My collection gets sprinkles of 'Kizlyar' Russian knives...

PocketKnifeJimmy

PocketKnifeJimmy

Joined
Aug 4, 2013
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I'm always open to including all sorts of do-dads into my collection hobby. While traditional folding & fixed blade knives are the bulk of what I have in this collection, many other "things" are included in it as well, (overall making it a very eclectic collection).
Anyhow, a few months ago I ran across a website that carried knives that were made in Russia. Their main brand was 'Kizlyar', (not to be confused with 'Kizlyar Supreme'). After doing a little research on them, I found out that they were very available in Russia itself, and that it's pretty much like our very own 'Ontario Knife Company' is here, (meaning, a decent quality knife that won't break the bank). Well, these knives made by Kizlyar of Russia are not exactly the norm around these parts, (here in the USA). They are available here, but are still relatively an unknown brand to most folks. I guess they have done well in breaking into the Western European markets and in Australia, but not quite anywhere near that yet in the US.
So, I was liking the idea of adding one to my collection. The first one was the Kizlyar Phoenix Combat model, which is what the Tops Wild Pig Hunter was based upon, (my already having that Tops knife in my collection).
Once I received the Phoenix, I was kind'a hooked. I wanted to add more Kizlyar products to my collection, and began doing just that. I believe I now have 14 or 15 Kizlyar specimens. I am now focusing in another direction in my hobby, since I have now reached a good representative number of Kizlyars.
I will be posting some pics of these blades within the next few postings on this thread, sharing how my collection is now sprinkled with some Kizlyar.

This first is a Kizlyar Kindjal...



 
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They do also offer some folders, but it does not seem to be their cup of tea. While I'm sure they are fine basic folders, I didn't see any that seemed to have the overall build quality of their fixed blades.
 
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Here are a couple shots of the two "look alikes". The one pictured on the top is made in the USA by Tops. They call it the "Wild Pig Hunter", and it was based on the Kizlyar "Phoenix Combat" knife pictured beneath it. The Tops is made of USA 1095 high carbon steel, while the Kizlyar is made of Russian U8 high carbon steel. Both have Micarta type handle scales.


 
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edbeau said:
PocketKnifeJimmy, Looks like you should rename yourself to FixedBladeJimmy. Very nice of knives. Thanks for showing.
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Thank you, Sir!
While it's true that my collecting of knives started more with pocket knives than fixed blades, there is no doubt that I slowly, but surely, drifted over to accumulating more fixed blade knives. Every now and again, I still add a pocketknife or two to the collection, but they are rarely new production specimens, my now preferring to find nice vintage ones. I consistently keep my eyes peeled for them when I hit the local flea market on Sundays.
The displays I showed above do not represent my entire collecrion of "interesting objects", so my pocketknives are not all shown. As an example, here is just one of my displays where the pocket knives are the dominant representations, only one fixed blade included within this display...

 
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You have a great collection Jimmy.
Kizlyar are readily available in Oz knife/hunting type outlets ....which equates to thin on the ground...the last time I saw one on the counter was in Boorowa...a small country town...I had a Kizlyar sticker on my car for a while.....the internet is the most likely place to pick one up .
Cheers.
 
I, likely like a lot of you folks, appreciate the hands on work that goes into making things. While I was amazed watching a video of how modern day Victorinox' Swiss Army Knives are made with such speed, using their computer run precision robots, for me it just lacks the awe of hands on craftsmanship.
When I add any new item to my collection, I try to do some research on it's manufacturer.
It was no different with my acquiring my Kizlyar knives, I tried looking for as much info as possible. The best piece of info that I found was a visual one, a Kizlyar of Russia factory video. It gave me a good look at their manufacturing production methods, and it was cool to see that so much of that production still relies on hands on craftsmanship. There was one major problem with it... The video, (filmed in Kizlyar of Dagastan Russia), was obviously done in their native language, and so I was not able to gain any info from listening to the verbal parts of it.
Still, the film itself was a good visual glimpse of their manufacturing. I enjoyed it enough to have watched it a few times.
I am posting the video link here, for those that may be interested in watching it...

 
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I've continued to "sprinkle" the collection with some more Kizlyar knives, these two being my latest specimens...




The one with the artistically done "Dragon" accents, is not what one would typically expect. I mean, usually knives like this are made using faux wood, brass plated cast zinc, and mystery stainless steel that is likely not heat treated for anything more than wall hanging.
While I did buy it for "wall hanging only" purposes, this knife is legit as a knife in every way.
The metal on the handle is made of true solid brass castings, (not zinc with brass plating). The wood is genuine wood, (not a faux synthetic facsimile). And, the blade steel, (which I forget what it's designation is), is a heat treated Russian steel that's pretty much their equivalent to D2 steel, (the blade is 5.4 mm thick).
While watching the Kizlyar video above, I caught one quick glimpse of one of their craftsmen doing a final touching up on the brass castings of the exact same model knife.
I continue to really enjoy adding these Kizlyar knives to my collection. I thought that having one or two would have been more than enough to represent their brand, but have been addicted to wanting more of them :)




The above is the Kizlyar sword I purchased recently. It simply wasn't going to just fit into one of my other existing display cases, so I ordered a nice display for it, and it really turned out to be a great visual accent to my decor :)
I actually shared these two photos of the sword in it's new display case with the Kizlyar vendor I've been using to acquire them from. They liked the pictures of it enough, that they requested if they could include it on their website, (I guess to basically show an example of how such an item could look in one' decor). I, of course, had absolutely no problem with that at all, especially since in every regard they've been such a pleasure to do business with :)
 
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I liked the Kizlyar 'Dragon' and 'Claw' models so much, that I chose to purchase their 'Bear' model as well. I feel the three will represent the series well in my collection.
Oh, btw, the Russian steel used on all three of these knives is known as H12MF.

