Douk-Douk An el cheapo pocket knife with a history.

[rci2950]

I picked up this nifty pocket knife today while wandering the stores christmas shopping. It is a French made pocket knife with a history. the wikipedia article states

"Originally intended as an inexpensive utility pocket knife for the ordinary working man, the popularity of the douk-douk caused it to be pressed into service as a weapon when necessary. During the 1954-1962 FLN-led revolt in Algeria, the douk-douk was used as weapon of assassination and terror; Algerians who ran afoul of the FLN frequently had their noses removed by the knife's razor-sharp blade. It could easily be converted from a folding-blade pocket knife into a useful fixed-blade dagger by the simple expedient of hammering the ends of the sheet-metal handle together behind the blade's bolster, locking the blade into the full-open position."


And from the website of the manufacturer "Cognet"

http://www.couteaux-berthier.com/cog...s,us,3,150.cfm

"The original Douk-Douk is completely manufactured in the Cognet workshops in Thiers on the traditional and authentic way, with the same methods and materials that have made its reputation around the world. The steel is carefully selected. The production has remained almost entirely manual, guarantee you a high quality and fidelity to the spirit of the knife intended by its designer, Gaspard said Gaston Cognet. "


It has a thin carbon steel blade that i prefer as being used having my Mercator with me all the time. The thin profile makes it easy to sharpen and the carbon steel comes to a razor edge. I am assuming this new one will be the same. Overall the knife is cheaply made and not finished very well but this is how they were from the beginning. As with the German Mercator. It has no side to side blade wiggle and the internal spring locks the blade up super tight when open and shut.

I have taken a picture of the knife next to my old Mercator. They are very similar except the Douk-Douk does not have a lock mechanism to lock it open, just spring tension.


I have carried all brands and types of pocket knifes from Victorinox, Boker, Buck, Gerber and truthfully i like these cheap carbon steel $20 wonders. The Mercator in the picture has been my favourite for a number of years. They even double as a hunting knife in a pinch. I have field dressed deer and rabbits with the Mercator. Although uncomfortable in the hand after a while doing this, they hold up very well and clean up beautifully because there are no side grips or crevices that can't be cleaned. =)


Open is 8 inches long, cutting edge of blade is exactly 3.5 inches not counting the unsharpened part on base of blade

[FunkyPertwee]

Very cool.

I wish I knew about these when discussing French Algeria and the FLN earlier this year.

[Richard Simmons]

Thanks for posting. An excellent little blade at a bargain price. I've had mine for years and do carry it from time to time. It's got a lot more patina then when these photos were taken.

[rci2950]

i just honed it for the first time on my 4000 grit Japanese King stone and it is now hair splitting sharp. Very impressed with that blade.

I never let the patina build up on my Mercator's carbon steel blade because I get bored at sea and polish my knife with brass polish until it is like a mirror. I find Nevr-Dull and Peak are the two best polishes for a knife blade.

[alismith]

Thanks for this post and pics. I inherited a beat-up old knife from my dad and it is exactly like the one on the right in the photo. It's been hard-used and is in nowhere as good a shape as the one you show, but it is the spitting image of that one, with the same marks and numbers. It's missing most of its paint and is scratched up a bit, but it still locks up tight.

Thanks again.