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.

Wow, cool JJ.

Very NICE!

Very nice gentlemen!!

These are the beautie's of days gone by..days of pocket knife production when every man and some women carried a pocket knife of some configuration....

These were also the days of "Celluloid" !!  We used to buy 4x6 sheets of this material and the wounderous thing about Celluloid was the colors!

Inexpensive, easy to work with BUT, the danger was there also...

Celluloid was extremely flammable and combustible!!! I can remember walking by the grinding room and secondary operation room and see buuckets of water very close to the wheel operater, and later found out for myself....

Even when drilling pin on or center rivet holes it would smoke; and sometimes ignite !!!  Dangerous stuff and I guess that's why they outlawed it years ago....

Legal storage even 50 years ago was closely monitored,,

Let me find this pic of some old Cell., these go back to the 30's...

Ball Park figure of your Colonial Auto in the condition as shown in the picture is:  $140.00 to $180.00 replacement.  Market value for sale would be about 20% less.

Thanks Clint. The man that had it for sale was a antique salesman and knew very little about it. I also was not sure about this type knife. So I offered $60 and he took it. I am glad I did, a great addition to my collection. A great little knife rich in Colonial Cutlery history. I have no plans on selling it, I was just wondering about the value of these knives. I thought switchblade knives had a bit more value than the traditional style of opening knives.

Excellent assesment of that pretty shur-snap!! Those old push button's are very rare and quite valuable!!

Thanks everyone for the welcome and the info. I plan to get another Switchblade, one day.

I think the switchblade bug may have bitten us

Comment by Jan Carter 49 minutes ago

I think the switchblade bug may have bitten us

That is a bite hard to heal from !!!

I also was bitten .. @ a young age .. best medicine I've found .. leverlock .. leverletto .. press button ..............

Recently made this one for my daughter .........

Dale....

Nice job on the knife.

Jan .. I heartily recommend these. Have personally built multiple units of ea model. Given most away as gifts .. which I will not do if quality's not present. SS 2.0 & the SS 3.0

Mikov's can still be sourced as individual parts bagged off the production floor .. not as finished a kit as the Darrel Ralph kits listed above .. requiring a slightly higher level of experience .. results are a hardy reliable leverlock.

Thanks, Clint .. I was happy with the way it turned out.

I am learning an appreciation for the push buttons and the gravity knives but I can tell you which one bit!

Those old fishtails have my attention also

SWEET DALE!!!!  what maker??

JJ, Yes it is the smooth bone, it is the latest but not the first of these we have purchased.  We have a few of the acrylics also.  But you know how I feel about the natural materials.  with each purchase I find myself looking at more and varied autos

... Presto . swing guard ...

For you, Jan .. a fishtail in a purse.

Hello folks!! Very nice old toys and man oh man these are some beauties'.....

The old brown jigged bone Presto I believe is the work of Imperial Knife; which were our cousins back then; the Marando's and the Fizaono's.!!

I specified the handle material Jan because these two brown bone knives have what we called it for years.."Jigged Bone".!! This system was machined bone or second cut stag or antler, and they were run through a jigging machine or tool to give the appearance of stag but and was eventually known as jigged bone.. Many of our Colonial tools were designed like this; especially the Forest Master, and camp type knives! It's actually amazing the amount of different "types" of jigged paterns just with our Scout Knife alone that were produced..

That Fishtail in a purse is waaay cool! 

And, Robert, thanks for filling in some of the blanks as far as those old jigging patterns were concerned. That old Presto "swing guard" is also a real treasure!

It's cool to see these old knives and have someone around who can give a little of their back-history, as well!

Robert,

Presto did not use contractors for their automatic knives.

Dale, That swing guard is simply fantastic. I have to look at one of those when I get to another show that has one!

Bobby, I too appreciate the fill on the jigging.  I do know that Colonial did a great many in house functions

Bill, Presto did not contract?  I did not know that!  Seems that back then everyone contracted.  I think it makes me happy to know a company of Presto's amazing past was an "do it in house" company.

JJ, while I like the addition of the bail, the earlier version calls to me more. Forgive my learning process here.  the wear around the safety on the earlier version..is it due to wear or has it been reworked.  I have read a good many of them need to be reworked, seems the button mechanism out lasts the safety in many of them?

By the way !  Thank you all for sharing these, I have a new fascination with the autos and in just a few days you have helped me learn!

I don't know if George Schrade Knife Co. contracted other knives. I do know they did make all the autos in house. Many other companies used G. Schrade to make their automatics. Remington, Case, Shapleigh Hardware, and more.

JJ and Bill, I am enjoying the read very much both here and SD!  A lot to learn about these wonderful and amazingly varied knives.

JJ, Thanks.  I kept looking at the pins thinking it must be original because I dont see any other signs.  OMG now I want to go to Brads West table at the next show and just spend the day there LOL

Jan .. the fishtail in a purse is a SCHRADE over  CUT CO. over WALDEN, N.Y.
see link for pics of stamping .. I apparently inserted the wrong (swingaurd) link for the fishtail link earlier.
Both the schrades are older than I am .. work better too :)

Hey JJ; love that little jigged bone baby!! Solid pin construction and what looks like a broad counter bore on the button and especially on the lock! Iron bolster's is a clear sign of it's age...maybe early teens or 20's...hand riveted pin-on rivets, and finished with a gentle spinning.. and the back rivet is clearly spun...Nice Piece!!! I'd love to see the blade in an open position...

