i saw some kool knives on the site....thanks alex

Just read this on another site

Let me take you back to a simpler time: New York in the 1950s:
Men wore tailored suits with creases in their pants so sharp they could almost cut you, snap brim fedoras, wing-tip shoes with spit-polish shines that were blinding. They “shot their cuffs” through their jacket sleeves and showed off their fancy cuff links. People took pride in their appearance and their work. The post-World War II generation was building skyscrapers that touched the sky. GI Loans paid for houses in the suburbs and sent people to college. Television was the new medium and industry was booming. The world was changing and growing fast. It was a time of optimism, where the belief was that you could do anything you could set your mind to. It was a time of quality and effort. “Pride in your work” and “Build to Last” was the goal of everybody who worked at a desk or picked up a pen, a shovel, a jackhammer, or fine precision tools. It was a time of craftsmanship.

It was not only New York, but every big city was coming of age in the 1950s. Along with his fountain pen, cigarette lighter, and handkerchief, the well dressed man carried a pen knife, which was also known as a “Gentleman Knife.”

They had some sweet stuff too

http://latama.net/latamaHome.html 

 I went to the Latama website and found the blades I had been wanting to see and get info. These are the classics for sure. I can see now the beauty and craftsmanship I was hoping to find .I'm hooked! Thanks for sharing, Jan.

Jan this is a neat web site.  Thanks for sharing.  I will contact them Monday and see what they are all about.  I love the classic knives.

Hey guys!  Glad you found that site as exciting as I did!

You betcha I did young lady.  I like it a lot.

SharperDeals.net is somewhat like eBay, but they only sell knives there. They have a listing fee and an end-of-auction fee, You can find out more about this company under Terms & Conditions, also check out their Fee Schedule.

   I've always been curious about why you rarely see inexpensive versions of swing guards. The only one that I have ever found was a very light weight but well made 9" model that was made in Korea. Also I have noticed when browsing on line suppliers of Italian made swing guards the availability is not very good, like maybe not as many are made?  Any input would be great.   

I have been trying to find out the value of this knife for a week or so and can't seem to get anywhere. I've only been searching through free info on the Internet. However, I am determined to get the info I seek or die trying...hahaha. I was directed to this site and told to post a pic, so here are a couple of pics.100_2561%20-%20Version%202.JPG         100_2591.JPG

SOLd by Sears 1951 push button hunting knife sold for 2.95 its in SEARS CATALOG

Sold by Sears in thier catalog 2.95 1951

Shannon, as you can see on the tang stamp, this was a Schrade-Walden knife made for Sears. My friend, Guy, has even provided an ad for the exact same knife as it appeared in the Sears catalog 60 years ago. 

As you can see, it wasn't a very expensive knife back then. As far as what it might be worth today? I suppose it's worth whatever someone is willing to pay for it. And, of course, that would be determined by how badly they wanted it.

I know that sounds pretty vague. But that's the best answer that I can give you. There's just no set price for something like this. Usually, if you list a knife like this on Ebay it will be like water rising to its own level. It will probably land on a price that would reflect its true worth. That's not always true, but it usually is.

That's about the best answer I can give you. Perhaps someone else can add more to the conversation?

Thank you Ron. That is the conclusion I was coming to as I wrote the message to you. I think that is what I am going to do. Everyone has been so helpful, or has tried to be. I will be sure to let you all know when I come across other finds. I really like this site.

Shannon, you're quite welcome! Some of those old automatics are quite valuable today even though they were relatively inexpensive back when they were first produced. A good example of that is another knife that was made by the same company as yours - The Parachutist Knife. I've seen those go for a couple of hundred dollars and there's not that much difference between that one and the one you have.

Have you seen this: http://www.ebay.com/gds/Schrade-Paratrooper-Knife-World-War-2-M-2-U...

Take a look! You'll see your knife in the 2nd pic down. It may not give you a dollar amount but it does provide some information that might prove useful in your search.

I'm glad you like this site. So do I! I hope you'll stick around and keep participating. The education you'll get can't be purchased or measured in dollars and cents. 

Cheers & have a great weekend!

is the knife in the ad suppose to be the knife in the pics? the model number etched on the blade mathcs the modle number on the ad so i will assume so...

... see this is where an ad is great...and why i collect and preserve them!! ....first things first...WHERE IS THE PULL?... its on the knife in the ad-but not on the knife in the pics...i would hope this would be a DEAD GIVEAWAY??..fellaz...ladies???

also the profile of the knife in the ad is a different profile.look at the swedge on the blade and then look at the lack of one on the ad..also even without the ad this knife i would right away know to have a NEW BLADE easily...

PLEASE REMEMBER -knife etches are just like everything else stamped or printed onto knives..they are done at once...see even in the ad all the letters line up...on the blade in the photos it does not... they are floating above and below each other... i mean thats a really bad scetch job..also the tang stamp is NEW aas in just added recenlty... once again you have some letters almost on each other and spcaing between others..also look how LARGE NYUSA are compared to the rest of the stamp...ALL TANG STAMPS WERE STRUCK AT ONCE AS WELL...so even if the stamp as crooked or upside down ,on a real blade the leters and numbers would still fall inline.

once again im no expert but this knife is not authnetic.. the body might..i dont know.. but the blade is all wrong and is not original to this knife. ...

