Ulser and Kingston 50 pattern

lrv

lrv

Joined
Sep 14, 2003
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When Kingston was formed in the 40's they produced only a few patterns. One was the 250. A small 2 bladed knife which was later added to the Ulster line known as the 50. Ulster produced the 50 in many different combinations
Before 1960 the main blade was a clip after a turkish clip. The 50OT Ulster was the 4th Old Timer made by the Schrade companies and the 2nd under the Ulster tang.
Here is a picture of the ones I have. Schrade, sadly, did not continue the line after they stopped producing Ulsters. Guess we could call it one of the lost patterns. The 833UH and 93OT are about the closest I could find.
TTYL
Larry

50s.jpg

50s-o.jpg
 
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Nice work, putting them all together, Larry! I love seeing comprehensive collections! Thanks!!
Thawk, I'll wager you have some interesting groups!?!?
 
lrv said:
Schrade, sadly, did not continue the line after they stopped producing Ulsters. Guess we could call it one of the lost patterns. The 833UH and 93OT are about the closest I could find.
TTYL
Larry
Click to expand...

Larry - The Walden 218 and 219 patterns. What length were they? They look similar, in pictures, but I don't have one. They have a cut-out on the pen blade. For all I know, they may be a junior length knife, like an 807.
 
Here's one I dug out that I think fits into this family. It's a celluloid striped Ulster. It does have a regular clip, not a turkish clip.



Pretty interesting handles. If the tang has a 50 on it, then it's covered up under ULSTER/Knife US
 
Thawk,
Thanks for posting the colored 50. I was hoping others would show theirs too.
Saw one oth these in much worse condition on the bay yesterday.
The 55 is larger than the 50 and also used in many patterns.
As for the 218 219 they are smaller. Here is a copy from the 1960 catalog
218-219.jpg

TTYL
Larry
 
Here is my low tech contribution:

50s.a.jpg


A few notes:
- To my eye, the 50, 55, and 58 models appear to be the same length & pattern
- The top one, Ulster "50Y" is an oddity in that is has the OT type sawcut delrin handles, not yellow as the tang stamp would imply
- My 50Y (the yellow one) has a clip, not turkish clip blade
- No model number visible on the Kingston
- The diamond edge 383 has a really nice sweeping blade grind not seen on any of the others
- I called the other imperial "shell" because it has the cheap construction method where the handles are metal and the white is like a veneer. I don't know the proper terminology.
- I put a 33OT on there just for grins. It is very similar in size and shape to the 50s, but I don't believe it is a true variant of the 5x pattern. Although it may explain why the 5x pattern was discontinued - no need for two such similar patterns.

Dave
 
DLK,
I went back to the catalogs and you are correct both the 50 and 55 in the newer catalogs are the same length 3 1/4 in length. I dont have one to compare.
Thanks
Larry
 


Schrade 855RB | Ulster 58OT | Imperial DE 383 | Imperial RB | Ulster 55

Glad you brought this post up Larry, we'll need to do some more of these kind. I love seeing line up shots.

I also like this size of a knife with the turkish clip, and the spey lays closer to the knife than a sheeps foot, making this a sleek little pattern.
 
I consider that style, particularly in the 3-blade version, to be one of the classic slipjoints of all time....mainly due to the fact the the Imperial version was made by the zillions under both Jack Master (carbon steel) and Diamond Edge (stainless steel). For some reaon the 3-blade version seems to have been made in much larger numbers as compared to the 2 blade (at least by Imperial).

BTW, when did ISC stop producing the Ulster marked knives? I never figured out the exact year, but I always thought that it mighr be around the time of the introduction of the Frontier Series, since the Frontiers seemed to be the "mid grade" line between the Jack-Master and the Schrade, simila to the role that the Ulster line had filled.
 
dlk said:
Here is my low tech contribution:

50s.a.jpg


A few notes:
- To my eye, the 50, 55, and 58 models appear to be the same length & pattern
- The top one, Ulster "50Y" is an oddity in that is has the OT type sawcut delrin handles, not yellow as the tang stamp would imply
- My 50Y (the yellow one) has a clip, not turkish clip blade
- No model number visible on the Kingston
- The diamond edge 383 has a really nice sweeping blade grind not seen on any of the others
- I called the other imperial "shell" because it has the cheap construction method where the handles are metal and the white is like a veneer. I don't know the proper terminology.
- I put a 33OT on there just for grins. It is very similar in size and shape to the 50s, but I don't believe it is a true variant of the 5x pattern. Although it may explain why the 5x pattern was discontinued - no need for two such similar patterns.

Dave
Click to expand...

Nice lineup DLK. And I agree with you about the DE. I have one of these in an 880/885/8OT size too, the 353, and the blades are like you said, very sweeping and impressive. Nice quality stainless steel too.
 
Knifeaholic,
Albert told the sales folks in 1964 to stop selling Ulsters but..
The last flyer I have for Ulster is in 71 so...
By 1974 they were out of major manufacture but..
they continued making the Ulster 58OT through 1980.
Frontiers were ready for 1976.
Does that answer any question? I didn't think so.. :D
TTYL
Larry
 
The flyer for the 50D and 55D are on the Ulster page on my site.
But they sure are nice in a picture.
Thanks
 
This post has me wanting to start collecting these patterns. Thawk, that DElooks just like CASE new grind!
edfc_1.JPG
 
Bonite it is..
Feels a little different than Delrin.
As for collecting these... Thats what we are all about.. :rolleyes:
TTYL
LArry
50-55D's
 
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