New knife - Zitoon Knives The Iron Mistress

If you think "classic knife", it can generate images of several different models in the head of the knife enthusiast. It could be a Morakniv with a red wooden handle if you're Swedish, an Opinel or maybe a Douk Douk if you're French, a Buck 110 or a Ka-Bar for the American, an Okapif for the South African or maybe it's a "Swiss Army Knife" for the common man.

But among all the most classic knives, one name stands out, of course, and that is the "Bowie knife". A type of knife whose origin is somewhat shrouded in obscurity regarding what it looked like exactly and what role models it had. However, that is a topic for its own discussion.

However, it is popular and that also applies in knife-throwing society. A very faithful interpretation of the knife type comes from  Zitoon Knives in France and it has been named  The Iron Mistress.

The Iron Mistress from Zitoon Knives

The knife is said to be a reasonably faithful version of the knife that a certain Jim Bowie once ordered from the knife smith James Black. It may or may not be the case, but it's pretty anyway. It is the result of a collaboration between the man behind Zitoon, Olivier Feret, and Pascal Boucreux who is a prominent French knife thrower mainly in rotational technique.

This resulted in the Iron Mistress, which incidentally got its name from the classic film from 1952 with Alan Ladd in the lead role as Jim Bowie.

The inspiration results in a fairly sturdy knife that measures 35 cm in length and has a thickness of 5 mm. That gives a total weight of 420g. That makes it my second heaviest throwing knife so far. Right from the start, the handle has been fitted with sides of leather that are glued and riveted in place. A traditional way of making handles for throwing knives. Handles made of other materials simply do not last and are often more difficult and or more expensive to replace. In addition, the leather gives a good feeling when the knife leaves the hand.

The material in the knife, Hardox 450, comes from Swedish SSAB. It doesn't get much tougher than that as it is one of their high-strength steels. Or simply put, you find it, for example, in the teeth of excavator buckets and in dozer blades for Bulldozers and the like.

What distinguishes all knives from Zitoon Knives is that they are handmade in France by one person. No mass-produced knives here. With it comes the charm and personality that such an approach brings.

I'm really looking forward to inaugurating this beauty at the throwing range!

/ J

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