Manufrance OTF

[gravknife]

Hello my freinds
Ive just picked up this strange otf from France and again like my Flash there is no information on the web about this knife.
I absolutely love it ,the lock up is excellent with just slight side to side and its a beautiful smooth action.
The knife is 9 inches overall with a 4 inch swedge blade.The blade marked MF in a star and st etienne and the rear bolster BTE. SDGD .
The scales are knurl patterned plastic and tm the bolsters are silver coloured plastic also ,but the body is a patterned steel ,its really nicely put together and it looks fairly old.
There is a safety on this which resembles a car gear stick and it locks the knife up soundly .
The double action works solid both ways with a nice fast snap.
Has anyone seen one of these before and can anyone give an age or let me know if there are other otfs by manufrance.
Im really happy this one slipped the net as i havnt many otfs.
Thanks for looking and any comments welcomed .
Regards
Ian

[Sunny]

Made by the French company ”Douris-Chastel”, the Le Superoto is the only OTF that I have come across that has a lever to lock up the blade and make it tight. I have new MicroTechs that could use this feature. The oldest one has the label on the bottom and a metal tightening lever (the top three knives have this feature). The new models (the bottom three knives) have a plastic lever, like the newest one with a gray plastic "bottom" and flashy red label. All have a blade etch of "Le Superoto" and work identically. Probably made in the late 1950s and continued in the 60s with the newer models.

[whippersnapper]

Nice group, sunny!

[gravknife]

Thanks Sunny
As whippersnapper said ,thats a beautiful group.
Never seen stag before and didnt know about these variations ,thanks for posting these and the explanation on age and types.
I was looking for manufrance and didnt even think le superoto ,but my otf knowledge is little.
Thanks for the ID and age .I wonder if manufrance made these for "Douris and chastel" have you seen them marked by MF before.?
Thanks for the pm Sunny.

Ian

[Perryknifeworks]

Great looking knives.

[gravknife]

Some more pictures showing the MF blade marking,and patent mark on rear bolster.
Its slightly wider than the Flash knife and feels a bit more substantial.
There is no bladeplay at all when the lever is pushed forward .Like Sunny said its a great way of preventing the blade moving on these otfs .
Ian

[Tom19176]

Very nice knife!

[bigfatross]

Hi Ian,
I picked up one of these a while ago. Mine came with the original plastic bag (not in photo) and instruction sheet.
Nice knife! Hope all is well, Cheerio mate.

[gravknife]

Ross
I love that and in mint condition .

Ive hadnt seen many of these since being on TB but i remember these red arrows whilst searching for otfs.I was thrown as this didnt have one and wasnt marked le superoto.

Thanks for showing us this Ross ,im learning all the time and i know you like the French knives aswell.
All the best mate.

Ian

[big_slim]

Here's one I have that's marked Jeantin Le Mans on the blade. It's in ok shape but still has that smooth action that all these French otf's seem to have. The end cap is plastic but somebody painted it gray, might have been chrome originally.

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