Latama

[Graybeard]

What happened to Latama? There hasn’t been any knives on the website for a good while??

[JulesVane]

What happened to Latama? There hasn’t been any knives on the website for a good while??

Not really sure what's going on in Maniago, and which member of the Beltrame family is making knives for Walt these days. I see the Wright's KnifeWorks videos on YouTube, where I'm not sure if he is getting them directly from Beltrame in Italy, or Walt gets them first and Wright's customizes them and returns them to Walt. But, I'm willing to bet, by Wright's showing them on YouTube before he returns them to Walt, they are already sold and never make Walt's website for sale. But, we sure don't see many stock pieces on Walt's site either. Maybe a few, but not many. Maybe Walt is going all custom?

[button_man]

.
I refer you to my April 2nd post in the 'Dolphins' thread.
Nobody wants to tell us anything, and very few provide any kind of meaningful Customer Service.

I've read here that Walt (and Perry's, and maybe a couple others) DO tend to treat their customers well; but they seem to be the exceptions. Still, even they aren't too forthcoming with information.

Too bad we can't organize into a collector group with some real negotiating power. As long as we remain disorganized, the suppliers will continue to treat us just as crappy as they wish.
.

[boots]

What happened to Latama? There hasn’t been any knives on the website for a good while??

Not really sure what's going on in Maniago, and which member of the Beltrame family is making knives for Walt these days. I see the Wright's KnifeWorks videos on YouTube, where I'm not sure if he is getting them directly from Beltrame in Italy, or Walt gets them first and Wright's customizes them and returns them to Walt. But, I'm willing to bet, by Wright's showing them on YouTube before he returns them to Walt, they are already sold and never make Walt's website for sale. But, we sure don't see many stock pieces on Walt's site either. Maybe a few, but not many. Maybe Walt is going all custom?

Frank is in his 80's and doesn't produce knives anymore, his son and daughter have taken over. A few months ago, they released a few 8" flat blade knives that didn't sell but are returning to the 9" and 11" bayonet blades, the prices are quite a bit more expensive because of the tariffs. I think Latama has moved on with their X Victoriam line.

[NorthCarolinaDude]

I agree with the assessment of the situation. But it's not necessarily new. Somewhere around here, I think it was around what would be AGA's 75th Anniversary, I started asking questions. Their website sits today with the 70th Anniversary celebration on the landing screen. Now, several years after my post, I have even more questions! About 6 months back, a group of AGA 15 and 18 inch picklocks showed up on the scene. I recently bought one from Duncan. These knives were also available briefly on 3K/KS. But they went super quick. There's a bunch of Black Widows that recently dropped too. I bought one and it's built better than my first year Widow. Since AGA went down the AKC World and China path, I started to wonder exactly who built these Widows too! Were these non-AKC World knives just old inventory, banked away like the diamonds in the Diamond Exchange, and released in such numbers as to control pricing in the market? Or was it just found inventory? Because if not, then who is making them? It's my understanding that most of the Campolin family is retired. I've asked in the Facebook groups, PM'ed some people like Francesco (Dolphins) and wasn't able to get any true insight.

I'm not saying that I think these new Black Widows are built in China or the parts are sent from there for assembly in Italy, but I've certainly wondered it. A few paragraphs from Angelo or anyone rep'ing the brand posted somewhere, maybe on their website, could answer all the questions regarding how things are currently rolling and if there's any chance of an 80th Anniversary comeback!!

I secretly fantasize about an announcement of AGA Frosolones, Wasp Picklocks and Flat-guards, Batwing Swinguards, etc. coming for the big 80th Anniversary and that they're more quiet than usual because they're just too damn busy banging out knives for the big reveal!!

