Cheap Frank B disappointment

[Bill DeShivs]

It's real.

[JulesVane]

I wanted to voice my displeasure with the recent Frank B stiletto I picked up. I did not know that they had a "cheap" line, but apparently they do. I bought one new for $75 (should have been my first clue) but I figured it was cheap because it has imitation graphite scales and nobody wanted it.

PVK seems to be selling the same knife with different colored scales (sure yours aren't micarta?), for just a tad more than $75... https://pvk.com/frank-b-italian-stilett ... arta-23cm/

[Tom19176]

I have always said PVK is way out of line......

Agreed with Bill that it is real, but it is one of their low end lines....

[button_man]

.
Three hundred for a 9" Frank B? I couldn't believe it, so I went and viewed the Frank B listings at PVK. Leaving aside abalone, MOP, etc the least expensive (under 11") was an 8" pearlex for $190, and the highest was a 9" blonde horn for $398. Most are in the range of $220 to $330.

My favorite part of the pitch was this: "The care to detail and precision in the spring mechanisms have earned these knives the respect and approval of demanding customers the world over."

I guess it sounds better than, "The wildly inconsistent and constantly decreasing quality of these knives has led to record hair-pulling and furious complaining from irate customers the world over."

I checked a couple other sites. Direct Knife Sales has an 11" Frank B for $149.99. Arizona Custom Knives has a couple 9"s in wood or black plastic for $180, and carbon fiber for $155.... but 11"s in horn (or even pearlex!) are mostly at $270 to $295. I did see one 11" at $195.
Apple Valley has 11"s in the $220 to $260 range.

While PVK seems more expensive than its competitors,
the prices for everyone's 8"s and 9"s seem high -- and the 11"s seem amazingly high. Frank Bs with swinguards or humpbacks or other special features are generally $350 to $550 and it's hard to believe that anyone is really buying at those prices.

Is the 'Frank B' stamp still being used? If it's been completely discontinued, then it is understandable that sellers would test the waters to see how much they can charge for an extremely well-known brand. Still, these are jaw-dropping prices..... and all the sites refer to production of Frank B knives in the present tense. No mention that it's been mothballed. I have to conclude that the brand is still current, making these prices even more shocking.

I often judge prices in terms of what can be purchased for a thousand dollars. The idea that only 3 or 4 eleven-inch FBs --nothing special, mind you; just regular knives-- will cost you a THOUSAND dollars defies belief.
.

[sammy the blade]

I think I bought this one here from the buy/sell listings Sammy.
The re-scaling aside, these Frank B's are hand assembled from what I can tell, so they may vary in quality of workmanship depending on what kind of day the cutler was having.

Bingo!

[sammy the blade]

I wanted to voice my displeasure with the recent Frank B stiletto I picked up. I did not know that they had a "cheap" line, but apparently they do. I bought one new for $75 (should have been my first clue) but I figured it was cheap because it has imitation graphite scales and nobody wanted it. Turns out, it's also a cheap, crappy knife! The action is stiff (it will probably improve with use and some oiling), the scales are cheap and not well fitted, the bolster lock sticks, the blade is very off center - you can see in the picture that the spine has a slightly larger gap on one side, but it's the SAME side that the tip angles toward. It's like the blade is bent from where the swedge starts (I hope that's the right name for it... new at knife anatomy). FrankB..jpg

The blade looks like it goes too far back in locked position.
FrankB.jpg

And then of course... the steel doesn't want to take an edge... Granted, I'm no expert, and have very basic sharpening tools, but dang! I'm able to get SOMETHING happening on my other blades, this thing seems determined to stay in the butter knife category. Yeah, it looks okay, it opens, it does what stilettos do, and there's no blade play to speak of, but I'm disappointed overall.

I thought I'd be better off with a Frank B over one of the Chinese copies, but apparently their competitive price point stuff is not that good. There's an antique mall nearby with a huge collection of old imported stilettos, at some point I'll get a "real" one. A stiletto isn't something I'd carry most of the time, it's mainly for fun, but as I learn more about knives (total newbie here) it's hard to overlook the issues on this knife.

Frank B seems to be all over the place as far as pricing goes. I bought 3 2025 special addition picklocks at around $250 a piece.



That same Abalone knife with a swivel bolster is going for $480, may just be PVK but the pricing is insane! And don't tell me it's because of tariff's; they were in place when I bought these.

Those look great!!!

[whippersnapper]

The better be great for that kind of money...

[bassman520]

I wanted to voice my displeasure with the recent Frank B stiletto I picked up. I did not know that they had a "cheap" line, but apparently they do. I bought one new for $75 (should have been my first clue) but I figured it was cheap because it has imitation graphite scales and nobody wanted it. Turns out, it's also a cheap, crappy knife! The action is stiff (it will probably improve with use and some oiling), the scales are cheap and not well fitted, the bolster lock sticks, the blade is very off center - you can see in the picture that the spine has a slightly larger gap on one side, but it's the SAME side that the tip angles toward. It's like the blade is bent from where the swedge starts (I hope that's the right name for it... new at knife anatomy). FrankB..jpg

The blade looks like it goes too far back in locked position.
FrankB.jpg

And then of course... the steel doesn't want to take an edge... Granted, I'm no expert, and have very basic sharpening tools, but dang! I'm able to get SOMETHING happening on my other blades, this thing seems determined to stay in the butter knife category. Yeah, it looks okay, it opens, it does what stilettos do, and there's no blade play to speak of, but I'm disappointed overall.

I thought I'd be better off with a Frank B over one of the Chinese copies, but apparently their competitive price point stuff is not that good. There's an antique mall nearby with a huge collection of old imported stilettos, at some point I'll get a "real" one. A stiletto isn't something I'd carry most of the time, it's mainly for fun, but as I learn more about knives (total newbie here) it's hard to overlook the issues on this knife.

Where did you buy this? I've never seen a Frank B with such a poor quality. I can't believe this is a true Frank B. There are a lot of counterfeits these days.

I got it from Directknife sales. It IS a real one, but it's one of the cheapos. I've seen a few other complaints about them, so it's not exclusive to this example.

[Panzerfaust]

The prices of some of these are getting crazy. There are two recent production 28 cm Frank B stilettos with kris blades listed at $250 each on Apple Valley Knives and both are listed as sold.

[Billyfish]

I got Walt's new announcement of the 'custom Latamas' he's gotten in stock via email.
Most were sold at sixteen hundred dollars plus; speaking for myself, I couldn't justify paying that much for one.

[Panzerfaust]

I got Walt's new announcement of the 'custom Latamas' he's gotten in stock via email.
Most were sold at sixteen hundred dollars plus; speaking for myself, I couldn't justify paying that much for one.

That's crazy and I could not either. You can still buy a 1950s knife for a lot less.

[boots]

I got Walt's new announcement of the 'custom Latamas' he's gotten in stock via email.
Most were sold at sixteen hundred dollars plus; speaking for myself, I couldn't justify paying that much for one.

Fools will pay.

[Bill DeShivs]

It's going to get worse. I hope you all realize that you are witnessing the end of the Italian switchblade industry.
It may not happen immediately, but it will happen soon. There may be one or two holdouts, but it will happen. I watched it happen with Solingen

[button_man]

.
The question is: do the Italians realize it?
.

[Bill DeShivs]

Yes, they do.