Orvis "Pattada"-Style Trad. Folder

U

untamed

Joined
Jan 7, 2003
Messages
5,445
Hello folks!

On occasion I do visit this part of BF, as I've come to that age/stage I suppose when I like things to be simple and timeless, even in knives.

The Sardinian (er, I don't think they like being called "Italian" ;)) pattada which I really like and hope to own someday has already been discussed wonderfully here previously.

While that's in the works, I believe the Orvis brand has something inspired by it. I was thinking of getting one. Anybody have one and care commenting/sharing on it?

(non BF dealer link removed, please read the forum guidelines)

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Thanks in advance!
 
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That's a nice-looking knife :thumbup: (I'm sure our resident Sardinian will soon be along with something more intelligent to say ;) )
 
Looks like a good knife whats the steel ats-34? S30V? S90V? M390? Oh and is that the new horn style carbon fiber?:D
 
The resident Sardinian knife enthusiast is in the house :D

untamed, I'm really glad every time someone here shows some interest on the "Pattada" style knife, or any other Sardinian traditional pattern. I know that, to most US traditionalists, "my" knives belong to a small niche from very far away.
Yet, it is quite incorrect to define the knife you just showed as a Pattada knife. It is, in fact, a knife produced by Lionsteel in Italy, and probably a good knife, but not a Pattada for sure. I will summarize shortly some of the features that make me say that this is not a resolza. The pictured knife has a backspring, instead of being a friction
folder. For the same reason, this knife has a nail nick, while Pattada knives have none, since they're meant to be pinched against no backspring tension. This knife has liners, instead of none. The shape of the bolster is never rounded on Sardinian knives; they are, in fact, quite square on the corners. And the shape of the blade, although quite similar, is not exactly "right".
Obviously, you might be very happy with this knife, but in no way you should see it as representative of Sardinian folders, in my opinion.

Now, a small sidenote about Sardinian folders. There is, for historical reasons, no knife factory in Sardinia; the factories that produce this pattern in continental Italy always seem to "get something wrong" and derail a bit from the original pattern. Here, instead, there is quite a net of knifemakers, which make handmade knives (sometimes forged as well), and sell most of their knives in the local market (some have pretty long waiting lists). This is actually the main (and possibly only) way to get a proper Sardinian knife. I know it might be difficult for people in the US to get one; I know for a fact that some makers export some knives overseas, but it's usually the high end of Sardinian makers (prices incuded), so it might not be for everyone. If you're not in a hurry, and you're interested in getting one of these knives, just shoot me an email, and I'll be glad to help you find a "real" Sardinian knife so you can discover the pattern and make up your mind about it. I receive so much from this forum, and if there's anything I can do to help, I'm glad to do it. The same offer is, of course, open to any other member of this subforum (actually, I've done this before. :)

Now, a picture of a Sardinian resolza:

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Fausto
:cool:
 
Good job Quattromori, clear, let me add something.
We started to produce Pattade more than 20 year ago. At the beginning only with the original pattern following the Sardinia requirements. After a couples of years the Continental dealers started to ask these items, but immediately they asked changing. The original Patada has a friction movement and outside Sardinia this one was something not used. For this reason following the Continental requirement we started to make some "hibrid"' Sardinia design and Continental action.
In this moment are available both versions, but only one is original.
There are a lot of good artisans in Sardinia that follow the original pattern, for me one of the best is Mura. anyway Quattromori is the right one to give you the right informations.
 
Nice to see some excellent posters give us some excellent information. Thanks Fausto and GianniLion! We're lucky to see what is "traditional" in other parts of the world!
 
Yes, indeed molto grazie to both Quattromori and GianniLion for the info.

Quattro/Fausto, I fell in love with the traditional "resolza" (and even the region of Sardinia itself) ever since I saw it on an episode of Tony Bourdain's show, and yes, on a bit of research, I did find out that the "Orvis" style isn't really the 100% traditional pattern. Of course I will take you up on your offer of getting an authentic model in the future.
 
Thanks to Gianni for his post. It's always good when a company stands behind their products (and the choices behing the knives as well). I always suspected that the "derail' from the original pattern was due to marketing choices. I know that the US are the biggest knife market in the world and slipjoints are way more popular than friction folders, so I understand your choice as a company, and judging from the other Lionsteel knives I've handled (more modern ones, actually) I do believe the quality of this knife to be good. One of my best friends swears on his Opera (a largeish gent's folder) every time we talk about knives. I never saw one of the "first series" Pattada knives made by Lionsteel, and I'd be curious to see one, although, being Sardinian, it might have passed under my radar.
On the other side, for the minority of US customers who are interested in discovering the true Sardinian pattern, I believe it's fair to look on this side of the pond, although I know it's more difficult than buying a knife sold in the US.
As for Anthony Bourdain and his episodes in Sardinia, you can bet he knows much more than what you could see on the show: his wife is Sardinian :rolleyes:

Fausto
:cool:
 
quattromori said:
?...... I never saw one of the "first series" Pattada knives made by Lionsteel, and I'd be curious to see one, although, being Sardinian, it might have passed under my radar.
:cool:
Click to expand...

There are a lot of secret in Sardinia, many company and brands sell Sardinian knives that are not made in the island. We still produce both versions, original and continental...... For sure they passed under your radar... :D
 
Fausto, I love your resolza, such a beautiful handle and blade!

Thank you GianniLion for posting too, I admire many of your company's folders. :thumbup:
 
It's too bad that it's so hard to get a real resolza here. Looks like a useful design. I can see it cutting all the fruit that I eat every day.
 
Great thread.

Thanks for such wonderful information gentlemen.

I continue to be interested in tradtitional European knives. Designs which are a little closer to home to me.
I foresee one of these classical beauties in my future.
 
Hi everyone,
My name's Eric and I'm new to the group, I love all that I'm reading here.
The Resolza is very hard to find in U.S.
I didn't feel right about ordering the "Orvis" version of the knife, but I did try out the "Antonini" version of the Resolza, made in Maniago. It's affordable and seems closer to to the Sardinian than some. It's a nice knife, I like it. Light, razor sharp, a good gentlemen's pocket knife. I've done the prep for whole meals with it, and it's great for fruit, bread, sausgage and cheese.
I'd love to eventually get an actual Sardinian Resolza, especially after seeing that Bourdain episode!
I'm crazy for these European knives, French and Italians I'm most intested in.... Soon, I hope to find an actual Resolza.
 
I for one didn't know that Lionsteel made traditional patterns. Fausto and Gianni, thanks for the information. I had seen lots of pattadese/pattada folders on Facebook from Italian cutlery firms, but only a few Sardinian makers.

I like both Italian and Sardinian designs apparently, great for me, horrible for the wallet!
 
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