bayvillageidiot wrote:How does the Italian fit and finish compare to the Taichung offerings? (Which have been immaculate!)
It is comparable with Taichung models, at least in my experience. The wide price range of Taichung produced knives does leave room for some variance in finishing and complexity of design though. For example, the inside of the liners on the Pattada are finished to a higher level than those on the GB2. But the Pattada also costs another $40 or so. The finishing on the blade is very nice. The flats and spine have a satin finish that is very similar to the quality of the satin finish on Golden produced knives, but the tang and guard show signs of stonewashing also being involved.
The contoured G10 doesn't have the high polish of the Vallotton or Hungarian, but the quality of the work seems just as nice.
All of the screws and hardware seem to be of top quality as well. Pivot smoothness is wonderful, and the blade centering is perfect.
Studey wrote:I'd really like to handle one, curious just how thin it is behind the edge.
I don't have any calipers, but according to my highly-sensitive fingers the Pattada is a bit thinner behind the edge than my Military or Police. It isn't going to be Nilakka thin, or anything like that. The spine isn't all that thin to begin with, but the tip is especially needle-like. It makes the tip of my Yojimbo 2 look beefy. I didn't measure the exact factory edge either, but it came <30 degrees, this was noticed when using the 30 degree position on my Sharpmaker.