Antonio Contini Masterpiece

[ILikeStilettos]

My dear friend and Master Cutler, Antonio Contini, had a go at one of my designs. He changed it a bit, and while not exactly like mine, it's pretty close, and, of course, entirely gorgeous. No, I didn't buy it, but a fellow collector did.

[sammy the blade]

Definitely did a good job on the build!

[Corvus]

Beautiful design and execution! Everything about it looks elegant and precise.

I've visited his site a few times and have been sorely tempted. Do the blades on his automatics tend to be wiggle-free, and if so, do they stay that way after the mechanism breaks-in?

[ILikeStilettos]

Beautiful design and execution! Everything about it looks elegant and precise.

I've visited his site a few times and have been sorely tempted. Do the blades on his automatics tend to be wiggle-free, and if so, do they stay that way after the mechanism breaks-in?

I own one of his knives from previously and they snap well and have zero wiggle, but I haven't seen enough of them to be sure. Everyone seems to love his stuff and he is a bit cheaper than Lelle Floris.

Regarding the second question, I don't know how to answer and it implies you're a novice. I don't think any of my knives are broken in. When you pay that much for a knife other than showing it off for sale or the like, you don't fire it more than the first time you get it. Click therapy is for cheapies, not quality knives. George Cameron says that they are "basically self-destructive mechanisms" and why try to break it in or wear it out?

[sammy the blade]

I have an ab piclock that Straydog worked over for me and it snaps like a gator. Unfortunately I fired it so much it's loose as a goose now, still pretty though.

[JimBrown257]

That's awesome. Is that the guy who makes the Sardinian knives?

[ILikeStilettos]

That's awesome. Is that the guy who makes the Sardinian knives?

You're probably thinking of Lelle Floris, but Antonio does as well.

[Corvus]

Beautiful design and execution! Everything about it looks elegant and precise.

I've visited his site a few times and have been sorely tempted. Do the blades on his automatics tend to be wiggle-free, and if so, do they stay that way after the mechanism breaks-in?

I own one of his knives from previously and they snap well and have zero wiggle, but I haven't seen enough of them to be sure. Everyone seems to love his stuff and he is a bit cheaper than Lelle Floris.

Regarding the second question, I don't know how to answer and it implies you're a novice. I don't think any of my knives are broken in. When you pay that much for a knife other than showing it off for sale or the like, you don't fire it more than the first time you get it. Click therapy is for cheapies, not quality knives. George Cameron says that they are "basically self-destructive mechanisms" and why try to break it in or wear it out?

There's a significant difference between compulsive "click therapy" and occasionally appreciating the action of a fine automatic knife. To each their own, of course, but as a longtime collector of custom automatics, I've found that they're enjoyable both statically and dynamically.

That doesn't mean compulsively knifesturbating until the thing is plumb worn out, but it does mean that the maker intended the owner of one of his finely-tuned handmade automatics to open the knife automatically as part of the enjoyment of its ownership. If doing so judiciously causes the thing to self-destruct, the maker should probably stick with building manual knives.

I've owned autos by guys like Harkins and Osborne that are as tight as the day they left the maker's bench and they're what I'd call 'broken-in.' Hence my question regarding your beautiful Contini stiletto.

One the other hand, vintage Italian stilettos we're never all that solidly-built in the first place, comparatively speaking, and an old stiletto has most likely already paid its dues in the firing department, so treating those fragile old knives as static display pieces makes perfect sense (though I still fire mine every so often unless they're ridiculously over-sprung).

[Corvus]

Beautiful design and execution! Everything about it looks elegant and precise.

I've visited his site a few times and have been sorely tempted. Do the blades on his automatics tend to be wiggle-free, and if so, do they stay that way after the mechanism breaks-in?

I own one of his knives from previously and they snap well and have zero wiggle, but I haven't seen enough of them to be sure. Everyone seems to love his stuff and he is a bit cheaper than Lelle Floris.

Regarding the second question, I don't know how to answer and it implies you're a novice. I don't think any of my knives are broken in. When you pay that much for a knife other than showing it off for sale or the like, you don't fire it more than the first time you get it. Click therapy is for cheapies, not quality knives. George Cameron says that they are "basically self-destructive mechanisms" and why try to break it in or wear it out?

There's a significant difference between compulsive "click therapy" and occasionally appreciating the action of a fine automatic knife. To each their own, of course, but as a longtime collector of custom automatics, I've found that they're enjoyable both statically and dynamically.

That doesn't mean compulsively knifesturbating until the thing is plumb worn out, but it does mean that the maker intended the owner of one of his finely-tuned handmade automatics to open the knife automatically as part of the enjoyment of its ownership. If doing so judiciously causes the thing to self-destruct, the maker should probably stick with building manual knives.

I've owned autos by guys like Harkins and Osborne that are as tight as the day they left the maker's bench and they're what I'd call 'broken-in.' Hence my question regarding your beautiful Contini stiletto.

One the other hand, vintage Italian stilettos were never all that solidly-built in the first place, comparatively speaking, and an old stiletto has most likely already paid its dues in the firing department, so treating those fragile old knives as static display pieces makes perfect sense (though I still fire mine every so often unless they're ridiculously over-sprung).