The Official Knives of the World Thread

R

RedLynx

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Aug 5, 2011
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While I doubt this will be as cool or get as much traffic as "The Knife Life: Minor Topics and Random Stuff" thread, I thought it would be cool to get pics and experiences of people who use knives from all over the world.

We often discuss brands like Mora and Opinel here, among a few others, but I thought it would be cool to start getting pics and stories from knives made from "less popular" places, etc.

Personally I've thought about getting a Muela for a few years. I know they are not high end or expensive (at least not ones I have seen) but some of their designs look nice to me. I've just held off because I have a few fixed blades and don't often use the ones I have now. ;)

I've seen some great knives come out of Poland, but mostly customs I can't afford.

Hopefully we can make this into a fun thread.
 
I admit I dont really have any exotic knives... the closest thing I have to a "knife around the world" is a USA issued WW2 24" machete that was deployed in asia, built by sheffield. It has the original barret mfg sheath, and all the leather mold that comes from packing it around in the jungle :p
 
I own have owned several folders made by LionSteel (SR-1A, Opera, DPx HEAT), but that's where my worldly knife experience ends. I do have a German straight razor though. Speaking of which, I need to shave.

I've owned a lot of knives made in other countries, by all by American manufacturers. Excited to see what's out there. I've looked at Fantoni's, but never plopped the money down for one. Shirogorov's are out of my price range until after the wedding.
 
My favorite knives of all time for functionality, beauty, quality, and in support of fair trade around the world has to go to the Khukuri from Nepal. Specifically from Himilayan Imports:thumbup:

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And a few Nepali Bowies of course.

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Also in my collection: E-neps and E-tohs from Thailand! Very reasonable price and very functional. Hard to beat these for value. Mostly from the Aranyik district of Thailand.

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Great idea for a thread. I've been fortunate to live in Germany for the past year and a half and have come across some pretty awesome knives.

Untitled by danny.nystrom, on Flickr
Collection of worldly knives.

by danny.nystrom, on Flickr
Top one is a hand made carbon steel knife I got from a blacksmith in Esslingen Germany. Next two are filet knives I picked up in Finland.

by danny.nystrom, on Flickr
This is a Häller Damascus knife from Germany and below is Böker Titan Damast from Solingen Germany.

by danny.nystrom, on Flickr
Switchblades from Italy.

The others are more or less just souvenir knives I picked up. Puma Knives (the black with gold one) are pretty popular over here.
 
oregon said:
Traditional Chinese folder: Shilin Cutter
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I hope to respond to everyone in time, great knives and definitely some I'd like to add. Really appreciate the cool pics guys.

Are Shilin Cutters high end/expensive to add to my collection? I have never seen a folder with that blade-to-handle shape before. I might be in love.
 
I'm very interested in what Thailand has to offer since I don't have anything from there and I believe they have knives in their culture and history. Would it be relatively easy to order anything from there, or are they tough/expensive to get?


ndoghouse said:
My favorite knives of all time for functionality, beauty, quality, and in support of fair trade around the world has to go to the Khukuri from Nepal.

1a0b166cb18d9ecf421091ef0d2a8e8d


And a few Nepali Bowies of course.

3f62f39cb0d395228dd6a2b9c16ed2ce


Also in my collection: E-neps and E-tohs from Thailand! Very reasonable price and very functional. Hard to beat these for value. Mostly from the Aranyik district of Thailand.

ac9a9e4a21d1f6db6a74b4e2e3c8006e
Click to expand...
 
K.O.D. said:
I own have owned several folders made by LionSteel (SR-1A, Opera, DPx HEAT), but that's where my worldly knife experience ends. I do have a German straight razor though. Speaking of which, I need to shave.

I've owned a lot of knives made in other countries, by all by American manufacturers. Excited to see what's out there. I've looked at Fantoni's, but never plopped the money down for one. Shirogorov's are out of my price range until after the wedding.
Click to expand...

I'd love a Shirogorov as Russia is my favorite foreign culture... sadly I can't really find any Russian-made knife that is very affordable. :/
 
RedLynx said:
I hope to respond to everyone in time, great knives and definitely some I'd like to add. Really appreciate the cool pics guys.

Are Shilin Cutters high end/expensive to add to my collection? I have never seen a folder with that blade-to-handle shape before. I might be in love.
Click to expand...

My pleasure. You are welcome

Shilin Cutters are unobtainable, unfortunately, except from collectors and most are located in Japan. There is only one current builder, located in Taiwan, master Kuo and he has order stacked up for years. The handle = eggplant and the blade = bamboo leaf so it has an organic look and feel.
 
oregon said:
My pleasure. You are welcome

Shilin Cutters are unobtainable, unfortunately, except from collectors and most are located in Japan. There is only one current builder, located in Taiwan, master Kuo and he has order stacked up for years. The handle = eggplant and the blade = bamboo leaf so it has an organic look and feel.
Click to expand...

