Mysterious old SAK clone

[spader]

Hi All

The other day I was going through one of the old vintage tool box, and found this SAK clone. The tool box is from 1960s, and full of vintage tools.
This SAK was covered in rust, and some blades would not even open.

I put it in vinegar bath for a day, and it came out like this. I wiped it dry, checked all the blades are now opening and closing fine with strong snaps and did some paper cut test. Surprisingly the edge was razor sharp shredding the paper very well.

Would anyone know anything about this SAK? It has stamp saying "Stainless Steel Japan", and also the emblem on the scales looks like CND sign, but I am not sure.

 

[crosslandkelly]

Nice find, looks a good edc.

 

[Goatboy]

Tough one, so many copies and knock offs from around the world. The CND symbol could be a Mercedes Benz logo or a Japanese company symbol (have seen triskles of various types all over the world).
It does seem older, something about the bpade shapes, colour of the metal and overall patina make me think that your 60's/70's idea could be right.
Haven't got 'net access here at the moment but doing some searches both photo and word based may turn something up. Though with the learned folks here someone much more knowledgeable should be along soo.

Sent via smoke-signal from a woodland in Scotland.

 

[Joonsy]

One of the best ways to see if you have a genuine swiss army knife and not a fake is to examine the stamp marks on the tang of the largest blade. All genuine swiss army knives are stamped with particular marks on the tang of the largest blade, some are stamped on both sides and some on one side only. The knife shown is clearly not stamped on the tang with the word ‘Victorinox’ or 'Wenger' which is very suspicious though I’m no expert. Check and google Tang Marks on swiss army knifes to see if you have a genuine or fake one.

 

[brambles]

One of the best ways to see if you have a genuine swiss army knife and not a fake is to examine the stamp marks on the tang of the largest blade. All genuine swiss army knives are stamped with particular marks on the tang of the largest blade, some are stamped on both sides and some on one side only. The knife shown is clearly not stamped on the tang with the word ‘Victorinox’ or 'Wenger' which is very suspicious though I’m no expert. Check and google Tang Marks on swiss army knifes to see if you have a genuine or fake one.

The OP clearly knows this is not a real SAK, he explicitly states so in his post!

 

[Jared]

Hmm

Could be Mercedes merchandise, though would expect old ones to be made in Solingen, Germany. Think the modern Mercedes pocket knives are Victorinox made judging from the tin opener.

Only Japanese maker of SAK like things I know (and I know very little) is GSI.

http://www.gsi-japan.com/shop/html/products/detail.php?product_id=133

All can say is that there is a good chance it's from Seki City, Japan's equivalent of Sheffield or Solingen.

 

[crosslandkelly]

Definitely not the Mercedes symbol, or the CND symbol, but it could be the mk1 Cortina rear light.

 

[spader]

Thanks for your feedbacks. Very interesting. As brambles pointed out, it seems clear this SAK clone is not made by the original Swiss SAK company. One thing I can feel from it though is, that it is heavy, solid and well put together with quality material. Not only the main and small blades are both razor sharp, but also the scissors cuts well too. All are functioning as they should. Wish I had taken photos of how it looked like when first taken out the box. Could not recognize whether it was a SAK clone or lump of rust.