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Latest Activity: Dec 17, 2022
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Donald...
This knife is made in China and marked USA. If it was imported to the USA it would have a tang stamp saying China. It would have been converted once it arrived in the States. Taylor Brand knives import the S&W knife with some of them being converted to an auto. Taylor Brand does not do the conversion. This was sold in a country like Turkey, Iraq or somewhere in the Middle East. I found plenty of these in Iraq, Jordan and Turkey. Somehow, this knife made it to the States via a tourist or a soldier returning home. We could have bought them for about $12.00 each but we had good USA autos in Iraq.
Would someone care to make an educated guess as to who designed this knife? Usually the mechanism is a give away.Or at least a clue.
Hi, Ron! I found the knife in an antique mall here in TN. I don't think they knew what they had. (I don't know what "Parkerizing" is. The black finish is like a smooth layer of black powder covering everything.) Hmm, Steve's looking at what United has to offer led me to the sale of "kits". The button & safety should not be black, but some of the screws & the spacers are also unpainted. That is, the 2 handles and blade are the only things painted. I wonder if this was a kit (from China or Taiwan or?) to be assembled once it reached "home" where these unpainted items were used to completed the knife?
Hi Donald, What you have is a china / taiwan imported knife. Cool knife nonetheless.
Wow! Those pics did come out great. Unfortunately there don't appear to be any markings. At least none that I can see. And also unfortunately I have never seen one of these before. Some similar, but none quite like this one. And, boy! You are right -- this is one gnarly, scary looking knife! It almost looks like all of the metal parts have been Parkerized? What do the grips feel like?
Hopefully someone else will have something to add to your quest?
What is the back story on this knife? How did you come to own it?
Hi, Ron! Hi, Clay! Thanks for your quick responses. Duh! I guess I assumed that you'd know to look at "My Page" without saying so. Anyway, the pix came out pretty well, so I'll try posting them here. The knife is 4" closed, 3" blade. All metal painted flat black. It's in super condition and opens like a cobra bite. I've always thought people were silly who were scared by sight of a knife, but this one is a little scary. It's definitely not meant for whittling. Ok, here goes ...
Howdy, Donald!
I will simply echo what Clay has suggested by encouraging you to take a couple of pictures of the knife in question and then post them here. Also, as Clay mentioned, any tang stamps or markings that may appear on the blade(s) should be noted and photographed as well, if possible.
I'm sure someone in the group can give you a positive ID once you post some pics.
Donald, try to post a photo or a link to one for us. Don't worry about the quality of the photo. Also, look for more marks of any kind on the knife/blades. Welcome to the group.
Hi! I'm Don and I'm new to this group. I've come across an automatic and I'd like to know more about it -- It's the only full-sized automatic in my collection. It's all-metal and stamped "USA". I wouldn't call it a pocketknife as it looks as tho it might bite.
I might be interested in it. You can email me at mickeybeep@aol.com
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