Knives from My Spanish Holidays

[bonzodog]

Nice haul:thumbup:

 

[eisman]

I'm very glad to see this thread, as I remember when you first posted that you were going on the trip. I also had to laugh, as the last time I was in Europe I too ended up with more cutlery than I had expected to be hauling home. I'm pleased it worked out so well for you, and I'll be happy to visit vicariously the places you've seen as this thread grows. I've enjoyed my time in Spain, although it was a while back, and I'd like to see the country again some day.

 

[5K Qs]

I arrived in Madrid about 8:30am on Christmas day. My daughter met me at the airport and took me back to her piso, using a series of 4 transfers on the Metro (subway). Since I’d been awake for about 23 hours by that time, I took a nap for a couple of hours. Eventually we Skyped with my wife, her sister, and the dogs, and opened some Christmas gifts I brought along. I also checked email, and found out I had won a knife in Fausto’s “gifawae” (that’s a story in itself that can be found near the end of this thread: http://www.bladeforums.com/forums/s...D-Winner-announced!-Post-33?highlight=gifawae). The point I want to make here is that I really didn’t see much of Spain besides my daughter’s apartment my first day there, so our trip to Seville the next day promised to be my first true European experience.

We left for the airport at 5:45am on Dec. 26, and after many common travelers’ adventures, arrived in Seville’s airport at 9:45am. From there we took a bus to the bus station downtown. I asked my daughter how we would find the hotel at which she’d made reservations, and she whipped out her smartphone, got GPS working, and said, “Follow me.” I was very impressed, but I also became very worried as she followed her map down ever more narrow and twisty streets! In my city, our house is right next to an “alley”, which is about twice as wide as the street in Seville on which we found our hotel. I think of narrow, twisty streets as a sign of a sketchy neighborhood, but I’m just a narrow-minded American. The oldest structures in my state are mostly less than 300 years old, but most cities in Spain are at least 1000 years older than that! That incredible age results in “cityscapes” that are completely foreign to me. Here’s a photo of the “main street” onto which our hotel’s street opened:

Another thing that I soon learned about Spain is that the presence of the Moors (North African Moslems) for about 800 years had a huge influence on Spanish architecture, at least. Islamic arches and decoration with geometric tiles are everywhere. Here are a couple of photos of the Hotel Zaida where we stayed that illustrate this influence.
Looking down on the lobby:

Hotel stairway:

After we checked into the hotel (and ate some sandwiches we’d brought from Madrid), we went exploring. We first walked along the Guadalquivir River. The river used to be much bigger, and enabled Seville to be Spain’s major port city during Spain’s Golden Age in the 16[SUP]th[/SUP] and 17[SUP]th[/SUP] centuries, even though Seville is about 50 miles from the Atlantic coast. We didn’t see any gold-laden Spanish galleons on the river, but we did see several kayakers in short sleeves on the day after Christmas – a shocking sight to a Michigan resident! Here’s a photo of a bridge on the river, and another of the Torre del Oro (Golden Tower) that was the “control center” of the busy harbor 400 years ago.

Notice the sky in these photos. That’s what I saw almost every day in Spain – I recall 2 days of clouds/drizzle! Again, shocking to this Michigander! (According to the weatherwoman, the first week I was back home had a grand total of one hour of sunshine.)

After a pleasant one-hour stroll along the river, we tried to find our way into the Alcazar, a 10[SUP]th[/SUP] century Moorish palace that was taken over by a Spanish king in the 1300s. Some of the upper floors are still used as one (of many) residence for the current Spanish royal family. We found the walls surrounding it, but couldn’t find a way to get in. We eventually stopped at Bar Agua and Vida to get something to eat. My daughter ordered us some tapas, which are very popular in Spain and are small servings of various kinds of food. That’s where I first encountered one of my favorite parts of my Spanish trip, a tortilla. In Spain, tortilla is not some flat shell into which you put “real food”; instead, it’s a wonderful egg and potato pie. It can have many other ingredients (ham, onions, peppers, tomatoes, etc.) and can be served cold or hot, and I would have eaten it every day for every meal! I even had a tortilla sandwich one day.

After our meal, we finally found the entrance to the Alcazar. We spent over 3 hours there (and got evicted by security for wandering the gardens after closing time) and saw many impressive sights. Here are photos of just a few of the wonders we saw.
The entrance courtyard (Court of Lions?), looking at the front of the palace.

After passing through the front section, you find this beautiful inner courtyard (Court of Virgins?)

After passing through the inner courtyard and the back of the palace, you enter the gardens.

Palm trees and orange trees? We're not in Michigan anymore, Toto!

Going back to the front section of the palace, this is a photo of the Hall of Ambassadors, followed by a photo of its ceiling.

Here, old meets new.

By this time, we were pretty tired and headed back to our hotel. Here’s a building we passed on the way.

Reliving this experience is taking me longer than I thought it would. I’ll have to write up another Seville installment later.
Sneak preview: here's a photo of the knife I bought in Seville the next day.

