On 19th December 1941, at Eluet El Asel, about 400 men of the 1st Battalion of Royal Paratrooper Carabinieri braved the assault of several Indian battalions: jumping from their foxholes and throwing improvised grenades, the “desert lions”, as Radio London defined them, held the line, allowing thousands of German and Italian soldiers to safely retreat. This was the first action in the history of Italian paratroopers.
The paratrooper regiment “Tuscania” has asked for the Extrema Ratio T911 to be specifically designed to commemorate its 80th anniversary.
The T911 is a light, medium sized folding knife, designed for professional use by military operators. It features a Bohler N690 cobalt steel modified spearpoint blade heat treated to 58 HRC for best compromise between toughness, ease of sharpening and edge retention.
The blade is 76 mm (3”) long and 4 mm (0.16”) thick, with a stone washed finish and flat edge, and rotates around a pin that can be adjusted for tension, allowing the user to achieve the desired smoothness while deploying the blade. Once adjusted, a secondary screw locks the pin in position.
The handle is hard anodized Anticorodal aluminum alloy, with a black finish, shaped for ease of transition between reverse and saber grip.
The blade deploys from the folded position by the usual thumb stud and is secured by a liner lock with an additional safety system to insure maximum reliability under hard use. The safety lever is red colored for better visibility and engages the safety in its forward position for a more instinctive use.
The handle has an integrated belt cutter with easily available industrial grade cutter blades, tungsten carbide glass breaker, a stainless-steel folding marlin-spike and a flat screwdriver in AISI 420 steel, meant to help in rifle scope adjustment. A clip is fixed at the end of the handle, allowing for a deep, concealed carry position with very little of the knife exposed. The clip can be reversed from left to right side.
The entire knife can be disassembled for cleaning and maintenance. With a total length of 194 mm (7.6”) and a weight of 145 gr (5.11 oz) the T911 is easy to carry both in uniform and civilian clothes.