When I was in Rome a few years ago, just down the street from my hotel was a small shop with a father and two sons working in it. I stopped by one morning to find them working on putting together switchblades. Between my broken Italian and their broken English, we came to a deal. I carried that knife in my carry on all over Europe then brought it home. I still have it and it has a place inside my safe.
Fun fact: I'm Italian, and since those switchblades are so represented in American movies, I thought for a long time it was an American design. I own an old one left me by my grandfather, but I don't know much about it. Its logo is a triangle containing a C on top of an R and the word "Triangolo" at the base, outside the figure. I never managed to find more info about its manufacturer.
@@comanchedase Maniago it's a Town, so the knife it's a Maniago like your car is a "Detroit" . The issue Is the maker that could be some famous bladesmith like Beltrame or Campolin
They got a bad reputation in Blighty too, associated with the Teddy Boys, Rock and Roll (pure evil) and Greasers. Most people in the UK are actually stabbed with common kitchen knives which of course are impossible to ban.
NYC here. the penal law's ban on switchblades here says they are illegal because "they promote gangsterism:" that's what it says. that's someone's opinion from the 1950's. it's just a pocketknife that does a cool thing. there is no reason to ban them when you can walk into Target and buy a 12" Mike Meyers knife unquestioned.
Back in my freshman year of college '71-72, I came home weekends to work to pay tuition etc and while heading back to the dorm Sunday eve, I was stopped by a townie cop in one of the podunk little townships on the way for supposedly caught on radar doing 2mph over the limit. While looking over the interior of the car he noted my zipper satchel with my weekend clothes etc on the bench seat next to me and sticking out of the side pocket was the handle of a switchblade. Immediately he gets all excited because he thinks he caught 18yr old John Dillinger. I started to explain but he told me to shut up and dragged me out of the car and locked me in the back of his patrol after a quick pat down. He then called for backup..I think from the next town over. When backup arrived they talked with the first cop all excited and pointing at me and then they got the bag out of the car set it on the hood. First cop makes a grand gesture to the second one that he should retrieve the knife. He pulled it from the pocket, and with a flourish pushed the button and both of their grins turned blank as the comb swung out of its recess. I was laughing so hard the first cop had to almost scream at me to get the f out of his vehicle and get out of his sight. Best day ever. 😁
@@jaybee9269 Back then it would've likely garnered me a beatdown. There was no such thing as bodycams etc... it was far more prudent after my laughing to just get myself the hell out of their jurisdiction asap. Not to mention using a different route thereafter to go back & forth between home & the University for quite awhile. It could've gone way differently and I've always had an aversion to avoidable bruising and other physical trauma. As I said, different times...😏
Same here. When I was in elementary school, we used to make switchblades out of popsicle sticks and rubber bands. Then I saw the movie The Cross and the switchblade starting Erik Estrada and Pat Boone. I think my fascination is the sound they make when they open. Hollywood certainly capitalized on the switchblade being a weapon of choice for gangs and thugs. The clicking sound of a switchblade opening is always shown as the thing that strikes fear in the hearts of the victims. It's the featured suspense scene with (erie music in the background) in any gang or Urban movie.
I'm an aircraft mechanic and just about everyone I work around or with carries a "spring assisted opening knife" in their pocket. Funny that the beautiful Italian knives are so polarizing but every knife maker around today makes a modern equivalent. I should try and find a nice vintage example some day.
I don't know if I should laugh or sigh when I hear about laws restricting knives or any blades. I live in a country that has literally no restriction on that (a 5 year old can carry a sword and an automatic knife if he or she wants) and this is one of the safest places on the planet (a shall-issue country when it comes to firearms). We neighbor Germany which so insanely restrictive that you can't wear army pants with army jacket there because that's "military gear" and civilians can't wear that. Couple of decades ago Germany was much safer country than ours, now it is much more dangerous than ours.
