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Down Memory Lane

Offline kent ct

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Down Memory Lane
on: June 07, 2008, 11:12:01 PM
I was looking for a tool and opened an old tool box and found this.

It's a genuine Kutmaster. I bought this over 50 years ago. It cost about 5 dollars. The cheapest Case knife at the time was 10 dollars,and that was for a little one. You have to multiply that by about 8 times to get todays dollars. Kutmaster still makes this knife in the USA for $21.00 in stainless with Delrin scales. You can see how much more expensive tools were then. A black and white TV was $200, equivalent today to $800. A policeman or plumber made $100 a week. And taxes were taken out of that.

Even though tools and appliances were expensive, the really necessary things were cheap. A good house cost 15 thousand dollars. Three years of that policeman's wage. That same house is 400 thousand or more today. At a wage of 50 thousand it takes 8 years to pay off and you can not get a mortgage if your wage is that low. Food was $25 for 5 large paper bags full. Gas was 30 cents and fuel oil was 12 cents a gallon.

At the time knives were just another tool for me and I needed one to scrape old  gaskets off and to cut tubing or hoses etc. This knife looked sturdy so I bought it. You can see that one of the scales cracked and fell off. I just hammered the rivets and kept using it. Then I forgot about it until I just found it again. I would like to try my hand at restoring it. A good one to get my feet wet on rather than a SAK.

An uncle of mine who was a machinist  used to refer to the general run of American knifes as being made from hoop iron, referring to the hoops around wooden barrels. I agreed with him. It wasn't until I got my first SAK in 1996 that I began to appreciate a good knife.

You can  imagine my surprise when I checked on Ebay and saw the prices of some of those old boy scout knives. They used to give them away free with a pair of hiking boots. You could get a good vintage SAK for less.

Richard
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gb Offline Mike, Lord of the Spammers!

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Re: Down Memory Lane
Reply #1 on: June 08, 2008, 12:25:01 AM
Fine looking folder's mate :), they carry there years very well :)

As for restoring it mate :-\, I'd give them a bit of a clean and oil, then leave them exactly as they are :). There only original once :)
Give in, buy several Farmer's!!!!!!


Offline kent ct

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Re: Down Memory Lane
Reply #2 on: June 08, 2008, 12:42:40 AM
Fine looking folder's mate :), they carry there years very well :)

As for restoring it mate :-\, I'd give them a bit of a clean and oil, then leave them exactly as they are :). There only original once :)

I'm glad you said that. I think you are right.

Richard


us Offline J-sews

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Re: Down Memory Lane
Reply #3 on: June 08, 2008, 02:14:13 AM
Very interesting Kent. I've seen that pattern of knife before with a number of different tang stamps. Oftentimes I see them on eBay with Klein Tools markings. I wonder if Kutmaster produced the knives for Klein?

And about those blades...does the one have a scraper tip, or is that intended as a screwdriver?
In order to be certain of having the right tool for every job.........one must first acquire a lot of tools


ca Offline Grant Lamontagne

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Re: Down Memory Lane
Reply #4 on: June 08, 2008, 02:48:34 AM
I'd either leave it original or send it to a pro to restore- it's far too beautiful to take a chance on ruining as a first project knife.

The design seems reminiscent of the Electrician's Knife, which is a pattern many companys use, but Schatt & Morgan is probably the most popular these days:



Def
Leave the dents as they are- let your belongings show their scars as proudly as you do yours.


gb Offline Mike, Lord of the Spammers!

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Re: Down Memory Lane
Reply #5 on: June 08, 2008, 10:20:01 AM
Fine looking folder's mate :), they carry there years very well :)

As for restoring it mate :-\, I'd give them a bit of a clean and oil, then leave them exactly as they are :). There only original once :)

I'm glad you said that. I think you are right.

Richard
Let us know what you decide to do :)

Oh and more picture's would be welcome :drool:
Give in, buy several Farmer's!!!!!!


Offline kent ct

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Re: Down Memory Lane
Reply #6 on: June 08, 2008, 05:43:07 PM
Very interesting Kent. I've seen that pattern of knife before with a number of different tang stamps. Oftentimes I see them on eBay with Klein Tools markings. I wonder if Kutmaster produced the knives for Klein?

And about those blades...does the one have a scraper tip, or is that intended as a screwdriver?

As Def said it is an electrician's knife and the blade you refer to is a screwdriver. This blade has a liner lock. What would be a cutting edge is semi-sharp and was intended to cut insulation. The notch at the base of the blade was to scrape the copper wire clean to solder and has a sharp edge flat grind. The notch higher up on the back was to provide clearance for the nail nick on the cutting blade.

I think all the prominent makers made a model like this and it was also sold to the military for use in the signal corp. Which probably explains why the various makes are pretty much identical.

There was a bit of wobble in the blade, so holding the bolster on a steel block I hit the other side with a brass hammer, away from the pivot pin. Sure enough the pin protruded further and I was able to rivet it in the tighter position. There was no evidence that the pin had been riveted. It was a simple press fit. So depending on the accuracy of that press fit they only needed to press the pivot pin in and automatically the blades had the right tension.

Richard


 

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