Holiday knife buys - Spain.

[I'mSoSharp]

I recently cycled 600 miles north to south through Spain, these are the knives I picked up along the way, thought you might like to see them.
The first knife shop I stumbled across accidentally in Guadalajara (just west of Madrid), "Cuchilleria Alvarez", a nicer owner you couldn't wish to meet. That's where I picked up the carbon JJ Martinez & carbon Solsona slipjoints below.

On to Toledo, an amazing city to visit historically & architecturally but sadly from a knife point of view lots of shops with tourist tat swords & knives, still some decent stuff if you look. Picked up the little carbon Joker slipjoint below. I know Joker has a lot of stuff made in China now but am fairly convinced this was produced in Spain.

On south to Ciudad Real where I found out it was the home of the well respected "Muela" knife factory & just south of the city had a factory shop, very impressive shop too & where I bought the fixed blade below from the "seconds" box , maybe not terribly traditional, apologies. I intend to do a little re-shaping of this handle.

Last knife purchased in Cordoba, a stainless Taramundi friction folder below.

A fantastic place to holiday, beautiful scenery, castles round every corner, quiet roads (with drivers that respect cyclists), great food & so on.

Plenty of knife shops, I could have visited more but probably would have got bogged down with the weight of more purchases!

 

[glennbad]

That Joker is a nice pattern! Well, they're all pretty nice, great haul!

 

[eisman]

I have to go back to Spain and Portugal. Probably next year. It's been too long.

Nice knives.

 

[GasMan1]

Sounds like a great trip. . nice souvenirs too.

 

[Mike157]

What a fun trip. You're definitely taking in the lay of the land on a bike. Thanks for sharing. Thank you for the pictures of some nice looking knives.

I visited Spain with my family last year. We actually stayed in an old converted castle for a few days. Not too far from us was the town of Solsona. We visited the Pallares family knife company. One of the older continuously operating knife companies in the area. Seeing as how we were traveling by car and train, I was able to "load up". Came away with two kitchen style fixed blade knives and two folders. One of the folders is very similar to yours but with a wood handle. Mike

 

[Why Waltz]

Traveling by bicycle is one of the greatest ways to see the countryside and meet some truly nice people. The knives from your trip will always be a reminder of those cherished moments. Thanks for sharing them with us!

 

[Lapedog]

Nice haul! Now every portion of the trip will have a knife connected to it which will help you remember that leg of the trip.

 

[waynorth]

Nice way to record your journey, Sharp!!
Great collection!

 

[Jack Black]

Sounds like a fantastic trip, and that is a very nice haul Good to see that Joker knife, I had been told that model had been discontinued, and it is no longer in their (international) catalogue, or available here in the UK.

 

[screened porch]

Let us know what you do with that Muela handle. A little rounding of the edges perhaps?

 

[jrawk]

Digg'n that JJ Martinez. Very cool knife tour. I have some friends here that do that to breweries.

 

[PNWJimbo]

Yeah.... that Martinez is killer

 

[AFAustin]

Very nice, thanks for posting these. And what a great trip!

Andrew

 

[5K Qs]

I recently cycled 600 miles north to south through Spain, these are the knives I picked up along the way, thought you might like to see them.
...

...
A fantastic place to holiday, beautiful scenery, castles round every corner, quiet roads (with drivers that respect cyclists), great food & so on.

Plenty of knife shops, I could have visited more but probably would have got bogged down with the weight of more purchases!

Congrats, ImSoSharp!! Sounds like a fantastic trip, and those are wonderful knives that will bring back great memories!

About 2.5 years ago, I visited my daughter who lives in Madrid, and I stayed for almost 3 weeks. She was able to take me all over Spain. We visited Sevilla, Granada, Toledo, Valencia, Denia, and Madrid. I was able to find at least one cuchilleria in each town and picked up a total of 7 knives on the trip:

It was a trip I'll never forget, and the knives play a role in keeping my memories alive!

Your wood Joker and mine look very similar, but I suspect yours is smaller than mine is. What's the closed length of your wood Joker? Mine, that I happen to be carrying this week, is 4.5" closed; BIG knife, but one of my favorites!

