M Klein & Sons Electricians Knife

[unky_gumbi]

I have seen threads on this knife or similar style here before but for the life of me I can't find the ones for the M. Klein & Sons knife

I can make out the makers mark on the main blade only as
J
M.Klein&Sons
Chicago
Made in USA (Can't really see this to well because the liner lock and bolster blocks it in all positions) See picture

This one looks to me the most serviceable of the bunch, locks engage strongly and the blades move smoothly and have minimal side to side play. The scales seem to be plastic to my eye and any of the dirt/discoloration on them rubs off with just my fingers.
I am just trying to get an age on this one and to learn if Klein & Sons made their own knives or if they were made by someone else, like so many older knives seem to have been.

Thanks again for your help here I am enjoying all this knowledge everyone has been sharing with me. Even just pointing me in the right direction to find information is a great help and learning experience.

Tang Stamp


Scales and pins



Top and Bottom view




The Blades

[Codger_64]

As with several of your knives, the mark is a merchant's mark. M. Klein & Sons is a distributor of mostly electrical supplies and tools. They have almost always sold variants of the TL-29 electrician's knife, and have purchased them from quite a few makers over the years. I can't get to my colelction of these right now, but yours looks to be Delrin, likely a Schrade, Ulster or Camillus made knife. Does it have a lock on the screwdriver/wire stripper blade?

EDIT: Never mind. I see the lock now.

[ron_m80]

I don't believe I have ever seen a 3 blade of that type before this thread.

What is the smaller blade intended for if you don't mind?

[unky_gumbi]

Yes it does have brass locks on both those blades. I am beginning to suspect that there were only a few knife makers back then and a lot of distributors .
So you have a collection of these do you, its an interesting design I will say but not really my taste. Would you happen to have any in mint or near mint condition I could see a picture of. I just think it would be interesting to see what it should look like

[unky_gumbi]

I remember seeing a thread here with the three blades but I couldn't find it. Maybe I can find it now that I have the model number to search.
I realize how little I know when trying to learn about these knives

[bernard_levine]

The usual three-blade is called a 'Janitor Pattern.'
Its third blade is usually a hawkbill.

The odd blade on this knife looks to be a safety point slitting blade, perhaps for plastic cable sheathing.

I've not seen that before on a pocketknife...

But I have seen 19th century ladies sewing basket knives with a similar blade, for seam ripping.

As noted, Matthias Klein & Sons distribute electrical tools, not sewing tools.

BRL...

[unky_gumbi]

Interesting, I figured that I was just a common knife. Time to put on the detective hat and see what else I can find out about this thing. I think someone else will beat me to the real answer

So in my quick searching I managed to find another one with the same blade configuration, on ebay but no real information, and the same configuration is still being offered by Klein Tools. The odd blade is a Special insulation-slitting blade, just as Mr. Lavine has said, not that I doubted his word. Here is a link to the current offering on the Klein site http://www.service.kleintools.com/To...Product/1550-9

[Trent Rock]

The usual three-blade is called a 'Janitor Pattern.'
Its third blade is usually a hawkbill.

Need a janitors knife for my collection
Will go good next to my rooster nutter

Learn something new every day................

[ron_m80]

Learn something new every day................

Yes thank you.

[unky_gumbi]

So having tracked down the type of knife it is, the next thing for me is to try and figure out the age of the knife. Since the knife is still being made and, and I think it has been made for some time. And I know the condition of the knife is not an indicator, how would I go about figuring out the age of the knife? Are there some tell tale manufacturing processes that would help identify the approximate manufacturing dates or a certain mark that could indicate the age? I have sent an email off to Klein tools requesting their help in dating the knife but I don't know what I will get back if anything.

[ron_m80]

I can't be certain about the knife, but Klein tools isn't called M Klein and son anymore. And i guess the name change happened in the late 60's.

[unky_gumbi]

Well the oldest Klein Tools trademark I can find is 1970, and the last M. Klein & Sons trademark I can find was registered in 1950. So would I be correct in guessing that it is pre 1970?

