Pattada Slipjoint, first impressions...

sitflyer

sitflyer

Joined
Mar 10, 2011
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Seeing the Regional knives posted by members always fascinates me. Always being on the lookout to try something a little different, this one jumped out of a catalog page at me. Instantly I remembered Fausto's knives that he posted and I wanted to give this one a try!
It's not a friction folder, but the lines seem apropriate, at least to me.
It has steel bolsters and scales, and of course the horn covers. Simply stamped Stainless / Italy. It is very light in hand, and comfortable too. The horn is beautifully translucent, and overall well fitted. There is a gap along the well though, on one side.


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The knife is solidly constructed, and can be pinched open. Good snap on closing, but on opening the bolsters are peened a little tight so there is friction through the final arc to open. I'm pretty sure this will work out in time with breaking in.

Looks a little "fishy" yes ;)


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The blade shape seems very well suited for food prep, preping cuts for minceing or dicing, and pareing duties, also, the thin tip should glide right through cheese without loading up.
For me this one will mostly be used for the occasional apple or pear...and going somewhere I might get pressed into kitchen duty, or for coreing Jalepenos ;)
It is quite sharp right out of the box, so I think the steel should be of decent quality and heat treat.


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I could see useing this one also as a traveling steak knife, I like to cut, not tear my steaks...


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Also included was a nice leather sheath, which I'm going to wet fit for a different knife...this knife is so light and rides very well in my pocket, so no sheath needed...


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Overall, i am quite pleased with this offering. Maybe someday I will come across a real Pattada. But this slipjoint version seems to have hit a lot of positives for me. The only thing I would change is to maybe take off the blade etch.

Thanks for looking,

Duane
 
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Thats certainly an elegant looking knife there Duane.It does look well suited for food prep around camp or kitchen,picnic kits and as a take to church knife.Read

some reviews on it and the QC on these runs hot and cold.For the most part it is well liked with the few bad reviews citing poor construction quality and f&f.

It looks like a nice package overall with the fitted sheath and I agree that it would make a premium Jalepeno corer.

Seems you landed a good one.Use it in goos health and thanks for a nice review.
 
Duane, thanks for posting this one. I was looking at the very same knife after Fausto posted his beautiful examples of the Resolza. It looks like that blade is a real slicer. I think some of these European traditional patterns have a real knack for slicing. I have a Lagioule en Aubrac that is by far the best slicer I own, not even my kitchen knives can compare to it!
 
Beautiful knife!:thumbup:

I'm becoming more and more interested in the simple European knives like this. Love the translucent horn. From the graceful curve of the handle, it must feel very good in hand when open and being worked.

Carl.
 
Thanks Vic and Carl, yes, it is a nice thin blade, very sharp, and slices quite well. It fits the hand so naturally, very much like a Laguiole, and that curved shape has a certain eye appeal to me. It's construction and lines have a rustic charm to them.

Duane
 
Duane - thanks for sharing this nice italian design :) I really like the shape (handle and blade). I´m sure, it will follow you during some time in your pocket!

Thanks for the pics and explanation, my friend!
 
Congrats for the knife.
It has several aspects different from the original "pattada" or, to say better, "resolza", hope you will got a "true" resolza one day :-)
 
Duane,
every time a member here is attracted by the pictures of the knives I post, I feel a mix of pride (islanders are always proud) and satisfaction for having contributed somehow to this subforum. It may be a small thing for you, but it does mean alot to me. And I'm absolutely glad that my knives inspired you somehow, and for this very reason I'm going to express my opinion honestly and positively.
I'm afraid that your knife could never be classified as a Sardinian knife, for many reasons that I'm willing to tell, if anone is interested. I know that, somehow, a knife with blonde horn handles instantly reminds you of Sardinian blades, and for a good reason. Yet, it is not correct to define this knife as a "Pattada style" folder.
But, I agree with you that the design of this knife has appeal, and I'm glad you like it. And, after all, taste is a very personal thing. I just felt the duty to say what I said before, for a matter of knife nomenclature.
Sidenote number one: even though Sardinian knives are friction folders, in the last few decades some makers have tried the slipjoint way. These knives are usually called "Logudoro", and are exactly like the "pattadesa" but with a backspring.
Sidenote number two: since, as I understand, it's not too easy to find Sardinian knives in the US (not many are exported there, from what I've seen), if anyone here is after one of these knives, I will be happy to help you in the search. I feel like it's my "duty" here (for the knife culture I somehow represent), and it's also one more way for me to contribute to this wonderful subforum. I've done it already for a member here, and knife hunting is always great :rolleyes:
Sidenote three: the sheath looks nice, and it seems like a toothpick would stay comfy inside of it :)
Sidenote four: your knife, just like many other European folders (Laguiole's, navajas, and also other Italian regional patterns) work really great with food. I don't know why, if it's the handle/blade line, or what. But they do. Be it jalapenos or cheese, sausage or veggies. So use it for its best use ;)

Fausto
:cool:
 
Thank you martineden, and Fausto for your comments! This is exactly what I had hoped for, you see, the vendor called this knife a Pattada, and upon research, I found many dis similarities. Marketing is not always accurate ;)
Maybe someone somewhere has seen others like this, and I would be very happy to hear about them.
All that aside, I found that this knife pleases me, and is well constructed, from somewhere in Italy:)
 