The first knife I bought in Spain, in Sevilla, was my Taramundi, and I've been surprised at how much I enjoy that knife, too. I call it my Spanish Barlow because of the long bolster, but it performs like an Opinel (exquisite slicer) and I love the look of the uniques blade shape and the burned boxwood handles.

I hope you enjoy your trip and knives for years to come!!

- GT

 

[herder]

Beautiful knives and what a fantastic trip!!!
Would love to see any additional pictures of the towns, buildings, or people involved with cutlery.

 

[Jolipapa]

Shocking!!!

 

[I'mSoSharp]

That Joker is a nice pattern! Well, they're all pretty nice, great haul!

Yes, it's a nice little knife. Thanks.

I have to go back to Spain and Portugal. Probably next year. It's been too long.
Nice knives.

Both great places for touring around

Sounds like a great trip. . nice souvenirs too.

Thanks, really enjoyed it

What a fun trip. You're definitely taking in the lay of the land on a bike. Thanks for sharing. Thank you for the pictures of some nice looking knives.

I visited Spain with my family last year. We actually stayed in an old converted castle for a few days. Not too far from us was the town of Solsona. We visited the Pallares family knife company. One of the older continuously operating knife companies in the area. Seeing as how we were traveling by car and train, I was able to "load up". Came away with two kitchen style fixed blade knives and two folders. One of the folders is very similar to yours but with a wood handle. Mike

I like the Pallares rugged simplicity, a real cheap work knife that's super slicey.
I now have the plastic one in carbon & stainless, I'd love a wooden handled one but haven't seen one yet in a shop. A trip to Solsona is maybe in order!......

Traveling by bicycle is one of the greatest ways to see the countryside and meet some truly nice people. The knives from your trip will always be a reminder of those cherished moments. Thanks for sharing them with us!

You are quite right about cycle travel, I met some truly nice people.

Nice haul! Now every portion of the trip will have a knife connected to it which will help you remember that leg of the trip.

Thanks.
The next cycle tour will have to be planned better, to pass through where the knives are made

Nice way to record your journey, Sharp!!
Great collection!

Thanks

Sounds like a fantastic trip, and that is a very nice haul Good to see that Joker knife, I had been told that model had been discontinued, and it is no longer in their (international) catalogue, or available here in the UK.

A few of the shops I looked in were old, maybe old stock? Will keep an eye open for another.

Let us know what you do with that Muela handle. A little rounding of the edges perhaps?

I will, working on it now, reshaping the finger area & rounding.

Digg'n that JJ Martinez. Very cool knife tour. I have some friends here that do that to breweries.

I really like the Martinez too, it's a big- un at over 9" open. I like the idea of breweries tour also , haha

Yeah.... that Martinez is killer

Yep

Very nice, thanks for posting these. And what a great trip!
Andrew

Thanks

Congrats, ImSoSharp!! Sounds like a fantastic trip, and those are wonderful knives that will bring back great memories!

About 2.5 years ago, I visited my daughter who lives in Madrid, and I stayed for almost 3 weeks. She was able to take me all over Spain. We visited Sevilla, Granada, Toledo, Valencia, Denia, and Madrid. I was able to find at least one cuchilleria in each town and picked up a total of 7 knives on the trip:

It was a trip I'll never forget, and the knives play a role in keeping my memories alive!

Your wood Joker and mine look very similar, but I suspect yours is smaller than mine is. What's the closed length of your wood Joker? Mine, that I happen to be carrying this week, is 4.5" closed; BIG knife, but one of my favorites!

The first knife I bought in Spain, in Sevilla, was my Taramundi, and I've been surprised at how much I enjoy that knife, too. I call it my Spanish Barlow because of the long bolster, but it performs like an Opinel (exquisite slicer) and I love the look of the uniques blade shape and the burned boxwood handles.

I hope you enjoy your trip and knives for years to come!!

- GT

Thanks, I do remember reading your thread & enjoying it
The joker is small at 3 1/2" closed & 6 1/4" open.
The Taramundi I bought is a little more rustic than another smaller one I have that has a neater stamp like yours. I'd like a carbon one but haven't seen one in a shop, maybe a trip to Taramund is in order as well!

