![]() And the fact that both of these family-owned behemoths still exist and craft many of the same knives that made them famous is impressive in its own right. Opinel and Victorinox are by no means the Alpha and the Omega of the pocket knife world, but their overall influence and well-earned respect cannot go without mention - as, together, they changed the landscape of the knife world forever. And the Baratero knife-fighting style is practiced by modern aficionados of the old form of combat to this day. That knife, the navaja (derived from the Latin word for razor), is one of the oldest slipjoint folding knife styles still in production today. In his book Sevillian Steel, James Loriega notes a popular style of folding knife that was used in a form of Spanish knife-fighting (called el Baratero) by gypsies ( Gitanos, alternatively) who would frequently rob unsuspecting travelers. Unfortunately, because of its ability to be easily concealed, the slipjoint folding pocket knife also became the favored weapon of bandits and thugs, especially in places where there were strict laws regarding the carrying of guns, swords, and/or fixed-blade knives - such as Spain during the rule of King Ferdinand VII. Slipjoint folding knives became widely popular with scholars and authors, to the point that they were referred to as penknives, for their usefulness in thinning and pointing quills for use in writing. Undeniably a titanic influence on pocket knives and a major part of their advancement, the slipjoint is still widely used today - even by more recently established modern knife makers, such as The James Brand. ![]() ![]() The SlipjointĪccording to Simon Moore in his book, Penknives and Other Folding Knives, the slipjoint - a mechanism that uses spring tension to keep a pocket knife blade extended - was invented sometime around the mid-1600s in England. In fact, it is said that these kinds of folding knives - also known as penny, peasant, or farmer knives - were a popular tool throughout both the Viking and Medieval periods, especially amongst craftsmen and in agrarian communities. For example, the Vikings created their own swiveling friction folders with iron blades and carved bone handles around the 8th to the 11th centuries. In other parts of the world - even before the complete collapse of the Roman empire - several cultures had developed their own versions of compact folding knives. Such examples can be traced back as far as 43 CE. Archaeological digs have elicited examples of ornate 'friction folders' - a folding knife whose blade is held in place by the grip of the wielder due to an extended tang (a projection from the base of the blade) - made from metals such as copper, iron, and steel. With the rise of the Roman Empire came a multitude of technological advances throughout the known world. While folding knives remained much the same in regards to form, the quality of materials and designs improved. They consisted of a very plain handle and a somewhat unwieldy blade attached via a simple hinge - with no lock nor spring to keep it closed and/or open of which to speak. What can be said is that these knives were fairly primitive in their construction. The 'jackknife' - an alternative term for a very basic folding knife - is said to originate somewhere in the Germanic regions of Europe, north of Italy, and dates back to between 600 and 500 BCE, though the evidence is hard to substantiate. What you may not know, however, is that the story of the pocket knife is thousands of years in the making and dates back further than the Roman Empire. ![]() And, though common conception would like to dictate otherwise, they are more practical tool than deadly weapon. The handles are most often composed of metal, synthetics, and/or naturally occurring materials like wood or stone. Typically, their blades fall between 2-6 inches in length and are made of some type of steel alloy. And the most common iteration is the folder - a knife which has the ability to collapse into itself for easy, convenient, and safe portability. Forgive us for stating the obvious, but the term 'pocket knife' refers to a handled blade which can be carried within a person's pocket. ![]()
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