Latama Gift From a Friend

[johns7076]

A good friend gave me this 7-7/8" Latama over the weekend. From what I read it is a Wasp body, pre 1951?????. Needs a bit of repair, when lock is released it fires open. Other than that it is in pretty good shape.
Regarding "peek", does not, pic attached.

[Gunsil]

Nice!! Flat guard, I think it's an earlier one.

[Folgore1]

wow what a friend that is a Latama Flatguard wasp body picklock yes most likely from 1940's , restoration is a sticky subject as some would not touch that knife and leave it like it is and others would want to restore it and pretty it up .
i would not touch it and would leave it like it is , it is worth a pretty penny for sure

[Pile Driver]

I think it looks awesome as-is, high on my bucket list. I would think the elongated sear hole has it peeking when shut. The corrective measure to fix that is probably more harm than good in terms of the knife's antique integrity, would involve laser welding or something along those lines. If you polled 20 collectors, half would say get that done half would say leave it alone, maybe even 70/30 to leave it alone.

[Madmarco]

Beautiful old picklock John, wish I had friends like yours, oh, never mind, I actually do. My pal Herb just sent me free of charge, a beat-up slant bolster model to restore, so it seems I do have friends like yours. It appears the ramp leading to the sear hole has worn down and joined the hole, thus the firing when unlocked cuz the sear-pin has nothing to seat itself into. This is strictly the opinion of a knife accumulator more than collector, but I know if the knife was mine, I would want it in perfect operating condition for me to enjoy. As-is it's simply something for people to admire and comment on about how much they wished it was working, how fortunate you are to own it, and how valuable it is, which are all valid points to a collector, not so much to an accumulator. I believe automatic knives are to be used by some, played with by others, and loved by all! Whatever you decide to do with your new gift, enjoy it!

[millern]

Beautiful Latama! I agree that it’s not worth trying to address any small issues unless you have worked on a lot of others. A rare knife for sure. I’d trust it to Bill DeShivs if you want to have a real pro “get it right”!

[Reverand]

I also recommend Bill Deshivs. He does factory authorized repair for many brands, and does a thorough and professional job.

[Folgore1]

this knife needs to be completly disassembled to fix the problem i would leave it as found condition also i wouldnt send it to bill deshivs lately he is very angry for some reason and do you want a angry or mad person working on your precious knife i have had few knives restored by bill and his work is ok but definetly not the best i can name 5 people right now that are better at this type work and cheaper too bill is like 70 bucks an hour plus parts and lets not forget about the 3 holes he drills in the liners so to mark his work i can get professional and better work done for half that easy

[bestgear]

this knife needs to be completly disassembled to fix the problem i would leave it as found condition also i wouldnt send it to bill deshivs lately he is very angry for some reason and do you want a angry or mad person working on your precious knife i have had few knives restored by bill and his work is ok but definetly not the best i can name 5 people right now that are better at this type work and cheaper too bill is like 70 bucks an hour plus parts i can get professional and better work done for half that easy

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Let’s cool our jets before it gets to that point please.

[Kramersknife]

Nice for free too!! I have 3 Latama's two needed work one is nearly done with the parts needed.Now I have to fit and finish all the releases and lock

[Whitneyrifle]

That is a lovely switch! Congrats!