Autopoint jack knife... The strange beauty of MOTS

puukkoman

puukkoman

Joined
Sep 30, 2004
Messages
6,997
As some may remember, a few years ago the term "MOTS" ran rampant about these pages. It's an acronym, similar to MOP (Mother of Pearl), that stands for Mother of Toilet Seat. As fewer may remember, there was a time when a strange, yellow-white, iridescent, smooth-yet-visually-textured material was ever-present in the lavatories of Americans. Apparently, some people also thought it would look GREAT on a pocket knife, and so MOTS was born.

Now that we're on the same page... Over the past couple years, I've been forging a close bond with one of my many younger cousins. To put it bluntly, the kid needs a mentor. He teeters on the brink of real, life-changing trouble, and I try (and try and try) to effect some positive influence... with some success, admittedly. :)
Among our interactions, I've given him a few nice pocket knives. He appreciates them, and it has been a nice common ground upon which we can meet.

Anyway, that same cousin gave me a Christmas present this winter. I took it as a huge gesture; he's flat broke, without two nickels to rub together, and yet he was thinking of me when he saw this little knife in a shop, and bought it.

Now, on to the sharp stuff.

This is a little carbon steel jack knife, clip main and pen secondary (in front of the main). It has what some would call "tip bolsters," which are integral to the scales and not pinned on. The covers are that mystical, fabled substance, MOTS. It measures 3 3/8" in length. The whole thing is pretty solid: snaps like a bear trap, the blades are 100% full, no gaps anywhere. A couple small cracks in the covers, near the end pins, but they're stable. And... the main clip blade has just the nicest swedge... :D

I've never seen this tang stamp before... it reads "Autopoint" in cursive script, above "Chicago USA" on the main blade; nothing on the pen.
This knife is way smaller and more dainty than anything else I'd toss into my pocket, but... I love it! The only reason I gave it a chance is its provenance, since it was given to me by someone special. But it's definitely grown on me since then... hence my desire to show it off.

Does anyone know anything about this stamp? Or maybe roughly when this was made? By whom (was Autopoint a cutler?)?

Hope you guys enjoy it almost as much as I do. :)

Alex

...the pics I took are too big for BFC, so Photobucket will have to do...
100_0678.jpg 100_0679.jpg 100_0680.jpg 100_0683.jpg 100_0684.jpg
 
That looks similar to one of my Great Grandfather's old knives. I'll look at the tang stamp when I get home.
 
As an old guy I distinctly remember, I think, that there was a pen and pencil manufacturer named Autopoint.
 
That's great that he would think of you when seeing a classic knife and realizing how much that would mean from him to you. You are, no doubt playing a big role in his life, indeed.
 
That's a great gesture, and a lovely lookign knife....despite the MOTS (which actually ain't all that bad).
ITs common to see wee pocket knives made out of similar faux-MOP here, but I don't think I've seen anything with such a good looking and conditioned main blade...ever.

BTW good on you for taking him under your wing sir.
 
Last edited:
These old cracked ice slipjoints have some unidentifiable mysterious attraction. Mine, an old Imperial, holds that essence for me. I was searching an old antique store and there it was, gleaming in all its Mother of Toiletseatness. The bolsters, still shiny after all these years, lost in an old box in a lonely drawer of the old shop.
Thoughts began to fill my mind... there is one of those cracked ice doo wops, 40s-50s era, jet plane, knives. 57' Chevys, 41' Lincoln Zephyr Coupes, Mercurys, Cadillac de Villes, candy apple red, roller skates, diners, big hair. Look at that rust, Rama-Lama-Ding-Dong. That's all right, that's all right mama. just any way you do.

6859417111_98e9130169_b.jpg


Thanks Puukkoman for the trip and your inner work for your cousin.
 
Last edited:
You must log in or register to reply here.
Back
Top