switch blades from times past

[Samari Jack]

Just recently I was digging through an old desk and found these. The one on top is actually of reasonable quality and legal as I bought it a few years ago at a local gun show. The "knob" next to the blade is pushed and and through a mechanical lever opens the knife and it locks into place. One hand is all that's needed. I do carry it in winter from time to time, not for protection but to do what pocket knives do. I have a CCW permit for social work if needed.

The one in the middle probably is not legal to carry in my state. After sliding the safety, pushing the button opens the blade. It is of so-so quality but I'm a lefty and the point of the blade would score my palm if I tried to open it with my dominant hand.

The one on the bottom is fun to work but really a piece of trash knife of poor quality. It was only sharpened on one side. If my recollection is correct, it is called a stiletto as the blade doesn't fold but protrudes by way of a spring actuated by a button (kind of hard to see in the picture). Retracts the same way.

 

[hso]

The top knife isn't switchblade.

Who is the maker of the middle knife?

The bottom knife is a piece of trash, but it is a fun piece of trash. Stiletto applies to the long narrow pointy blade shape and not the mechanism.

 

[Samari Jack]

The one in the middle has "Roster" on the blade. If I recall correctly I bought it on a scuba diving trip to South America 25 or so years ago while roaming around after a day of diving. Not sure what the pearly looking parts of the handle are made of. Doesn't feel like plastic.

Once the blade is locked open, pushing the big button unlocks it.

 

[hso]

rostfrei, perhaps?

 

[rondog]

I like the one in the middle! Kinda cool and different looking, yet still traditional.

 

[ArfinGreebly]

Rostfrei

Under image zoom, the word on the middle knife shows up as ROSTFREI.

Rostfrei = "rust-free" = stainless.

 

[hso]

Rostfrei isn't the name of the manufacturer. As AG points out, it's just german for "stainless"

 

[GCBurner]

The Chinese put "rostfrei" on their blades, too, just to make it look like a higher-quality European knife.


I've got a small collection of automatics, too, some of better quality than others.

 

[Ron James]

We used to call the one on the bottom " Spring Blades ", because a strong spring pushes the blade forward from the handle rather than outward. As posted, the one on top isn't a switch blade and should be legal in most states. It has a seat belt cutter and a window breaker ( little knob o the end ).
GCBurner, I like your display case, I have a couple that look identical for my Buck 110 and 112s.

 

[hso]

IIRC rostfrei is used throughout Europe for stainless steel and I've seen it used on all sorts of Chinese and Pakistani blades as well.

 

[W.E.G.]

 

[Shanghai McCoy]

Now you're just showin' off W.E.G...
Nice blade and Luger.

 

[ArfinGreebly]

Stainless By Any Other Name

IIRC rostfrei is used throughout Europe for stainless steel and I've seen it used on all sorts of Chinese and Pakistani blades as well.

The two most popular terms for stainless in Europe are Rostfrei (German & similar tongues) and Inox or Inoxidable/Inoxydable (French & similar tongues). The word "stainless" is also used there.


If you're easily impressed by European sounding words stamped/engraved/etched into steel, I have a box of "Solingen steel" razor knives I can sell you cheap. As long as you don't look out toward the tip of the clip point blade, you won't see the "PAKISTAN" laser etch. And, as long as you're willing to overlook the poor fit & finish and the little uneven grind thing, they're actually a pretty sweet pocket folder. Hey, gotta be good, right? Says Solingen right there on the tang stamp. The folks that sold it to me pointed out that it wasn't their problem that I didn't ask where these Solingen knives were made.

Caveat emptor, y'know.

 

[bikerdoc]

Yep. When I started my edged affection, I found a beautiful bone scaled, brass bolstered, single blade lockback, marked soligen at a yard sale for cheap. No other markings. Turns out it is a soft steel paperweight. Live and learn.

 

[jahwarrior]

nice collection, GCBurner. i used to have two of those swing guard autos; one of them was "confiscated" by the NYPD when i was a teen, the other finally broke after 29 years of regular use. both were of Korean make, i believe.

 

[GCBurner]

The ones in the case represent several nationalities, I think the swing guard is from Taiwan. There's also Italy, Germany, France, Japan, China, and the USA is represented by the Camillus M1 jump knife, which was my first auto.

 

[Clipper]

I had a Gerber like that interframe job...The spring was so stiff it would jump out of my hand unless I had a real death grip on it.

 

[USAF_Vet]

A Benchmade auto I've had since Iraq. I've got another floating around here with a busted tip. Painful reminder that knives are NOT pry bars.

This one has certainly seen it's share of honest work.

 

[bikerdoc]

^

Someone just brought me one just like that with a broken tip and then tried to reprofile it on a bench grinder. think uneven with gouges.
Best I can do make it a spear point, even out the blade and sharpen it. Still gonna look wierd but it will be a sharp function automatic knife.

 

[USAF_Vet]

doc, I've been thinking about reshaping the tip of that broken blade, but I don't want to ruin it. but then again, it's well out of warranty so Benchmade won't touch it.
It sits in a drawer until I figure out a plan for it.

 

[hso]

They might just replace the blade for you.

 

[GWARGHOUL]

You guys know of any websites that sell these? I always got the cheapies at the flea market, but the flea market shut down, and I gave my best piece to a lady that likes to walk her dog alone at night.