Pattada: Italian Friction Folder

jackknife said:
Dagon, that's a beautiful knife in anyones country!:thumbup:

By coincidence, I was looking at those and the Nontron friction folders on the World Knives site. With arthritis problems, I find myself being drawn to easy opening knives like pinch and pulls. I may have to check out one of these.
Click to expand...

I'm in the same boat with the arthritis in my hands. I recently bought a Svord peasant knife and a couple of Opinels to try them. A lot easier than the one hand openers and most of my slipjoints. I also pulled out a couple of my old slippies with the EZ open cutout for EDC rotation.--KV
 
That's really an elegant knife.

I really love seeing these traditional European patterns.
 
This week I visited Scaperia in Tuscany. One of the Italian knife towns. They do make some great knives! A very interesting blade history and culture too. And the Pattada fits right in there.

Oh, yes, I bought a Caccia Mugellano with a bone handle and brass bolsters, made by Consigli. A traditional Italian hunting slipjoint.

JD
 
Thanks Dagon, for showing us your knife, and starting this interesting thread. It has neatly shed some light on this knife I got in a trade from one of the goodfellas here on BF!
SardinianPattada2.jpg

SardinianPattada1.jpg
 
Hi everybody, I just registered here altho I've been surfing this forum for a while...and somehow it seems natural that my first post here is on this topic, about a knife that obviously comes from my homeland (I'm from Sardinia).
So, both knives (Dagon's and Waynorth's) are typically Pattada knives....at least in style and shape. Which is, in fact, named after a leaf in our language, not a flame: knifemakers from Pattada inspired the shape of their knives from the leaf of a typical bush here named "mirto" (no idea if there's any English word for it....the same plant is used to make our traditional alcoholic drink with the same name).
Waynorth's knife I am 99% sure is not made in Pattada, I have seen the "T Murtas" before, the surname is surely sardinian but not from Pattada, nor have I ever heard of any knifemaker in Pattada under that name (I work 15 km from the place), anyway I'm having a last check. I believe it was made somewhere here in Sardinia, and I am willing to find out more about it.
Can't say enough on Dagon's, it could be handmade but believe me, knifemakers in Pattada got so expensive, a "standard" (10 cm blade) would cost u at least 200 euros (much more if it's damascus, etc), so I assume it could be made (handmade, or semi industrially) in some other part of the island...
I agree that these knives are very elegant indeed. And yes, I COULD be slightly biased on that, but who isn't? No blade I ever had felt better to slice cheese and sausages ;-)
About it being an EDC knife...well of course we all have different needs and carry different kinds of EDC's. In Sardinia it is pretty normal (especially in the inner land) that any grown man would carry one of these knives when he goes out, and it has been like that for centuries. Personally, I love these blades (I have 2 original handmade that I st....I Inherited from my dad) but wouldn't carry it for EDC. I'd prefer other shapes of blade (like the "arburesa") but of course it's a matter of personal taste...
:-)
 
I own exactly the same knife Waynorth posted the pic of...it was given me as a gift years ago and I have to admit I don't know much about where it comes from. Surely the style is pretty typical Pattada slipjoint, and surely it was not made by any knifemaker in Pattada.
Someone once told me it was made by a knifemaker named Murtas (which is indeed a typical sardinian surname) and the T Pattada indicates the type of blade or blade model...but I can't be sure of that. I will take a pic of mine and post it here.
As for Dagon's knife, I'd like to see it better so maybe we can find out more about that.
As for the blade style, I love the shape of resolzas and I don't think it's because I am sardinian...I just think it's a wonderful elegant blade shape.
:cool:
 
Last edited:
Just to add my 2 cents to this thread - I have a Pattada that I believe to be exactly the same model as Dagons - maybe slightly diffferent as it doesn't have a lanyard hole. I bought it for around 55 euros in Alghero, Sardinia. I doubt it's handmade but I'm pretty sure it is Sardinian - it was quite a touristy shop, but the better class (it had some knives with damascus blades...) Mine was one of the cheaper ones in there. It's well made and an extremely simple design - no spring on any of these, even the most expensive. I use it a lot, the 11cm blade (4 3/8") is perfect for food prep - the thin flat grind has a convex bevel so it's very easy to keep really sharp, it's a perfect size to take camping and I'll even take it to friends houses if I'm going to be cooking, you can never rely on anyone having a sharp knife... As to the steel, I don't think it's 420, the edge is fine but it doesn't roll when used on a chopping board. It's not marked but I think it's probably 12C27 - the medium range European steel of choice. Amusingly, this was the knife that made me get rid of my Spyderco Paramilitary! It's so much more useful for everything I want a large folder for.
 
A few more things on thiese folders (and thanks to Dagon for showing his knife here - we are very proud of our islanders' things...).
I have reasons to believe that Lycanthought's resolza (and Dagon's) was not made here in Sardinia. For some "historical" reasons, there are no real factories around here, only custom knifemakers; production knives in that pattern are usually (and ironically) made overseas (meaning the continental part of Italy). Steel is usually 420 for factory made knives, and even many knifemakers in Pattada use 420; others use higher end carbon steel. Handmade knives made in Pattada cost way more (about 30 euros for cm), while the same pattern made by other knifemakers on the island may cost less but still no less than 100 euros I guess. Anyway, there are some nicely made production knives (like the 2 shown in this thread); also, the strong point of these knives is their blade shape and grind that makes them great food and slicing knives.
I have a few other handmade ones, received/inherited/stolen from my father, but the pattern is exactly the same. No traditional Sardinian knife has backsprings, it's just the way they were and are. I remember, when I bought my first SAK (I was 13 or 14) the backspring felt so weird :)
Fausto
:cool:
 
Last edited:
You must log in or register to reply here.
Back
Top