Ever since I was a kid I had an affection for Italian-style folding stilettos. Part of the reason was, although my parents allowed me to have knives, my mother didn't want me to have any knife that she thought
looked like a weapon, and folding stilettos certainly qualified. Her position on the matter didn't really make sense, after all, she had a part in buying me my Buck 110 when I was about 12, but sometimes moms just don't make sense
. So the folding stiletto became something "forbidden".
The three knives pictured below are all Rite Edge stilettos. They cost $7 each new (that's seven dollars). The one on the left is in it's original condition. The other two are ones that I customized myself. The two I customized are not only two of my top favorite knives, but they are among my prize possessions.
You don't get a high level of quality from a $7 folder made in China, they come with a few issues. But the Rite Edge had enough quality, and in the right places, that it was worth it to me to put a little money, and a bit more effort, into fixing them up. What I really like about these knives is that they have solid stainless steel bolsters with stainless steel liners, and the bolsters are spot welded to the liners. So this makes for a very "solid" feeling knife (which is unusual among folding stilettos).
The knives are 6" closed, so they are pretty much the same size as in the top picture.
I replaced the pins with screws, added thumbstuds for easy one-hand opening, replaced the handle scales (canvas micarta on the center knife, g10 on the right side knife). I also added bronze-phosphorus washers to the pivots.
I custom fitted the locks to the blades to remove the forward-to-back blade play (the pivot screws solved the side-to-side play). And for the right side knife I fabricated a thumb release for the lock that allows me to open and close the knife one-handed, and without having to adjust my grip (and I ground off the stock lock-release hump which makes the knife feel better in my hand). I also did a lot of fit and finish work blending the bolsters with the liners as there were places where the bolsters or liners overlapped each other (that was the most time consuming effort).
To my surprise, they actually did give the blades a heat treatment. I don't know exactly what steel they used, or what the Rockwell hardness is, but the blades have a nice spring to them, and they take a shaving sharp edge.
I keep trying to convince myself to carry one, at least on "casual" days, but I have many other knives that are more practical.
I have several knives that cost $100 to $300, and yet these two knives that originally cost me $7 each are at the top of my favorites list.