OH!  Goodness that is nice JJ.  I am thinking the fishtails are getting ahold of me

In my quest to learn more about these knives, I have been doing some reading.

In the 50's in America, a time most look back at with a warm and fuzzy feeling, the US was re-discovering that the government could pass anything they wanted if the could get press saying it was "BAD" for us.

One of the most interesting articles I read was published in 1990.  I have placed a copy of the article here to read

SWITCHBLADE LEGACY

I find it ironic that there was not as much discussion or citizen involvement 60 years ago when the law was being written and passed as there is today in trying to amend the lunacy.

Knife Rights Repeals

JJ,

See, it may just be me but I see the tool in the object and the beauty in the tool!

In 1880 this was nothing other than a tool.  A way to keep a knife in your pocket when most had to be worn on your side.

I often wondered when this simple tool became a weapon, guess I know now LOL

Last summer Kansas abolished their deadly weapons law and went further in saying no other form of government can pass a law forbidding any weapons.  So auto knives are legal in Kansas....as well as sword canes....shotgun canes...blackjacks....etc.  Man the Pendulum is swinging from one extreme to the other.

Clint,

Can I venture a guess that crime involving those unbanned weapons did not go up?

You can.  Number one thing cops are stabbed with.....screwdriver.

Can anyone provide me with information and values for this knife? I think it was purchased in Germany in the late 1960's. I could not locate a tang stamp or any markings except for Rostfrei (stainless). Any info would be greatly appreciated.

John Marienski

It is Italian.  Look closely to the lock hole in the blade.  It is worn which causes the point of the blade to creep out.  Keep this hole greased with some kind of lube like graphite or even Vaseline.  When releasing the blade you can depress the blade then push the button or push the button very quickly and firmly so the pin does not creep out and wear on the lock hole.  Nice looking knife.

Thanks for the info, Clint and JJ.

Uploaded on Dec 12, 2009

Comment by John Marienski on February 3, 2014

Can anyone give me information and values of this knife? I think it was purchased in Germany in the late 1960s. Any info would be greatly appreciated.

John Marienski 

Comment by Robert Burris on February 3, 2014 

That is a fine looking knife there, John. Does the tang have a brand name stamped on it or do you know the brand name of the knife?

Comment by John Marienski on February 3, 2014

Thanks for the comment Bob. The name located on the base of the blade is Rostfrei. See the third photo. John Marienski

Comment by Jean-François on February 3, 2014 

Hi, John, "Rostfrei" is just the German word for "stainless" (or French "inox", "inoxydable"). That's all I can say about this knife.

Robert Klaas (Kissing Cranes) never made these knives. Similar manual stilettos and automatics were made in Maniago, Italy for Klaas. This is not one of them. Swapping blades in these is not common at all. None of the rivets on these knives are spun. Most are peened by hand. Later versions used brads with pre-formed heads on the scale pins only. The pivot, backspring and rear bolster pins are peened. This is a generic Maniago 1960-1970 era knife. They were sold all over Germany.

sorry about my previous post..the links should have been pics and so forth..it was a mess..so i deleted iot.. i was trying to delete it BILL before you responded so i apologize..i couldnt..i had to sign out of CHROME and into COMETBIRD to delete it.it just looked like a mess and you couldnt click the links even.

sorry BILL as you did reply to it-and im always trying to learn. THANK YOU..BUT I HAVE FEW MORE ??s-IF YOU DONT MIND..OF COURSE ANYBODY CAN JUMP IN!

BILL,when you say KC made none of these..do you mean the ones with the buttons as i have about 12 -15 lockbacks that are KC?..same era...i just looked over them..the pins on the stag scales..like Japan 1980 -BEAR CREEK and such brands ,had tese types of pins-..they look peened in and then just clipped off-not the pre-rounded i have seen them-- these knives have no rounded head at all..{THATS ON THE STAG SCALES} on the rest of the knives though both the pivot pins and the rear bolster pins are spun.

 if you blow the first pic up of the knife below you will see {might have to blow it up}.. anyway you will see that the pivot pin is peened without a doubt,100%. the rear bolster pin though is spun..UNLESS- they peened the pin and then buffed them up?-which i could see- but then why wouldnt they do that for both pins-also te PIVOT pin in knife below is pended but not well

..THANX FOR THE HELP!!..very appreciated!

oh and i just looked at what i wrote because i didnt think i would say common[that's not something i would assume]-i dont like to assume..i like to learn and know.

-i said that for me,the blade switches out pretty easy for me. not always the purdest when im done but i can still use it well.. . BILL THANK YOU.. . if you do look at the pic below and blow it up please take a look at the bolster Pins. thank you SO MUCH FOR HELPING again!  my motto is -

i would rather be shown where im wrong  and learn then assume im just right and learn nothing.i read,study,ask,red more,write,compile,ectectect...

IKC!!!!!!!

KC had the knives made in Maniago, before they had them made in China. No "stilettos" were made in Germany.

Common practice when making the older knives was to peen the pin heads and then buff them smooth.