Monday, April 29, 2013

1950's Victorinox Standard

Last saturday, the wife and I went to another flea market in Bilzen, a small city in the northeast of Belgium, and after an hour of complaining about the high prices and lack of pocket knives, the wife spots something special... The first thing you do when you spot red scales, is looking at the logo, then at the tools and finally at the blade stamp... After I did this, I noticed that this knife had the classic awl and that's always good! The only thing I was affraid of was the price. This guy looked like someone who knew what he's selling. I was lucky and bought it eventually for 7 Euro. Once in my hands, I couldn't let it go... It looks brand new... Too bad it's a promotional knife, but the near new condition makes you forget about that...  The company JEAN HEYBROEK nv. was founded in 1900 and is still one of the leading importers of gardening tools and machinery...




Age - marks :

* Cellidor scales : These scales were introduced in 1937. Before 1937 the scales were made from fibre, and had no mirror polish. This knife has cellidor scales!
* Can opener : This type can opener is the more recent one with only one difference. It has a PAT - marking on it wich stands for Patented. This one is introduced in 1951 and continued till 1970.
* REAMER : The old type reamer was used from 1951 to 1961.
* Small blade : The small blade has a clip point. These blades were used till 1973.
* Cap lifter : The cap lifter, here used, with sharpened curve, without the 90 degree lock, was manufactured from 1951 till 1972.
* Blade stamp : The main blade stamp says Victorinox Switzerland STAINLESS ROSTFREI and on the back is VICTORIA in a crossbow stamped. This stamping was used from 1952 on till ??



Conclusion :
If I only look at the tools, this knife should be made between 1951 and 1961, but if you include the blade stamp, the time window narrows with one more year... between 52 and 61... 

1 comment:

  1. I was searching for a picture, and by accident found your blog.
    Awesome knife, i'm one of the employe's at this company right now for several years now, if you're ever thinking about selling the knife, you've got yourself a buyer ;p

    Nice story with a nice picture.
    Cheers.

    ReplyDelete