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timberweasel

timberweasel

Joined
Jan 5, 2011
Messages
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Italian knives, anyone? Let's see 'em! :thumbup: Here's hoping for an interesting discussion on Italian-made cutlery...

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FOX Knives 515 Terzuola in G-10 and N690Co

Seems to me, Italian cutlers love their Bohler N690Co stainless. I dig it. Fine grain structure that can take a razor's edge without too much effort. Holds it fairly well too. I'm not a steel or sharpening guru, so hopefully our more learned forum colleagues will chime in. What do you think? Missing link between 440C and VG-10? An enhanced Sandvik/154CM hybrid? Neither?

Please share your opinions and photos of your Italian knives!

Thanks for reading! :)

-Brett
 
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Another fine specimen in N690Co and titanium... very skilled technical execution of a unique design.

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Spyderco PITS

-Brett
 
No love for Italian knives, eh? Wow.

I reckon I'll just leave this pic of a sexy little FOX 271 Elite in more Bohler N690Co and tulip wood scales, and let this thread slip quietly into the void... :o

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-Brett
 
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Antonini Knives Caltagirone. Cheap ($14), with a fairly rough fit and finish, but I like the design.
 
timberweasel said:
No love for Italian knives, eh? Wow.

I reckon I'll just leave this pic of a sexy little FOX 271 Elite in more Bohler N690Co and tulip wood scales, and let this thread slip quietly into the void... :o

foxelite01_zpsbjfky7n5.jpg


-Brett
Click to expand...

Now that, I like! Very cool looking knife.
 
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Lionsteel M4: 95mm of italian perfection in M390 steel.

Gesendet von meinem KIW-L21 mit Tapatalk
 
N690 is about the same as VG-10 in composition/
 
Yes, Lion Steel is a very good reference and I would add Viper (Tecnocut). Both are from Maniago, the Seki City of Italy. Here under are two of my favourites : Lion Steel Opera (small) and the Viper Venator, a knife with amazing fit and finish. Viper also has a range of traditional inspired patterns which are definitely worth a look.



 
I'm not sure these knives are what you're looking for.

Here's a SFO made in Italy by Fox with a mystery stainless steel blade.



This is an AB Damascus bird's beak lever.
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I have a Lionsteel SR-1 and was very involved in the thread here where it was first shown as a CAD drawing. It's got amazing craftsmanship though it's a little thick/wide for my tastes and the blade stock is a bit thicker than I would like. Though I think it could handle some serious use with it's construction and once the frame lock was locked in place. I've also been super impressed with the Sleipner blade steel. When you look at the composition it doesn't look that impressive, but I believe it has an excellent heat treat that is on the harder end. It is easy to get crazy hair popping sharp and seems to hold it better than other knives I have including S90V, 20CP, M4, M390, etc however they are all big batch factory knives. Which has led me to the conclusion that a great heat treat is even more important than a super steel with only a good heat treat. In fact, I have a favorite EDC with 14C28N that is my cheapest knife and appears to have been in the right spot in the oven and got a great heat treat as well. I've used it side by side against the same previously mentioned steels and it holds an edge better from what I can tell. Both a shaving sharp edge and a good working edge. But that's for a different thread.

I haven't bought a new knife in a couple years but some of the Viper knives with M390 are what have caught my eye the most recently. I'm just hoping they have the heart treat equipment and protocol as well as low batch numbers that Lionsteel has. I see from this thread that Lionsteel is also using M390 in some models and I'm really curious to see if my SR1 example was a fluke or their small batch size and attention to detail.

I've gotten very picky about knife design and almost only want to buy from custom makers known for their heat treat. But I feel the knife bug coming on after a couple year hiatus so who knows what shows up in the mailbox.
 
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