Nice Video! I was a Navy brat with a father from the south and a mother from the north. It is funny that NYC with it's specific switchblade law was THE place to get one in the 1970s! I lived in SC and traveled to New York to visit family and saw one for sale in NYC. It was a newly made Italian switchblade (evidently smuggled in) and not really large but it cost nearly 20 dollars! That's why they were smuggling them because the profits were unreal. For the younger veiwers, in the 1970s, a carton of cigarettes was less than 5 dollars, gas was about 50 cents and you could get a McDonald's lunch for under 80 cents... Oh and a really nice knife like a Gerber Mark II could be had for about the same 20 dollar price point. I bought the switchblade and my cousin thought I was crazy. It seemed that the NY locals thought that they were a rip-off! When I was back in South Carolina, other kids saw my switchblade and were pleading with me to get them one, even at that price, the next time I went to NYC. a few years later, it was the early 80s and I went to visit 'up north' again. The laws must have changed because then they could be bought for around 10 dollars. That was still a little high but more reasonable. I got a little discount for buying 5 of them! I think that I paid 9 dollars each (and by then a carton of cigarettes was 7.50...) for them. I brought them home and I had kids asking me about one. I mostly just traded them for other stuff and usually got 20 dollars worth of stuff in trade. I remember having to take a pile of change to the bank once because a teenager friend of mine gave me a Mason jar of coins for one. He bagged groceries and only spent the quarters. He put the rest of his 'tips' in jars. The Jar of change turned out to be around 20 Bucks in dimes, nickels and pennies. The funniest part of the entire thing was that none of the kids (but me) even carried one around with them. In the 80s, in the South, all the kids had Buck lockblade knives that their fathers had given them. They had a knife and didn't want to risk losing their 'valuable' switchblade! Great Memories! Ya'll Take Care and be safe, John
For me the best genuine switchblade has always been a Rizzuto Stiletto with the swing guard. Legal in Florida I purchased one about 2 years ago. The weight, smooth operation and the edge the blade holds are all top notch, no wiggles or loose play. A true joy to behold.
These were Italian knockoffs made in Korea for the Tijuana tourist market in Mexico. Cheaply made with the Milano stamp to make you think they were Italian-made. But one great thing they have is the sound they make, they have a distinct sound when opening just like the Zippo lighter has when opened.
Switchblades, like the ones seen in Rebel Without a Cause, were very common in Southern California as they were brought back from Tijuana, Mexico. However, they were inferior because the blades were made of stainless steel (which does not hold a good edge). Firecrackers were also commonplace in So. California due to the supply brought back from visiting Mexico.
@@barneymiller7894 stainless steel knives tend to have better edge retention because chrome carbides are harder than iron carbides, and also because the edge can easily be affected by micro oxydation, even if the blade looks ok. Of course this is less definitive now that "carbon steels" can have vanadium or tungsten additions but still not a bad rule of thumb. Also, of course, edge holding is not important for a fighting knife, as "knife fighting" is rarely associated with slow wear "dulling" or to be more precise you need a different type of "edge holding" which is more correlated to toughness.
Very nice presentation. Pretty spot on with your info. Always loved Italian switchblades. They’ve always had a variety of cool designs like the picklocks, swivel bolsters, swinguards, shot shell pullers, leverlocks, and button open/button close. It’s nice that they’ve been making a comeback.
Just to add: they are still banned in many countries in Europe and to circumvent it a folder was created that looked the same, was near as fast to open and generally more sturdy... those have been partially been banned as well, but you can find a lot of cheap copies being smuggled in. They barely hold an edge, their locks tend to a jam in the open state, etc. But they're still decent disposable shanks.
@@opinionsvary You can do it, it just requires different set of skills. Ask a professional. I had mine resharpened by an expert (in business for 55 years back then, he retired in the age of well over 80) and it works perfectly. Although he didn't like that blade, he said it's a lot of work, so I paid him a bit extra for it and he did an amazing job.
I have a 9" stiletto that was made in the late 60's early 70's, from my research it's rare because not many of that model survived. I found it wedged under a console in a used car I bought.
As a kid, l was always fascinated with Switch Blades. Bought myself one, 43-years ago, during my honeymoon, for about US$ 10 (outside the USA). I still have it and other models of different configurations. Will pass it on to my Grand son when he gets married..👍
Great take. Im a knife collector from the UK. It is insane what has been banned over here, especially since most pound-shop kitchen knives are better weapons. As I keep reminding people. they can ban ALL knives, and then criminals will just go to the garden store and buy garden cleavers and pruning knives, because they are exempt and exist almost entirely outside of legislation.
You call a dollar store a pound shop? I barely understood that.. but British use pounds as dollars.. you are correct you get butcher knives at dollar stores.. butcher knife is right under the danger of a machete in an enemy attack.. serious danger compared to small knives.. but being very strong with a small knife or well trained in combat vs a idiot with a machete.. the small knife would do more damage.. but trained people normally are wise enough to not use their skill to do harm.. educated people are less likely to do any harms to others..
@@deathsentence87 Well said. The way I was taught is that machetes are swinging weapons for engaging at controlled range, and knives are point blank weapons which excel in scuffles. Basically, the best tactic for dealing with both is RUN and maximise the distance between you and the attacker. If you cant do that... keep the knife wielder at arms length, but bum rush the dude with a machete. Machetes are pretty poor in an entangled fight. I am happy to say I have been too busy running to ever have test the last two theories. All the best to you mate... love from Blighty
I can kill you with a bottle of water - i just need to freeze it then either attach some rope or place bottle in a cloth or bag and use it like a pool ball in a sock and cave your head in with it . But i think the sort of people who would use guns or knives to kill would end up using vehicle murder more and using wood bats with nails etc
Great presentation, thanks. Back in the 1960's, cheap, crappy, (but to us authentically dangerous looking), switchblades, or "flick-knives" as we used to call them, were the ultimate souvenir for British schoolboys on "educational" trips to France. . . Most of us just about wore the springs out playing with them, before we got home ! Nobody got stabbed ...
