Posting new info

[BestVintageKnives]

Well according to some newbie forum I’m in manic mode because I have some vacation time alone and I’m organizing my knife files for my books and make some posts. The more people talk about me the more hated they are.

I just like living in reality and making new posts to share with everyone and make the hobby better. The old info the “experts” keep quoting is wrong so I figure it’s time to set the record straight.

Can’t wait for the set of 3 new books to be finished and come out. We can move forward and dump all the old wrong info and start over with all new info. Many great new stories will be added and some old stories may be written right out of history.

Some experts have never found even one piece of factual info add to our hobby yet they are hyper critical of others. I have more factual paper on vintage Italian switchblades than all collectors combined on Earth. Most people just steal paper from me to make themselves look better. Imagine that? Lol!

I’ll be going through some of my paper today if you have anything you want to see let me know.

[bestgear]

….if you have anything you want to see let me know.

Hi Charley - I’m looking for information to prove that the Boy Scout Presto switchblade from the 30’s and 40’s was issued by the BSA and how it was distributed to Scouts. I’m told by Mark Erickson that he remembers seeing something in a leaders equipment catalog but I’ve been unable to identify that source. Any ideas?

Thanks in advance

[BestVintageKnives]

….if you have anything you want to see let me know.

Hi Charley - I’m looking for information to prove that the Boy Scout Presto switchblade from the 30’s and 40’s was issued by the BSA and how it was distributed to Scouts. I’m told by Mark Erickson that he remembers seeing something in a leaders equipment catalog but I’ve been unable to identify that source. Any ideas?

Thanks in advance

Mostly I have Italian info. I can ask Mark. We talk all the time. Another American expert I can ask as well. I think he found the ad for the Schrade Girl Scout knife.

I’ll ask today

[bestgear]

I’ll ask today

thanks Charley!

[BestVintageKnives]

….if you have anything you want to see let me know.

Hi Charley - I’m looking for information to prove that the Boy Scout Presto switchblade from the 30’s and 40’s was issued by the BSA and how it was distributed to Scouts. I’m told by Mark Erickson that he remembers seeing something in a leaders equipment catalog but I’ve been unable to identify that source. Any ideas?

Thanks in advance

I’ll get back with you soon..

[ScoutKnives]

I’ve dug deep into the official Boy Scout switchblade with nothing more than hearsay so I’m very interested in what you have !
The Girl Scout knife is in the equipment catalogs so that one is pretty known and not that uncommon .

Mike

[BestVintageKnives]

I’ve dug deep into the official Boy Scout switchblade with nothing more than hearsay so I’m very interested in what you have !
The Girl Scout knife is in the equipment catalogs so that one is pretty known and not that uncommon .

Mike

I remember being at the Atlanta blade show 2012 and that very weekend I think one was bought at the show and one on eBay too? Both Boy Scout models and one had an etch.

I’ll pass along all I can

[ScoutKnives]

Here are the two examples I have in my collection .

Mike

[LKSKNIVES]

This thread the information and the pictures is probably the most interesting thing I have seen, since I started on the forum. I am just amazed by what my dad and y’all have collected and the information you have found shared it is amazing.
Just imagine the day that young men and women toting a switchblade around with them. It was even better when I was young. We have gotten so far away from God it’s no wonder things are crazy.
Steve

[BestVintageKnives]

This thread the information and the pictures is probably the most interesting thing I have seen, since I started on the forum. I am just amazed by what my dad and y’all have collected and the information you have found shared it is amazing.
Just imagine the day that young men and women toting a switchblade around with them. It was even better when I was young. We have gotten so far away from God it’s no wonder things are crazy.
Steve

I’ll try to post more interesting things

[bestgear]

but everyone got chased away. I hope the friendship on the forums returns one day

your commentary is really unfair. Nobody got chased away unfairly and friendships abound here on AAPK. May I kindly remind you Charley that we now have a documented mission, vision and core values that we ALL live by: https://www.allaboutpocketknives.com/ca ... ion_values

[BestVintageKnives]

but everyone got chased away. I hope the friendship on the forums returns one day

your commentary is really unfair. Nobody got chased away unfairly and friendships abound here on AAPK. May I kindly remind you Charley that we now have a documented mission, vision and core values that we ALL live by: https://www.allaboutpocketknives.com/ca ... ion_values

You’ve been great. I should have been more clear. I’ll fix my post.

[bestgear]

You’ve been great.

we love the ephemera and history you’ve been sharing of late and my great hope is that it continues. Our 4th vision is for AAPK to be historians that capture and share the evolution of knives with the world by providing a bridge between collectors who might otherwise be isolated in their hobby through open discussions, opportunities to share photos and discussion of both complete collections and individual knives of particular interest.

