Tourist MT/Knife shopping suggestions in Budapest, Hungary (pic heavy)

[comis]

Tourist Knife/MT shopping suggestions in Budapest, Hungary


Hi, everyone. 

This is an unofficial guide for tourists' knife/MT shopping in Budapest, Hungary.  It is merely based on my own tourist experience during Dec, 2013, and by no means an exhaustive list.  Do view these as my humble service to those who has a little time to visit, and like to do a little knife/MT buying on the side.  If anyone could provide better guidance, do feel free to furnish the thread.

To begin, I like to thank those who had made suggestions on my travelling thread and also different writeups I found on this forum and Blade forum.  The following shop names/addresses should be accurate.  But if I have mistaken it, again feel free to jump in and correct me.


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Budapest

I have visited Budapest for three days, and it was a wonderful experience.  People are very polite and honest, and the great hospitality I received everywhere was very heart warming.
I did visit the following places, and do recommend them for anyone who is making a short trip:

Matthias Church
Szechenyi Chain Bridge
Buda Castle
Central Market
Hungarian Parliament






A gentleman setup a 'ancient weapons range' somewhere very close the entrance of the museum, and if you are interested, you could try to shooting arrows/throwing spears/suriken for fun 












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Knife/MT shopping in Budapest
Mostly I was looking for local themed SAKs and traditional knives made in Hungary.  Special thanks go to Enki_ck and Dks, I was able to find the following two locations to acquire what I like.   





Szankovits Tibor
The Central Market Hall (Nagyvásárcsarnok)
IX. district Vámház krt. 1-3
Second level, first cross-bridge
Open:
Mondays: 9 a.m. - 5 p.m.
Tuesday to Friday: 9 a.m. - 6 p.m.
Saturday: 9 a.m. – 3 p.m
http://keseshaz.hu/index.php?plang=en
(Website has a phone number for the museum, but you probably could confirm their hours and location there)











This traditional Hungarian knife shop is found on second floor, the first bridge/cross alley in the Central market.  Get off at Kalvin ter station, and you should be able to walk there 5-10min(towards the bridge, approx 350 SW of the station on google map).  The shop probably close early(5-6pm?), so do call or go early if you plan to visit.

Most products are offered in 440C.  Small knife costed me about 23000HUF and mid size 30000HUF.  If you are really interested, I strongly urge you to inspect the products before buying.  Since they are all handmade, some of the knives I found them chipped/uneven grind/loose play.  But if you are into traditional folders, this is a place to shop for sure. 






Extrametal
WestEnd City Center
1069. Budapest
Váci út 1-3.
Nyitvatartás:
H-Cs:10-20
P-Sz: 10-21
V: 10-19
Telefon: (+36 1) 238 73 89
http://www.extrametal.hu/
http://extrametal.hu/inde...hp?main_page=uzlethalozat



















Extrametal can be found once exit the station and enter the lowest level of West end city(bearing left at the split).  It is a hardcore knife shop and carries all commonly known US/Europe brands of knives.  I found Hungarian themed SAK are made in two sizes, classic and 91mm.  And there are total of 4 different patterns(two flags, two scenics) from what I seen.







Army surplus shop



There is also a army surplus shop that sells uniform, watches and knives at the lowest level of West end city.  But there are only a few knives sold there.  And I saw a GAK 91mm look alike, but tang has no stamp but a 'mil-tec' stamp.  Judging from its quality, I can't help but to think that this knife might be an immitation.





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Tips of finding/buying knife/MT as a tourist in Europe:
--Before you go, it best to find local friends/Conceirge of your hotel to verify the shop address/hours
--Again, name a few well known European brands of knives and check with hotel concerige to see whether the knife shop you are going does carry them.
--Not everything listed on BF/MTO are accurate or up-to-date, I have found some shops relocated or disappeared.
--Most shops close early, and on average, I'd suggest to go before 5-6pm
--There is correlation between knife/MT shop vs "Zwilling JA Henckels" kitchen knife brand.  Personally, it is about 70% chance of finding a knife shop while it is also a Zwilling JA Henckels dealer, in all the cities I visited.
--Use google map and 'street view' to see whether there is an actual shop there on the street, and check to see what's the walking distance to best plan your visits.


Reference link:
Knife shopping in Budapest, Hungary
Traditional Hungarian handcrafted blades (From EDCF)



Good luck, and safe travelling! 

[enki_ck]

I miss Budapest. Should visit sooner or later. Very nice write up as always.

I knew about the 3 SAKs, 2 scenic and the red with coat of arms but the white one with coat of arms is new to me. Is it also a Climber?

[dks]

Good to see a successful trip. I need to to go to Budapest as a tourist and spend some time going slowly around the knife shops too. It will be nice to compare the pictures I took at the szankovits shop with the ones you took to see if they actually sell much. I remember  being told that they sold very few slipjoints. They mainly sold kit hen knives. As you saw, for the prices the slipjoints cost the quality control should ha e been better. Or maybe all the good ones go quickly.

taaaaaaapaaaaaaas

[comis]

I miss Budapest. Should visit sooner or later. Very nice write up as always.

I knew about the 3 SAKs, 2 scenic and the red with coat of arms but the white one with coat of arms is new to me. Is it also a Climber?

Yes, indeed.  The white flag is also a climber. 

[comis]

Good to see a successful trip. I need to to go to Budapest as a tourist and spend some time going slowly around the knife shops too. It will be nice to compare the pictures I took at the szankovits shop with the ones you took to see if they actually sell much. I remember  being told that they sold very few slipjoints. They mainly sold kit hen knives. As you saw, for the prices the slipjoints cost the quality control should ha e been better. Or maybe all the good ones go quickly.

taaaaaaapaaaaaaas

Honestly, just by these two shops, I felt the city might have more knife shops that would worth visiting. 

I don't know how quickly they sell or replenish, but when I was there, there were a good number of slipjoints.  Some of the larger slipjoints are sold out and what's left are ones with less than satisfactory finish.
I got the curved handles since everyone got one, and they are unique in many ways.  I also decided to get a straight handle, since I too believed the more traditional ones probably were made in straight handle. 

[Exeter]

I was browsing around and took a look at the country specific MT & knife shopping threads, so I'm just bumping the two Budapest/Hungary threads letting any of you guys visiting know, that I live here and happy to help out with any kind of info, guidance, be it about knife shopping or anything Hungary related in general.