FS: RARE OLD Auto (Automatic) Knife Co Penknife - 1890s

PointyThings

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Had this one on eBay, but some idiot reported it and eBay yanked it down.

Asking $125 shipped within the USA. PM me if interested.

SOLD, pending payment

Here's my original eBay listing details:

Very rare Automatic Knife Company Knife (Middletown, CT) pen knife in mother of pearl. This is one of the "holy grail" knives of collectors seeking unusual opening mechanisms.

The knife is designed to work as an assisted opener. To open the knife, you would press one of the steel tabs sideways to release the blade. The blade would then pop up just enough so that you could grab it with your fingers and open it the rest of the way. Unlike switchblades, these blades do not open into a using position. This knife requires two hands to operate -- making it completely legal to own and carry.

Yes, it's not perfect, but it doesn't matter if your collection is missing one.

Now for the specifics about this knife:

Pattern: Equal-end pen or senator.

Length closed: 3-1/4 inches closed including the tabs.

Blades: 2: Spear master, pen secondary. Blades have patina. The pen blade has been tipped about 3/16 inch). Master blade has less than 10% wear. Blades do not lock down into the frame as they should.

Handles: Mother of pearl. Front scale is cracks across the handle and one end is broken away. Back scale is good, with a small 1/16 inch pin crack on one end.

Bolsters: None.

Liners: Steel. Opener tabs are also steel

Backsprings: Good backsprings. They offer resistance when the blades are pushed into the frame, as they should. Blades have decent snap on open. Tarnish and patina on outside of backspring that can be taken out easily with sandpaper.

Stamping: Front tang of master blade stamped with AUTO KNIFE CO / MIDDLETOWN / CONN. Pen blade stamped PAT. APR 9 '89

Mechanism: Mechanism will not lock the blades in the fully closed position. It's possible that this can be fixed.

Overall Condition: Because the pearl is missing across one pivot pin, the knife pulls apart at one end. This is easily fixed by replacing the handle scale, which would hold the loose pin in place again. The good news is that the blade tang is NOT unevenly worn and the knife will pin back together nicely. Good knife for restoration.

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