 
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Halfneck said:
I'm liking that Kindjal.
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Not sure if you watched the Kizlyar factory video I linked in a post above, but it does share a few glimpses as to their production methods, including a shot here and there of their Kindjals. The final execution shows their attention to detail. Including s&h, my specimen cost me under $300. Not cheap, but considering the hands on craftsmanship involved, I found the price appropriate. Actually, I looked up some of Kizlyar's main online European outlets, and the prices are quite noticeably higher than what they are sold for at Kizlyar's main source in the USA, (which is where I've been getting them from).
I simply believe that Kizlyar is giving this source in the USA a better overall wholesale deal, allowing the USA vendor to be able to offer the product at a lower price, and therefore maybe allowing the brand to get better traction over here. The full sized sword I have pictured above in a display case, cost me less than half of what the same sword sells for at Kizlyar's main European online vendors. Imo, I would expect the USA prices to increase sharply if they feel the brand has taken hold stateside.
One may wonder how the Russian Kizlyar firm can offer production knives that actually have a lot of hand made craftsmanship involved, at decent prices? Well, while Russia has pride in formidable ground and aerial military hardware, space exploration, and other modern world technologies, they are still quite behind in the overall world economy thing. I believe their average employee salaries are way below what is paid in the West. I'm also pretty certain that their government regulations on manufacturing facilities of any sort, are pretty much non existent when compared to their Western counterparts. So, their overhead is simply much less than, let's say, an American firm's financial burdens.
So, if you are interested in one of their knives, like the Kindjal pictured above, and you have not watched the Kizlyar factory video yet, then go ahead and do so... It will likely entice you to pull the trigger on one or more of them :)
You know how it is, many of us here are enablers!
 
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I just found and watched another one of Kizlyar's knife factory videos, (and obviously again done in their Russian language). That said, even with not knowing the language, (which I personally do not), the video is great at showing the very nice mixture of modern and old technologies used to make their products. Their use of true hand done craftsmanship is also shown being done on some of their products. Pretty cool stuff!

I am sharing it here for anyone that is as fascinated by this stuff as I am...

 
Interesting stuff. I've seen the name but never really paid much attention to it until now.

Likewise, I really like your displays. If I had room I like to think I could do something like that.
 
eisman said:
Interesting stuff. I've seen the name but never really paid much attention to it until now.

Likewise, I really like your displays. If I had room I like to think I could do something like that.
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Thank you, sir!
I do want to again mention that the Kizlyar knife company that I speak of, is actually located and manufactured in the Kizlyar area of Dagastan Russia.
The Kizlyar name is used by two different Russian based knife companies.
The one I have been posting about here, is the Kizlyar knife company that is actually based and manufactured in Kizlyar of Dagastan Russia, while the other firm, Kizlyar Supreme, is the more commonly found in the USA brand knife. Kizlyar Supreme is in fact a totally different firm based out of, (I believe), St. Petersburg Russia, and are not manufactured in the Kizlyar Dagastan region of Russia, (I'm not sure exactly where they are made).
They are two totally different firms, with the Kizlyar of Dagastan predating the other Kizlyar Supreme firm.
The following logo is the one used most oftenly by the Kizlyar Knife firm I've been posting about...



I remember reading about Kizlyar having a problem with people confusing them with Kizlyar Supreme.
In any case, I just wanted to make it clear that these are two totally different companies
 
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I just went to Kizlyar's Russian website, and got the following about their company translated into English. Btw, I think when they use the word "checker", it may mean sword... I think, lol!....

The company LLC PP "Kizlyar" was founded in 1999, at the moment the company is already well known not only in the Russian market, but also abroad. The company's activity is the production of civilian bladed weapons, household knives and souvenir weapons.

All models of knives, daggers and checkers are made by hand, using the traditions of the Caucasian gunsmiths of the past centuries.

The circle of users of Kizlyar knives is very wide, it includes hunters, fishermen, tourists, military personnel, special employees. divisions, collectors, housewives, etc. The demand for knives, both in Russia and abroad, is constantly growing. The sale is carried out through its own forwarding service in more than six hundred retail outlets in almost all regions of the Russian Federation.

Export supplies are carried out for:

- Ukraine
- Belarus
- Kazakhstan
- Armenia
- United Arab Emirates
- Czech Republic
- Slovakia
- Great Britain
- Germany
- Austria
- Australia
- USA
- Taiwan.


The Kizlyar plant is an active member of the Russian Folk Arts and Crafts Association. The enterprise is a multiple winner and laureate of prestigious contests and exhibitions (including "100 best goods of Russia"). All products of our company are subject to mandatory certification.

The production uses the latest production technologies and traditional manual work, which allows us to offer the best quality / price ratio on the Russian market. Today's company program is so extensive that it can provide everyone with the right knife for every taste and income level.

Hunters, collectors, tourism enthusiasts have a deluxe selection and they can discover new models every year.
 
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