unmarked Rizzuto

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button_man
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unmarked Rizzuto

Post by button_man »

This photo shows a couple pieces that I picked up in 2018 ...... the top knife is identical to a Rizzuto --right down to the fancy scrollwork on the bail -- but has no markings other than "stainless steel". (I paid $25 for it.) I would be interested to see other "unmarked Rizzutos" of different sizes and handle colors, just to see what is out there. Does anyone know if these were made by the Rizz factory and they simply didn't bother to mark them? --possibly either very early or very late during the production of Rizzies, when nobody really cared? Or could they be made by somebody else entirely: a knockoff of a knockoff....?

The bottom knife is an obvious Korea knockoff laughably marked FES -- as if anyone would really think that this flimsy piece of junk was produced by Ferdinand Everts Sohn GmbH & Co of Solingen..... I (over)paid $50 because I had never seen the fake "FES" stamp on a Korean knife before.
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Chris51P
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Re: unmarked Rizzuto

Post by Chris51P »

Hey button_man... Her are some pics of 3 knives that I believe are Rizzy's without the REM blade stamp. I had JTK repair the peek and rocker on the red one in which he verified was a Rizzy w/out the REM stamp. I do consider Jeremy an authority on Rizzy's. The white one is exactly the same as the red one, so I believe a safe assumption is that it is one as well. The red and white one are 10.25'' w/out the bail. The black one has 3 sided top bolster. But in every other way is exactly as other Rizzy's but has no REM blade stamp. It is 7'' w/out the bail. The unusual feature on this one is the batwing guard on a small knife. I've not seen the batwing guard on any other small Rizzy's. But then the variety of these knives is endless.
Red Rizzy 10.25''.jpg
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White Rizzy 10.25''.jpg
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Black Rizzy 7''.jpg
Black Rizzy 7''.jpg (58.24 KiB) Viewed 2213 times
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Bill DeShivs
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Re: unmarked Rizzuto

Post by Bill DeShivs »

Everts actually sold those in the 1970s, along with many other imported low-quality knives.
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Chris51P
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Re: unmarked Rizzuto

Post by Chris51P »

Bill DeShivs wrote: Wed Jan 06, 2021 7:19 pm Everts actually sold those in the 1970s, along with many other imported low-quality knives.
Thanks for the additional info, Bill. It’s always a good day when u get information you’re not expecting.
button_man
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Re: unmarked Rizzuto

Post by button_man »

Bill ~ OMG !! That's like hearing that Rolls-Royce was importing Yugos and selling them under the RR brand.....!
I am absolutely stunned that a German cutler would put his mark on something like this.
Heck, I'm embarrassed FOR him. *shakes head in disbelief*

----------------------------

Chris ~ thanks for the photos! I knew somebody else must have some of these! BTW, I have a manual folder made in Japan -- maybe 1960s or 1970s -- that is very small, maybe 3.5" to 4" or so, with a big garish batwing swinguard and a bayonet blade. It's very amusing to see such a small knife trying to look tough, so to speak.
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Chris51P
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Re: unmarked Rizzuto

Post by Chris51P »

button_man wrote: Wed Jan 06, 2021 9:57 pm Bill ~ OMG !! That's like hearing that Rolls-Royce was importing Yugos and selling them under the RR brand.....!
I am absolutely stunned that a German cutler would put his mark on something like this.
Heck, I'm embarrassed FOR him. *shakes head in disbelief*

----------------------------

Chris ~ thanks for the photos! I knew somebody else must have some of these! BTW, I have a manual folder made in Japan -- maybe 1960s or 1970s -- that is very small, maybe 3.5" to 4" or so, with a big garish batwing swinguard and a bayonet blade. It's very amusing to see such a small knife trying to look tough, so to speak.
The really nice thing about this batwing guard on the 7” knife is that it fits proportionally the size of the knife. I’ve never seen a batwing guard on the most popular 8.5” model.
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Bill DeShivs
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Re: unmarked Rizzuto

Post by Bill DeShivs »

Stunned or not, it's true. They sold Japanese lever locks, too.
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portlandmike
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Re: unmarked Rizzuto

Post by portlandmike »

Here’s my smallest Rizzie.. 6” and stamped Stainless Steel W/ an arrow above ..
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button_man
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Re: unmarked Rizzuto

Post by button_man »

Chris ~ You're right about the proportionality of the guard.... I never thought much about guard size but I will keep my eyes open in the future.
-----------------------
Bill ~ I would love to see any photos of FES leverlocks, or for that matter any FES-marked knives that you might have available!
The imports are of some interest but I'd especially like to see anything that FES made themselves!
-----------------------
Mike ~ Great piece! Very surprising to see no guard of any kind on this piece.
Does the stepped bolster indicate early production?
-----------------------

And now a general question: Is the fancy bail a sure-fire indicator of a Rizzuto?
Has anyone seen a knife with this bail that is marked by any other company?
Thanks everyone!
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Bill DeShivs
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Re: unmarked Rizzuto

Post by Bill DeShivs »

I don't have any pictures of other FES imported knives. Sorry.
Bill DeShivs, Master Cutler
http://www.billdeshivs.com
Factory authorized repairs for:
Latama, Mauro Mario, LePre, Colonial, Kabar, Flylock, Schrade Cut Co., Presto, Press Button, Hubertus, Grafrath, Kuno Ritter knives, Puma, Burrell Cutlery.
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Chris51P
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Re: unmarked Rizzuto

Post by Chris51P »

Nice little Rizzy portlandmike. I only have 4 little ones out of about 22. I don’t have any w/out guards.
Mario
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Re: unmarked Rizzuto

Post by Mario »

I finally scored a Rizzy just recently. It cost me a bit, but I’m happy with it and glad I finally got one for my collection! It’s about 8 1/2 inches open, has black handle scales and the swinguards sit well. Blade peaks a little bit, but it opens well and the safety works.

Finally having gotten one and tried it out, what I find hilarious is the abuse people put these things through in movies and yet they remain intact and functional! I mean, I’ve seen people stuck in the ribcage with them, people cutting soup cans open with them, people using them to pry windows open, people using them to pick locks, etc. Realistically, if you even did 1/4 of the things people do with these in movies, the handles would shatter and the blade could possibly snap off. LOL!
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HLangston
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Re: unmarked Rizzuto

Post by HLangston »

Mario wrote: Sun Jan 10, 2021 7:57 am I finally scored a Rizzy just recently. It cost me a bit, but I’m happy with it and glad I finally got one for my collection! It’s about 8 1/2 inches open, has black handle scales and the swinguards sit well. Blade peaks a little bit, but it opens well and the safety works.

Finally having gotten one and tried it out, what I find hilarious is the abuse people put these things through in movies and yet they remain intact and functional! I mean, I’ve seen people stuck in the ribcage with them, people cutting soup cans open with them, people using them to pry windows open, people using them to pick locks, etc. Realistically, if you even did 1/4 of the things people do with these in movies, the handles would shatter and the blade could possibly snap off. LOL!
They're STILL using Rizzuto's in movies. Hollywood must have bought crates of them to replace all the ones that get broken during filming and rehearsals.

The only thing I would cut with mine would be butter.

Warm butter.
Herb
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