Rare folding knives for your enjoyment

[Chris Evans]

Originally Posted by Interested Party

Thanks Chris. Perla y Forton has been on my list for a while but has been repeatedly push back. Rereading the 2017 was very helpful. I had not stumbled onto that Wiki thread before. It is helpful.

Hi,

The typical traditional Spanish navaja had a lock that consisted of am encased back-spring with one end flattened into which a rectangular slot was cut. This slot engaged with a notch on the heel of the blade and is called `cierre/cerradura de ventana translating as ` window lock' and remains in use to this day.

This locking mechanism could be at times difficult to release and in the last quarter of the 19th century a ring was attached to the back-spring so as to facilitate lifting it away from the notch and thus allowing the blade to close - this modification came to be referred to as `cierre de anillo' or ring lock, a misnomer because the ring effected the release and not the locking.

Towards 1900 the back spring was made out of sheet steel and mounted on the exterior shoulder of the handle and is known as `muelle de teja' loosely translatable as `roof tile back-spring'. To facilitate closure, a small lever was attached to the back-spring, which allowed it to be easily lifted from the notch of the blade, and this little lever is know as a `palanquilla'. So in total, this arrangement is known as `muelle de teja con palanquilla'.

I must mention that another form of locking the blade also existed, that of the rotating ferrule, as found on modern Opinel folders, and known as `virola giratoria'. This lock did not find much favor and only a small number of navajas were made with it.

Cheers
Chris