Some of my older autos

[whippersnapper]

I'm not a big stilleto guy like most here. I like Italian knives but I prefer different patterns.

In the first picture the ones that are most interesting to me are 3rd one that looks like a picklock. If it is stamped Black beauty you have gold. The stamp will have a lot to do with value.

The second to last stiletto with the black jigged scales is also interesting because of the small top bolster.

Of course guys go ape shit over the Spanish knives like the Hell Raiser. I think they are junk but its the nostalgia.

On the second picture the first one is a slant bolster. Not super rare or valuable, but not as common anymore.
The third and fourth knives on the second picture are also interesting. Just because they aren't as common. The powder horn puller is also not very common. I can't think of the metal ones name at the moment because my memory sucks and I'm not into the collector world much anymore but Orthello rings a bell.

Most of the others are just pretty common knives but from what I can see some might have less common tang marks.

[gravknife]

prober996

whippersnapper is quite right in his analagy of the poor cheap construction of the Hellraiser ,but they do have a value as do many of the" junk " knives that are prone to breakage and have survived the many years of being clicked and abused .It makes them rarer imho .
Nostalgia is why many of us collect these knives ,not because they are great users or built like tanks ,each has its own merits .I for one love the Spanish knives and you have 3 sought after types .

I can't make out the mark on the picklock Terry mentions either ,but it looks unusual .Would like to know who made it .

[whippersnapper]

Yeah, I was never really a typical collector. I'm drawn more to knives that can be used and not just looked at. Not that I have used everything I have owned because that wouldn't make sense especially on something vintage or rare. I guess I never really bought a knife as an investment.

[Twobit]

Whippersnapper, same for me, but with the exception of switchblades. Not for investment, I mean, but the only real use I have for them is more or less playthings. The Rizzuto's I got with no idea how much collector value they had and maybe twenty years ago they didn't, but I got them dirt cheap for what I ended up getting out of them in trade and sale. I got them to play with and then found out how much they were worth. After that I decided I'd better send them to better homes because I will not just display them in a case. I'm too fond of snapping.

[whippersnapper]

Don't get me wrong, I won't pass up a bargain if I see a steal on something. Knife trading is how I acquired most of my better knives.

[Twobit]

I think the same would probably be true for all of us, whippersnapper. If I should come across another rizzy in a pawn shop for $20 I won't have to think twice before I say "shut up and take my money!"

[gravknife]

Good point whippersnapper

Switchblades are my worst investment and I am not even allowed to sell them never mind buy them in my country

I have many good user knives for bushcraft , but feel strangled by our petty laws to even take them into the woods and forrests now ,for fear of arrest ,or some dog walker posting me on a TikTok as a madman

On the other hand I have totally enjoyed my switchblades and this forum possibly more than any other thing I have collected ,and I have had many collections in my life .

Luckily I have never really broken the bank doing it ....would have but couldnt stand the thought of knives being destroyed or pocketed by the powers that be.

My biggest fear is when I die what will become of them in a land that sees a loud fart as an offensive weapon ,even though it forged itself on them for centuries to fight in endless wars to create its empire .

Sorry about the New Year rant
gravknife

[jim d,]

Nice examples prober996, thanks for sharing.

Interesting comments about Rizzutos, Twobit. They seemed to go from essentially giveaway knives to reasonably desirable collector knives through the years, seemingly due to the nostalgia factor.

Switchblades were a forbidden fruit of my youth (1960s), something I coveted, but never managed to obtain. Instead, I settled for false button and manual lockback stilettos. I kept an open eye for decades but never managed to acquire the real thing. Then on a whim, as many of us have done I performed an internet search for “switchblade” back in 2000 and found the old SKM forum (the predecessor to this forum), and the SKM site. I was enthralled and it was high time to make up for lost time. At first I planned to acquire maybe 5 modern Italian stilettos and believed that my collection would then be complete and I would have no desire for any more. Leverlocks seemed ugly to me and I had no desire for any. Times certainly do change! My evolution as a collector parallels that of many. The thrill of actually being able to purchase switchblades resulted in me acquiring nearly every permutation of modern swivel bolster stilettos. Then over time as I became educated through the forums and veteran collectors, my tastes evolved to the more unique, primarily but not exclusively vintage German leverlocks. The move from routine production models to the old and the unique seems to be the path many collectors have followed.

Jim

[Twobit]

Jim, I know what you mean about thinking you'll just get so many and be done with it. You'll never feel completed with these things. It's a bug and I'm bit for sure. I also get your meaning about evolving interests. I was very into swing guards. I still love them but having obtained one very nice AKC shell puller I'm smitten. I also like my leverlock swinguards, really more than my Italian push button. I'm sorely tempted to do something I hadn't planned on and put it up for trade to another shell puller.
Luke

[whippersnapper]

I had a couple switchblades as a kid. A Rizzy clone that one of my Dads friends brought back from Mexico and another old all metal Presto that was my grandpas. Loose as a goose and half sharpened down.

My Dad made and collected knives and was best buds with the gun shop owner in town. Once in a blue moon a switchblade would come in the shop and we were usually given first crack at doing a deal. This was probably the mid eighties. I swear it was kept more hush, hush than buying dope and probably easier to buy a unregistered handgun....lol They were hard to come by and the most taboo thing around.

Went a little crazy around 1997 when I got on this interwebs stuff and cautiously started buying about everything I could afford. My Dad couldn't believe it either and was just starting to tear some apart and dabbling about making his own. Unfortunately he passed away before actually completing any but he did customize a few before that happened.

[prober996]

I took some better photos of the Hellraiser.

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[prober996]

Here are better photos of the shellpuller.

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[JulesVane]

Here are better photos of the shellpuller.

I have the same shell puller (extractor). Jndiana Extra, imitation stag. I was told it was a pretty rare piece. But, like with everything we label "rare", someone always shows us 5 more!

[whippersnapper]

I still can only remember 5 or six posted in the forums all these years, but yeah, somebody will come up with a couple hundred new old stocks one of these days....lol

The jindiana aren't high quality and are cheaply put together imo. The imitation stag they used was terrible.