I am French and I bought mine for 100 francs (French currency before the euro appeared) from a cutler who had a stand in a market in 2001, I was 14 years old. The seller had trusted me in exchange for my promise not to hurt anyone. I still have this knife (I keep it open so as not to wear out the spring) and keep it carefully.
@@lithitbzh Bonsoir mon ami, Yes, I am also talking about a time when I was probably about 14. Now I am an ancient man of 70. I still have the satisfaction of owning a kind of flick knife, it has no spring to wear out though, it is a Spyderco knife, which works by flicking the blade out, one-handed, using the clever thumb-hole design that they have. It lives here on my desk, I enjoy playing with it.... I've always had knives, useful tools and just nicely made objects.... Still never stabbed anyone in all these years! haha!
@@TheKnifeLifeChannel Great info ! i wondered where they were made in Italy.My mate went on holiday to Rimini in 1970 (long before metal detectors) in airports and he smuggled a beautiful pair of Italiian flick knives back to UK one down each of his 'chelsea' boots ! I ended up with one when he emigrated to Canada 50 years ago ! ps the scene in the Magnificent Seven with James Coburn who is pestered to see who was the fastest draw, Gun or Knife always appealed to us as kids. great stuff !
I have several, from Italian stilettos to Microtech and others. The irony is that some of the spring assisted and lever action non-switchblades are as fast if not faster than switchblades,proving that the evil stigma of somehow being able to open a knife "by pushing a release mechanism" is BS.
the legal system will always do whatever it can to be able to control our lives more efficiently, see the newest "assault weapons" ban in heavy quotations that we got here in the US that congress rushed through. They don't need a logical reason, just some emotional BS they can use to justify getting rid of it :)
While the dude be posing and posturing with his knife I can draw my Gerber foldy and have it opened in less than 5 seconds . . . mr. Badass backs away growling. Damn near gave me a heart attack! 😳🤭
I have a benchmade 940 that I love, I considered getting the 9400 (switchblade version), but the 940 is so fast to deploy it is just as good as a switchblade with a little practice.
Please tell my national government this, because all our scum and lowlives are stabbing each other with kitchen knives and regular collectors have to skirt laws. I have too many stupid stories about our customs rules and knives now, some rules which appear to be applied without regularity. Any of these little spydercos that are knocking around in my room can be flipped open effectively as quick, especially if you were already planning on some dirty behavior.
I'm reminded of the line from a book on Smith and Wesson firearms: "Feel good, do nothing laws..." I wouldn't be surprised if most muggings are done with a knife made for kitchen work rather than a switchblade.
@@Adam-oh3vu Besides there are no regulations on kitchen knives. Anyone can pick one up in someone's kitchen. I remember a kid stabbing around 15 others at his school with a kitchen knife. Since it wasn't a gun, it didn't get a lot of press, but it is in the same mentality.
The blade of an Italian switchblade has been designed beautifully to slip easily between the ribs without catching on the bone. I admire it's design and indeed I have the German version myself but they really are a weapon. No amount of obfuscation can change that.
When i was a kid i had a real one till my mother found it. After it went "illegal" i just put a coat hanger on the inside as a spring. Worked perfectly.
This is absolutely fascinating. I would love to explore the relationship between this and something like the Buck 110, which came out in 1963, and was not a weapon, nor designed as a weapon, it was a hunting tool and general usage lockback knife, but nevertheless filled a void after switchblades were generally banned, and became appropriated as an outlaw biker's knife and was often used for violence, like in the Tate-LaBianca murders at the end of the 60's.
I mean that’s basically the same thing as the AR15 vs. Mini 14 debate… one was banned and one was not during the 90s despite the fact that they do basically the exact same thing, are the same caliber, can both have 30rd mags, and are semi-auto. It’s just because politicians are worthless and feel good laws do nothing to prevent actual crime.
Coincidentally, you can now get an automatic Buck 110 now, there was conversions going around for a few years (the Valloton bros would convert yours for a small fee), then Buck started producing a model of their own.
yes that was ONE knife used in the Tate murders, but the knives the girls used were never recovered, they threw them in a field and in the dark and could not remember where or so they claimed; i suspect they used fixed blade knives. another example where publicity made a basic folder look more menacing then it really is. BTW i owned a standard Buck 110 years ago and carried when i worked on a Farm: i put it through some HARD use and it held up well.
