Steel Sahlute to camping!  Yes sir, Memorial Day weekend is the official camping weekend of the year! And ya can't go camping without a KNIFE!

Listed on ebay I have a few that would fit into the camping arena PERFECTLY:

Colonial USA Mountain Guide
Schrade Old Timer USA 89OT (comes with saw blade)
Victorinox Swiss Army Knife Camper (comes with saw blade)
Imperial (1956 – 1988) Boy Scout Knife (the BSA insignia and blade etch can no longer be seen because I had it re-handled with Elk Stag)
Corning Scout Knife (Epic piece of knife history)
Imperial Boy Scout Stainless Knife form official Boy Scout Mess Kit (Patent Applied for on back)

Here's the link to the knives for sale:
http://www.ebay.com/sch/fish-for-free/m.html?item=200924465609&pt=Collectible_Knives&hash=item2ec80809c9&_sop=1

Steel Sahlute to camping!!!

SARGE 4 Blade Scout Utility Knife SK-434 Review

First thoughts……surprisingly sharp straight out of the box for a China made knife.

Details:
Scales – Birchwood
Steel – 440C Stainless
Camp Knife SK -434
Blades – Spear point (main blade) flathead screwdriver, bottle opener, can opener, awl,
Closed – 3 ¾”
Main blade – 2 ½”
Weight – 3 Oz.

The TripleF – Fit, Finish & Functionality.  5.0

All blades have side-to-side play, and the screwdriver/cap lifter feels like it’s going to fall off it’s so loose – without using the knife….this is how it came out of the box – NEW!

Liners have small space between.

Main blade rubs screwdriver/cap lifter blade or vice versa.  Screwdriver/caplifter blade is loose, loose, loose.  I’ve never experienced that on any knife, let alone one straight out of the box – NEW! You can actually crest it on top of the closed main blade….that’s how loose it is, and how much side-to-side play there is.

The Birchwood handles look knice.

Center pin on pile side (opposite main side) is not flush.   Neither is the shield.

Difficult to grab the nail nick on the main blade as most of the nick is hidden behind the screwdriver blade.  It really takes focus to see what you are grabbing, as opposed to most other scout/utility knives where just getting your thumb on the main blade in the area of the nick will allow you to grab it firmly!

Value- 5.0
These are offered for sale in the $20.00 range.  Honestly, if it were me, knowing what I know about scout/camp/utility knives, I’d head over to ebay and buy an Imperial or Hammer Brand Kamp King for less.  Much better made knife and waaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaay better steel.   And, with a little research you can find a purty knice Kamp King for LESS than $20.00.  That’s my take.

Collectibility –5.0
Somehow (based on the licensing fees I’m sure) this company was authorized to use the official Boy Scout shield on this pattern knife.  Now, if I were a Boy Scout knife collector I might consider obtaining one of these.  Other than that I see no collector value in these pocket knives.

Accessibility – 7.0
Well, first off, it’s not a pocket clip knife, which as you all know is my favorite kinda knife!  I am carrying this knife in a leather belt sheath on my belt.  So, it’s accessible but not as accessible as a pocket clip.

Next, the nail mark (where you insert your finger nail to life the blade from its resting spot) is slightly difficult to grab.  I just compared it to grabbing the main blade from my 1974 Case 640045 scout/utility and even though there was minimal nail mark clearance as well on the Case knife, I was able to lift the blade.

I’ll tell ya something I’ve yet to experience……….It takes the fun out of a knife review, when you know you’re reviewing an inferior product.  Thus I didn’t do as an extensive review of this knife….I just didn’t want to carry it…..and I guess that sums up the whole spirit of a knife doesn’t it?

Final STEEL SAHLUTE Score……………………5.5 Steel Sahlutes!

Check these vids out steel lovers!!

Bill Howard, President of Great Eastern Cutlery provides an in house tour on how they make their knives.  There are 3 parts.  It’s like being there.

Grab a cup of coffee and pull up a chair!

https://www.facebook.com/CrawfordCountyOutdoors?fref=ts

Check out my listings on ebay.  Make offers….don't be shy.

http://www.ebay.com/sch/fish-for-free/m.html?item=121105011164&ssPageName=STRK%3AMESELX%3AIT&rt=nc&_trksid=p2047675.l2562

The more I dabble in knives, the more attracted to scout knives I become.  Did you know there are “Official” Boy Scout, Cub Scout and Girl Scout Knives?  And, more importantly, did you know there are “not Official” scout knives?

