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I have read over and over how the quality of established Italian switchblades far exceeds that of Chinese counterparts. I ordered and received 3 11" "Frank B" swivel bolster models and a single 13" swivel bolster model. All have brass liners. None have excellent alignment of blade (parallel) with the liners. The 13" has an irregular gap (1/32") between upper bolster and blade. It fires poorly.
I also ordered and received 3 9" Chinese bolster swivel models. All have stainless liners. All fire very well. Tolerances are great. No irregular gaps between blade and liner.
Italian models: each $100 plus. Chinese: $11.95
I don't know anything about the Chinese switchblade, but in my personal opinion, Frank B knives are overrated and overpriced. I have two 11" and one 13" and I do not like them. The blades and springs are thin. The handles look like blocks and do not contour with the knife. The bolster and blade on two have "play". They were purchased new.
Sorry guys, but I don't see any real "craftmanship" with Frank B knives. Mabey the older ones are better.
First the older collectors will tell you in the 1990s the quality of Italian models was really bad. That was before the internet brought back some demand and things got some what better. China has terrible steel but the fit can be more consistent.
Peiper wrote: ↑Sat Jan 23, 2021 1:39 am... in my personal opinion, Frank B knives are overrated and overpriced. I have two 11" and one 13" and I do not like them. The blades and springs are thin. The handles look like blocks and do not contour with the knife. The bolster and blade on two have "play". They were purchased new.
Sorry guys, but I don't see any real "craftmanship" with Frank B knives. Mabey the older ones are better.
Frank B makes all of Walt's Flatguard and Latama stilettos. Walt is concerned with quality and does not put up with shoddy work. Maybe he pays extra for better quality which is reflected in his pricing. So he gets the firsts, who gets the seconds?
Billyfish wrote: ↑Sat Jan 23, 2021 12:32 am
I know I'm wandering of topic a bit but; I get the impression that all OTF's have a safety mechanism meaning that if you put the knife against something like a cardboard box and push the trigger it will stop and not penetrate the box. IMO this renders them about on the same level of usefulness as a toy.
Correct me if I'm wrong.
It is not a safety feature. The knife blade only needs enough momentum generated in the length of travel to clear the locking mechanism, which is only a few inches. Uninformed Hollywood planted the idea that a knife fired by one, or sometimes two, small diameter extension spring(s) can be placed against an object and open with enough velocity to penetrate that object. This scares the liberal white women, who then lobby their congress critters for more restrictive laws against auto knives. See now I'm wandering...lol Please don't judge all OTF knives with the same eye as there are some very robust OTF out there that can take some punishment.
The AKC lever locks are nicely made. My Frank B 11" swing guard is good, no complaints from me. I have a horn scaled Campolin Dominus, I like it, but it is no better quality wise than the offerings from AKC for less money. I am not opposed to a Chinese made knife, as long as the offering is not a counterfeit copy of an existing knife and the blade steel is not a misrepresentation of something else
Peiper wrote: ↑Sat Jan 23, 2021 1:39 am... in my personal opinion, Frank B knives are overrated and overpriced. I have two 11" and one 13" and I do not like them. The blades and springs are thin. The handles look like blocks and do not contour with the knife. The bolster and blade on two have "play". They were purchased new.
Sorry guys, but I don't see any real "craftmanship" with Frank B knives. Mabey the older ones are better.
Frank B makes all of Walt's Flatguard and Latama stilettos. Walt is concerned with quality and does not put up with shoddy work. Maybe he pays extra for better quality which is reflected in his pricing. So he gets the firsts, who gets the seconds?
Nobody, not even Walt, is impervious to the well-known QC problems that have always plagued the Maniago knife industry.
Here's a couple pictures of when I went 3-for-3 with peeking Walt's that were brand new, and 2/3 had defective safeties. There's $800 I'll never get back.
If a seller doesn't take returns, or have close up pictures of common problem areas of knives, stay away.
I always like to think of 3knives getting its name because you gotta buy 3 of something to get an example of a knife that doesn't have some sort of problem.
Luke_of_Mass wrote: ↑Sat Jan 23, 2021 11:07 pm
I always like to think of 3knives getting its name because you gotta buy 3 of something to get an example of a knife that doesn't have some sort of problem.
There quite simply is no one left in Maniago that can build knives like they were built in the 1950s.
Renzo Pascotto is ill. AKC has one man, and Massaro has a couple.
Decriminalizing here at state and federal levels might give the industry a shot in the arm. I'd love to own one of the Sardinian knives but the gamble of sending that amount of money there with no guarantee it would get through customs here makes it a big nope for me.
Bill DeShivs wrote: ↑Sun Jan 24, 2021 5:45 am
By it's very design, the modern stiletto safety is defective.
It's a flawed design by comparison to the old style, I can agree to that 100% - but a flawed design and a safety that won't prevent the blade from deploying are different matters entirely. I'm speaking to the latter. And a safety that moves loosely on a new knife is unacceptable as is the "repair" treatment that my pictured knife received. I presume that was the one he didn't send to you.
Enough use/abuse will eventually wreck any switchblade, but from the maker's workbench to the buyer's doorstep is an unacceptable time frame for this to occur, hence these problems occurring before acquisition being referred to as QC problems, as opposed to flawed designs. Sure it ain't built to last, but that's not an excuse for it to not last until it is in the buyer's hands.