Ethnographic folding knives

kronckew · 26th November 2008, 10:59 PM

here's a recent hand made bulgarian friction folder.

and some ring-locks

the kudu is a cold steel copy of the okapi, with fancier hardware & a modern glass reinforced zytel handle.

the okapi, made in so. africa, was originally made in solingen, but they licensed it to SA, the other large one with the more abrupt clipped point has an outline eagle head in a circle in a square stamped on the blade. i think it's an earlier german one. the teeny one (2in. blade) with the horn handle is an older spanish variant.

they are a variation on the ratcheting navaja design from spain, here is a six and a three inch blade version, the lever near the pivot lifts the lock pawl, similar to the ring pull type. there are five ratchet teeth the pawl clicks over on opening, preventing it from being pushed back and closing on the owners hand in case of a fight. the lever normally lies flat against the back of the grip, is raised 90 degrees to unlock the blade for folding. i've partially lifted them here for clarity.

they say the sound of the lock pawl clicking over the ratchet teeth was the scariest sound , and for some the last sound they ever heard, in a spanish bar...

the okapi is known to have killed more men in so. africa than any other knife.

kronckew · 27th November 2008, 12:12 AM

another ethnic folder i like is the barrel knife from sweden, they are each unique and the parts are not interchangeable.
this is sometimes referred to as an '1874' model as that was when it was 'patented' in the USA by a maker who had learned to make them in sweden, one of the swedish makers, john engstrum stamped his with the date he started making them, also 1874, this is NOT necessarily the mfg. date, he made them from 1874 thru 1918 and all were stamped 1874. they were made from 1864-1925 by the major mfg. mine is a p. holmberg, made between 1900-1920, 2.75 in. barrel.

photos showing how it's opened (reverse sequence to close

)

closed

unlocked and removed from grip - there is a little spring loaded pawl/lever near the ring

blade swinging into position. you can see the little spring locking thingy

reinsterted and locked into grip and you have a nice scandi fixed blade knife.

KuKulzA28 · 4th September 2009, 04:01 AM

For those interested, I found the website of the traditional knife-maker in 士林, Taipei, Taiwan. I believe he is 5th generation in the practice, making these traditional bamboo-leaf shaped blades. He has no apprentices as far as I know. There's a price list and sampling of the hand-made / custom-made 士林刀! Here's also a short youtube video of him. I've ordered a blade with him, and it should be done in November (he has me in the queue).

I am not sure if I am allowed to post his website as it is a commercial site (though not an "ongoing auction"). I think he also has a partnership that is a multi-person assembly process that makes decent but not quite as good knives.

Oriental-Arms · 4th September 2009, 05:49 AM

Regarding the small folder posted by Maisey, thus was discussed before in the forum. See http://www.vikingsword.com/vb/showthread.php?t=918

asomotif · 4th September 2009, 06:36 AM

Thanks !

Anandalal N. · 4th September 2009, 07:47 AM

The folding knife posted by Alan Maisey is a knife used by scribes. The blade is a multiple use blade including the preparing of the 'ola leaf' of the palm tree on which traditionally writing was done. The point is a stylus with the use of which images are scraped on the palm leaf and blackened in with charcoal and oil or some other substance. This example is from South India; the script appears to be Tamil.

Certain Pihakaettas from Sri Lanka that still retain their sheath have a seperate channel to hold the stylus. These knives are a portable version of same.

By the way I have one of these knives where the stylus has rusted into the grip and cannot be removed. The grip is of wood. Any advice on how I could release the stylus would be appreciated.

The carpet makers knife has a small nick at the end of the point to catch the string and pull it through.

Anandalal N. · 4th September 2009, 07:57 AM

Here is an ola leaf written with a stylus. The script is sinhalese and the contents is Ayurvedic text.

By the way the wood of the grip in Alan Maiseys example also looks like coconut or some other such palm?

