Traditional French Fry day

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The makhila is Basque and not necessarily French, but since Basque country lies partially in France I thought it would be okay to share this.


I've been looking to pick up a walking stick for a while, but I wanted something with a bit more panache. I stumbled onto the Basque version of the walking stick, the makhila. Given that my surname has Basque origins, I thought that the makhila fit the bill perfectly.

Unfortunately I think the makhila is potentially verboten here in California. It has some similarity to a cane sword and I think the makhila may run afoul of statutes prohibiting mere possession. I would argue that the makhila does not meet the definition of a cane sword due to not being "capable of ready use", but I am not willing to go to jail and even court to find out.

Pity.
 
Merci beaucoup to my good friend Will Power Will Power for his positive thoughts and encouragement. Just a few days ago I mentioned that I sought an ARBALETE. As the Good Book says in Matthew 7:7, "...seek, and ye shall find..."

Hopefully it looks as good in person as it does in pictures.
 
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kamagong said:
Jolipapa Jolipapa do you have any idea of the age of this knife? From the markings it appears to share a similar vintage to Will's.


As always, thank you for the help Alain.
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In the gunner's instruction manual, to the question :
- how long will it take for a shell to hit his target?
the answer is :
- a certain time.

I am afraid I won't have any more precise answer. Dating a Lag is quite difficult.
This one may be from the 70s, pre-12C27 (unless it is carbon), an indication of relative age is the change of blade stamp and bolster material, but I don't know when this happened, could be after the turn of the century.

This one under is more recent that on the picture. Same source Will Power Will Power 😃
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A friend's Tiré-droit he inherited from his father. A trusty working hack that never leaves his pocket!
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Thank you again Jolipapa Jolipapa . I know that trying to definitively determine when a laguiole was made is often a fool's errand, especially when you don't even have it in hand. I hope this one has some age on it, due to the blade stamp, what I hope is a carbon steel blade, and the relative lack of polish.

We shall see.
 
Those thinking that the Donjon's sister knife is Dragon are wrong. 😉
The name comes from the little town Le Donjon, in the Bourbonnais, the name of the other local knife, a handsome drop point (the bourbonaise) cousin of the Pradel (n°1385).
As for many patterns the local forges closed and fabrication emigrated in Thiers.
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kamagong kamagong Hello Christian, all I can add is that I bought the dark horn small Lag in a wonderful knife shop in Périgord 1989/90 together with the light colour Lag with fleam that I gave to Jolipapa Jolipapa in rather poor condition- it had been cracked by a careless cleaning woman in my office who dropped it on the floor when 'tidying' my desk - it was subsequently been rescaled. Both knives as Alain points out were VERY likely NOS as this shop was a den of gems and it had been there for decades. Quite possibly the knives were 15 years old when I got them new, so 70s or even 60s the dark one is carbon. The shop was unforgettable, but doubtless is now a fast-food outlet for the lazy obese :mad:

H herder Fine 'chopper' you show there, the French do a grand meaty Sheepfoot :cool:

Thanks, Will
 
Grown very fond of this inexpensive Tonneau. The finish on the bolsters is a bit crude but the action of the knife, in hand feel and sharpness is on an excellent level. Nice flush backspring and no blade play (not sure I've ever had a French knife with blade-play? Must be an Anglo-American feature....😂)

 
Will Power said:
kamagong kamagong Hello Christian, all I can add is that I bought the dark horn small Lag in a wonderful knife shop in Périgord 1989/90 together with the light colour Lag with fleam that I gave to Jolipapa Jolipapa in rather poor condition- it had been cracked by a careless cleaning woman in my office who dropped it on the floor when 'tidying' my desk - it was subsequently been rescaled. Both knives as Alain points out were VERY likely NOS as this shop was a den of gems and it had been there for decades. Quite possibly the knives were 15 years old when I got them new, so 70s or even 60s the dark one is carbon.
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Thank you for that insight Will Power Will Power . The possibility that this knife is from the 70s or even 60s has me the thrilled. Though not NOS, the seller's pics indicate that it hasn't been used or sharpened very much.
 
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