Japanese friction-folder penknives? Name? Sources?

MatthewVanitas

MatthewVanitas

Go Army, Beat Navy!
Joined
Oct 6, 2004
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I feel silly asking this, as I ran across them tons of times while looking for Douk-Douk knives.

There's a small Japanese friction-folder penknife, which supposedly every male in Japan used to carry back earlier last century. Very slim, I believe a folded metal grip (like a Douk). I think it was a friction-folder.

What name should I search for these under? Is there any source which has good price and quality for this item? Any other info I should know?
 
Yes. Its a great history behind that little folder you speak of.

You might also be interested in this little gem by Kai/Kershaw as well. I have one of these. Absolutely wonderful little knife. Kershaw should promote this gem more than they do I think. Many of the dealers I've shown it to didn't even know it existed. http://www.bladeforums.com/forums/showthread.php?t=492942

STR
 
Neat little knives. The Lee Valley has a lot of interesting pieces if you check out his knife/scissor page.
 
Those are it!

The Kershaw variant is a neat little option too. This will bear some investigating.

Are there any cheap Chinese copies I should avoid, or are most of these decently-made niche items?
 
Matthew, how is your Svord peasant holding up in day to day use? I've always found them interesting, I'm curious to know how you feel about them.
 
Hmmm, the Lee Valley and Japan Woodworker offer different models, and JW has this claim:

There were many Higo no Kami makers in Miki and other prefectures. Some of the makers made inferior products. So in 1907, the Miki knife makers association registered a trademark of Higo no Kami and permitted only members of the association to call their knives Higo no Kami. At present the only member of the association is Mr. Nagao.
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Clever marketing, or does JW offer the real-deal, and LV offers a clone?



Matthew, how is your Svord peasant holding up in day to day use? I've always found them interesting, I'm curious to know how you feel about them.
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Funny you should ask. As it turns out, I didn't get one for myself since late orders trickled in for the three I was going to set aside for later. I sold them, thinking I would later buy a Gent Peasant, possibly with the stag scales. However, Svord ran out of their last lot of Gent (2") blades this summer, and currently has no plans to make more.

However, Brian over on TheHighRoad just got back from Haiti, and said that his Svord held up great as a utility knife whilst down there:
The Svord is a great knife, big and strong. It was used for heavy work, cutting pieces of tire, inner tube, trimming PVC, cutting soft steel wire, trimming a door and frame, and it would have been the goto for SD(but not needed). Still sharp, needs touching up, even after running it into a block wall while batoning thru a wooden door frame.
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http://www.thehighroad.org/showthread.php?t=290897&highlight=svord
 
This knife is also know as the Japanese carpenter's knife. Garret Wade offers them. It has Miyamoto Musashi 's picture on the handle. The steel is really good.
 
I hope I'm not too far off thread, but Hiroaki Ohta had some friction folders on the Plaza website. I little pricier, tho...

Mike
 
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