In the 90s I started noticing that you could find people on message boards that would sell you "law enforcement and military" auto knives of pretty good quality like from Benchmade. I got a few and never looked back. As to learning of switchblades, I became intrigued by them after being introduced to the book "The Cross and the Switchblade" which was a commonly assigned book to nice little suburban Christian kids in their private schools and Sunday schools in the 60s and 70s.
I have a few switch blades that my grandfathers both brought back after the war. They are just beautiful pieces of art. I also have a ss dagger and a few other items that they both brought back. My uncle who served in pacific gave me a sword and flag. I brought back from the Afghanistan war a sword and a flint lock rifle along with some Russian war trophies that my team had found in a small cave where they stored ammunition and supplies. I do enjoy having these items and they will pass on to my daughter when I die. I always wished that I had a super power, to be able to touch a item and see the entire history of that items life. I know that it sounds silly but it’s history and I just love it!!
@@BitStClair RIGHT!! When I was a kid I would go to the Battleship Massachusetts and would touch every thing I could and would imagine everything that they put into just building the ship. It’s like the engineers who build the machines that build the machine that build the MACHINES. Lol it just blows my mind sometimes that our species is so freaking capable of building such amazing things but we are living in this pile of crap right now. Sometimes I wish we would be hit by a solar storm and then reset our entire world back to the 1800’s . Lol
@@sargeinamerica if we got sent back to the 1800s you would see mass starvation across the entire world and its very unlikely you would be one of the ones to survive, as industrial production is how we literally pull nitrogen from the air to make the fertilizer that makes the crops that feed you so large and plentiful.
@@sargeinamerica I've held guns brought home from the battlefields of Europe and wondered how did it find its way to Kansas. Or a sword found in a small wooded area. Was it dropped by Coronado on his adventure to quivira?
As a blade smith I make the occasional switch on demand for a special operator. I prefer D2 for the steel not stainless. My wife and I carry switches made from leftover Damascus. That said the switch is pretty much a last ditch weapon because fixed blades even smaller ones are stronger and deploy faster.
I found a great knife shop in Rome, near a flat I was staying in for a while. Family run, multi generational. I bought several very fine folders there and a lovely switchblade which is in my collection....no problem w/ customs in SFO, they were packed in the luggage, not hidden at all. It's near Piazza Vitorio Emanuele...good gelato place near there too.
@@TheKnifeLifeChannel go past the end w/ the Roman ruins, a little shaded street, not far from the piazza, it's been too long to tell what direction. it was a well run family place, it should still be there. they had all kinds and sizes of stilettos, one was about a foot long. some w/ nice bone handles. i bought the typical teenage punk movie one w/ a black imitation bone handle. a couple of cops double parked and came in knife shopping while i was in there. lots of selection, good prices (then?)
As a German knife aficionado I can add to this very informative video that switchblades of various kinds (and rather high in quality) have been in the product range of a number of German knife manufacturers. Sadly, as the legislation not only in the US but also here in Europe went more and more restricted, most of them dropped switchblades from their product range. Hubertus is one of the few brands still producing them. It's a pity.
Here in the USA there is still a booming trade in switchblades and other automatic knives. One of my favorites is the Buck 110 push button auto, still made and sold openly today
Not nearly as rare as 20 years ago, perhaps. Lots of current makes, including Boker, which has a fairly wide range of models. Very easy to buy in the US now as most states changed their laws (also, in the last 20 years of so).
Like other commenters, I remember the ban and seeing the occasional pre-ban or smuggled switchblade. Even up to the 70s and 80s it was rare to see one and they always held that certain bad boy mystique. I have several now and still get just a little rush hearing that unmistakeable switchblade sound. Thanks for this video and the reference material link(s) Big thumbs up!
I just read up on the idiotic falsified biased glamorized news articles talking about how “dangerous and sadistic” it was and despite these morons getting shoved out of the way finally, the whole thing is just so fucking STUPID. Those articles caused that bad boy mystique you reference. If people were allowed to use super high quality and useful knives it never would have had any power over anyone
I am Italian and I only knew these knives from gangster movies but only when I started to get interested in the world of knives did I discover that they were associated with the mafia and with Italy, but it was nice to discover the origins of these knives.
