I would like some information of this switchblade CORICAMA

[micaela]

This would be a great way to find out the market value of that Coricama, however it might be bad form:

Put it on the auction site with a really high hidden reserve price (like $2000). Let people make offers starting at $0 for it and see what they'd be willing to pay. That would be the most accurate way to assess it's value as, regardless of what some book says, what it's worth comes down to what someone will pay. And, hey, maybe someone would give you $2000 for it...however unlikely.

I don't know if that kind of thing is frowned upon, like it may be poor auction site ettiquette. I've seen auctions where I'm sure that's what the seller was doing. Maybe people wouldn't care or maybe they'd even encourage it as they'd like to see what happens too. And people would get to look at a cool blade.

Can anyone with more auctioneering experience verify if this is a good or bad thing to do?

Hi, which places you recommend?

Regards

Micaela

[micaela]

Cleaning up a vintage knife yourself can be a tricky situation. One wrong move and the value could be hurt dramatically.
Same as firearms,vintage knives are best left in their original condition unless done by a professional.

By the way Welcome to the forum Micaela.

Hello Viking and Micaela,
Actually Viking's advice is very good advice. I sent my Coricama to Bill for general clean up. I'll be getting it back later this week and I'll post before and after photos. You may not see much of a difference, but I wanted a pro to do the work. Mine is a folder hunting type. Here are a few photos
I previewed the reply and in my original photo the blade is not cropped.
John

Hi John Really very beautiful piece.
micaela

[JimBrown257]

Nice Cor, John. I was reading about these autos that have a blade that's twice as long as the handle. Originally, the idea was that you could use it for a tool/utensil in the closed position then, if trouble presented itself, you could snap it open for a more formidable weapon.

I guess back in the day people got jumped while eating dinner a lot.

I especially love the guards. I always like to see different styles of swingers. I always wonder why they don't make a wider variety. It seems like an easy way to class up an existing blade.


And Micaela, there are a few auction sites and they each seem to cater to certain kinds of knives. For an older/used/unusual blade/collectable item, Sharper Deals is the best place.
http://www.sharperdeals.net/categories. ... nt_id=1951

But be sure to get a second opinion if you are just going to put it through to see what people would be willing to pay. I kind of doubt anyone would be too opposed but if too many people did that, it wouldn't be good. Of course, if you're trying to sell it, and have a minimum price you'd accept, there's no problem.

[Bill DeShivs]

Most of the folding bowie/pig stickers are not automatic.
They were designed to be used around camp closed, and opened for the coup de grace on wounded game-where the long blade is necessary.

[john]

Hi Jim,
My Coricama is not an automatic. There is no room for a leaf spring. It is a very nice knife. I'be been on the hunt for one for a long time.
In my preview my blade was cropped, but now it's not.
Thank you,
John

[JimBrown257]

My Coricama is not an automatic. There is no room for a leaf spring.

...Yeah, I've been looking into these Pig Stickers some more and it looks like Bill was more on point than what I had read (suprise, suprise). I'm trying to find the thing I was reading about them. I'm pretty sure it was from one of this "Switchblade History" books, but the selection I saw was reprinted online. I can't even seem to find if there are any auto-Piggers out there now.

[john]

Hi Jim,
They do pop up, but not to often. You have to be in the right place at the right time.
I wonder if a coil spring could be installed; it'd have to be a powerful little spring.
John

[JimBrown257]

They do pop up, but not to often.

I'm sure I've seen one. And there was something about an old one in one of the SB books. It was more of a stiletto (offensive knife) than something you'd you on game.

I have a pig-sticker type that's basically a machete that folds over. It's a pretty cheap Pakistani abomination. I don't know what the name of this thing is but I would recommend something like "The Lawsuit" or "The Four-Finger Folder" as the blade is so heavy that the lock (Which is just the pin conected to the lever, like on a Rizzy) doesn't keep the blade in place and if you're holding it and you swing it the blade unlocks itself and comes crashing down back into the closed position. If your fingers are wrapped around the handle, well...

[Bill DeShivs]

There is one marked "Marbles" that is made in China. Seems pretty nice.
www.skm.to has an Italian model available.
Hubertus offers one, I believe.
None of the above are autos.
And there are always a few older Japanese models on Ebay.

[JimBrown257]

www.skm.to has an Italian model available.

...Are you talking about a Pig Sticker? I can't find the one on SKM.

[Viking45]

www.skm.to has an Italian model available.

...Are you talking about a Pig Sticker? I can't find the one on SKM.

Here ya go-
http://www.skm.to/c/hunt29/non-auto_hunting_12.html

[JimBrown257]

There it is. I don't know how I missed it; I thought I looked at all SKM's non-autos.

Anyways, that one looks a lot better than mine, and it certainly costs more. I still wonder how well that pin can keep the blade in place, especially when you consider how much leverage that long, top-heavy blade would have. Also, it would very likely be swung like a machete to clear away brush (or bad guys). After an extremely close call with the cheap version I have, I will never put my fingers over the opening of one of those things.

[Bill DeShivs]

The Italian ones are very well made, and safe.

[JimBrown257]

The Italian ones are very well made, and safe.

I'm sure they are well made but even the absolute best possible constructed one of those big machete pig stickers would still have me worried. There would have to be some way you could knock the open blade out of it's locked position, say you swung your arm back as hard and fast as you could to take a big swing and the back of the blade hit a tree.

Or, even if no amount of force could knock the blade down without the lever being pressed, you could swing it back and you could bump into something that could press the lever down accidentally (granted, the chance of that happening would be really, really small). And, of course, all this could apply to any other kind of folding knife.

The difference with this one is that if the blade did fall down for whatever reason, it would be like having your fingers under one of these things:

[JimBrown257]

...And this isn't anything against SKM. I've often told people that if they are going to get a quality Italian, that is always the first place to look and probably where you'll have the best luck.

And if this Pig Sticker is on par with their other stuff, I'm sure it's of pristine quality.

It's just, if you have any folding machete, watch out for fingers.

But maybe I'm just paranoid from a bad experience with a cheap one. If you had a cheap Saturday Night Special backfire in your hand, you're probably always going to cringe a little.