One of My Favourite Haunts: Knives on the High Street.

[screened porch]

Stafford Brothers Hardware in Kalamazoo had more pocket knives than I've ever seen elsewhere, except maybe Jack's kitchen table.

 

[Jolipapa]

Yesterday it rained all day long, except around 4pm and I decided to go and learn more about those fishtails. My first glance hadbeen too quick and in fact they are unexpensive so I took the pair. No expensive ebony or ivory, just simple acrylic handles.
They are made by Parapluie à l'épreuve (a strange name even for us) a brand of Therias, who produced the first knives in 1819.
I named them Jack and Johnny in reference to another celebrated couple of black & white (say no more).
For the price the finish is good, w & t very good, opening a 7, a half stop and a good snap. They also come pretty sharp. The lady who sells them told me they exist also in tortoise shell acrylic, she had not in store butsince I've located one in another shop, a good opportunity to go and see.
The rain that had started again did not prevent me from smiling on the run home.

I had to wait as before being served, there was a moving scene of another age, a youngster (12/ 13) accompanied by his parents, who bought himself his first knife (just heard the price, 100€, so long piggy bank!) and was too pleased when he got the engraving for free! Behind me came a man collecting SAKS. For a moment I was on another planet!
I asked if I could take pictures of the shop and was kindly answered yes.

Just for the pleasure of it : a row of Yan Nominé's Grimpeurs (guess I need no dream-catcher !)

 

[Jack Black]

Looks like a great place Jolipapa :thumbup:

Stafford Brothers Hardware in Kalamazoo had more pocket knives than I've ever seen elsewhere, except maybe Jack's kitchen table.

:thumbup:

 

[Blake the Blade]

That's fantastic Jolipapa. Not only did you get inside and get some great shots, but you walked away with two nice knives you thought were perhaps beyond your means without breaking the bank. Not only this but you witnessed a wonderful thing there with the young lad and the purchase of his first knife. You turned a rainy afternoon into one involving friendly human interaction and adventure. You wouldn't get that pressing a few buttons at home on the computer. I rest my case...Long live the High Street!!! :thumbup:

 

[screened porch]

I guess I need to see Paris again before I die.

 

[Jolipapa]

I guess I need to see Paris again before I die.

You're warmly welcome, but I admit we prefer to keep our visitors alive and well!

 

[Will Power]

Fine place Jolipapa! A repository of dreams (and realities) with an alluring atmosphere.

Those are interesting knives you bought, but, I'm sure other tempting items lurk there too

Regards, Will

 

[5K Qs]

Very interesting and international thread; I've enjoyed reading it. :thumbup::thumbup: I'm going to contribute some photos my daughter recently sent me. She lives in Madrid, and when I visited her last Christmas, she took me to several Spanish cities and I found one or more cuchillerias (cutlery shops) to visit in each city. We were in at least a dozen cuchillerias throughout Spain, but in the excitement of knife-shopping, never remembered to take photos of a single shop!!
But she looks on my hobby with amused approval, and sent me photos a week ago of a cuchilleria I wanted to visit in Madrid, but it was closed the only chance we had to go there. Interestingly, the shop specializes in cutlery and perfume!

Here's the doorway. You can note how narrow the store is; that was characteristic of the majority of cuchillerias I visited while in Spain.

The following photos were shot from outside the shop. My daughter seems to have inherited my photography gene; when shooting knife-related pics, we both seem to get reflections of ourselves in most of our photos. You can see that the window displays fit a lot of knives into a small space! I find the last photo quite interesting, with little Opinels and other small knives set up in the shadow of larger folders.

There are more photos, including the wonderful exterior signage of the shop, at https://www.google.com/maps/uv?hl=en&pb=!1s0xd42262a18319c9f:0x3771f6b1d97b1b9e!2m5!2m2!1i80!2i80!3m1!2i100!3m1!7e1!4shttps://ssl.panoramio.com/photo/113110002!5scuchilleria+viñas+madrid+-+Google+Search&sa=X&ved=0CIIBEKIqMApqFQoTCN2U0IKf9ccCFYP9gAodJeAOyA

- GT

 

[Blake the Blade]

Very interesting and international thread; I've enjoyed reading it. :thumbup::thumbup: I'm going to contribute some photos my daughter recently sent me. She lives in Madrid, and when I visited her last Christmas, she took me to several Spanish cities and I found one or more cuchillerias (cutlery shops) to visit in each city. We were in at least a dozen cuchillerias throughout Spain, but in the excitement of knife-shopping, never remembered to take photos of a single shop!!
But she looks on my hobby with amused approval, and sent me photos a week ago of a cuchilleria I wanted to visit in Madrid, but it was closed the only chance we had to go there. Interestingly, the shop specializes in cutlery and perfume!

Here's the doorway. You can note how narrow the store is; that was characteristic of the majority of cuchillerias I visited while in Spain.

The following photos were shot from outside the shop. My daughter seems to have inherited my photography gene; when shooting knife-related pics, we both seem to get reflections of ourselves in most of our photos. You can see that the window displays fit a lot of knives into a small space! I find the last photo quite interesting, with little Opinels and other small knives set up in the shadow of larger folders.

There are more photos, including the wonderful exterior signage of the shop, at https://www.google.com/maps/uv?hl=en&pb=!1s0xd42262a18319c9f:0x3771f6b1d97b1b9e!2m5!2m2!1i80!2i80!3m1!2i100!3m1!7e1!4shttps://ssl.panoramio.com/photo/113110002!5scuchilleria+viñas+madrid+-+Google+Search&sa=X&ved=0CIIBEKIqMApqFQoTCN2U0IKf9ccCFYP9gAodJeAOyA

- GT

Fantastic post GT, thanks for entering so whole-heartedly in the spirit of the thread. These photos give a tantalising glimpse into what looks like a great shop full of history, character and interest. There's nothing like seeing things in front of you like that and having a bit of choice before you buy something is there. Excellent, I could almost be there, wouldn't leave with much money though. Many thanks. :thumbup::thumbup:

 

[Jolipapa]

Fine place Jolipapa! A repository of dreams (and realities) with an alluring atmosphere.

Those are interesting knives you bought, but, I'm sure other tempting items lurk there too

Regards, Will

Sure, but I've bought a lot more knives than expected in Aug/Sept and there's an exhibition in 2 weeks, so I tried to remain reasonnable!

The following photos were shot from outside the shop. My daughter seems to have inherited my photography gene; when shooting knife-related pics, we both seem to get reflections of ourselves in most of our photos.

I know some person who has a great picture collection of her own fingers!