Swedish-American Telephone Co. OPT

[cody6268]

Is this the ancestor of the modern one-piece multitool? It's about 4 inches long, and the design looks like something made today, but it isn't. MUCH older than that.

Found this on eBay today.  Thought it was a contemporary design, but it's not. Swedish American Telephone Co. went out of business ca. 1920; so it's a hundred years old or older.

The mark (partially cut off) reads "SWEDISH AMERICAN TELEPHONE CO CHICAGO"

s-l1600SATCCI by cody6268, on Flickr

s-l1600SATCI2 by cody6268, on Flickr


You have many features and an overall format similar to today's MTs.

A ruler
An alligator-type wrench as found on tools like the Pocket Wrench II
A nail-puller/pry bar/big slotted screwdriver
A bottle opener--which there's few that don't have these tools these days
A wire stripper; or perhaps a cigar box opener
A contact file on one corner of the tool
Specialty wrenches--I think the square one is a Prestolite key, I don't know what the other, longer opening is for.

Presumably, this was a "necessity is the mother of all invention tool" designed for their telephone personnel to cut back on weight.

[Yadda]

Nice find!  I've seen versions with knife sharpeners.

[pfrsantos]

Nice find!  I've seen versions with knife sharpeners.

+1

We had really cool things some decades ago. Somehow, they got forgotten and now we seem to need to reinvent them. Once in awhile we see something that looks like a beaten up modern tool when in fact it's a well preserved old one.