

Speaking of the "NATO Military" style knives ~ ~ ~ I recently picked up a knife of this type, except that where it's usually stamped with that identifier on the handle, it says "Secret Agent" instead. The blade has an etching of a dragon head (I think that's what it is) about halfway down the blade; and it's marked "BELL" on the ricasso. Has anyone else seen such a knife? Just curious. This is the only one like this that I have seen thus far.

[Tom19176]

Bell was a Korean knife maker. The K 108 was the first model like this and is more valuable. It had the pinned bolsters.

[Bonzo]

Mr. Mario,

Your topic speaks volumes with that question mark. It's non-existent. They are however, a coveted collectible item due to their past novelty popularity. Certainly not a reliable self defense weapon due to it's pot metal innards and flimsy liners, you could very well be short of a few digits after losing the battle. I look at them as an investment, and never pass one up as long as I know the seller is gullible.


Best regards,

Bonz

[button_man]

Tom ~ Yeah, I know that Bell is Korean..... I just wondered if anyone else had run across a "NATO Military" style knife with the "Secret Agent" name.