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Post by hfinn on Feb 5, 2023 14:09:44 GMT
Hello
Thank you for accepting me on this forum. As some of you might notice, I am also on Bladeforums. I am searching a Spanish navaja, hope you can help. I registered on the Spanish shop Filofiel, as they seem to have a good selection of Navajas. The quality of those knives, as I have read, can be a bit low. For example, J.J Martinez, that is otherwise highly regarded maker, uses 420 MOVA steel that is considered a low end steel. Other makers don't really tell what steel they use, it is just "stainless".
I bought a Joker pastora knife from where I live and was less than impressed. The lock system was flimsy and rattled. The blade was usable but cheap steel. Bone handle was acceptable.
Can anyone give information about navajas that are of acceptable quality? I prefer Albacetena or Machete style, blade length 100 - max 150 mm. Also I am interested about your experiences with Filofiel shop.
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Post by randomnobody on Feb 5, 2023 17:48:33 GMT
I've bought several J.J. Martinez navaja from Filofiel and they're among my favorite knives. I carry one in my pocket every day, a second-generation I bought after wearing down the edge on my first one, obsessively over-sharpening it before I learned about honing and stropping. I carried that knife for five years and used it for everything, including shaving twice a week. I also have a 9cm bandolera, I think, from Joker that I carried for a few years, but never used, so I stopped. It was a great knife, but I just didn't use it. At the same time I also carried a knife from Martinez Albainox, bought from Aceros de Hispania, that saw use as my "dirty" knife. Scraping, prying cutting things I didn't want to use my more expensive knives for (this one cost 9€ when I bought it) and it took every bit of abuse in stride. I lost it one day and haven't seen one in stock anywhere since. Here's a review I did, feels like a hundred years ago, of the handful of navaja I acquired during a buying spree: sbg-sword-forum.forums.net/thread/22534/selection-spanish-knives-quot-carracaFrom what I understood at the time, I don't know how much this has changed since, Exposito was pretty much the big name for quality, affordable knives. There are dozens of makers, though. I'm less impressed by my Albacete and Celaya than my Martinez Albainox and J.J. Martinez, and while Joker doesn't really hold a great reputation within the traditional navaja community (remember, "navaja" is just the Spanish word for any folding knife; any Buck or Benchmade are also "navaja" in this sense, but I'm separating the traditional Spanish designs here), I quite like mine. Oh, and while it's been a few years since I've bought from Filofiel, every time I did, Oscar was a pleasure to deal with via email, which was a requirement as their online shopping cart system only works within the EU, and I am not within the EU. I used PayPal, via invoices Filofiel sent me after confirming my order by email. A bit clunky in the modern world, but not inconvenient.
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Post by hfinn on Feb 6, 2023 8:02:45 GMT
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Post by hfinn on Feb 6, 2023 8:11:50 GMT
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Post by randomnobody on Feb 6, 2023 22:34:16 GMT
Oh yeah, I forgot Filofiel deals in pre-owned, too. Customs and other one-offs from time to time, as well. Years ago, I bought a work buddy one of J.J. Maritnez' bigger arabe, in stag, for his birthday. I'd gotten him one of the 10cm models, but somebody "borrowed" it and returned it broken, so I bought him another, plus the big one, for the occasion. I forget how big, but I think it might have been engraved, as well. Bought another guy a J.J. Martinez sevilana, I think. Not my favorite style, but it was a well-made knife. I also have this one, and use it occasionally in the kitchen: www.filofiel.com/en/folding-blades/all-folding-blade/j-j-martinez-arabe-siglo-xviii-anillaI don't think I spent that much on it, though?
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