After the stunning success of the Resolza model, a modern reinterpretation of the famous Sardinian regional knife, the manufacturer from Prato (Italy) has opened the way to new projects and ideas that deviate from what was outlined originally, but has kept intact the design and the quaint appeal of Extrema Ratio's knives.

The T-Razor, as the name suggests (and of course the shape), is inspired by the razor and some traditional Italian blades such as the "Rasolino" from Catania and Sa Guspinesa ("mozzetta" from Guspini). These knives became very popular in Italy as a result of the restrictive laws regarding knife carrying, enacted to limit the number of acts of violence that took place nationally at that time. According to Giolitti's law of 1908, it was possible to carry knives, without the need of "good reason", any knife fixed or foldable, with tip and blade less than 4 cm, and knives without a tip not exceeding 10 cm in length. This limitation on knives with the tip led to the birth of the "mozzetta" knife, in order to have longer blades and continuing to have in your pocket your "trusted friend" without running into legal problems.

Similar solutions - with regard to the extended tang over the handle - are seen, for example, in the country of the Rising Sun (Japan), where in 1896 (in the Meiji Era), the famous traditional higonokami knife was conceived. This blade is recently back in vogue in the West thanks to many knife makers who have ventured into the production of blades with this style.

Unlike the Italian traditional knives mentioned above, but similar to razors, Piemontaise knife and higonokami (just to name a few), the T-Razor has the blade with the extension of the tang that protrudes from the handle when the knife is closed, in this case useful for the rapid opening of the blade. The knife evidently is not designed to fulfill the actual function of the straight razor (also considering the absence of the tang before the pivot for the advanced grip, normally present in traditional razors).

The blade, made of N690 steel (58 HRC), has a length of 110 mm (edge: 100 mm) and 3 mm thick, with a burnished surface MIL-C-13924 (it is also available in a satin version). The company's name is engraved in a pleasing style (for size and extension of the characters) on one side of the blade, while on the other side - in a central position - is shown the model name.
The grinds are comparable to that of traditional straight razors with quarter hollow grind, with a thickness of 0.6 mm to the cutting edge. The factory sharpening is very well executed.

As with most of the Extrema Ratio's folding knives, the blade rotates around a pivot adjustable by a flat screwdriver and lockable in the desired position through a small screw retainer with 12 positions, to keep it always in the desired setting, and the fluidity in the opening is assisted by the presence of Teflon washers.

The blade is devoid of a thumb-stud, but there are several methods to deploy the blade using the tang which protrudes about 2.5 cm beyond the handle profile. For one handed opening you can indeed use the thumb to pry up the tang or, once the knife is removed from the pocket, it can be opened directly by leverage on the side of the leg (and with a slight movement of the wrist, the knife is ready to use).

Compared to traditional Italian regional knives, the T-Razor has a liner-lock mechanism, with the lock spring and steel liner (just one at the side of the locking system) of 1.5 mm thick. It is possible to unlock the blade in a simple and practical way, thanks to the conformation of opposite handle scale that exposes the locking spring to make it easily accessible.

The handle scales are made of anticorodal anodized black aluminium, very smooth and with the unmistakable Extrema Ratio design. Clearly the grip is not great with this kind of material but it is a knife that is not born for intensive use, so it should not be a problem. The handle size is compact as regards the width (25 mm in the central area, 20 mm in the terminal part) and thickness (11.5 mm), but very long (to accommodate the blade of 10 cm) also for the presence of the spacer - which also includes the lanyard hole - which increases the length by 20 mm, for a total handle length of approximately 150 mm. The knife is not equipped with a pocket clip, probably to preserve the reduced thickness of the handle.

European retail price is 196,00 Euros for the black version and 213,00 Euros for the satin-finished version; this year Extrema Ratio products can be purchased directly on the official website of the Company. For the USA the market the price is about 270$.

The knife was tested on common materials such as paper, cardboard, ropes of various kinds and sizes, car safety belts, strapping for packaging, and so on.
The factory sharpening is optimally realized and all the cutting tests were passed without any difficulty, even on materials which are usually more difficult to cut (like the car safety belts). Upon completion of testing, the product had not lost its initial sharpness (although it is not an intensive test made to determine cutting edge retention, in some cases our cutting tests carried out on various products of different brands were sufficient to determine a poor cutting edge retention).

Overall this innovative "mozzetta" knife signed Extrema Ratio is very pleasing to the eye and represents an original EDC knife (in countries where knife carrying is legally permissible). The sleek design, the light weight (130 g) and the cutting qualities are the strengths of this product, however the length of the handle could be an obstacle to carrying it comfortably , especially in shallow pockets. The quality of the couplings, the finishes and the screws used are excellent, as you'd expect from the prestigious Italian Company.

The T-Razor is an interesting product, with a nice balance between tradition and innovation, while preserving the typical Extrema Ratio design, which on this occasion has managed to confer a tactical character to a typical Italian regional knife.

SPECIFICATIONS

Producer: Extrema Ratio – www.extremaratio.com
Type: folding knife, liner-lock
Blade: mozzetta, quarter-hollow grind
Steel: N690 (58 HRC), MIL-C-13924 burnishing (also available in satin version)
Blade length: 110 mm (100 cutting edge)
Blade thickness: 3 mm
Blade width: 26 mm
Overall length (open): 245 mm
Overall length (closed): 150 mm
Handle: anticorodal anodized black aluminium
Weight: 130 g
Made in Italy

This article has been published on the magazine "Armi&Balistica" n.48