[james alfred]

Well the oldest Klein Tools trademark I can find is 1970, and the last M. Klein & Sons trademark I can find was registered in 1950. So would I be correct in guessing that it is pre 1970?

No, you would be incorrect in the knife being pre-1970. The picture of your Klein knife's tang stamp showing the letter J at the top is the date code for the knife. J=1971 so, the knife was made in 1971. The letter code on the Klein knives started in 1962. Besides the special insulation splitting blade and the hawk bill blade BL mentioned, the three bladed Janitor pattern Klein knives have also been made with a sheep's foot blade as the third odd blade.

[KD5JHA]

No, you would be incorrect in the knife being pre-1970. The picture of your Klein knife's tang stamp showing the letter J at the top is the date code for the knife. J=1971 so, the knife was made in 1971. The letter code on the Klein knives started in 1962. Besides the special insulation splitting blade and the hawk bill blade BL mentioned, the three bladed Janitor pattern Klein knives have also been made with a sheep's foot blade as the third odd blade.

It's funny about those date codes, I have a relatively new Klein 3 blade electrical knife and each blade has a different date code. I guess that only dates when the blade was made not when the knife was sold.

[protourist]

A dumb question if I may.
While we know that Klein sells them. Do we know who actually made/makes this knife?

[N. Brian Huegel]

I believe that Utica/Kutmaster is the current maker of Klein's traditional electrician knives.

[protourist]

Thank you.

[Ishrub]

I have 3 Klein knives. I dont think they are worth much even new http://www.mytoolstore.com/klein/kln12.html

A single 2 1/4 inch coping blade with same plastic wood grain handles.
Blade marked:
R-3
KLEIN TOOLS
CHICAGO, USA

Another single 2 1/4 inch coping blade with dark brown 'bakelite' handles.

Blade marked:
MKLEIN & SONS
CHICAGO
MADE IN U.S.A.

Another 3 3/4 inch 2-Blade Pocket Knife – Carbon Steel 2-3/8" Hawksbill and 1-1/2" Insulation-Slitting Blades with same plastic wood grain handles. http://www.service.kleintools.com/To...0KN-2BLDSHPISL

Blade marked:
K
MKLEIN & SONS
CHICAGO
MADE IN U.S.A.

[Ishrub]

The usual three-blade is called a 'Janitor Pattern.'
Its third blade is usually a hawkbill. BRL...

http://www.mytoolstore.com/klein/1550-6.html

It looks like mr Klein did originally start as a toolmaker rather than just a wholesaler/retailer

http://www.kleintools.com/content/history

"1857 When Mathias Klein emigrated from Germany and made his way west to set up shop in Chicago's bustling downtown business district, the "communications industry" amounted to nothing more than a few bare wires strung on lean telegraph poles.

Perhaps the only job Mathias Klein ever did "halfway" involved the first tool he ever made, which was — in fact — one half pair of pliers. A broken side-cutting pliers was brought to his forge shop by a telegraph lineman. Mathias Klein forged and finished a new half for the tool, riveted it to the old, and the lineman went on his way. Shortly thereafter the lineman returned. The other original half of the tool had now broken and Mathias Klein forged the second pliers half, producing the first complete Klein pliers. "

[knarfeng]

The odd blade on this knife looks to be a safety point slitting blade, perhaps for plastic cable sheathing.

BRL...

Almost. The plastic sheathed wires are generically called "Romex" (first folks to come out with it, I think). The outer wrappings of early forms of Romex were paper (more like a coated thin cardboard). The paper had thick strands (something like string) spiraling along the wrapping. Pain in the butt to remove. Best way to remove the outer wrapper was to use one of those slitter blades, then cut the paper with a pair of dikes (diagonal cut pliers) . Of course the slitting blades work pretty good on the modern plastic stuff, but a bunch of other tools work on the modern stuff. For the original Romex, the slitter was the best tool I ever found for the job.