Showing off my Latama

[BigAl62]

This was my dad’s knife. It lived in a cigar box in his sock drawer. He pulled it out occasionally and showed it to me throughout the years. The story he always told was: He was a Tech Sergeant in the USAF and was stationed at Burtonwood AFB in Warrington England in 1953 -1954. Some way or other, he got crossways with another airman who threatened to “do him in.” Dad bought this knife and carried it for protection. I have since found out that Latama never sold knives in the UK so he must have purchased it from another airman. And I guess returning troops must not have gone through customs! Anyway, there was never a knife fight, so I guess they worked it out or avoided one another for the remainder of the deployment.

When dad passed in 2013, I got the cigar box. But the knife wouldn’t stay closed. I put it away thinking I’d try to get it fixed someday. I came across the knife a couple of months ago and decided to send an email to Latama. The next day I got an email from Bill DeShivs and that is the rest of the story.

[Gtrclktr-351]

Noice knife and a great story behind it.

[Madmarco]

Great knife and story, Big Al, I consider Latamas as the Rolls-$-Royce of automatic knives. Even after all this time your knife is valued quite highly to the right buyer, so f you sell it don't sell it cheaply. And the answer to your next question is, whatever the right buyer is willing to pay for it, along with how much you are prepared to accept for it. That's a fine knife you have there, enjoy it and welcome aboard!

[BigAl62]

Great knife and story, Big Al, I consider Latamas as the Rolls-$-Royce of automatic knives. Even after all this time your knife is valued quite highly to the right buyer, so f you sell it don't sell it cheaply. And the answer to your next question is, whatever the right buyer is willing to pay for it, along with how much you are prepared to accept for it. That's a fine knife you have there, enjoy it and welcome aboard!

Thank you Marco. I don't see myself selling this one. My son will probably end up with it eventually. I also have a leather-bound King James Bibile that the church he attended across the pond gave him when he went back to the states. For years when I was a kid, we exchanged Christmas gift boxes with a family in Warrington that "adopted" dad. It was always a bid deal when the "England Box" arrived by parcel post. It always had English candy and original Lesney Matchbox cars and other English toys. We sent US-made stuff that direction. It's funny how the families knew each other even though he was over there before he married mom and before any of us kids were even a twinkle in his eye!

Most of my knife collection is vintage US-made fixed blades and 5 to 5-1/4" folding hunters and lockbacks - I have 8 LB-7's. I'm a couple years from retirement yet but eventually I'll get around to working on some of them that need some attention.

Alan