As an Italian I want to give my contribution to this well done video. So about the stiletto here in Italy they still have a bad reputation because of two main facts 1- the knife general look is aggressive and the fact that the blade pops out quickly make them scary to the general public 2 - The reputation or just the old common knowledge that Sicilian mafia or general thugs use them as weapons, even if nowadays is not particularly privileged over other types of knifes during crimes activities. But apart from that the TRUE high quality Italian stiletto is as the video says a pice of art more than a weapon. And a real Italian stiletto can cost you quite an amount especially if you look for an expensive material of the handles. Anyway the stiletto is just the most famous one of many other knifes typical of my country. In Italy almost every region has a different typical knife and his relative traditional fighting style, that’s because in ancient times most people just couldn’t afford a sword so they would put their money on a shorter blade. Some other interesting Historical Italian knife are : - Knife “tre scrocchi” Probably born in the Papal state between the 18th and 19th centuries is called like that due to the characteristic audible noise when opening. These knives were the usual protagonists of the fights that animated the environment of the taverns and of the Roman village festivals. - “Pattada” a knife from Sardinia both used as a weapon but more often as an instrument during working in the farm with sheeps or other animals. It has become a true symbol of Sardinia and of Sardinian shepherd. This are just two of many other historical knife that I don’t mention because I want you to discover. Sadly all this history and especially the traditional fighting knife schools are slowing fading away.
I'm glad you enjoyed the video! I'm also incredibly grateful for pointing out the two other styles of knife; I was not aware of them! A large part of why I started the Knife Life was as a way for me to learn more about knives. People like you make it worth while. Thank-you again, and I hope to see you around the channel again!
It's funny how there are so many things that I owned as a kid that are now completely illegal in my country: Switchblades, butterfly-knives, shurikens, nunchakus just to name a few.
Thanks for this super informative video The knives have fascinated me since I was a young boy and I personally agree that they are a work of art!! There is a wonderful shop in Florence that sells them and proudly displays them in the window. When I saw them, despite being 50 at the time, I felt that childlike excitement. Just wish I had gone in and bought one though....😢
When you said politicians banned switchables in so ingenious way, we can exchange the word switchable for knife or guns or whatever. It is the same, like when swords was banned in certain countries of Europe and folding knives or daggers had an increased development. What did not change never is criminality, except for other more rational reasons.
With politicians it is all about power and control and not about deterring crime (criminals produce money and votes for politicians by keeping the court system and the criminal justice active as well as the services and institutions that deal with the victims 🤷) and more about gaining money and votes 🤷
Exactly right my friend. Thank you for thinking like the majority of us. Plus I liked switch blades because of the one Dirty Harry scotch taped to his ankle in the first movie!
Weapon bans aren't for that purpose. They are to make sure the population can't fight back whenever they dictate what is to happen. Be it swords, daggers, knives, guns, or even brass knuckles. Anything that makes you more of a threat than the oppressors is a risk they're not willing to take. It's how regimes work. Always have.
@@mblackmon7191 I had to show an id to buy a switchblade when I was 21, but a guy at a flea market sold me a bowie knife at 13, knife laws are just stupid as hell
@@TheKnifeLifeChannel I don't know what uses most people are using for EDC, but even my cheap "Lightning" brand OTF works great as an EDC knife for me. Granted, I don't baton with it or try to perform abdominal surgery, but for opening Amazon packages, removing tags from clothes, cutting cord at the Home Depot loading area or opening letters, it works beautifully and sharpens easily. Same for my various Boker autos.
I recently moved to Poland from the UK and was surprised to find that their knife laws are a lot more lenient, basically if it looks like a knife you can own and carry it. I immediately bought myself a Civivi Conspirator as a daily carry knife, which would have been highly illegal in the UK for multiple reasons, and I've just ordered myself a balisong. A decent stiletto is next on my list, and will probably end up being a Frank Beltrame 28cm model. Great video by the way, very informative.
Thanks for sharing! I'm glad you living your best Knife Life now! I'm glad you enjoyed the video and hope to see you around the channel. I just released a video on the Fairbairn Sykes knife you might find interesting. Stay safe!
The military version of the switch blade is the “tactical automatic knife.” Used primarily by paratroopers so the blade coupe deployed with one hand. It may be necessary to cut a line from your parachute that looped over your deployed canopy causing a “Mae West.” Could damage your chute and cause you a lethal problem. The military switch blade allowed you to cut the bad line. Thanks.
Are you thinking of German parachutist's gravity knives? The only one I can think of is the Nazi-era Fallschirmjager's. We Brits also used a copy of this parachutist's knife as a close-combat weapon. I'd be interested to know what American parachutists like the legendary 82nd Airborne used instead of gravity knives, for they must have used something.
I honestly just love the historical aspect to it, knives are tools at most nothing more, the variety of knives you showed definitely proved the art behind the craft.
I own a Beltrame 21 cm (8") switchblade that I bought in West Germany in 1986. The action is still working perfectly, but I keep it in a drawer so it doesn't see any use. Sweet knife, though. Thanks for the informative video!
