This should be fun .. from the old George Schrade auto's .. to .. you name it .. they made a bunch !!!!

... an old George Schrade "PRESTO"

... another George Schrade auto .. in a purse.

Hey D ale!

You're obviously the person to ask. Can you explain, in detail, how the button and the "slider / switch" work on these knives? I've seen so many historical references but it's always assumed that the reader has experience with these.

George S. sure wasn't hesitant about including info in his tang stamps!

Hey D ale!  Trust Bernard Levine to have DETAILED drawings available to the rest of us.

I should have been more specific about what I was hoping to learn. How do you make the knife do its thing?

1) do you have to unlock (the slider?) before

2) pushing the button makes the blade swing out fully -- does the

3) blade lock open?

4) Do you have to release the slider to enable folding the blade back into the handle?

When I was a kid (late 1950's, early '60's -- switchblades were what "juvenile delinquents" (a/k/a "JD's") carried. No one not involved with gang fights (a/k/a "rumbles") would have had any use for such a knife.

I lived in NW New Jersey where we all knew (somehow?) that switchblades were illegal. My best friend had what we called a "gravity knife". It looked like a switchblade but had no spring-assisted opening. We had to practice for hours to develop just the right wrist flick to swing the dagger blade fully open into its locked open position.

I was with you there .. late 50's early 60's .. 'n am still a kid.  Mastered that wrist flick @ an early age .. but, on the farm .. didn't make it to Jersey till late '75 .. Ft. Monmouth.

     Jim said:        When I was a kid (late 1950's, early '60's) .........

@ D ale...I will be interested in seeing the innards of your "dis assembled units", but I feel bad. I really only wanted a rundown on how one of these "push button" knives operates. I'm guessing I must be close in the 1, 2, 3, 4 of my previous post or you would have corrected me.

"...on the farm." I'm jealous. One of the NYC TV stations broadcast the "Modern Farmer" on Sat. and Sun. mornings at 6:30. They'd show 4H kids' projects -- my Mom couldn't tell me why there was no 4H in suburban NJ. 4H looked way better than Cub Scouts.

Ft. Monmouth in 1975. Have you seen the "Jersey Shore" reality show??  :-( By 1975 I'd been through my "Jersey Surfer Boy" phase, gotten married and me and Pam were living in London while I learned how to be a photographer. ...and then I was an insurance broker in Manhattan (living in NJ again) and then, finally, I moved to Maine and became a farmer.  LOL 

George Schrade PRESTO ... an inside look.

.. based on a unit given to me by fellow member Micheal Kelly Sr  .. I think we can have some fun with this :D

@Toby -- you asked

Does the et al, include Ulster and Imperial?

I guess the fact that a week's passed and I have not answered your question speaks to the extent of my confusion. I've always had a lot of trouble getting my head wrapped around the Schrade history -- so many companies, trademarks and stamps!!

As you're aware, I've been working on a graphical Schrade timeline -- figure I might grok it better if I can SEE it. ...but in the mean time??

Although the "company paths" of Ulster and Imperial eventually crossed with "Schrade", both companies had long histories totally separate from "Schrade".

Ulster Knife Co. was born as a re-org of the Ellenville Co-Operative Knife Co. in 1875. And that company had nothing to do with Schrade until at least 1946 when Albert & Henry Baer bought "Schrade" and made it a division of Imperial Knife Associated Companies along with the existing division Ulster.

Imperial Knife Co. was formed in Providence, RI in 1916 and, as we saw above, didn't intersect with "Schrade" until they acquired "Schrade" as a "division" in 1946.

Looking at the above I'd have to say that "No, Et Al. should not include Ulster or Imperial." From the little I've studied so far I can't see anything like where maybe the entity "Schrade" was making knives and stamping them "Ulster" ...or even vice versa.

Larry V.'s website provides a few different "company histories" -- that's where I'm doing most of research.

I'll welcome any info, thoughts or criticisms anyone might provide.

Here's a sleeveboard whittler I carried for a couple years .. GREAT STEEL

then stored for a couple more yrs .. only to gas out on me

she was a beaut in her day .. note the damage .. it could probably be cleaned up w/ a new set of scales

the stamping combined with the celluloid puts it @ mid/late 40's for production

Stamping on that sleeveboard =    SCHRADE    over    CUT. CO.    over    WALDEN, N.Y.  ...  both primary & secondary pen blade stamped.

Both secondary’s have a 1/2 stop.

And something I’ve noted with split back whittlers and the passing of time. The grind on the primaries used to retain more of the stout thickness of the primary.  That btm one is a Waterville.

The Schrade in the middle was mid/late 40’s production. You still cannot tell where the tang stops & the blade grind begins .. top view anyway.

The top one is Queens current production #48 .. no problem telling where the tang stops & the blade grind begins on that one !!!

I don’t get it .. have the primary be 2~3 times as thick (robust) as the secondary’s .. by design !!!

Then purposely grind it down to the flimsier thickness of the secondary’s .. right after the tang ??

I prefer the older grinds !!!!

D ale wrote:

I don’t get it .. have the primary be 2~3 times as thick (robust) as the secondary’s .. by design !!!

Then purposely grind it down to the flimsier thickness of the secondary’s .. right after the tang ??

This is a Presto switchblade-pruning knife made by Schrade. This knife is 4 inches long closed and 6 ¾ inches when opened.  It had nickel silver bolsters on one end and a bail hook on the other end.  Black jigged bone handles, lined. On the tang, on side says “Presto Pat Jan. 30, 1940 made in U.S.A on the other side it says Geo. Schrade Knife CO. Inc. Bridgeport, Conn.

I picked up this knife at the Great Western show in Los Angeles, California in 1983. A dealer had three of them for sale, all in original boxes. He wanted $45.00 each or all three for $100.00. In those days, I would go up with $100.00 in my pocket for all three days and I didn’t want to blow all my money on one deal. Why doesn’t someone have a crystal ball that we can look into and see the future?

Wow!! Finally a Schrade group. Was wondering if this would ever happen. Been away for a while and just thought I would check in and ran across this. Good deal and I'm and avid Schrade guy but still learning too.

Thanks to Jim for creating this group.

Did anyone get one of these?

Guys, I beleieve these were made by Taylor with USA parts.NOT REAL USA Schrades.I had bought some of these a few years ago and the box had Taylor on it. Everything looked good but a little shakey on "real" USA Schrade. I could be wrong but if it is the same ones I bought from Blue Ridge Knives as I sent them back.