Melon tester, fruit knife, citrus knife and sausage knife are popular names for these patterns. SS, logically, denotes a stainless steel blade, as all of the knives of the "Razor Blade Stainless" series were. These knives were made concurrently by both the Schrade Walden and Ulster divisions in three styles/sizes. For Ulster, the handle material was called "Ivoroid". For SW it was called "Marine unbreakable Pearl Plastic", or "Grained Ivory unbreakable Plastic". Circa 1961 they were available with the optional "WE" "Wonda-Edge" scalloped blade. Since they were most often used as give-away knives for various produce and meat suppliers, they were offered with custom hot stamp imprinting on one or both sides.
The 5 3/4" 105 Sampler appears in the 1955 and 1957 price lists, both in carbon steel and in stainless. The SS105 is shown in the 1959 catalog along with the 4 11/16 SS102 and 4 1/2" two blade SS700. The MSRP of the 105 in 1959 was $5.35 ($24.00 doz. wholesale).
The addition of the "RB", "Razor blade Stainless" name appears in 1965 and was used on pocket knives as well as the samplers. The MSRP on the SS105RB rose to $6.00 by 1969 and $8.75 in 1976, $10.00 in 1977. They weren't listed in the regular catalogs from then until 1983 when MSRP was $17.95, $19.95 in 1986, $23.95 in 1990, $27.95 in 1998. They were last offered in 2004 at $31.95.
Michael