Just because you have a vintage knife with the word “scout” on the shield, doesn’t mean it’s an official scout knife – no sirree Jim Bob!

I thought I might point out the differences here in this blog post.

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For example, this Ulster Scout knife is official because of the official Boy Scout emblem that is the shield:

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This Seneca Cutlery multi blade knife *(see below) that has the same characteristics of a scout knife in pattern, blades and design, and reads “scout” on the shield , but is NOT official:

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The same with this Corning Knife Co. 3 blade (can opener and screwdriver blades in addition to a main spear point blade) (see below) reads “scout” on the shield, however there is no association with the fraternal organization known as the Boy Scouts of America.  The knife simply resembles the traditional 4 blade scout knife pattern and they added a shield to promote the resemblance.  Nothing official about it.

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Here, here is a typical scout knife pattern (see below pic)  with no association to the Boy Scouts of America, nor does it carry the word “scout” anywhere on it, however…………………..because of the pattern and style (main spear point blade, screwdriver/cap lifter blade, can opener blade, and awl/leather punch) this Hammer Brand knife is sometimes referred to as a scout knife.

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The same intentions go for this CASE XX knife (see pic below).   Looks and feels like a scout knife, but because of the lack of and official BSA trademarks, this knife is a scout pattern only.

————————————————————-Now, here’s a Camillus OFFICAL Scout knife (see pic below).  You can see the official emblem on the handle, AND the official imprint on the main blade.

In the knife world, this 4 blade pattern is also referred to as a “camp” and or “utility” knife.  I assume, somewhere along the line, some company got busted for using the word “scout” and had to change to camp or utility so their knife wouldn’t infringe on the scout knife…..but that’s just a guess on my part.

To boil it down to easy-to-understand knife jargon, if you see the “official” Boy Scouts of America wordage and or logo, then it’s been approved by the BSA (or at least they’re going to get some financial residual from using the BSA logo .

And heck, we didn’t even cover the official scout single fixed blades……..

The best resource for dating your scout knives is at www.scoutknives.net

Steel Sahlute a kid……give 'em a Scout Knife!!

Scott

I've got a fair selection of knives listed for sale on ebay and one is a Case Barlow Appaloosa Bone with Ship Scrimshaw..

Click here to go to my ebay auctions:
http://www.ebay.com/sch/fish-for-free/m.html?item=121102447298&ssPageName=STRK%3AMESELX%3AIT&_sop=1

Mark this page as a favorite because there’s little info to be found on this Imperial scout/utility knife anywhere else!

I purchased a lot of scout/utility knives the other day from the bay.  I posted a pic of my score on www.allaboutpocketknives.com .  Not long after I posted the pic I received a PM (private message) from a fellow member who asked, “Do you know you have a pretty rare knife in that bunch? And do you want to guess which one it is?”

I’m game, so I guessed the Corning Scout Knife.  Errrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrnt! Wrong!  It was the plastic handle Imperial (tang stamp dates to 1956 – 1988) Official Boy Scout knife (see shield) my friend told me!  He also informed me that these knives were produced from 1962 – 1963 only! WOW, ….Holy Rare Knives Batman, I exclaimed to myself !

Here’s the details:
Main blade – spear point
Cap lifter
Can Opener
Leather punch (awl)
Philips head screwdriver blade
3 3/8”  closed length

It’s more about the pics….than the text.  If you have any questions, fire me off a message.  I no longer own the knife, but, well….hey Jack….it’s gone like a 20 dollar bill!

Steel Sahlute Steel Lovers!!
Scott

Colonial Blackie Collins Auto Knife #117 (#106)

Steel Sahlute fellow steel brothers and sisters!

Just in from the hallowed halls of Rhode Island knife manufacturer, Colonial Knife Corporation http://www.colonialknifecorp.com/  is this NEW automatic knife.

Details:
Made in the USA!
The website shows I have the Blackie Collins #106 model, my box reads #117. ???
I think I read this is 420 stainless steel with a black coating, but don’t hold me to it (It does not state anything on the box or on the Colonial website).
4 ¼” closed length
7” OAL (overall length)

The TripleF: Fit, Finish & Functionality – 5

The knife seems to be solidly put together, however the functionality is deeply lacking.

