Forgotten auto

[Twobit]

I've had this piece for many years. It was given to me by my father in law. Never cared a whole lot for it but now I'm curious if anyone knows anything about it. "Super Knife USA" is stamped on the blade but I seriously doubt it's anything but Asian, most likely Chinese made. Coil spring fired, faux stag inlay on one side of the grip frame, bare steel and a pocket clip/spring cover riveted to the back side. Any info would be appreciated as to value, etc. I'm not expecting Rizzuto value on this cheapie.

[whippersnapper]

There were quite a few different Chinese autos back 15-20 years ago with the "USA Super Knife" branding. Usually on the box. Some better than others but mostly all pretty crappy.

[JulesVane]

Walt was selling similar knives on his Latama site years ago, for about $25. The Quick Release Oil he included was the best part. The knife is clearly etched 440 stainless steel on front, and China on the back. Certainly not the worst $25 I've ever spent....

[john]

Looks like something to toss in your tackle box. Good for cutting bait and if it fell into the lake it wouldn’t be a great loss. Good click therapy knife. Knives like these are very useful when a high end knife could be damaged. I own several.

[Mario]

These are worth about $15 or $20. “Super Knife” is one of those Chinese gas station knife brands. The type of throwaway switchblade you find at flea markets and swap meets. Some of those come with a small LED flashlight in the spine of the knife that folds out. The bulb usually burns out pretty fast.

[Tom19176]

Agreed with all the above comments.....China made and sold for $10-20. No increase in valve now...

[Twobit]

Thanks, guys. I'm not surprised.

[jim d,]

Like many of us, I purchased a number of Italian stilettos and German leverlocks from Stu back in the early 2000s, usually in quantities of 1 to 3 at a time. Sometimes he would just throw in one of the cheapies with my order. If they quit working, or never worked properly, I rationalized that they were worth every penny I paid for them. That being said, I still have some that work fine.

Jim

[Twobit]

This one works great. It's got a very strong spring. I have had to replace a screw or two which must have been due to them not being well tightened to begin with because I never used or carried it, just opened and closed it several times. I've never bothered to sharpen it.

[whippersnapper]

I once bought a large box of these type of knives from Magnum (wonder what happened to Jessie). There were a few dozen of every shape and style. Some were in sizes and styles I have never seen since. Some were pretty cool. Like Mario mentioned, some had lights. Some were lighters. Some had compasses that always pointed back home to China (if you waked far enough...lol).

I held on to them for a long time hoping they would become the next rizzutto lol. I took apart many for the coil springs to fix other knives. I still have a box around here with assorted blades, scales, screws that for some reason I have held on to.

Finally I ended up selling most of them here in knife lots.

When I get a chance I'm going to look through my junk and see what might be left. Maybe we should do a thread and show our cheapest switchblades.

[Twobit]

Sounds like a good idea, Terry. This one would definitely be my cheapest, followed by that Dalton Cupid clone I shared in a thread called "one last OTF".