[BestVintageKnives]

You’ve been great.

we love the ephemera and history you’ve been sharing of late and my great hope is that it continues. Our 4th vision is for AAPK to be historians that capture and share the evolution of knives with the world by providing a bridge between collectors who might otherwise be isolated in their hobby through open discussions, opportunities to share photos and discussion of both complete collections and individual knives of particular interest.

Sounds fantastic. The information on Italian switchblades is sadly 20 years out of date. It will get better thanks to places like this and some new projects.

[BestVintageKnives]

I’ve dug deep into the official Boy Scout switchblade with nothing more than hearsay so I’m very interested in what you have !
The Girl Scout knife is in the equipment catalogs so that one is pretty known and not that uncommon .

Mike

Hi Mike. I heard from my friend last night. He’s digging for a letter he has a copy of.

It’s a letter from BSA saying Scout Masters can order automatic versions for boys who may have physical disabilities.

I trust my friend. He’s one of the greatest minds in the hobby. I learned from the best Russ and sneak and Myron. These are the greatest collectors we have. They have always encouraged me to find info and help understand out past.

[wiseguy]

If someone actually comes up with the catalogue depicting the BSA knife ….. DROP THE MIC !!!
I’ve been looking for decades with nothing more than what has been written about it with no official documentation.

Thanks to all that continue to deliver facts! There’s only a handful of collectors that have the integrity to only provide the facts and not hearsay.

[bestgear]

Thanks to all that continue to deliver facts! There’s only a handful of collectors that have the integrity to only provide the facts and not hearsay.

I don’t quite have a decade of dedicated research but I’ve been hot on the trail for about 3 years and this is what I believe to be the facts on the BSA Presto:

• Not military surplus due to 1940 US Army report and evidence of the knife being produced well before 1940

• Not a prototype due the elongated duration between 1930 and 1945 that’s been authenticated through tang stamps differences of genuine etched versions

• A 5” patented genuine etched version was discovered that may have been a 1940 prototype due the tang stamp

• No supply chain evidence from the manufacturer to the BSA to the Scout/Leader to substantiate the knife as official has been documented

• Likely to be official due to genuine etches that would have been defended if they were non-official based on BSA’s documented commitment to brand protection, multiple specimens of the knife, and my subject matter opinion

I’ve been collecting and researching Official Scouts since 1964 and this one eludes me.

[wiseguy]

In response to the 5” model mentioned, if it’s the same one i saw displayed on red felt at the OKCA show years ago… my opinion is that etch was faked .

[bestgear]

In response to the 5” model mentioned, if it’s the same one i saw displayed on red felt at the OKCA show years ago… my opinion is that etch was faked .

I can’t say with any certainty that the one I saw and held was displayed at the OKCA show but the one I referenced was owned by Ed Holbrook (and in his book) and is now a part of the BSA’s permanent collection in Cimmaron New Mexico at Philmont. I also cannot say with 100% certainty that the etch is genuine but having examined the knife at Philmont last year, I would speculate that it is a genuine etch. We may or may not be talking about the same knife Carl.

[wiseguy]

In response to the 5” model mentioned, if it’s the same one i saw displayed on red felt at the OKCA show years ago… my opinion is that etch was faked .

I can’t say with any certainty that the one I saw and held was displayed at the OKCA show but the one I referenced was owned by Ed Holbrook and is now a part of the BSA’s permanent collection in Cimmaron New Mexico at Philmont. I also cannot say with 100% certainty that the etch is genuine but having examined the knife at Philmont last year, I would speculate that it is a genuine etch. We may or may not be talking about the same knife Carl.

Do you have a photo of it ?
Thanks

[bestgear]

Do you have a photo of it?

The images I took last year at Philmont are on a SmartCard that I cannot get to read and didn’t think to offload when I was able read it lesson learned that SC’s have a life expectancy. I’ll try and get some images from my BSA contacts.

An image is on page 22 of the sixth printing of Holbrook’s “Official Scout Blades” that shows a smaller bail and a hard to read etch but the distinctive Presto bone jigging. The only 5” single blade Presto documented in Mark Erickson’s book “ Antique American Switchblades” with the distinctive Presto bone jigging is without a bail (page 107).

[ScoutKnives]

Patiently waiting , and thank you !

Mike

I’ve dug deep into the official Boy Scout switchblade with nothing more than hearsay so I’m very interested in what you have !
The Girl Scout knife is in the equipment catalogs so that one is pretty known and not that uncommon .

Mike

Hi Mike. I heard from my friend last night. He’s digging for a letter he has a copy of.

It’s a letter from BSA saying Scout Masters can order automatic versions for boys who may have physical disabilities.

I trust my friend. He’s one of the greatest minds in the hobby. I learned from the best Russ and sneak and Myron. These are the greatest collectors we have. They have always encouraged me to find info and help understand out past.

[1967redrider]

Very interesting thread, thanks to all who have contributed.