Right now, I think the most traditional, affordable hand made from scratch switchblades come from Sardinia and start at very near 1K American and on up. Most are made on a per order basis and the workmanship is impeccable; they are of the picklock design which is possibly one of the oldest forms of locking blade along with the Navaja.
If I recall correctly switchblades have been around since at least the American Civil War era. Some of the true antiques are beautiful examples of the Cutlers' art.
Many very nice antique ones came from England.
I carried a modern one in my toolbox with a Tanto style blade when I was doing exterior painting on old houses because if there is a chunk of built-up paint at the limit of your reach thirty feet in the air on an extension ladder an auto knife comes in very handy indeed.