-i hope i helped and i hope i helped the owner of this knife-all you have to do is look at a simple few things and you will know the knife is wrong.. please fellow friends of IKC...remember what i keep telling you about etches and tang stamps..it is something so simple that will help you so much!

...READ THE KNIFE!-hope i helped--i really hope i did.my goal is not to rain on anyones parade...my goal is to teach so you dont get burned again.ALSO THE OWNER OF THIS KNIFE IF YOU CAN TAKE IT BACK AND YOU PAID ALOT....DO IT!..of course if you want..but the blade is not the original.. the ad itself shows it...it is so nice to have that ad!..with that ad you can very easliy return the knife!..

BUY KNIFE BOOKS,THEN BUY KNIVES!-collect ads!

AND HEY RON!!!! the link you show ,the second batch of knives down..the blade in that craftsman looks like the swedgeless flat blade from the ad!

The blade in the Craftsman knife is perfectly original. I have never seen one of these with a nail pull. The ad is actually wrong.

i will agree that im sure the ad is wrong.. AND THE BLADE MIGHT BE CORRECT..but not the etch or the tang stamop. as now that i have looked at a few more of these knivs i have seen no pull. but regardless the etch on the blade is not original. every single letter on the etch looks different. if you actually look at the etcdh you will see some letters are tocuhing why others are to far aprat...the R and the A right next to each other in CRAFTSMAN both look like A the the M has the left side of the M leaning into the rst of the M you almost.then you have the GAINT T in the middle and even worse is the line under CRAFSTMAN. is not straight at all.

from what i can see of the tang stamp.. im going to get into what letter but just look at them...you have whre some of the letters are toudching one another why others that are flaoting away from each other.   and the NYUSA is just a bad job.

regardles if the blade is real... and even if im wrong about the tang stamp.  prsonally i have taight myself i only need ONE THING THAT IS 100% wrong and im walking away. in this case it would be the etch... 

There is nothing wrong with the knife.

Hi,

I have a Latama 13" stiletto that my grandfather gave me 50 years ago. I am 66 now. It has never been sharpened and is in excellent shape. It has never been cleaned and has no pitting or scratches. In photo number 5 that is not a crack but a build up of dirt. I do not want to clean it as I have ruined antiques in the past by refinishing them and it seems most people want the historic patina on antiques nowadays.

Please let me know if you are interested in this knife.

Thank you,

Philip Slagter

philipslagter@philipslagter.com
406 381 3568

The blades were never made to sharpen.  The knife is mainly made for stabbing.  It will clean up well.

I might be interested in it. You can email me at mickeybeep@aol.com

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.

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.

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.

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 ...

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 Donald, What you have is a china / taiwan imported knife. Cool knife nonetheless.

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?

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.

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.

Made in china entirely. They come in a variety of colors. Usually sell for $10 - $20 retail. Here is the same knife in camo :  http://www.ioffer.com/i/sale-camo-automatic-knife-547966666

This design is a knockoff of some sort, of a CRKT knife.  Since CRKT has some of their knives made in China...they make counterfeit CRKT knives...even in a counterfeit package.  I bought one of these counterfiet CRKT in a 2,000 year old market place in As Sulaymaniyah, Iraq to send to CRKT for show and tell.

Well, Donald, it sounds like the mystery knife has been demystified thanks to Clint and Bob. I'm pretty well satisfied with their contributions that this is a Chinese import that somehow found its way into an antique mall in Tennessee and then into your hands. What do you think? 

Thanks, guys!  I think your explanation is a perfect fit.  It was probably a souvenir, which accounts for its near perfect condition without blood or guts on it, lol.  We're getting ready to take another trip -- this time to Florida -- perhaps I'll come across another neat item.

I was wondering if anyone know anything about a Colonial Sure Snap knife? Thanks, I know very little about this type of knives.

Hello Bob; Robert P. here, representing the "original" Colonial Knife Company and factory. I'd like to see a pic of that "Shur-Snap" Colonial!!  We introduced the Shur-Snap logo in 1948! A picture paints a thousand words...so a pic would be perfect..

Here are some of my push-buttons..

Wow, that's a bunch. I have just bought the knife, I took a chance. I think I made a good deal, just not sure. I'll post pictures when I get it. It appears to be in good shape with a purple handle. It's my first of this type, so I have little knowledge about them.

This is some pictures of my "Shur-Snap" Colonial Knife. I hope I made a good deal, it looks great to me. I can see now why people collect these. I may be hooked.....lol

Yes sir Robert, it's one of ours for sure!! Colonial made 50 or 60 different styles of push-button's in the 40's! A multitude of sizes and shapes and colored Celluloid..

Most of them were made with a slide button and slotted tang blade design...

When they passed the "switch-blade" law back in the 50's, the Government witnessed the destruction of all tools, parts, and knives that we had!!  They are actually burried on the old Colonial property! Very few of us alive know exactly where they are burried to this day!! I'll give you a hint...one of these structures...

I am happy to own a Colonial but sad by the story. I have always said it's not how fast you open a knife, it's what you do with it once it's open. I know now that I made a good deal because I am happy with the knife. No matter the $$$, although a ball park value would be nice, so I can judge other knives like this that I may want to buy.

 Very nice knife. Still don't have one in my collection.

Yup they are cool knives and that`s one I don`t have . I can`t figure out how to post pictures or I would show a few more

Wow, cool JJ.

Very NICE!