Italian Vendetta?

[RobT]

Sajen and Ian,
Thanks for your responses. I have always heard that the fixed blade knife with its acute right triangle blade and Spanish notch plus integral bolster was an Italian vendetta dagger.
The Corsican vendetta dagger on the other hand is a folding knife with a spear point blade and a French slip joint lock. The hilt features a peculiarly shaped long bolster and, on vintage knives, the scales have a Moore’s head on one side. I have provided a photo of one of mine below but an online search using “Corsican vendetta” will yield many more.
At this point I think a bit of Corsican and French history will explain things. Corsica, just north of the Italian island of Sardinia was ruled by the city state of Genoa until 1755 when it became a republic. In 1769, the French took it over.
In 1840, the novel Colomba, by Prosper Mérimée became a smash hit and this is where, for blade collectors, the Corsican vendetta story gets interesting. The novel involves Colomba, her brother Orso, and and an Englishwoman named Lydia. Colomba wants Orso to fight a duel to avenge their father’s murder. Orso is reluctant to do so and Lydia is vehemently against it.
As a result of the novel’s success, Corsica became a hot spot for French tourists eager to see the rough and ready Corsicans willing to fight duels at the drop of a hat to save personal and family honor.
Corsican businessmen saw a souvenir opportunity in all of this and took themselves off to Thiers to create a vendetta knife. The knife makers responded and thus the Corsican vendetta folding knife was born out of whole cloth.
You can check with French knife blogs. They all say the same thing. The so called Corsican vendetta was never carried by Corsicans. Its sole purpose was as a souvenir item. I agree with this conclusion. Who in their right mind would want to fight a duel with a slip joint folder? Since they are practical folders (unless you are fighting a duel), they are still being made in Thiers (AFAIK without the Moore’s head on the scales). I have even seen Chinese made versions.

Sajen,
It shouldn’t be too hard to make the repairs. The toughest part is to get the German silver for the components.

Sincerely,
RobT