In early 1992, spring steel became an object of my fascination. For the record however, this was not a novel fascination. As a kid in the 1950’s, I’d been seduced by the colorful counter displays at local hardware stores offering an array of Sure-Snaps and Schrade double-enders along with the Imperial push-buttons that were as ubiquitous as leaders and weights in our fishing tackle boxes.

Unfortunately however, the intervening years had demonized such a simple concept, an incredibly useful tool that could be utilized by one hand while the other was perhaps holding a piece of rope, cardboard or errant thread, was now seen by many as an iconic weapon — too vile, too dangerous, with no redeeming value in contemporary society. After re-discovering a couple older knives from my youth, I was curious to see if there were others who shared my fascination for these mechanical wonders. Well, gad zooks! Not only were the knives themselves as scarce as hen’s teeth, any information on the subject was elusive as well.

After making a couple of finds and diligently backtracking only fueled my interest in learning more. I decided to create my own venue and cast a wide net in the form of display ads in a dozen or so publications I felt would yield the best results. For those of you not looking for spring steel sixteen years ago, here’s what I went up against—Two of the most prominent knife publications at the time refused my ads because I used the word “switchblade” in it. After some negotiations, a third publication let me go with “automatic” instead. It didn’t take long, but the response was most gratifying. I heard from like-minded fans from all over the planet.

THE NEWSLETTER began as a labor of love and remained so. While it provided me with a wealth of information, I gained the most joy from sharing that information and providing a nexus to bring others together. I am so tempted to acknowledge the individuals who were so generous with their time, energy and collections—All of which contributed to the unique resource THE NEWSLETTER became. However, while many wished to share their passion anonymously, others ambivalent and some unabashedly seeking credit—All have earned my deepest respect and gratitude. (Plus after all these years I’d feel terrible if I left anyone out).

So the rest as they say is history, and THE NEWSLETTER is a vibrant collection of switchblade history. For myself however, I am passing torch here—The very mantle that is THE NEWSLETTER and all it has been so that the work of all those years and the many that contributed to making it happen can be both discovered and rediscovered by fans of spring steel.

From your humble editor, Enjoy."

The origins of the traditional Italian-styled switchblade is one of those elusive, often asked details. THE NEWSLETTER has presented some picklocks over the years where an educated guess provided a prewar origin. Well Dear Readers, the 33cm picklock on this issue's cover is an honest-to-goodness, without a doubt, MOST vintage, pre- WWII, Italian style switchblade.

This beautifully struck, crisp tang stamp, "PREMIA T A, SOCIETA -COOP, MANIAGO" was the designation of a group of knifemakers from Maniago, Italy. A lavishly researched account of Maniago's cutlery manufacturing history refers to the origins of this tang stamp, used by its makers from 1920 to 1923.