Cudeman

Jolipapa said:
The folding Vendetta is an invention of Thiers cutlers, after Prosper Mérimée's Colomba novel who popularized the name in the middle XIXth century, to retail to tourists in Corsica as souvenirs, the pattern, probably inspired by Genovese daggers, has not been registered is produced anywhere with variable quality. (https://www.lecouteau.info/couteaux-régionaux-traditionnels/les-couteaux-corses/)
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An industrial made in Thiers
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Hand made by Fontenille-Pataud for Zuria (Corsica).
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Thanks for that info.

Will Power said:
That FP Corsican Shadow has always interested me, but it's too big for me to want to use, looks great though:cool:
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Me too Will. One thing always gave me pause about that FP though. Like many French knives, as exemplified by the Laguiole, it seems to have a minimal kick. I find that detail infuriating as it too often results in a flat spot on the blade edge.
 
kamagong kamagong It should not be a concern Christian, the Laguioles at least have a clever 'blade stop' so the edge cannot smack the backspring. I'm pretty sure their other knives also have this feature.

No excuse now eh? :cool:
 
Will Power said:
Jolipapa Jolipapa That FP Corsican Shadow has always interested me, but it's too big for me to want to use, looks great though:cool:

Thanks, Will
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There's a smaller one named Pialincu, 10,5cm with rear lock. Like other knives without kick, there's no chance for the blade to hit the spring, there's an extra thickness at the end of the spring to prevent it (aka what 's not visible is hidden ;)). FP sells a fair lot away and is well aware of that old urban legend!:thumbsdown::D
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Vendetta knives are nice,especially some of the French ones.How is the edge holding on Cudeman,seems like nice blade.I have one of their horn handled folding stilettos,but havent carried it at all.Im planing to get Vendetta knife from one of French knifemakers soon.
 
Jolipapa said:
There's a smaller one named Pialincu, 10,5cm with rear lock. Like other knives without kick, there's no chance for the blade to hit the spring, there's an extra thickness at the end of the spring to prevent it (aka what 's not visible is hidden ;)). FP sells a fair lot away and is well aware of that old urban legend!:thumbsdown::D
Pialincu_classique.jpg
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Not an urban legend. I had a Laguiole that did just that unless I closed the knife with the lightest touch.

lonestar1979 said:
Vendetta knives are nice,especially some of the French ones.How is the edge holding on Cudeman,seems like nice blade.I have one of their horn handled folding stilettos,but havent carried it at all.Im planing to get Vendetta knife from one of French knifemakers soon.
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I only got this knife yesterday, so I have no idea as to edge holding. I don't expect it to be great though. No name stainless, at 54-56 RC hardness won't be setting any world records for sharpness retention.
 
I don't get why spring -smacking is only a French problem. I've seen it on American and German knives, despite the existence of kicks.
 
kamagong said:
Not an urban legend. I had a Laguiole that did just that unless I closed the knife with the lightest touch.
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Too bad you don't have a picture...

Edit : the mention "solid hardened bladestop maintain the edge of the blade" is clearly an answer, perhaps should the other makers add it too...:)
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Yes. In a way this Cudeman is a replacement for that Laguiole, which was stolen a few years back.
 
Thanks, kamagong kamagong I have been looking for something a bit different and this one really appealed to me. Hopefully mine will be here by the end of the week.
 
Thanks for starting this thread. I had the same knife as yours, including the nice olive wood, but sans bolster. It took a nice edge when sharpened but was maybe a little thick for optimal slicing. I ended up gifting it as it was a bit large for my preferences, but I consider it a heckuva value at the price. It led me to another Cudeman, somewhat smaller in size but with the same pointy "Stiletto" blade shape, the 451-A in bull horn, and I like it very much: http://cudeman.com/en/producto/sku-451-a/ The spring, liners, and spine are all highly polished on this one, and while it has a "fancier" look than the 408, it was still a bargain.

Both knives have what I've heard called a "notch joint", meaning a notch in the tang that uses the spring pressure to hold the blade open. It's not a lock but provides more resistance than a typical slip joint.

Andrew
 
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It is a heckuva value, right there with Opinels in terms of bang for the buck.

Can you post a picture of your 451? It seems that Cudeman offers these knives with three different covers -- olive, horn, and cocobolo.

Modoc ED said:
Very nice knife Christian.

I'm not refined enough for NAPA Valley. I have to go to the Sierra Nevada Brewery near Chico. If you want cheese there, you have to take your own piece of Kraft Single Slice cheese and your own "Slim Jim" pepperoni stick. No bread.
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Lol...I'm not refined enough for Napa Valley either Ed. That's my wife shtick, I'm just the driver.
 
Sure. Mine is the 451-A in bull horn. Sorry about all the reflection in the last pic, but wanted to give an idea of the high polish.

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I exchanged emails with Cudeman last fall and they told me they were expecting to have a U.S. distributor by Jan., 2019, but I haven't followed up to see if that's come to pass.

Andrew
 
Regarding the discussion of kicks in this thread, it's worth pointing out that obviously the kick contacts the spring before the edge to work successfully, but don't forget "it takes two to tango", the spring can also be shaped to avoid blade contact, so a small or no kick doesn't automatically mean there will be edge to spring contact if the spring is suitably shaped to compensate.

(Edit- after posting I see this has been discussed in the thread...... I should read more carefully! :rolleyes:)
 
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