Quest for a Navaja

M

Murindo

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Jul 4, 2010
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I'm 75 years old and have been collecting knives for 65 of those years.

I have always liked the original form of the Navaja knife, preferrably in the 5.5 to 7 inch blade length range. Back in the day there were some nice ones but my quest then and for the following decades was the perfect tactical folder. The new ones all had better steel and lockup than a vintage Navaja.

Now, I looked for one but found the customs way too expensive as are genuine vintage knives. The "tourist" versions are junk. I did own a WE 920 Blocao by Miguel Barbudo. It was a good looking knife but the window lock sometimes caused bounce back when flicking it open. To me it was a bit unsafe although I admit I would try one again if I could find one.

I decided to quench my thirst for a Navaja with a large Cold Steel Espada, 5.5 inch S35VN blade, polished aluminum and G-10 handles, and of course the Demko triad lock. It is a beautiful well made and balanced knife,

Still......................................
 
Murindo said:
I'm 75 years old and have been collecting knives for 65 of those years.

I have always liked the original form of the Navaja knife, preferrably in the 5.5 to 7 inch blade length range. Back in the day there were some nice ones but my quest then and for the following decades was the perfect tactical folder. The new ones all had better steel and lockup than a vintage Navaja.

Now, I looked for one but found the customs way too expensive as are genuine vintage knives. The "tourist" versions are junk. I did own a WE 920 Blocao by Miguel Barbudo. It was a good looking knife but the window lock sometimes caused bounce back when flicking it open. To me it was a bit unsafe although I admit I would try one again if I could find one.

I decided to quench my thirst for a Navaja with a large Cold Steel Espada, 5.5 inch S35VN blade, polished aluminum and G-10 handles, and of course the Demko triad lock. It is a beautiful well made and balanced knife,

Still......................................
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I recommend you check Joker's website. Everything I have from them is good quality and little by little they are earning good reputation for price/ quality.

 
there seems to be a very well known website that is currently selling the cold steel espada dirt cheap, i just ordered one yesterday, anyone who wanted one but couldnt afford it now is the time
 
I got my CS Large Espada for a very reasonable price. Yes I've seen that Lion Steel Gitano, beautiful, but it's too small and doesn't lock.
 
There was a time when I really wanted a genuine Spanish Navaja. I was fascinated by them, and I loved the design. But all I ended up with was disappointment, and a hole in my bank account.

I've owned two genuine Spanish-made Navaja knives. And they were both total junk. Quite literally, they both ended up in the trash, and now reside where they belong, at the bottom of a landfill.

Unfortunately I did not have the same experience as Legendary_Jarl. My Joker Navaja was, like I said, total junk. The lock looked like it had been hammered together by a blind man, and had sloppy lock play. And when the knife was closed the edge of the blade would hit one of the pins holding the knife together causing a very noticeable indentation in the edge. Who knows. maybe I just got a bad one.

I forget the name of the other one, but I remember it was one of the bigger names in production Spanish Navajas (I assumed it would be quality). Also total junk.

And when I say junk, I'm not comparing them to a Sebenza or other very modern, expensive, high-tech folder. I'm saying it as someone who grew up with mostly cheap knives from the 70's and early 80's. (Frost, Parker, Valor, etc), and a few Buck knives. Compared to those old knives, the Navajas I received were total junk.
 
I've got three recent production Joker Navajas. These are their higher end folders ( not the cheap tourist knives), solid brass or nickel frames, horn, wood or stag scales.

The largest being almost 10" open with a 4.5" blade. The larger ones are models NC00 and have several scale options. They are very well made and not overly expensive ( $35 - $65).

The smaller knife ( bottom) is their more expensive folder, nickel frame, horn scales, mosaic pin and some file work ($90)
joker2.jpg
 
Based on the reviews, descriptions, and price range of Joker Navaja knives on Amazon, I see them as "pretties" that are nice looking from a distance but not providing a working knife.

As to the Espada XL, it's a bit on the big size for EDC. The large Espada is working well for me. They can be found for $ 150 if you search.
 
The key word is HUGE HUGE HUGE.

They are not big EDC pocket knives they are HUGE sword like weapons.

They were not made to conform to existing weapons laws. They were made to be concealable formidable sword like weapons for people who valued their lives over conforming to existing weapons laws.