1).  The pocket clip – Because of the deep reidges in the handle, it makes sliding the clip over the pants pocket lip next to impossible……and I really mean NEXT TO IMPOSSIBLE.  Using both hands, and almost pushing my pants to me knees (ok, I’m exaggerating on that part) I finally got the knife resting on my pocket lip.
Yeah, I shouldn’t have done that……I cursed myself as I attempted to pull the knife from my pocket…..the grip was like a python who hadn’t eaten in 6 months with his first prey.  I was not impressed.

So, I thought to release the the grip of the clip.  Yeah.  You know what happened.  I released it just a smidge too much and wah-lah….knife no grippy anything anymore.  I’m not a knife mechanic and leaving me to make adjustments isn’t good…..never will be.

2). The push-button automatic blade opener. 
Let me tell you this, you better have a firm grasp on this when you depress the button because he kicks like a mule who’s having his “you know whats” squeezed in a vice.  Yeah.  In all honesty, I dropped the knife twice within 24 hours when trying to close the knife, because the spring tension was soooooooo tight.

3). The slide lock.  Sheeesh, the thing sticks out like a zit on a teenager.  Dang dude.

4). The blade does have some side-to-side movement.

The blade looks cool.  It’s a tanto point with partial serrated edge.

I did execute a paper-cut test.  Not bad.  Frankly, with a 3 part blade (serrated, regular, and tanto) my decision powers were stuttering when it came to decide exactly what part of the blade to start cutting with??????

Accessibility – 0

Yeah. No.  Couldn’t figure out a way to carry this knife unless I was to keep it in my glove compartment – there’s an idea!  I certainly couldn’t have it clipped on my pocket, and at 4” closed, with a slide-lock knobbie that extened out a quarter of an inch I couldn’t see dropping this down to the bottom of my pants pocket…..no.

Accessing a knife is a big deal for me, and if it’s a PITA to access and open, it’ll see a poor score on the Steel Sahlute Accessibility meter!

Collectibilty – 0

Yeah. No.
 

Value – 0
Yeah. No.

In all seriousness, I am a little nervous about carrying this knife…..and I MOST CERTAINLY WILL NOT show it to any friends for fear of them reaching to grab the knife before it hits the concrete, as it has just kicked out of their hands.  As Uncle Si would say……nnnnnnnnnnnaaaaooo!

Steel Sahlute Score……………  1.25 Steel Sahlutes! 

Well, the review is complete and my recommendations are……..send ‘er back to the drawing board! Toss this knife profile and configuration out and start anew!

Thanks to the folks at Colonial for sending this knife to be reviewed!!
http://www.colonialknifecorp.com/

Steel Sahlute!
Scott

FREE Banner Ad Advertising!!

Listen up steel spirited followers! I am giving away, absolutely FREE, banner ad space on this website for one week, for the next 7 or 8 weeks (Actually until the first day of the 2013 Blade Show)!  Yup,  7 different companies can have one week of free advertising on my knife blog with a 160 x 600 banner (see the left area where the Google Ads are?  That’s where you’re banner will go if I accept your company!).

Over the last 4 months PocketKnivesBlog.com has received 42,027 page views or an average of 10,506 per month.  During that same time there has been an average of 192 unique visitors per day!  In total there are over 390 posts on PocketKnivesBlog.com and up until the 2013 Blade Show I’ll be giving away one week to a number of different companies that meet my approval!

Click on the Contact Me link for my email address and let’s see if you’re selected!

The tang stamp dates this knife to 1946 -1956 making it at least 57 years old.

To open, simply push down on the round button and the blade comes out and locks into place.  The oval shaped release looking thing-ah-mah-jig is a lock.  You can actually lock, by pushing the slider towards the round button, the knife, thus preventing it from opening.

 It’s kind of the assisted open Kershaw Leek before it’s time, if you will.  Purdy cool actually!

The handles are the ever popular shell/plastic handles in the ever, ever popular color of cracked ice.  Some refer to the color as mother of pearl, but it’s not MOP!

The closed length is 4 ¼” with an open overall length of 7 ½”   Blade is 3 ¼” and more than likely made of carbon steel, right here in the USA!

Steel Sahlute!
Scott