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Aitor Knives? (one more try)

not2sharp

not2sharp

Platinum Member
Joined
Jun 29, 1999
Messages
20,195
Does anyone have any experience with this brand. I know its an old Spanish knifemaker that has made knives for the Spanish military and markets products like the Jungle King I, Cuchillo de Monte, and Oso Nego. They seem to be well made knives, at least some of the older examples that I remember handling.

Has anyone field tested one of these?
 
I have a small survival knife by Aitor. I like it. For a knife with a 2" blade, it's pretty handy. Obviously, only for light work, but still handy.

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The thorn stands to defend the Rose, yet it is peaceful and does not seek conflict
 
I have seen these knives in mags, and a couple up close. Not too bad in the fit and finish compartment, but I have not cut much with them. I believe they use 440B modified stainless. Should be decent cutters if they heat treat them right, since 440B is what Randall uses on their stainless blades.

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Danbo, soul brother of Rambo
 
I've been reading for a while but I've finally seen something I can contribute to !

I've had an Aitor copy of a large Swiss Army knife for about 14 years now and it's proved every bit as good as the original. The corkscrew is still going strong despite the fact that my father managed to break the one on his Swiss Champ !

The blade holds its edge well and is very stainless. I'd certainly have another.

Mark
 
I bought an Aitor maybe 15 years ago. It's a heavy chopper type of knife somewhat like the Becker Brute; full tang construction, blade about 8 1/4" long and 1/4" thick. The finish on the blade is nice, the handle is a bit more sloppy. I have not used the knife very much, but it stands up very well to chopping even pretty hard wood.

I have also handled other Aitor knives, mostly in Spain and their quality seems to be ok. You can see their current line at www.aitor.com.
 
Hi Not2sharp,

I still have the Aitor knockoff of the SAK that my father bought about 30-34 years ago for me when we were on holiday in Spain.
It was the first knife that I handled that was of very good quality.
I still have it today and it's as good as ever only the main blade has become a little less wide than it originally was.

About 6-8 Years ago I bought an Aitor Jungle King 2 and I carried it a lot even with the slingshot rubbers "in" the sheath which was a risk because slingshots are forbidden in Holland.

Quality of the steel used and all over finish of both knives is very good.
Each Jungle King has been individually tested for correct blade hardning as the impression that the cone shaped diamond makes is clearly vissible on the blade.

My Jungle King stayed sharp for a long time and with just a minimal toucheup was back to shaving sharpeness.

For the price I have to pay for Aitors I can't go wrong price/quality wise.

By the way Aitor also produces the official Spanisch Army knife/bayonet.

Cheers,

Bagheera


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Thanks for the feedback.

Markwood, welcome to the forums, glad to see you have decided to join in.

I have several knives by Aitor (some military, some civilian) and have generally been impressed by their quality. They do not get the bandwidth they deserve on this forum. The recurved blade pattern is an old favorite, which explains why I like the Cuchillo de Monte, Oso Negro/Blanco, and Montero models (the montero was introduced at this years Blade Show - its a large version of the OSO Blanco).

There have been some reports that the handle on the Cuchillo de Monte may be somewhat fragil and subject to breakage. I have not experienced a problem, and I do not know what the user was doing when the knife failed. Has anyone experienced a failure with one of these knives?

This was posted by another member earlier this year:
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"I served with the 11st COE in 1995 and these knives were no longer issued. At that time there were
12 companies (between 20 and 60 men each) and we were issued the military version of the Aitor
“Oso Negro” which was never well liked by the fontline troops as it was brittle and the handle tended
to break of. In its place private issue knives like the Glock AUG bayonet or KaBars (for me) were
favored and everybody had a Leatherman. "
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[This message has been edited by not2sharp (edited 08-15-2000).]
 
Aitor is, with Muela, one of the most respected knife companies in Spain. Overall quality in materials and manufacturing is rather high, and because of it, some of their products have been selected as standard issue for our Armed Forces and Law Enforcement Corps. We can mention the 'Cuchillo de Monte', the military version of 'Oso Blanco', and a four bladed copy of the SAK with green makrolon scales. Even the GEO (Spanish equivalent of British SAS or German SGS9) are currently equipped with a special version of another Aitor model, the 'Botero'. In some moments Aitor has made special models for foreigner armies and Security Forces: Venezuela, Letonia, France, Malasia, Germany, etc. Hope it may help, and sorry for my English.

 
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