So here's that "Blade Enthusiast or Knife Nut?" update one time...

OK, straight to the edged weapons this blog is becoming slightly kind of a tiny bit famous for, a little, sort of...


Warming-up with some fine traditional pocket knives; a Schatt & Morgan/Queen Cutlery special edition, and an old Atlas from Japan. Both with jigged bone handles.


A French pocket folder called (apparently?) a "Leonard," by a manufacturer called Laguoile (pronounced "la-yoll" I'm told). The pattern is typical of many Euro-folders, though pretty understated compared to the Spanish-style folding knives.


A butterfly knife from Pakistan; I don't know if it has a name, but it's cool.


A Timber Rattler (TR107), also made in Pakistan. Nice looking knife, but it's more of a "wall hanger" than a "work horse."


Four views of a fairly decent reproduction of the famous World War II Fairbairn-Sykes British Commando Fighting Knife. Again, this one is more of a presentation piece than a field knife, but it gives one a visceral reminder of why you wouldn't want to be a Nazi sentry when the Commandos arrived in-theater...


I need to do a little more research, but apparently this is also from WWII (and a legit piece, at that). This is most likely a Japanese shirisaya tanto that was made by cutting down a larger sword, and was probably issued to a field officer or NCO (but possibly a kamikaze pilot, although that is much less likely). The way it was manufactured, and the inscription indicate a late date (near the end of the war; again, so far as I can tell from research available at this time). I don't read Japanese; I've been told that it is likely some type of patriotic motto, rather than the signature of the maker, but I need to find someone that can translate the characters for me. Pretty cool though!


A scimitar-type sword called a Talwar in India (where I believe this is from), or a Shamshir in various parts of the Middle East. Even if this is a reproduction (I don't know where the collector I got it from originally acquired it), it's pretty sweet. This one, and the Japanese tanto had some heavy black rust spots (I cleaned some of them, before reading some commentators that said I shouldn't), which I found out is a pretty good indicator of age (rather than cheapness), while red rust spots generally mean the blade is being eaten and should be cleaned and oiled asap!

That's it for now, but I got some good deals on some sweet knives and I'm pretty jazzed...

White Belt Out