Then there's the Beltrame knives. I've read that they're all pretty much retired. I bought an armload of Renzo Beltrame "Last Run" knives. I also bought some Frank B Limited Edition 2025 picklocks late last year, even after it being my understanding that Frank was retired. When I saw 3K/KS offering not a single Frank B some weeks back, I wondered if the party was over for real! However, a week or two back, the website suddenly had a new batch of Frank B's and 8 inch variants started showing up on U.S. websites. As with AGA Widows, I'm curious who built these LE's from 2025 (the five I bought are well done with tight tolerances and that, for some reason, made me suspicious about origin too)! And, who built the 8 inch FB's is another curiosity. Were these also found inventory, held inventory, etc.

I apologize for the rambling, maybe I'm just a paranoid old hippie! But this could all be resolved with better communication from the brands. It's always been this way to an extent, but more concerning now with all of the retirement talk, and even the passing of Armando Beltrame.

Thankfully, Mariana and the Dolphins formation are working hard to keep Italian Switchblades alive and well. I truly hope they're able to grow and maintain the Maniago tradition!!

Cheers.

[JulesVane]

The Black Widows were Lepre, and I would think they still are. Age on any Frank B stamped knives would be that the oval sear pin hole on the blade started in 2020. But, I see that Angelo is offering some new 9" with the traditional round sear pin holes, so who the heck knows what's going on there. Those Frosolones, wasp body picklocks and 13" swinguards were all Renzo Pascotto, and I highly doubt he will make any more for A.G.A. Campolin. I must have missed seeing those 15" and 18" picklocks. Jim had recently posted an older A.G.A. Campolin 18" ring-pull, that was probably the closest to an 18" picklock that I think I've personally ever seen.

[Tom19176]

Interesting conversation. Too bad Frank's son was chased off the site by a member who rarely post except to sell things and go after Frank B due to a bad deal they had. His son was very informative for the few posts he provided.

[thom]

Greybeard, I heard the Beltrames are no longer making Italian stilettos. I can't confirm that, have to wait and see if true.
Anyway, if you are looking for A Walt's Latama I have a few I could sell,9 and 11". I also have a couple of the older Frank Beltrames.
Best to contact me through email. I can email you pictures.
thomblazer@gmail.com

[tommyw68]

What happened to Latama? There hasn’t been any knives on the website for a good while??

Not really sure what's going on in Maniago, and which member of the Beltrame family is making knives for Walt these days. I see the Wright's KnifeWorks videos on YouTube, where I'm not sure if he is getting them directly from Beltrame in Italy, or Walt gets them first and Wright's customizes them and returns them to Walt. But, I'm willing to bet, by Wright's showing them on YouTube before he returns them to Walt, they are already sold and never make Walt's website for sale. But, we sure don't see many stock pieces on Walt's site either. Maybe a few, but not many. Maybe Walt is going all custom?

Frank is in his 80's and doesn't produce knives anymore, his son and daughter have taken over. A few months ago, they released a few 8" flat blade knives that didn't sell but are returning to the 9" and 11" bayonet blades, the prices are quite a bit more expensive because of the tariffs. I think Latama has moved on with their X Victoriam line.

Tom Wright here.. lol. You can always ask me directly.

[boots]

Not really sure what's going on in Maniago, and which member of the Beltrame family is making knives for Walt these days. I see the Wright's KnifeWorks videos on YouTube, where I'm not sure if he is getting them directly from Beltrame in Italy, or Walt gets them first and Wright's customizes them and returns them to Walt. But, I'm willing to bet, by Wright's showing them on YouTube before he returns them to Walt, they are already sold and never make Walt's website for sale. But, we sure don't see many stock pieces on Walt's site either. Maybe a few, but not many. Maybe Walt is going all custom?

Frank is in his 80's and doesn't produce knives anymore, his son and daughter have taken over. A few months ago, they released a few 8" flat blade knives that didn't sell but are returning to the 9" and 11" bayonet blades, the prices are quite a bit more expensive because of the tariffs. I think Latama has moved on with their X Victoriam line.

Tom Wright here.. lol. You can always ask me directly.

Great! Will we see future Latama customs or have you moved on to Frank B? That's a beautiful knife by the way.