Taramundi - Spanish Traditional

[scruffuk]

I picked this wee number up from a French web retailer the other week.

Its a traditional Spanish style, very similar to an Opinel, but a much longer and fixed bolster, as you see.
The 12C27 blade wasn't particularly sharp when recieved, but a good few swipes on my go to ceramic sharpener soon got a nice edge up.

There is no lock, its not even a slip joint, its a very frictiony folder. I would say that the bolster seems to add to the resistance though. Whether thats part of the design or not I'm uncertain. I enjoy the uniform resistance when opening though. It does feel very reassuring once fully unfurled.

Its a good size for a UK pocket

The small ebony handle feels lovely. Its satin finish has a good feel in the hand and the wood has a rich grain (shame then there is not more of it). I tried to show below, the way the blade groove is slightly off centre. Tis a bit of a pity, but I love this knife nonetheless.

There is something about the aesthetics, it has everything an Opinel should have in that sense, but admittedly, is perhaps a little more crude in construction, its tolerances or overall fit and finish (especially where the exposed and peined pivot pin is concerned, and in the bolster/handle transition).

Thanks for looking and sharing my first rambling-review amigos.

scruffuk

 

[moonwilson]

Very interesting knife! I really like lower-end provincial knives, the variation of forms in objects designed to do essentially the exact same thing is fascinating. I'd add one of those to the collection, for sure. Thanks for sharing that one with us, it's lovely. Really, there's no backspring, exposed tang or anything to keep that sucker from swinging shut on your fingers? I'd love to handle one of those to see how it works.

 

[lutejones]

Nice to see a Taramundi around,
Here are some more, in that little village are a lot of diferent knifemakers, that one you have is from a cooperative work association.

in the image above you can see two blade types, 1 and 4 from the left are what is called punta vuelta(turned point) and the others are punta recta(straight point).
There are some more but I don't have photos now.

Mateo

 

[pertinux]

Thanks for the write-up and pictures. :thumbup:

The small ebony handle feels lovely. Its satin finish has a good feel in the hand and the wood has a rich grain (shame then there is not more of it).

I'm assuming there isn't wood under the length of the bolster, but it more sits on top? How far does the wood go into the bolster (or, put another way, how much lip is there on the bolster, affixing it to the wood)? Or am I viewing this incorrectly?

Thanks!

~ P.

 

[zcd]

I like the look of these, thanks for the pics!

 

[scruffuk]

Great info Mateo, thank you very much.

Gents, I'll try and get a better pic of the bolster/handle tomorrow, see if I can't shed a little light on things.

 

[lutejones]

~P, the wood goes all the way like in an opinel. You can see it in the tiny one on the far right on my photo.
mateo

 

[pertinux]

~P, the wood goes all the way like in an opinel.
mateo

Okay, that's much nicer than what I was imagining. Thanks!

~ P.

 

[scruffuk]

Thansk lutejones.

Indeed, the ebony runs the full length of the bolster:

Maybe you can just see the 'slot' where the blade pivots against the bolster, just glinting at the back?
This exposed section is 20mm long.

Here's a view of the bolster top:

Apologies....light was not on my side.

 

[wouldestous]

very interesting. i do very much like these old regional patterns.

the old provincial patterns (spanish, austrian, etc) seem to be hard to find in the united states though. every time i see one of these great threads i search the web but dont have much luck. lol

 

[Jack Black]

Thanks guys, very interesting knife. I like the tiny one on the right of your photo Mateo :thumbup:

 

[Humppa]

Interessting design... I really like the whole shape. The bolsters make it like "Mother-Of-All-Barlows" (don´t want to offend anyone or anything, but like this it seems to me). The finishing on the bolsters will sure look great in combination with the long bolster...

 

[markksr]

Very interesting! Thanks for the pictures and review! :thumbup:

 

[puukkoman]

Very cool! Thanks for posting!

 

[Taroh JPN]

I got this knife in August. I know a friction folder's adjustment is to hitting the pivot pin. However, in Japan seasonal changes of humidity are large. so, I'm using when the knife is in a good mood.