- GT

 

[Cory Hess]

Awesome pictorial. Looks like you got to see some stunning architecture, and that's a great shot of your knife. Thanks for taking the time to put this together.

 

[knarfeng]

This thread needs to retain a focus on knives.

 

[AmosPaul]

I'm enjoying your pictures.

 

[knarfeng]

I'm enjoying your pictures.

That's nice, but this is a knife forum not a travelog site.

Pictures of travel mixed with knives works, as long as the focus is knives.

 

[abcdef]

Seven knives - great haul! If you could only keep two (in order of preference), which would they be, and why? I will not have nearly as much time there, and will value your opinion. Thanks.

 

[tirendaz]

Looking forward to read about the Laguiole too

 

[Jack Black]

Wow, a Friday treat! Thanks for the great write-up :thumbup: That's pretty amazing you won Fausto's Xmas giveaway, and that Taramuni is magnifico! Can't wait to see what else you picked up and hear of your adventures. Thanks for going to the trouble of posting this. I do love those Spanish twisty streets! :thumbup:

Jack

 

[RedCry]

Hi from Spain.
Maybe i could say something about your Knives
The fisrt one is a Carlos Quintana. A traditional asturian style made in Albacete-Asturias.
The second, is a JJ Martínez from Santa Cruz de Mudela. Is the most traditional folder that you show and the best one, in my opinion .
Third one, is Catalonian Style made in Albacete by Cudeman.
Joker: Made in Albacete.
Pallés: Chinese Folder. This is not a spanish folding knife :grumpy::grumpy::grumpy:
Laguiole: French Folder, maybe made in Albacete or China.
Joker: Is a traditional folder from Albacete Good choice in non stainless steel.
In my opinion, the most interesting Knife is the JJ Martínez.

 

[5K Qs]

Seven knives - great haul! If you could only keep two (in order of preference), which would they be, and why? I will not have nearly as much time there, and will value your opinion. Thanks.

My number one desire before I left was the navaja de campana (2nd from top), just because I'm fascinated by the idea that so many countries have a sodbuster-like knife. I was also very interested in the Taramundi pattern/style (top knife), mainly because of its novelty (to me), a very distinctive regional style. Once I actually bought them, my opinion didn't change much; they're very pleasing knives.

But the 2 Jokers I came home with are also very desirable to me. Extremely well made and I'm fascinated with the horn handle on the smaller one. The larger one is bigger than I typically carry, but its design is SO clean and elegant, and the price was more than right!

I encourage you to look at RedCry's "review" too; being from Spain, he should have more valid insights than me. (Actually, I'm kind of thrilled that his opinions are quite close to my initial impressions. )

Wow, a Friday treat! Thanks for the great write-up :thumbup: That's pretty amazing you won Fausto's Xmas giveaway, and that Taramuni is magnifico! Can't wait to see what else you picked up and hear of your adventures. Thanks for going to the trouble of posting this. I do love those Spanish twisty streets! :thumbup:

Jack

Thanks, Jack. If you look at my "group shot" in the first post, I think the Joker at the bottom of the pic should look quite familiar.
Although I didn't head to Spain with the intention of getting a Joker like the one you recommended to me, when "push came to shove" I couldn't resist that knife very similar to, if not identical to, yours!!

Hi from Spain.
Maybe i could say something about your Knives
The fisrt one is a Carlos Quintana. A traditional asturian style made in Albacete-Asturias.
The second, is a JJ Martínez from Santa Cruz de Mudela. Is the most traditional folder that you show and the best one, in my opinion .
Third one, is Catalonian Style made in Albacete by Cudeman.
Joker: Made in Albacete.
Pallés: Chinese Folder. This is not a spanish folding knife :grumpy::grumpy::grumpy:
Laguiole: French Folder, maybe made in Albacete or China.
Joker: Is a traditional folder from Albacete Good choice in non stainless steel.
In my opinion, the most interesting Knife is the JJ Martínez.

Thanks for your input, RedCry; I appreciate it!
As I mentioned, the JJ Martinez was at the top of my list, and I'm glad to hear you think it's the best. I will admit that I've been working on this knife since I returned home. The back spring is VERY strong, so I'm trying various things to get it to open and close more smoothly and without so much effort. I've also been sanding it periodically: lots of rough edges that I want to smooth out on both steel and wood - the wood handles really don't meet the bolsters very smoothly, for example. BUT, it's an inexpensive work knife, not a custom showpiece.
Your comments about the Palles and the Laguiole are very interesting. I bought those both in the same shop in Denia, and they cost relatively little. Neither has anything on the blades suggesting where they were made (I think all of the other knives I bought, except the Taramundi, have blades that indicate Spanish manufacture: "Made in Spain", "Albcete", "Hecho En Espana"). After doing some internet research, I also think that both the Palles and the Laguiole are made by Martinez Albainox (a company that some knife shop persons warned me to avoid - perhaps like Frost in US??). Anyway, I asked the shop owner if the Laguiole was made in France or the Palles in China or Pakistan, and he just kept repeating, "No, no, Albacete, Albacete!" Given that I don't speak Spanish, perhaps we had a misunderstanding?

