Rare folding knives for your enjoyment

[Interested Party]

I have a series of questions as always.

I've always wanted to know if there is an advantage to the ratcheting system? Does it serve as a backup lock in case the blade is bumped out of the main notch (caja [esp]) that locks the blade in the open position?

To complicate matters and begin to relieve my confusion the first example of post #1 would have a spring (molla [it.], muelle [esp], mola [port]) that Medrano in "Navaja antigua" p62 caption 2.3 of a Salvatici illustration in Italian describes as "molla fissa a finestra e tallone a tre scrocchi" other captions describe similar lock releases to post #1 as having a ring (cierre de anilla [esp]. Fernando's source in post #24 calls the spring system a "triplice de calço na mola." So when we describe these knives, we use a terminology of spring system combined with lock release system?

Finally, does anyone have any recommendations for books on folding knives in Spanish and Portuguese that provide a good foundation for the discussions we are having? I wouldn't mind titles of books on fixed blades as well

Thanks in advance for any advice given.

[fernando]

I guess part of the answer is determined by comprehending the different namings; technical, popular, romantic.
I will try and clear it with a couple drawings ... hoping not to increase the confusion .


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[Interested Party]

Thanks Fernando. From what I can tell the locking systems in Spanish are cerre de anilla if there is a ring. Cierre de golpe if it doesn't have one but the spring is released at the top of the hilt. If no lock but a back spring is present cierre de muelle, no spring no lock cierre de pulgar. A lockblade would be cierre de fieles. I don't know what a lock back would be or if the system was used in the southern Mediterranean region in the 18th and 19th centuries. Where would I find the terms in Portuguese?

So, to be clear; the ratchets are only for the sound?

[Chris Evans]

Hi Interested Party,

Originally Posted by Interested Party

Thanks Fernando. From what I can tell the locking systems in Spanish are cerre de anilla if there is a ring. Cierre de golpe if it doesn't have one but the spring is released at the top of the hilt. If no lock but a back spring is present cierre de muelle, no spring no lock cierre de pulgar. A lockblade would be cierre de fieles. I don't know what a lock back would be or if the system was used in the southern Mediterranean region in the 18th and 19th centuries. Where would I find the terms in Portuguese?

So, to be clear; the ratchets are only for the sound?

1. As Fernando rightly says, the terminology of locks is muddied by popular usage and there is some overlapping. This Wikipedia article in Spanish gives a fairly good account (use Google Translate): https://es.wikipedia.org/wiki/Navaja_de_Albacete


1. Regarding the ratcheting teeth, you may find this thread of interest http://www.vikingsword.com/vb/showth...hlight=carraca


2. The principal work on the old Spanish navaja is Rafael Martinez Del Peral y Forton’s La Navaja Antigua Española. Forton wrote extensively on the navajas but this is his magnum opus of some 490 pages. It is not perfect, but remains the indispensable work on the subject in the Spanish language.

Cheers
Chris

[Interested Party]

Thanks Chris. Perla y Forton has been on my list for a while but has been repeatedly push back. Rereading the 2017 was very helpful. I had not stumbled onto that Wiki thread before. It is helpful.

[Chris Evans]

Originally Posted by Interested Party

Thanks Chris. Perla y Forton has been on my list for a while but has been repeatedly push back. Rereading the 2017 was very helpful. I had not stumbled onto that Wiki thread before. It is helpful.

Hi,

The typical traditional Spanish navaja had a lock that consisted of am encased back-spring with one end flattened into which a rectangular slot was cut. This slot engaged with a notch on the heel of the blade and is called `cierre/cerradura de ventana translating as ` window lock' and remains in use to this day.

This locking mechanism could be at times difficult to release and in the last quarter of the 19th century a ring was attached to the back-spring so as to facilitate lifting it away from the notch and thus allowing the blade to close - this modification came to be referred to as `cierre de anillo' or ring lock, a misnomer because the ring effected the release and not the locking.

Towards 1900 the back spring was made out of sheet steel and mounted on the exterior shoulder of the handle and is known as `muelle de teja' loosely translatable as `roof tile back-spring'. To facilitate closure, a small lever was attached to the back-spring, which allowed it to be easily lifted from the notch of the blade, and this little lever is know as a `palanquilla'. So in total, this arrangement is known as `muelle de teja con palanquilla'.

I must mention that another form of locking the blade also existed, that of the rotating ferrule, as found on modern Opinel folders, and known as `virola giratoria'. This lock did not find much favor and only a small number of navajas were made with it.

Cheers
Chris