Were the 1950s Picklocks made of Carbon steel ?

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Vlad
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Were the 1950s Picklocks made of Carbon steel ?

Post by Vlad »

Hey , this question has been on my mind for a pretty long time , but were the 1950s picklock Stiletto switchblades made with Carbon steel blades ? For a very long time , l used to think that all the stiletto knives since the 1950s were made using stainless steel ( usually 420 stainless ) . However , recently , l was looking at some posts on these forums , and many members mention that the 1950s picklocks used carbon steel blades. I find this very confusing , because in the book " Switchblades of Italy " , the author mentions that the 1950s picklocks had " stainless steel blades which were never heat treated and wouldn't hold an edge " .
So , were any of the 1950s picklocks made using carbon steel ?
I do have an 11 inch picklock made by Mauro Mario from the 1950s , which my grandfather gifted me. The blade is still shiny , albeit with a few minor rust spots . Is it carbon steel , or stainless ? ( I have seen many stainless steel Chinese knives develop similar minor rust spots ) .
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natcherly
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Re: Were the 1950s Picklocks made of Carbon steel ?

Post by natcherly »

I understand most of the 50s picks had carbon steel blades. i bought a 10" pick in Florence in 1956. The blade actually had some sort of plating on it, nickel perhaps, that began to peel off in small pieces after a couple of years. I lost the knife years ago, so can't comment further. Don't know when the move was made to stainless, but probably in the later 50's
Vlad
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Re: Were the 1950s Picklocks made of Carbon steel ?

Post by Vlad »

natcherly wrote:I understand most of the 50s picks had carbon steel blades. i bought a 10" pick in Florence in 1956. The blade actually had some sort of plating on it, nickel perhaps, that began to peel off in small pieces after a couple of years. I lost the knife years ago, so can't comment further. Don't know when the move was made to stainless, but probably in the later 50's
Hey, high five . The same thing happened to my Mauro Mario . Anyway , how well did yours hold an edge ? Was the blade heat treated ?
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natcherly
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Re: Were the 1950s Picklocks made of Carbon steel ?

Post by natcherly »

Vlad wrote:
natcherly wrote:I understand most of the 50s picks had carbon steel blades. i bought a 10" pick in Florence in 1956. The blade actually had some sort of plating on it, nickel perhaps, that began to peel off in small pieces after a couple of years. I lost the knife years ago, so can't comment further. Don't know when the move was made to stainless, but probably in the later 50's
Hey, high five . The same thing happened to my Mauro Mario . Anyway , how well did yours hold an edge ? Was the blade heat treated ?
Mine had a thick (4.5 mm?) bayo blade, which was not amenable to sharpening Not knowing any better back then, I did try, but was not very successful. As for being heat treated, who knows? Very minimal if at all.
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Bill DeShivs
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Re: Were the 1950s Picklocks made of Carbon steel ?

Post by Bill DeShivs »

Very few of the 1950s picklocks had blades that were not heat treated. That said, very few of them were very hard, either.
Stainless picklocks were made later than the 1950s. In the 1950s, some experimentation was done with nickel plating for rust resistance.
I don't think the book says "stainless steel," but I don't have time to look right now.
I have never seen a Mauro Mario that was not carbon steel.
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Vlad
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Re: Were the 1950s Picklocks made of Carbon steel ?

Post by Vlad »

Bill DeShivs wrote:Very few of the 1950s picklocks had blades that were not heat treated. That said, very few of them were very hard, either.
Stainless picklocks were made later than the 1950s. In the 1950s, some experimentation was done with nickel plating for rust resistance.
I don't think the book says "stainless steel," but I don't have time to look right now.
I have never seen a Mauro Mario that was not carbon steel.
Hey , l know you ! You're the gentleman who invented the leverletto. It's an honor to hear from you , sir. I am a big fan of your leverlock stiletto . I have one from AKC. Really good :)
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Bill DeShivs
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Re: Were the 1950s Picklocks made of Carbon steel ?

Post by Bill DeShivs »

Thank you!
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Re: Were the 1950s Picklocks made of Carbon steel ?

Post by Vlad »

Bill DeShivs wrote:Thank you!
Just one thing . Are you saying that the 1950s picklock stiletto knives DID have heat treating ?
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Re: Were the 1950s Picklocks made of Carbon steel ?

Post by Bill DeShivs »

Yes, most were heat treated- but they were not very hard.
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JimBrown257
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Re: Were the 1950s Picklocks made of Carbon steel ?

Post by JimBrown257 »

Bill DeShivs wrote:Yes, most were heat treated- but they were not very hard.
How does that happen? Are they not brought all the way to non-magnetic (like a dull red) during hardening? Or are they tempered past the normal spring blue level?
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Bill DeShivs
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Re: Were the 1950s Picklocks made of Carbon steel ?

Post by Bill DeShivs »

Damfino!
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Re: Were the 1950s Picklocks made of Carbon steel ?

Post by JimBrown257 »

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Bill DeShivs
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Re: Were the 1950s Picklocks made of Carbon steel ?

Post by Bill DeShivs »

Damned if I know.
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Re: Were the 1950s Picklocks made of Carbon steel ?

Post by Vlad »

Hey , I'm curious. This horrible heat treating... Were only the stiletto switchblades given this type of terrible heat treating ( because they weren't meant for cutting ) , or did ALL knives in the 1950s suffer from poor heat treatment in general ?
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Bill DeShivs
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Re: Were the 1950s Picklocks made of Carbon steel ?

Post by Bill DeShivs »

No- all the Italian knives did not have bad heat treatment.
Bill DeShivs, Master Cutler
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Factory authorized repairs for:
Latama, Mauro Mario, LePre, Colonial, Kabar, Flylock, Schrade Cut Co., Presto, Press Button, Hubertus, Grafrath, Kuno Ritter knives, Puma, Burrell Cutlery.
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