I travelled to Mexico in 1983 as a 12 year old with my parents. My dad allowed me to buy a couple of switchblades at a market in Guadalajara. I remember carefully rolling them up in my dirty socks in my suitcase to smuggle them back into the US. I was so clever to think that a customs agent wouldn't want to touch my dirty socks, and I was right- we got them through. My friends were extremely impressed by my outlaw tactics.
In Georgia the city of Atlanta was trying to pass a law regulating blade length and blade locking to criminalize carrying a knife. So the State legislature passed a law legalizing locking blades, switchblades and multi tools statewide ! The law also forbade local restrictions.
I'm 61 now and have been fascinated by switchblades since my first one at 13. It was a Winchester knife and the body of the knife looked similar to a fish. I have about 7 switchblades now and plan to get more.
For everyone planning to come in Rome, if you visit the "Fontana di Trevi" square (eventually you will), on the north side of the street leading away (via del lavatore, if i'm not mistaken), there is a shop about 20 meters in, that can be mistaken for a cosmetics little vendor, they actually sell stilettos from Maniago (the original place of birth of the knife). They come in 3 sizes, they also have OTF made in Italy knives. I highly suggest you guys to check the place. They just sell them, no documents, IDs, nothing.
@ The Knife Life @ I had several swing lock switchblades when growing up. I suspect they were Chinese made for the handle was clear plexiglass with a gold dragon in bedding . Please do a video on swing backs made in other countries .
I live in the great state of Texas and several years ago they did away with all knife laws so I carry a double action OTF dagger blade knife in my strong side pocket in front of my 9mm holster, yep that’s the rest of the story. No increase in drive by knifing’s at all. Ninety five percent of knife killings here are committed with kitchen knives, not with ones that have buddons.
I honestly think double action OTF's are the safest pocket knives. The vast majority of pocket knife injuries are caused by the user accidentally closing the blade on their finger which is impossible with an OTF. No risk of accidentally dropping it on your foot while you unfold it either.
In NJ, where almost everything is illegal, I've wondered why the law calls out switchblades and gravity knives but says nothing about spring-assisted opening knives. Politics explains it. I can open my spring-assist just as fast as a switchblade, but it's completely legal. That is, it's legal as long as I don't use it as a weapon, then it's illegal.
@@Dieafreak Wym, Knife is the best weapon. Sword or any longer blade need a swing and distant. While knife is easy to carry. You can swing, thrust, slice, cut. Any movement is gurantee hit. Even in close quarter you have option.
During the late 60's early 70's , my dad was a detective in the Spanish Harlem district of New York he ran into only two common blades THE second popular was the improvised blades( I.E shanks, shivs, usually made of wood, glass, ECT) The most widely use and confiscated were not even knives, but a tool for shaving........ The straight razor
Very interesting! Thanks for sharing! Shaving razors have fallen out of fashion these days, but the improvised blades like you mentioned are still widespread these days.
The best thing about banning switchblades is that it spurred on designs for assisted knives. I'm fifty and have loved switchblades since I was a kid but I still learnt a couple of things from this video. Great work.
@@TM_Stone Not in the leftist hellhole cities and states. I can still open or conceal carry without asking official permission, in my state, but those rights are probably going away soon if the vile regressives get their way. I saw some lightweight switchblades at a smoke shop that looked like the old Italian design but functioned totally different from the old design. They come with a pocket clip attached too. Theres so many different designs of "spring assisted" knives these days it's amazing.
I remember getting a stiletto "kit" in the mail and putting it together. The quality was crap and I have since procured a real one but at the time it was cool to have nonetheless.
I've had a couple of what used to be called cow comb switchblades when I was a kid lol. They look like an italian switchblade but have a comb instead of a knife blade
The problem of banning certain things were made possible by popular culture and the bad image. Can you kill with a paring knife? 18 inch kitchen knife? A screwdriver? The police in my country made a particular ban on the artisan "rambo"1 knife, because it was too dangerous. The reason being was an asylum seeker that had a backgound in boxing suddenly decided that he needed to buy a 150- 200 dollar knife to stab and kill everyone on the trolley that he used off and on. And the week after it happened, that artisan knife was illegal by name. You can buy the "rambo"2 knife, but the 1, you are prohibited to own.
@@TheKnifeLifeChannel Crazy is what come to mind in banning the entire type of knife by one incident. Imagine one murder preformed by a Mora or a Victorinox and all knives made in a similar facion was banned? It is insane.. Thank you for your reply, The Knife Life.
Flick knives have been illegal (therefore fascinating) since ‘58 in the UK, I think most men have owned one, but they don’t last long. Street knife crime is mostly perpetrated with kitchen cutlery nowadays, in fact a lot of what are sold as kitchen knives would be much more suitable for crime than the kitchen !