- GT

 

[5K Qs]

We spent much of our second day in Sevilla at the Plaza de Espana, a very impressive structure originally built for a “World’s Fair” in 1929, but the world-wide economic crash that year made that impossible. It did get used for a 1992 Hispanic Exposition for Spanish-speaking countries from around the world.

The building currently contains many government offices and a very interesting (and surprisingly large) Spanish military museum.

By the time we walked back to the downtown area, we were quite hungry, and eventually ate lunch (from 3 to 4pm) at a Morrocan restaurant very near our hotel. Lamb cous-cous, and chicken tujine with almonds really hit the spot!

With our strength renewed, I was finally allowed to lead my daughter to the knife shop I had eventually located early that morning while my daughter was still sleeping. (I actually got lost while looking for the cuchilleria, but not hopelessly so.) A BF member with username “sevilla”, who actually lives in Sevilla, had given me lots of advice and links to websites before I left for Spain; he also told me about a couple of knife shops in Sevilla and Granada, and even told the owner of the knife shop in Sevilla that we’d be coming there. So when we showed up and mentioned “sevilla’s” name, the shop owner, Senor Rafael was incredibly helpful (and even gave me a discount on the Taramundi I bought there). Here’s the knife I bought, a Carlos Quintana Taramundi, 3.5 inches closed, with quite a thin stainless steel blade shaped very much like a spearpoint.

I carried this knife in the watch pocket of my jeans for most of the rest of my time in Spain. I really like it! It is very similar to an Opinel, and needs some of the same attention. Once I returned to the US, I coated the area of the pivot with Sno-Seal beeswax, which seems to help reduce handle-swelling and stiff blade movement from moisture/humidity. (Senor Rafael mentioned that putting the knife in a baggie with uncooked rice soon fixes swollen handles.) I’m also fascinated by the burnt boxwood handle and the “designs” formed by the knots and singeing.

I had also decided, on the basis of advice and research, that I wanted to get a carbon steel navaja de campana made by JJ Martinez. But Senor Rafael confessed that he didn’t have many carbon steel blades in his shop at the Christmas season. He said too many customers who bought carbon steel knives didn’t know how to take care of them or what to expect, and came back with complaints about corrosion or discoloration (patina). I heard a very similar story from the shop owner in Granada a day or two later. Anyway, Señor Rafael didn’t have that particular knife.

I should mention that the knife shop was about the width of a 2-car garage (and even had a steel rolldown door that was closed over the entire front of the store when the store closed) and at most 6 feet deep. But a lot of blades can fit in that amount of space. We visited many knife shops in Spain, but neither my daughter nor I ever thought to take any interior or exterior photos of any of these shops. :grumpy::grumpy:

 

[dave308ek]

Very interesting thread and knives GT (5K Qs). Funny, the first thing I thought when I saw your group photo of the knives was "that looks like a monkey or a chick (the baby chicken type) with a top hat" on the Taramundi. Thanks for sharing this but now I want to go buy some spanish knives and see some flamenco.

 

[eisman]

OK> Military museum...any sharp, pointy, objects? I've just added this to my bucket list.

 

[Jack Black]

Thanks, Jack. If you look at my "group shot" in the first post, I think the Joker at the bottom of the pic should look quite familiar.
Although I didn't head to Spain with the intention of getting a Joker like the one you recommended to me, when "push came to shove" I couldn't resist that knife very similar to, if not identical to, yours!!

Hope you're enjoying them GT, they're nice simple working knives I think

Great to read more about your trip, and it's nice that you've had some help from our Spanish brethren. The Taramundi is a beauty :thumbup:

 

[5K Qs]

... Thanks for sharing this but now I want to go buy some spanish knives and see some flamenco.

You're welcome, Dave. I did a bunch of stuff in Spain, but never saw any flamenco.

OK> Military museum...any sharp, pointy, objects? I've just added this to my bucket list.

Yeah, there were a fair number of fixed blades, swords, bayonets, etc. in the museum. It was pretty cool. My favorite part was their Enigma machine that the Germans used for coding; I guess Franco was friendly with both Germans and Italians, and that's how the Spanish military got hold of an Enigma. The Allies' capture of an Enigma and subsequent breaking of German codes was apparently an important factor in the outcome of the war.

Hope you're enjoying them GT, they're nice simple working knives I think

Great to read more about your trip, and it's nice that you've had some help from our Spanish brethren. The Taramundi is a beauty :thumbup:

Thanks, Jack. :thumbup:

- GT

 

[incision]

Really enjoying your trip GT! Thanks for doing this!

 

[SAK Guy]

Really enjoying your trip GT! Thanks for doing this!

+1000 Thanks for taking us along!!! :thumbup::thumbup:

 

[5K Qs]

Thanks for the encouragement, incision and SAK Guy!!
The next installment (probably not until the weekend, but who knows? ) will be about Granada and the knife I was very excited to acquire there; unfortunately, since I got home, I've become more and more disappointed with that particular knife.

- GT