Follow me and we’ll jump down the rabbit hole of Italian switchblades, specifically Frank Beltrame.
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| Of interest is the oval locking hole |
First, the disclaimer. Knife companies change names and tang stamps
like crazy. It can be fun for active
collectors trying to get all the variations, but it's hell for someone with a
single knife wondering who, what, when, and the big F. Yeah, is it a fake?
I'm trying to just give you a
family rundown of who is involved with Beltrame switchblades. The best source I've found is http://stiletto-italiano.com/eng/beltramefamily.htm. In fact, everyone seems to be copying from
this.
I prefer the term switchblade for
the classic Italian automatic knife.
Other people may make autos, but for me, switchblades come from Italy, probably
Maniago, Italy.
It starts following World War II.
Vittorio Beltrame starts a knife company
called Beltrame Vittorio & Figli Company. Vittorio has four boys and three
daughters. The boys are Carlo, Danilo,
Luciano and Ivano and they come to work for Vittori. The daughters, I assume, are married off. They used several different tang stamps, but
only the switchblades were stamped BV&F.
Ivano is blessed with the birth
of a son, Francesco (Frank) in 1941 and later with a second son, Armando in
1947.
All I could find out about other cousins
was Danilo's son Renzo started a knife company in 1970 and went bankrupt in
1990. But we are ahead of ourselves.
BV&F starts making
switchblades in 1958. In 1961, Armando
Beltrame started his knifemaking job under his father Ivano’s direction at Beltrame
Vittorio & Figli Company.
In 1969, Ivano dies. I can't find out anything about the founder,
Vittorio at this time. The death of
Ivano seems to trigger a crisis in BV&F. They go out of business. In 1970, Frank forms a new company making
knives. He names it F.lli Beltrame
F&A and used the tang stamp ‘b Rostrie’.
The family insist that knives marked B Rostrie are fakes.
Frank brings in new machinery and
improves quality and production. This
forces the rest of the Maniago cutlery community to address quality issues. Later, when the market is flooded with cheap
knockoffs and phony tang stamps, quality becomes the touchstone buyers use to
identify genuine Italian switchblades.
Starting in 1975 Armando comes to
work for his brother, Frank. This
continues until 1996.
The world market is expanding and
opportunities are ripe for the taking.
Frank develops the Atlas Kit, which is a switchblade without the
spring. The kit also includes a spring
so the user can install it themselves.
This gets them around US import laws.
1990 finds Frank starting to import small switchblades to Germany to
comply with their knife laws.
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| My newest Frank Beltrame found at the Lehigh Show |
While all this is happening, two
of Frank’s children, Ivano (named for his grandfather) and Sara become part of
the company in 1994.
You’re wondering why I thought it
was complicated? Well, it's about
to.
In 1996, Frank divides the
company into two separate companies.
One is mABer Coltellerie (sounds familiar? See Frank’s brother Armando). They use, it's reported several tang stamps,
‘AB ITALY’, ‘AB ITALY INOX’, ‘AB STILETTO ITALY’. Armando is in control of this company.
The other company is Fratelli
Beltrame F&C. Fratelli can be translated
as Brothers. They use the tang stamp, ‘Frank
b Italy’. Ivano and sister Sara still work
for Frank at Fratelli Beltrame F&C.
So, here's one plot
complication. Both mABer Coltellerie and
Fratelli Beltrame F&C work in the same building. One must wonder how separate the knife lines
are. Do they share machinery? Parts? Workers?
How different are the knives?
Could a stamped blade end up on the wrong handle?
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| Found at the WRCA MAPS Museum Show |
I have no idea.
And what happened to Frank’s
cousin, Renzo whose knife company went bankrupt in 1990? I couldn't find evidence of a tang stamp,
but it is out there. I have found
images of what people report to be Renzo Switchblades, but the tang stamp
simply says 'Made in Italy.' I don't
know how valid that claim is.
Uncles Luciano, Danilo and Carlo
also worked for their father and founder, Vittorio, but they seem to have
disappeared into the mist.
Thanks to the Internet, I can
find numerous postings assuring me that the Italian switchblade they bought is
authentic with a wide and wooly range of tang stamps. While there are a few grainy photos of
stamps, most are unsupported claims that ‘Frank B Rostrie’, ‘b’, ‘B’ and
‘Beltrame’ are all legit tang stamps.
Perhaps, in one sense they are.
They are stamps and they are on tangs.
Clearly the market popularity is
driving fakes, clones and frauds into the market. Buyer beware!
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| Horn Handled 11 inch switchblade from Frank Beltrame |
All of this leads me to my new Italian switchblade with an almost translucent blond horn handle made by Fratelli Beltrame F&C. The tang stamp reads ‘Frank B Italy’, which is reported to be the current tang stamp for Fratelli Beltrame F&C. It's a quality knife and I really enjoy it.
This entire rabbit hole expedition
was the result of several conversations I had with my friend Bob about Italian switchblades. As I like to say, it's a dull boy who can't
learn something new!