Very cool man, very cool. Glad you have several in your collection. The off-white one in the last photo looks the most amazing in my opinion. Congrats on all that.
 
RedLynx said:
Very cool man, very cool. Glad you have several in your collection. The off-white one in the last photo looks the most amazing in my opinion. Congrats on all that.
Click to expand...

I worked at it. Swept the globe. Contacted every knife store on Taiwan. Contacted all makers (there were two when I was accumulating). Got lucky and ran into a Taiwanese student with a long-term (more than a year) group buy that had dropouts so I stepped in. The off-white one is ivory, vintage, from decades ago, made by the Chiu family with a clad blade. I bot it online as a pig in a poke (didn't know that it was ivory). I was pleased when I received it and had the handle material proofed by Leroy Remer.
 
RedLynx said:
I'm very interested in what Thailand has to offer since I don't have anything from there and I believe they have knives in their culture and history. Would it be relatively easy to order anything from there, or are they tough/expensive to get?
Click to expand...

They can easily be found on auction sites and social networking sites. Look for "Aranyik" knives. Many sellers get them from the markets in Aranyik in bulk and resell them. The same seller may have blades from different smiths varying in quality and styles. The shipping cost is a little higher but the overall cost including shipping is usually very reasonable. Most that I have seen are fabricated from 5160 spring steel recycled from rock saw blades. Some are obviously cut out from sheet stock like the Latin machete in my pic earlier. They seem very nicely hardened or differentially tempered from the samples I have bought. I have added a few more to my collection since the photo. Some of the pipe handled ones are a bit heavy at the handle and would be better balanced if they had a thinner blade at the handle. Larger pipe=wider blade at the weld which makes the balance farther back so one might look for that when buying one. I think best deal would be the smaller handled ones with maybe a wrap if you have larger hands. There is one particular maker I prefer and uses two red epoxy dots and silver pipe handles. I have read that many of the smiths are from Cambodia and Laos that immigrated to Thailand to continue their trade.
 
Luckily, with my family's travels we have acquired more than a couple interesting knives.

This first one was gifted to me after a recent trip down the Danube. It is from a Bulgarian maker that I no longer remember the name of. But supposedly the blade is BG-42. All I know is that it sharpens up very nicely. It has a uh, "rustic" look to it.

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This one was picked up in Africa by my father during one of his Nat Geo assignments. Just a tourist souvenir knife, but not too shabby. Again, a nice "rustic" look.

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This knife has been in our family for about 90 years or so. My great-grandparents moved to Japan in the 1920s.

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I do also have a Kinmen cleaver around here, but it needs a new handle made for it.
 
ndoghouse said:
They can easily be found on auction sites and social networking sites. Look for "Aranyik" knives. Many sellers get them from the markets in Aranyik in bulk and resell them. The same seller may have blades from different smiths varying in quality and styles. The shipping cost is a little higher but the overall cost including shipping is usually very reasonable. Most that I have seen are fabricated from 5160 spring steel recycled from rock saw blades. Some are obviously cut out from sheet stock like the Latin machete in my pic earlier. They seem very nicely hardened or differentially tempered from the samples I have bought. I have added a few more to my collection since the photo. Some of the pipe handled ones are a bit heavy at the handle and would be better balanced if they had a thinner blade at the handle. Larger pipe=wider blade at the weld which makes the balance farther back so one might look for that when buying one. I think best deal would be the smaller handled ones with maybe a wrap if you have larger hands. There is one particular maker I prefer and uses two red epoxy dots and silver pipe handles. I have read that many of the smiths are from Cambodia and Laos that immigrated to Thailand to continue their trade.
Click to expand...

That's grand info, thanks for sharing. Yes I do have larger hands. Thin, but wide palms and somewhat long fingers. The knives in the mid-range length in your photos look fantastic.
 
oregon said:
I worked at it. Swept the globe. Contacted every knife store on Taiwan. Contacted all makers (there were two when I was accumulating). Got lucky and ran into a Taiwanese student with a long-term (more than a year) group buy that had dropouts so I stepped in. The off-white one is ivory, vintage, from decades ago, made by the Chiu family with a clad blade. I bot it online as a pig in a poke (didn't know that it was ivory). I was pleased when I received it and had the handle material proofed by Leroy Remer.
Click to expand...

I'm glad all of your hard work paid off, friend. I do not think I could be so diligent! Sounds like it was a collection years in the making. That would be hard for me to do, even if I had other knives to help. Your dedication is admirable.
 
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