26th November 2008, 10:59 PM	#1
kronckew Member Join Date: Mar 2006 Location: Room 101, Glos. UK Posts: 4,215	here's a recent hand made bulgarian friction folder. and some ring-locks the kudu is a cold steel copy of the okapi, with fancier hardware & a modern glass reinforced zytel handle. the okapi, made in so. africa, was originally made in solingen, but they licensed it to SA, the other large one with the more abrupt clipped point has an outline eagle head in a circle in a square stamped on the blade. i think it's an earlier german one. the teeny one (2in. blade) with the horn handle is an older spanish variant. they are a variation on the ratcheting navaja design from spain, here is a six and a three inch blade version, the lever near the pivot lifts the lock pawl, similar to the ring pull type. there are five ratchet teeth the pawl clicks over on opening, preventing it from being pushed back and closing on the owners hand in case of a fight. the lever normally lies flat against the back of the grip, is raised 90 degrees to unlock the blade for folding. i've partially lifted them here for clarity. they say the sound of the lock pawl clicking over the ratchet teeth was the scariest sound , and for some the last sound they ever heard, in a spanish bar... the okapi is known to have killed more men in so. africa than any other knife. Last edited by kronckew; 26th November 2008 at 11:35 PM.

4th September 2009, 07:47 AM	#6
Anandalal N. Member Join Date: Dec 2008 Posts: 84	The folding knife posted by Alan Maisey is a knife used by scribes. The blade is a multiple use blade including the preparing of the 'ola leaf' of the palm tree on which traditionally writing was done. The point is a stylus with the use of which images are scraped on the palm leaf and blackened in with charcoal and oil or some other substance. This example is from South India; the script appears to be Tamil. Certain Pihakaettas from Sri Lanka that still retain their sheath have a seperate channel to hold the stylus. These knives are a portable version of same. By the way I have one of these knives where the stylus has rusted into the grip and cannot be removed. The grip is of wood. Any advice on how I could release the stylus would be appreciated. The carpet makers knife has a small nick at the end of the point to catch the string and pull it through. Attached Images

4th September 2009, 07:57 AM	#7
Anandalal N. Member Join Date: Dec 2008 Posts: 84	Here is an ola leaf written with a stylus. The script is sinhalese and the contents is Ayurvedic text. By the way the wood of the grip in Alan Maiseys example also looks like coconut or some other such palm? Attached Images

27th November 2008, 12:12 AM	#2
kronckew Member Join Date: Mar 2006 Location: Room 101, Glos. UK Posts: 4,215	another ethnic folder i like is the barrel knife from sweden, they are each unique and the parts are not interchangeable. this is sometimes referred to as an '1874' model as that was when it was 'patented' in the USA by a maker who had learned to make them in sweden, one of the swedish makers, john engstrum stamped his with the date he started making them, also 1874, this is NOT necessarily the mfg. date, he made them from 1874 thru 1918 and all were stamped 1874. they were made from 1864-1925 by the major mfg. mine is a p. holmberg, made between 1900-1920, 2.75 in. barrel. photos showing how it's opened (reverse sequence to close ) closed unlocked and removed from grip - there is a little spring loaded pawl/lever near the ring blade swinging into position. you can see the little spring locking thingy reinsterted and locked into grip and you have a nice scandi fixed blade knife.

4th September 2009, 04:01 AM	#3
KuKulzA28 Member Join Date: Oct 2008 Location: between work and sleep Posts: 731	For those interested, I found the website of the traditional knife-maker in 士林, Taipei, Taiwan. I believe he is 5th generation in the practice, making these traditional bamboo-leaf shaped blades. He has no apprentices as far as I know. There's a price list and sampling of the hand-made / custom-made 士林刀! Here's also a short youtube video of him. I've ordered a blade with him, and it should be done in November (he has me in the queue). I am not sure if I am allowed to post his website as it is a commercial site (though not an "ongoing auction"). I think he also has a partnership that is a multi-person assembly process that makes decent but not quite as good knives.

4th September 2009, 05:49 AM	#4
Oriental-Arms Member Join Date: Jan 2005 Location: Haifa, Israel Posts: 183	Regarding the small folder posted by Maisey, thus was discussed before in the forum. See http://www.vikingsword.com/vb/showthread.php?t=918

4th September 2009, 06:36 AM	#5
asomotif Member Join Date: Nov 2006 Location: The Netherlands Posts: 2,228	Thanks !