This video is very interesting, and appreciated. I've subscribed, despite your not asking to. I don't like folk who ask viewers to subscribe on first encounter with channel. Especially when they ask at the beginning. The switchblade that I own, for some decades now, is small, and antiquated.
The Italian switchblade I had back in the 60s would fold back on itself if used to try to cut something, plus the blade was very poor steel. A Spanish one I owned later was far superior, had a better mechanism and I used it for many years as a utility knife. A good switchblade is excellent for work, because it can be opened with one hand while managing the workpiece with the other. Forty years ago they were ubiquitous in Spain, even saw a mother cutting apples for her children with one on a train. We Americans are so tech-centric we get things backwards & foolishly blame the tools instead of the criminals. It is an unfortunate weakness.
Awesome video!! I’ve had switchblades since I was a child, many years later, today, I just picked one up again at a local corner store, it is just like the first one I ever purchased, such fun!!
The switchblade was one of many melee weapons threatening the end of civilization as we know it hysteria; Bowie Knives in the 1840s, switchblades in the 1950s, Nunchakus in the 1970s, and balisongs in the 1980s.
It's worth mentioning, NY didnt ban switchblades. Having a valid hunting or fishing license allows you to own a switchblade AND carry it off of your property while hunting or fishing or on your way to hunt or fish. I live in NY, and I always take my switchblade out to fish. Nail clippers are usually more practical for trimming knots and cutting lines while fishing, but I am out there to have fun, and switchblades bring a fun factor that nail clippers dont.
Problem : Complex social issue of delinquent young males. Solution : Ban switchblades - problem solved! Seriously though, I'm glad at least some politicians admitted that it was an empty gesture. I bought one of these in 1987 as a defensive carry (and because they were cool). It took me about five minutes to work out that almost any fixed blade steak knife was better for self defense.
i bought one maybe 22 years ago in Italy and still have it. Even though the spring broke recently and now it's in permanent open position as a tool knife (with chipped point). It has no labels at all, but the steel quality is actually very good! It stays sharp for a very long time and it doesn't rust (unlike the spring). I even used to throw it at wooden target when i was younger (and dumber) and it took that punishment (apart from the chipped point...). ...I remember i wanted a longer model, but the guy at the street refused to sell it to me and said some thing like "you don't need a longer one, this is good enough for you". I think it was in Venice.. Cool video, brings memories))
As a treatise on Italian switchblades, this was very well done. However, it ignores the fat that they were sold by many companies in many other countries well before WW2. Camillus, as an example, held the contract for the US military to produce the Army Parachute knife, a sturdy, workman's blade, spring activated, for removing one's self from the shrouds should you be dangling from a tree, etc. Sheffield also produced one whose guards formed a shell remover for either a 28 gauge shotgun or a .577 Snider rifle. This had a 5 inch, straight edged, spear point blade and is the best example I can think of to show. This is not a critique but merely the mention that it sounded as if the switchblade had been born there.
I'm glad you enjoyed the video, and thank-you for your critique! This video is intended solely to address the Italian Switchblade, not switchblades in general. You are absolutely correct though, the switchblade has existed longer than the Italian switchblade, and has numerous offshoots on the family tree leading to the US, England, Germany, France, and elsewhere. At some point I'd like to do a video on American switchblades, and potentially a video on Switchblades at large.
For the particular knife in the video, yes. It is a pivot bolster design which I address later in the video. But the earliest switchblades didn't have the pivoting bolster to help unlock them. The bolster was soldered firmly into place and you had to unlock it with your thumbnail. These earliest versions are called "picklocks."
Good video! Swich blades in general are definitely making a comeback now we have cool stuff like buck 110 swich blades (we as in general because I haven't dropped $300 on one lol) thanks for the great info! 👍🏻
Back in the 1990's there was a guy at gun shows selling his American made automatic knives: Rob Dalton knives. I still have some with G10 scales and are rock solid..He had a lot of innovative designs.
When I was in Italy I specifically looked for a high quality made switch blade but they were all cheaply made ones that looked like they were made in China. Custom American automatic knifes are much better quality.
Would love to see more on the lever lock history. The quality a of the side button "Stiletto " was hit or miss. Nothing worse than having one spring open in your pocket due to a weak lock spring and the button getting pushed by accident. I believe the lever lock was an answer to this.
My brother brought one home from Italy when he was in the Air Force. I have it now. Big thing with a stag handle. My 25 year old daughter wanted it. I said if you can push that button down and make it come open, you can have it. She couldn't push the button down hard enough.
