Surmene Two-Bladed

[Corwyn]

I promised myself I'd stay clear of shelf-queens, but when I saw the Two-Bladed Surmene I couldn't resist.

After quite a bit of Googleing I could only see 4 photos of these and 2 E-bay auctions so I figured... it's just money so shelled out about 14 Euros shipped (E-Bay was cheaper but cba to order internationally).

It seems Surmene is an area in Turkey quite famous since Byzantine times (maybe think budget Sollingen?).
Anyway it seems lately they came out with these double-bladed things that seem quite common in Turkey and are mass-produced, but the retro-look sold me.



First of all... it's NOT A SAK-ALIKE. It doesn't try to look like a sak, neither does it succeed, but as it ends up quite similar to one, I made the following comparisons.

Here it is compared to other two-bladed pointy thingies I had around: Victorinox Tinker and Elinox Excelsior.


As stated, this thing is THIN, here it is on its side together with the above mentioned and the thinnest pointy-thing I had around, a Victorinox Classic Alox:


Now for the knife itself.. it's no Swissy and it shows, the springs are really strong but don't give a reassuring click.
One thing about it.. it's thin... the thinnnest knife I ever saw.. see above... This is interesting and pocketable but makes it a tad flimsy.
The whole thing was well lubed, but they used something thick and gooey, like vaseline... gunoil would have made it feel better I think.
The blades came semi-sharp out of the box... steel seems stainless and it's quite hard (spent 10 minutes trying to get it razor-sharp and I failed miserably).
Blade is firm with only a minor sideplay.
I found strange the shape of the small blade.. the top is slighly dropped. neither spear, not clip.
One thing I didn't like was that the blades closed over each other once... My Excelsior does that.. but it's 60 years old... shouldn't happen to a new blade. Regarding the sexy scales... they seem brass but a bit of the paint chipped off and I think it's black metal painted over with a gold and than a black paint layer. They also smell metallish, but yes, they do look cooler than in photos.

In short, a thin, interesting little addition to my collection, a talking piece but despite the nice thinness, it's not a tool I'd carry around.. just doesn't inspire confidence.

[Ray S]

Corwyn:It looks like a two bladed gentlemen's pocket knife with handles(scales)normally referred to as Toledo Scales.Not sure where this originated but it has been attributed to a design common to knives made in Toledo Spain.I have several examples of them on pocket knives and letter opener knives and strangely enough most are made in Germany.They are usually made of brass and the stamped designs filled in with various colors of paint or enamelling.I have seen the quality range from barely passable to exquisite.They really aren't meant for heavy duty use;mostly for paring fingernails(my grandfather used his for that)or cutting off the tip of a cigar.Here's a couple.

[J-sews]

Those sure are pretty knives. Too bad they are not suitable for heavy work, but then again, being so pretty people probably would not use them hard anyway.

[Sparky415]

Nice knives Guys