Duane,
I don't know if this is going to be a disappointment for you, but I don't think your knife was made in Italy.
It's actually produced by a Vermont based company...and that's why it has so many "American" features compared with the Sardinian design. I'm having a hard time thinking that this company is having their knives made in my country.
Yet, if you like the knife, why should you care? :)

Fausto
:cool:
 
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The blade is stamped "Italy" so it seems at least something had to come from there, unless the company is just lying to its customers :(

p.s. Fausto, you have a message :)
 
Vic,
you have an email :)
As for the blade stamp, the company is also advertising it as a Pattada shepherd's knife, for that matter, so I wouldn't really mind that. The truth is, I don't know; I'm guessing out of pure instinct and guts (and, as I wrote, I wouldn't care the least where the knife is made).
I will now broaden a bit the topic on this aspect.
The so-called Pattada pattern is made all over the island and, actually, was not born in Pattada at all. Pattada just grew a reputation for its knifemakers, some of which are (and were) great craftsman. Yet, sometimes, people tend to think that a resolza "made in Pattada" has something more than a resolza made in another village of my island, and that cannot be taken as a fact. There are talented knifemakers here who happened to be born in other villages as well :)
There's no real knife factories in Sardinia (quite a curious thing, after all). So all factories who produce Pattada-styled knives are in continental Italy, and often produce these knives drifting a bit from the traditional design. But your knife is a bit too far from the Pattada design to be made by an Italian factory to be sold as a Pattada. At least here. yet, if the market is purely American, there's a chance that it might be happening. :)

Fausto
:cool:
 
quattromori said:
Duane,
I don't know if this is going to be a disappointment for you, but I don't think your knife was made in Italy.
It's actually produced by a Vermont based company...and that's why it has so many "American" features compared with the Sardinian design. I'm having a hard time thinking that this company is having their knives made in my country.
Yet, if you like the knife, why should you care? :)

Fausto
:cool:
Click to expand...

Evidently you are not well versed in American marketing. Orvis is not a manufacturer of anything. Orvis is a retailer, well known for selling overpriced yuppie bling. They have all sorts of expensive "outdoor" products, all of which are produced by one company or another all over the world. The knife in question was most likely made by LionSteel in Maniago.
 
quattromori said:
Vic,
you have an email :)
As for the blade stamp, the company is also advertising it as a Pattada shepherd's knife, for that matter, so I wouldn't really mind that. The truth is, I don't know; I'm guessing out of pure instinct and guts (and, as I wrote, I wouldn't care the least where the knife is made).
I will now broaden a bit the topic on this aspect.
The so-called Pattada pattern is made all over the island and, actually, was not born in Pattada at all. Pattada just grew a reputation for its knifemakers, some of which are (and were) great craftsman. Yet, sometimes, people tend to think that a resolza "made in Pattada" has something more than a resolza made in another village of my island, and that cannot be taken as a fact. There are talented knifemakers here who happened to be born in other villages as well :)
There's no real knife factories in Sardinia (quite a curious thing, after all). So all factories who produce Pattada-styled knives are in continental Italy, and often produce these knives drifting a bit from the traditional design. But your knife is a bit too far from the Pattada design to be made by an Italian factory to be sold as a Pattada. At least here. yet, if the market is purely American, there's a chance that it might be happening. :)

Fausto
:cool:
Click to expand...

Fausto, Thank You, your replies are very welcome, and I will do more research on this Resolza that you mention. This knife is probably a marketing concept, designed to appeal to a purely American, non knife crowd...be that as it may.
Perhaps just Shepherds Knife would have been a more apt description?
 
Arathol said:
Evidently you are not well versed in American marketing. Orvis is not a manufacturer of anything. Orvis is a retailer, well known for selling overpriced yuppie bling. They have all sorts of expensive "outdoor" products, all of which are produced by one company or another all over the world. The knife in question was most likely made by LionSteel in Maniago.
Click to expand...

Yes, I'm not versed in American marketing, that's for sure. But I was sure that Orvis didn't produce these knives directly, and I never really believed that this knife was made in the US.
I don't know if it was made by Lionsteel either, but if it was, then evidently it was designed and produced to be sold away from here (US or any other country), and not in Italy, cause the shape of the bolster would never be associated to a Sardinian knife here.
As for it being overpriced or not, I don't know how much this knife was paid, nor I've handled the knife myself, so I can't tell. What I know is that, usually, production versions of Sardinian folders are either of low quality or very distant from the original pattern. That's the reason for my previous posts :)

Duane, I believe that "shepherd's knife" would have been more appropriate actually. Anyway, if Arathol is right, it does not surprise me that this knife is well made (no matter how far from the original design).

Fausto
:cool:
 
Sitflyer: I confirm you that your knife was made in Italy but it is not a Pattada knife. The design of the blade is like a pattada, but the construction and the design of the handle are different.
 
Thanks, GianniLion. It is what the company is selling it as, hence the thread title.
Perhaps there is nothing to learn about this one, but maybe someone will have a clue
 
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