French handmade(?) Knives

[ub40]

Hello Everyone,

My first post here or anywhere knife related. I have a starter knife collection mostly US made factory made pieces. I was going to focus on US made stuff but I was in south of France last month and saw a couple of hand made looking knives. I'm wondering if someone could ID or have more info on these:



The blades looks to be non stainless steel. Both are non-locking, meaning the blade would stay in open position but with enough force, it can be folded back without undoing a locking mechanism.

Thanks in advance.

Regards,
Robert

[knife7knut]

Welcome to the forums Robert!
Those knives are a bit interesting and look to be pretty well constructed.Can't read the name on the first one but it looks like Jacques is part of the logo.
The second one(Aizto)looks to have a stylized swastika as a shield emblem.Not sure of that significance but the emblem was used for many years on native American decorations.As a retired sign artist I have a book that shows a number of variations on this symbol although I must say that is a new one to me.
Sorry I can't offer any input on the makers but I'm sure someone on the forum here will chime in if they have any info.

[jerryd6818]

A little research shows "aizto" is the Basque word for knife. Judging from the style, I'm going to guess you have at least one Basque type knife there. Since the Basque region straddles the French/Spanish border, it's not unreasonable to assume that since the knife was purchased in France, it was made in France. Good pictures of all markings on them would help

[Froggyedge]

Interesting knives. I've never seen any of them before, but the handle shapes seem to fit well the information about southern France and the Basque region, close to the Spanish border. Many traditional Spanish knives have a similar handle shape.

That swastika made me curious. The swastica is an ancient symbol known for hundreds, if not thousands of years, and was definitely not invented by the German Nazi Party. But because we almost automatically get pictures of Hitler and marching nazis in our heads when we see something swastika-like, the symbol is not often seen on products today...

[trail]

Not really a swastika but a traditional Basque symbol, the Lauburu or 4 headed cross. This goes back to pre-Christian times and is distinctly different from the many Christian era crosses of Europe, (Celtic Cross, Maltese Cross, etc.) This symbol is common all over the Basque region. Great knives. They could make the basis for a really distinctive collection.

[ub40]

Thanks for all the infos.

More info: The mark on the top one is Le Jacquet, next to it is a shell with a pair of crossed swords behind the shell.
The bottom one "aizto" has no other marking, though the back ribs( I dont know what to call it but its the metal sandwiched between the wood handles) has carved waves that runs the length of the handle.
I did some research and also came up with Aizto being Knife in Basque.
Interesting about the cross, I thought it was something but swatika wasnt the first one on my thought, now I can see where it can be.

Now if I can find out who made these, I dont thnk they are one-offs because of the presence of the marking.
Also, whats a good sealant to keep the metal parts from rusting?

Regards,
Robert

[trail]

Sounds like you are describing file work on the backspring. Lots of custom knife builders do that to add to the beauty of the knife. Check out the custom knife forums elsewhere on AAPK to see.

I wax my knives with Flitz (Ren Wax is also popular) and put a drop of light machine oil on the joints. Then I put them in cloth rolls and store them in a cool, dry, dark place and take them out frequently to check them.

[Froggyedge]

Not really a swastika but a traditional Basque symbol, the Lauburu or 4 headed cross. This goes back to pre-Christian times and is distinctly different from the many Christian era crosses of Europe, (Celtic Cross, Maltese Cross, etc.) This symbol is common all over the Basque region. Great knives. They could make the basis for a really distinctive collection.

Interesting!
Never heard about the Lauburu...
The symbol seems to have been used in the region for more than 22 centuries!
http://swastika-info.com/en/startpage/a ... 13818.html

[john6553]

Hello ub40 aka Robert,
Go to Google and search the name Aizto. You'll find some junk, but you'll also find some info on your knife. Good luck and welcome to the forum. I just joined on 9/8/10. This is a very cool forum . Your two knives are really nice pieces to add to your collection .
John

[stancaiman]

effectively it's the basque symbol (nothing related to svastika) - this symbol can be find every where in the "pays basque"

the AIZTO knife is an industrial product, i'm not able to find where (probably thiers),

for the first it's a "Le Jacquet" knive, it's also an industrial product, his profil is not specific to the south west of france : this kind of profil is used in Italy, Spain, France and so on - it's originaly a knife used by shepherd in these country
the handle are made with olive wood -

for the two knives blades, stainless steel is used ,

these two knives are cheap (around 10€ so 8$)