Blade sizes of 11 inches to over a foot are the norm for these type of knives. Some were smaller but not by much.

My impression is real Navajas are very large. They were designed to be as close to a sword as possible without losing the ability for concealment. It was a time in Spain when swords were outlawed and the threat of armed roadside bandits who also were known to carry Navajas in addition to other weapons was very real.

A sword like knife that can be carried concealed was necessary. Navajas are meant to be large (very very large,) fearsome (deterrent value with good reason,) deadly weapons. Although there are examples of smaller (in relative terms) Navaja like knives it was not the norm for this type of knife.

The Cold Steel Espada XL although it qualifies as being in the size range of a typical Navaja is by no means the largest. Original larger ones may have been more common than the Cold Steel type of size range. In other words even the huge Cold Steel Espada XL would have been considered one of the more moderate sizes.

I would call the smaller ones (tiny in comparison to be clear) large fighting knives shaped like Navajas. The real Navjas (really large) were meant for people who were very serious about having the ability to reach out and butcher attackers who came near them to save their own lives. It's terrible but the alternative (being robbed and murdered) was probably more so.

I have my doubts that these smaller knives were carried as a primary weapon.

I don't know of any other company than Cold Steel that is seriously mass producing fully functionable modern versions of real Navajas (the XL version.)

Is there any way Navajas can be as concealable and comfortable to carry as smaller pocket folders, of course not, the size difference is huge, that being said I find they are surprisingly comfortable to carry and easy to carry concealed. They are formidable sword like weapons there is not doubt about that.
 
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I have one of the larger Jokers and its a good knife - beautiful for sure, but also well made with a strong pull and a good lock. It could definitely be used for serious work if you want to.

Lionsteel Gitano is probably my favorite Navaja-inspired blade I've found so far though.

I picked up a Kershaw Strata because I really prefer one-handed opening knives, and its cool, but a bit too thin to really fill my hand, and not as nicely made.

-Mike
 
Murindo said:
Mike - What model did you get?
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I got the non-XL version (I think its just called Strata).

Its a nice knife, and actually has quite a nice flipping action, I don't know why I just never bonded with it. The combination of large but thin just seems off to me.


gEt1ytI.jpg
 
I wanted to add a Navaja style knife into my collection years ago, but didn't know which to get, with so many being really low end mickey mousey types.

Well, not all too long ago, I finally added a few representations of Navaja style knives to my collection.

Two were made by Joker Knives, and the other being the XL Espada.
I must say, the XL Espada is quite the beautiful beast!

The Navaja is a cool knife pattern to have in one's collection 👍😊👍

20210818-153507-1.jpg20220629_162424_(1).jpg
 
A while back there was quite a fan base here for these knives from Albacete Spain.

Here was our THREAD.

Sadly we lost touch with José our friend and the master of this shop. Bad health defeated his desire and ability to stand at his bench and create these hand made knives. There is still a web site. I believe his son(s) are keeping it going.

These are not inexpensive - but very affordable "customs". Around $200.00 +/- depending on the model you purchase.
They are pretty darn AUTHENTIC - Spanish Navaja - 👍


JH-Standing-1.jpg
 
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Murindo said:
I'm 75 years old and have been collecting knives for 65 of those years.

I have always liked the original form of the Navaja knife, preferrably in the 5.5 to 7 inch blade length range. Back in the day there were some nice ones but my quest then and for the following decades was the perfect tactical folder. The new ones all had better steel and lockup than a vintage Navaja.

Now, I looked for one but found the customs way too expensive as are genuine vintage knives. The "tourist" versions are junk. I did own a WE 920 Blocao by Miguel Barbudo. It was a good looking knife but the window lock sometimes caused bounce back when flicking it open. To me it was a bit unsafe although I admit I would try one again if I could find one.

I decided to quench my thirst for a Navaja with a large Cold Steel Espada, 5.5 inch S35VN blade, polished aluminum and G-10 handles, and of course the Demko triad lock. It is a beautiful well made and balanced knife,

Still......................................
Click to expand...
I strongly recommend any of the Cold Steel Espada models , especially as strong ,reliable , and fully functional .

That may not matter for a collector , but sure does if there are any plans to use the knife "hard" .
 
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