@@TheKnifeLifeChannel Since 25 States are now considered "constitutional carry" meaning no permits to carry firearms, it's sort of stupid to tell people they are free to carry almost any type of firearm you can think of but you can't carry a switchblade, a bowie knife, Arkansas toothpick or tomahawk.
This video actually made me feel better. I have two WWII bring back Italian switchblades from my paternal grandfather. One is mother of Pearl, quite beautiful, but the blade snapped off just above the tang during careful sharpening. I took it to a knife maker and he said he couldn't reforge the blade because the steel was too low quality. He made me a replacement blade, which looks quite nice with some aging.
It’s the first time I’ve seen one of your videos… Really well done and I enjoy your commentary. (I’m not a big fan of commentary unless it’s Well done… Like yours!) Great job.
For many years I have routinely gone to gun and knife shows where switchblades are rather common. I have owned a few and they are in excellent condition but as a fighting knife many of these are cheap made with steel that is of average quality and nothing compared to the Solingen steel of Germany. Switchblades have a cool factor but as a fighting knife I think that a quality fixed blade knife would be preferable. I have never heard of anyone being arrested for carrying a switchblade knife although states vary in their laws.
The best way to win a knife fight is to not get in one. The second best way to win a knife fight is to have a gun. I agree though, as an absolute last ditch self defense option i think a 3-5 inch fixed blade with a full tang is the best choice.
In ww11 American paratroopers had pocket knife looking switch blades in a pocket by their neck in the m42 jump jacket . A regular blade and a hook blade for cutting shroud lines on the parachutes.
For anyone wanting to bring a switch blade home, remove the spring if possible and then put the spring on your carry on. I have done this many times with no trouble.
I would like to own a Frank B or maby an AGA Campolin, but I live in Germany…every switchblade above 3.35 Inches of Blade is illegal…it’s a crime to own one. Makes absolutely no sence to me, behause I own a one-Hand-folder that is like a stiletto with a blade of 6“ 😂🤷🏻♂️ It opens wayyy faster by pulling it out of my pocket, than any switchblade could 😅
I agree that it makes no sense as well; often these laws have little grounding in reason. I would also think that Frank B and Latama would offer shorter versions to get around such laws. Thanks for commenting: I'm always glad to hear from Germany: you guys have a very rich history in cutlery, and I'm planning on making my way out there to do some videos at some point in the future!
Is that a relatively recent change in the law? I'm in the UK where we've never been allowed to own switchblades, but the very first time I went abroad I picked up an Italian switchblade and I could swear I bought it in Germany. (Though it may have been Belgium.) This would have been 1973 or 74. If I remember correctly, it fell apart after I owned it for a few weeks. But I was relatively poor and couldn't afford an expensive model.
I remember in Germany when one could go to the local knife store and purchase a high quality Hubertus switchblade. Even many ladies carried them because opening didn’t damage their fingernails. Back in the 1970’s most Germans carried a knife.
There seems to be a huge history of people blaming the item instead of the person for social problems. Side note, love that these knives and knuckles and such are legal in Texas.
Yes, off and on, I've sent letters to Congress representatives stating I have an assault rifle. It has a bolt action, holds 8 rounds and the German military invaded several nations using it. I have used it on elk.
Knife laws are as useless as gun laws. They are usually called for by citizens in high places with political clout who have had a relative killed by a certain type of knife. In the State of Maryland dirks and daggers are illegal because in the 1800s some prominant citizen was stabbed to death by an assassin with one. Most people are murdered with kitchen knives which won't be banned because they are necessities. The dagger, dirt, switchblade are certainly no more deadly than a hunting knife, bowie knife, butcher knife, or kitchen knife. Politicians are notorious for making silly pointless laws that make them look like they are earning their pay, even when they are not. Criminals do not obey laws.
I'm glad you enjoyed the video and I hope to see you around the channel! If you like the book you should check out Neil's (the authors) other books, as well as the podcast he is on!
My absolute favorite homage to the Italian stiletto switchblade is the modernized Protech Godfather and Godson series. Protech’s build quality is superb and it shows in the materials they use. They fire the blade very strong and snappy which makes me happy😊
I love Pro-Tech as well! I did a couple videos on them for Blade HQ, and have an interview with them from last Blade show as well! Thanks for commenting! I hope to see you around the channel again!
I have a butterfly knife I bought from Spain which is illegal to buy and sell, or carry at all here in the UK. It is however legal to possess as long as it's kept at home and never leaves the home.
The popularity the switch blade initially popular with fishermen and sailors to cut rope or net especially in an emergency when both hands could not be free. These usually have a hole on the base for a lanyard. When at sea, you always have a knife if you are working with canvas and rope or nets and traps. Being dragged into the sea is a real emergency.
![The BANNED Italian Switchblade! [What You Need To Know]](/img/logo.svg){kind=logo}
