Posted 7 years ago
McCoyNelson
(218 items)
This fine knife is one of the many famous versions available from Keen Kutter. These were apparently given to scouts to use for protection and cutting meat. This model seems to be a multi-blade, multi-purpose knife. On the blade it reads "KEEN KUTTER SCOUT KNIFE" The famous wedge and bar logo is on the decorative part of the piece.
Having been a Boy Scout, I can assure you that at no time did the Scouts suggest "protection" as a reason for carrying a knife. Knives were promoted as tools for camp and wilderness survival purposes.
In the interest of accuracy it needs to be mentioned that among knife collectors this is referred to as a "utility pattern" knife (as opposed to the retractable-blade "utility knife" like tradesmen carry). Throughout its existence the Boy Scouts of America authorized specific companies to produce special utility pattern knives bearing the official BSA fleur-de-lis logo shield and blade etch. Many other companies, in the U.S. and abroad, attempted to cash in on the scouting phenomenon by making similar knives with scout-related words and phrases etched on the blades or stamped on the shields. However, only knives officially commissioned by the BSA are properly called "Scout" knives. Keen Kutter was never designated an official maker of BSA knives.