Acetylene Prestolite knives
Acetylene Prestolite knives
I always wanted one of the knives with the square holes for an acetylene valve. They were for the old acetylene head lamps on early cars. I decided to make my own, out of an old Syracuse Beer Scout. Please post pictures of yours.
- Ridgegrass
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Re: Acetylene knives
Here's a KA BAR multi with a Presto-lite key. Do you have acetylene headlights!? J.O'.
Re: Acetylene knives
Nice one! No I don’t have any acetylene lights. I’m a plumber and a welder so I wanted a fun way to carry a spare key.
Re: Acetylene Prestolite knives
Some nice ones are being shown! Today, we're seeing a sort of the same idea with 1/4 bit drivers on basically every small keychain tool and bottle opener on the market.
My only Prestolite key is on an old bottle opener/church key advertising Genesee Beer. I don't drink, but I enjoy old church keys. They are cheap, take up little space (I've got over a dozen in a small Sterlite box), and well, they do work. I still use them a lot on condensed milk; albeit none of these. I have an old Ecko for that.
The maker is given as the Mercury Novelty and Advertising company of 318 Broadway in NYC. Their best-known product seems to have been thermometers.
Has anyone got an idea of when it was made? Prior to Prohibition?
My only Prestolite key is on an old bottle opener/church key advertising Genesee Beer. I don't drink, but I enjoy old church keys. They are cheap, take up little space (I've got over a dozen in a small Sterlite box), and well, they do work. I still use them a lot on condensed milk; albeit none of these. I have an old Ecko for that.
The maker is given as the Mercury Novelty and Advertising company of 318 Broadway in NYC. Their best-known product seems to have been thermometers.
Has anyone got an idea of when it was made? Prior to Prohibition?
- 1967redrider
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Re: Acetylene Prestolite knives
I think this one has been broken or modified, but it would probably still work. Some German Scout might have needed to light something else up.
Pocket, fixed, machete, axe, it's all good!
You're going to look awfully silly with that knife sticking out of your @#$. -Clint Eastwood, High Plains Drifter
You're going to look awfully silly with that knife sticking out of your @#$. -Clint Eastwood, High Plains Drifter
- Miller Bro's
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Re: Acetylene Prestolite knives
John, I've seen one like that before somewhere! ( ) I think someone told me that square cutout was so it could be used as a skate key. (But you might be too young to remember the old roller skates that needed a key.)1967redrider wrote: ↑Fri Sep 10, 2021 1:46 am I think this one has been broken or modified, but it would probably still work. Some German Scout might have needed to light something else up.
"Better to do something imperfectly, than to do nothing flawlessly." ~ Robert H. Schuller
Herb
Herb
- 1967redrider
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Re: Acetylene Prestolite knives
herbva wrote: ↑Fri Sep 10, 2021 10:53 amJohn, I've seen one like that before somewhere! ( ) I think someone told me that square cutout was so it could be used as a skate key. (But you might be too young to remember the old roller skates that needed a key.)1967redrider wrote: ↑Fri Sep 10, 2021 1:46 am I think this one has been broken or modified, but it would probably still work. Some German Scout might have needed to light something else up.
Well bring over your skates and torch tomorrow, we'll figure it out.
Pocket, fixed, machete, axe, it's all good!
You're going to look awfully silly with that knife sticking out of your @#$. -Clint Eastwood, High Plains Drifter
You're going to look awfully silly with that knife sticking out of your @#$. -Clint Eastwood, High Plains Drifter
Re: Acetylene Prestolite knives
I am an old retired, new construction plumber. I used "B" tanks every day for years. I carried a tank valve wrench on my car key ring. I would certainly buy a Prestolite knife, for old times sake, if I found one.
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Re: Acetylene Prestolite knives
This one is kind of cool. The feet are a bottle opener and there is a square prestolite key. Even the round hole for the key chain is the baseball.
- 1967redrider
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Re: Acetylene Prestolite knives
Being a baseball fan, that is super cool.
Pocket, fixed, machete, axe, it's all good!
You're going to look awfully silly with that knife sticking out of your @#$. -Clint Eastwood, High Plains Drifter
You're going to look awfully silly with that knife sticking out of your @#$. -Clint Eastwood, High Plains Drifter
Re: Acetylene Prestolite knives
I agree
- Ridgegrass
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Re: Acetylene Prestolite knives
The HSB is my kind of knife. J.O'.
Re: Acetylene Prestolite knives
Some more interesting key chain ones from eBay listings. I think they are all vintage except for the Indian Motorcycle one is a repro. Interesting that none of the adds mention the square hole acetylene or presto-lite. It’s the same problem I ran into searching for a pocket knife with the hole. The sellers don’t know what they have.
- gsmith7158
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Re: Acetylene Prestolite knives
Here's an old Empire with a prest-o-lite key.
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Greg
IF YOU AIN'T BUYING OR LOOKING AT A KNIFE THEN YOU AIN'T LIVING.
Always looking to buy good quality Empire knives.
PROUD MEMBER AAPK, NRA.
Greg
IF YOU AIN'T BUYING OR LOOKING AT A KNIFE THEN YOU AIN'T LIVING.
Always looking to buy good quality Empire knives.
PROUD MEMBER AAPK, NRA.