Knife Collecting in Europe

ddallam

ddallam

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I'm moving to Spain this summer. What should I know? Is is prohibitive to try and buy from the U.S.? Are there some good dealers in Spain/Europe? Are there any great Spanish knife companies or pattern?
 
Spain is a glorious country - have had many great Harley rides through there. Make sure you go and stay overnight at some of the paradores - their heritage and history will blow your mind.

Have a look too at this website..........this'll give you an immediate idea of what 'goes' in Spain.... https://cuchilleriaalbacete.com/index-en.php

There will undoubtably be some custom makers, but not as intensive, varied and flourishing as USA.

France and Germany have a well established knife making industry - some amazing custom makers.

Enjoy.... :thumbsup: 😎
 
Chui said:
Spain is a glorious country - have had many great Harley rides through there. Make sure you go and stay overnight at some of the paradores - their heritage and history will blow your mind.

Have a look too at this website..........this'll give you an immediate idea of what 'goes' in Spain.... https://cuchilleriaalbacete.com/index-en.php

There will undoubtably be some custom makers, but not as intensive, varied and flourishing as USA.

France and Germany have a well established knife making industry - some amazing custom makers.

Enjoy.... :thumbsup: 😎
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Thanks, Paul. I totally agree. My wife is from Spain and we are returning to her hometown. Did you spend any time in the north. Amazing! I totally rebuilt a 1989 Heritage Softail Classic some years ago when I lived in Connecticut and sold it to one of the surviving ground zero cops from 911. Here she is.
 

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I've read that the knife laws in Spain are very restrictive, especially in the cities. As for Spanish knives themselves, the quality standards are somewhat lower than we expect in the US. Custom makers, on the other hand, are generally the way to go.

A lot of the traditional patterns leave a bit to be desired, mechanically speaking, but the better ones are pretty neat. The traditional ones I have are basically friction folders with a clasp style back spring - they are famous for this and I've even seen it used on modern folders with carbon fiber, etc. In general, these knives have nothing to prevent the blade from resting on the edge when closed, so a strip of leather, cork or wood inside helps to maintain the edge. Blade steel tends to be not the best, with VG-10 core being high end.

There is the Taramundi, from Asturias. These Are fancy ones, they make them in many versions, some friction, some liner lock

IMG_20230203_074328.jpgIMG_20230203_074325.jpg


This Catalonian style is considered more of a French styleIMG_20230203_074314.jpg

More custom traditional Spanish patterns
IMG_20230203_074316.jpgIMG_20230203_074321.jpg

The Exposito brand makes some of the nicer traditionals- an Albacetena and JerezanaIMG_20230203_074323.jpg
 
ddallam said:
Thanks, Paul. I totally agree. My wife is from Spain and we are returning to her hometown. Did you spend any time in the north. Amazing! I totally rebuilt a 1989 Heritage Softail Classic some years ago when I lived in Connecticut and sold it to one of the surviving ground zero cops from 911. Here she is.
Click to expand...
- excellent, and she's a beaut..!

Do get stuck in to the paradores, here's a smattering of places we stayed...

















 
ddallam said:
I'm moving to Spain this summer. What should I know? Is is prohibitive to try and buy from the U.S.? Are there some good dealers in Spain/Europe? Are there any great Spanish knife companies or pattern?
Click to expand...
Where?
 
I will be there (and in Sardinia) in September.

Last year I was there.

Here in this photo in Aragon no sign of Catherine (history).

Castles
rivers
mountains
old forests
Roman bridges in old forests
Birds and wildlife
good food and coffee
Chicas











Look out for a flash of green















 
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draggat said:
I've read that the knife laws in Spain are very restrictive, especially in the cities. As for Spanish knives themselves, the quality standards are somewhat lower than we expect in the US. Custom makers, on the other hand, are generally the way to go.

A lot of the traditional patterns leave a bit to be desired, mechanically speaking, but the better ones are pretty neat. The traditional ones I have are basically friction folders with a clasp style back spring - they are famous for this and I've even seen it used on modern folders with carbon fiber, etc. In general, these knives have nothing to prevent the blade from resting on the edge when closed, so a strip of leather, cork or wood inside helps to maintain the edge. Blade steel tends to be not the best, with VG-10 core being high end.

There is the Taramundi, from Asturias. These Are fancy ones, they make them in many versions, some friction, some liner lock

View attachment 2069098View attachment 2069099


This Catalonian style is considered more of a French styleView attachment 2069101

More custom traditional Spanish patterns
View attachment 2069102View attachment 2069103

The Exposito brand makes some of the nicer traditionals- an Albacetena and JerezanaView attachment 2069104
Click to expand...

in the last one, are those springs/slipjoints? or sort of a clasp knives? I used to see these in the local brick and mortar knife shop back in the 2000s and have always enjoyed that generous clip, but never purchased one. sadly that store closed ages ago.
 
ddallam said:
Oviedo, Asturias!
Click to expand...
Ive been there

The best cider in the world and along with Cantabria the nicest people,

You can ride from potes to pans

You have some of the finest riding minutes from your doorstep.

You can do the Santiago pilgrimage.

It does rain though.

You can get a ferry to England easy as well.

If youve got a bike in September I can meet you for a ride as I head south.
 
mrknife said:
in the last one, are those springs/slipjoints? or sort of a clasp knives? I used to see these in the local brick and mortar knife shop back in the 2000s and have always enjoyed that generous clip, but never purchased one. sadly that store closed ages ago.
Click to expand...
They're pretty much friction folders with the lock spring pinned to the outside at the center of the handle. The blade tang has a tooth which locks into the hole cut in the end of the spring. To disengage the lock, you lift the metal flap, which levers the spring up. It's very simple actually. Both of the knives in that bottom pic have multiple teeth, the famous carraca.

Expositio knives are better than most in that the horn handle extends underneath both bolsters, eliminating any worry of the horn curling. A lot of the knives in this style are very cheaply made, some probably even coming from Pakistan. IMG_20230203_083145.jpg
 
mrknife said:
they caught you by helicopter????
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- indeed.

As an avid birdwatcher, I caught sight of them early on, slowed down a wee bit. We were up in the hills - stunning roads and views, beautiful smooth tarmac, no traffic. Then they were gone.

They reappeared about 10mins later, came swooping past me, turned and faced me in the air, guy jumps out one hand up in the air the other on his gun...........thought he was probably signalling me to stop 👨‍✈️ 😄 so we pulled over.

Done, on the spot fine, €100 for crossing the white line. That fine was little compared to the cost of stopping me in that chopper to hand me a souvenir...
 
draggat said:
They're pretty much friction folders with the lock spring pinned to the outside at the center of the handle. The blade tang has a tooth which locks into the hole cut in the end of the spring. To disengage the lock, you lift the metal flap, which levers the spring up. It's very simple actually. Both of the knives in that bottom pic have multiple teeth, the famous carraca.

Expositio knives are better than most in that the horn handle extends underneath both bolsters, eliminating any worry of the horn curling. A lot of the knives in this style are very cheaply made, some probably even coming from Pakistan. View attachment 2069164
Click to expand...

neat!!! thanks for that, ill have to look into one of these some day
 
Johnnythefox said:
Ive been there

The best cider in the world and along with Cantabria the nicest people,

You can ride from potes to pans

You have some of the finest riding minutes from your doorstep.

You can do the Santiago pilgrimage.

It does rain though.

You can get a ferry to England easy as well.

If youve got a bike in September I can meet you for a ride as I head south.
Click to expand...
Glad to meet for a cidra. No longer have a motorcycle, but I'm an avid road cyclist, so we can do it by bicycle!
 
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