Beautiful knives and what a fantastic trip!!!
Would love to see any additional pictures of the towns, buildings, or people involved with cutlery.

Thanks, sadly I don' t have any pics of the shops, will keep that in mind next time.
(My other photos would look like holiday photos so not terribly knife related!)

 

[Llasi]

Congrats, ImSoSharp!! Sounds like a fantastic trip, and those are wonderful knives that will bring back great memories!

About 2.5 years ago, I visited my daughter who lives in Madrid, and I stayed for almost 3 weeks. She was able to take me all over Spain. We visited Sevilla, Granada, Toledo, Valencia, Denia, and Madrid. I was able to find at least one cuchilleria in each town and picked up a total of 7 knives on the trip:

It was a trip I'll never forget, and the knives play a role in keeping my memories alive!

Your wood Joker and mine look very similar, but I suspect yours is smaller than mine is. What's the closed length of your wood Joker? Mine, that I happen to be carrying this week, is 4.5" closed; BIG knife, but one of my favorites!

The first knife I bought in Spain, in Sevilla, was my Taramundi, and I've been surprised at how much I enjoy that knife, too. I call it my Spanish Barlow because of the long bolster, but it performs like an Opinel (exquisite slicer) and I love the look of the uniques blade shape and the burned boxwood handles.

I hope you enjoy your trip and knives for years to come!!

- GT

Hi.
I'm sorry to tell you that "Palles" knife is Chinese. The correct denomination is "Pallares".
The Laguiole I think that too. Laguiole is a traditional French non-Spanish knife, so some French member will advise you better. But it is certainly Chinese.
I hope I have been helpful.
A greeting.

 

[5K Qs]

...
Thanks, I do remember reading your thread & enjoying it
The joker is small at 3 1/2" closed & 6 1/4" open.
The Taramundi I bought is a little more rustic than another smaller one I have that has a neater stamp like yours. I'd like a carbon one but haven't seen one in a shop, maybe a trip to Taramund is in order as well!

Thanks, sadly I don' t have any pics of the shops, will keep that in mind next time.
(My other photos would look like holiday photos so not terribly knife related!)

Thanks for the info about your Joker, and for the kind comment about my Spain thread. I've occasionally looked on Spanish knife websites for a carbon steel Taramundi, but every model I find in my price range seems to be out of stock at the time.
I smiled when I read your comment about not having pics of the shops. The same was true for my trip; I visited many cuchillerias and looked at many, many knives and talked to helpful merchants, but neither my daughter nor I took any pictures of the shops. Now, a couple of years later, I certainly wish that I had thought to take such photos! (At least my daughter took some pics of a shop in Madrid that I never had the chance to visit and sent them to me.

- GT

 

[5K Qs]

Shocking!!!

Hi.
I'm sorry to tell you that "Palles" knife is Chinese. The correct denomination is "Pallares".
The Laguiole I think that too. Laguiole is a traditional French non-Spanish knife, so some French member will advise you better. But it is certainly Chinese.
I hope I have been helpful.
A greeting.

Jolipapa and Llasi, thanks for your concern! In the case of the Palles and Laguiole knives, both bought in the seacoast town of Denia, I was quite sure that I was buying Chinese imports. I had my daughter ask the shop keeper if the knives were imported because they were priced so low, and he indignantly and repeatedly told me they were from Albacete. I didn't believe that, but didn't argue with him. I thought it was actually kind of charming that one of my souvenirs was a Chinese-made "French" knife purchased on the Spanish coast. After I bought the knives, I did some internet searching, and I'm quite sure that both of them came from Martinez Albainox, a company that at least a couple of BF members who knew about Spanish knives warned me about.

But you know what's odd? That "fake Laguiole" is a VERY pleasant knife, despite costing all of 7 euros. It's just delightfully smooth but absolutely solid in opening and closing; it's a size I enjoy; the blade is relatively long, thin and slices very well, and I can freshen up the edge quite easily on some unglazed ceramic; it has the little fly/bee on it (admittedly, having it fastened to the side of the knife instead of being part of the spine lacks some charm ) to remind me of a feature of "real Laguioles". I'm really extremely happy with that knife, even knowing that it wasn't what the seller claimed it was.

- GT