Swimming With The Dolphin

Collecting factory knives is the definition of jumping down the rabbit hole.

I recently obtained a 7-inch switchblade with a tang stamp ‘Dolphin D.M.’ I checked the few hard copy resources I have, but they were of little or no help.

My newest auto

Where does one go when you need information?

I used to go to public or university libraries, but in today's world, you try the Internet. It was quickly revealed that the company is called Dolphin D.M. and is in Maniago, Italy.  Oh!

Well defined tang stamp,  Note the meaning on the pivot 

I think of Maniago as a factory city. Orders for cutlery are spread out into the community, and different cutlers make knives to a general specification. Every cutler does it differently, so knives might be slightly different in length or with a different finish. The blades are stamped the same, and Bang!  Bob's your uncle!

Speaking of Bob, I want to thank my friend Bob for his insights on Italian switchblades.

Locking tab and blade stud

Dolphin D.M. is the brainchild of two men, Francesco Mariani and Lucio DeBon. Lucio DeBon is the acknowledged expert on natural scales in Maniago, and he is patronized by all the local makers.

The tang stamp has two dolphins, DeBon is the larger of the two. He has hand-selected the scale material used by all the shops making Dolphin D.M. By now you should be guessing that DeBon is the D. in the logo.

Francesco Mariani, I'm told, is the marketing guy at Dolphin D.M. He is the little dolphin on the tank stamp and the M in the logo.

But who actually made the knife? Here's the rub. You must guess based on workmanship. Francesco Mariani Dolphin's website states, "We collaborate with some of the most talented Italian master knife makers, including Renzo Pascotto, Giovanni Beltrame, Lelle Floris and many others."

5-pin back    Lovely stag, isn't it?

The locking hole is round and doesn't go through the ricasso. That eliminates some makers. The back of the knife has five brass pins, which I'm told is special. It is a picklock (the slang term 'pickle' sent me in circles for a while), and the ears are solid. The brass frame is continuous and follows the ears, but you can see machine marks and slight overgrind. The foot or J at the end of the back spring shows heavy grind marks.

Grind marks... I can't help wonder if 30 seconds more work would have eliminated the marks and increased the value?  

 The ones I see on the Internet read Made in Italy   Note the open "O" in Maniago

The stag scales are beyond lovely, and they should be as they were hand-selected by Lucio DeBon.

I like the deep color on quality stag

The tang stamp is interesting. All the internet images I could find read, 'Made in Italy,' not 'Maniago Italy' with an open 'O' resembling a backward 'C.' I'm unable to determine when that was changed. I'm told the company started in October 2023, and my knife resembles what was made in the fall of 2024.

The knife has minor pocket wear, and of course, the blade is dull enough to be considered unsharpened, a common feature of many Italian switchblades. I'm delighted with it. It's a nice little knife that fits in my small collection well.

The question everyone wonders about, with good reason, is, "What's it worth?" Did I get a deal or taken to the cleaners? You know the answer if you have been in the collecting market for long. It's worth what the last person paid for it.  What you paid for it.