Vintage X-Acto, Exactly, Exclusively!

[Private Lugnutz]

fabulous find there, Lugz.

Thanks, 4.c.

 

[gpw_42]

NICE pick up, Lugz!

Does XActo still make the missing gouges, etc? Would you put modern parts in, to complete the set, if they do? I can easily see both sides of that argument.

 

[Private Lugnutz]

Does XActo still make the missing gouges, etc? Would you put modern parts in, to complete the set, if they do?

I don't know, and I probably would, but I have a different quandary. I actually found a No. 77 gouge set from the same era last April (see post #148 on page 4) and it has a few of the missing gouges in it. Do I rob Peter to pay Paul and pay Peter back later, when I find the gouges? I am leaning that way. My chances of running into the missing Balsa Stripper in the wild aren't so good, though, so completing this kit might be a good example of a rare foray on eBait to complete it. Some day. My patience is pretty long, though.

 

[Private Lugnutz]

Re-posting this as a zoom for reference.

 

[rustyzman]

PIcked this up at an estate sale today. Has the leaflet catalog inside and a few blades. Must be a bit older, as the fat handle knife shown in the catalog is still the hexagonal aluminum type and not the molded plastic. No date though.

 

[four.cycle]

^ my X-acto set contains the hexagonal aluminum-handled model cutter. Santa Claus brought it for Christmas 1965.

 

[rustyzman]

Nice! That certainly gives a great starting date.
I have once of the a hex aluminum ones as well, but had no idea when it was from.

 

[Private Lugnutz]

Picked up some X-Acto stuff at the flea this morning, including Knife No. 1, the No. 52 Knife Set, and the No. 77 Woodcarving Set. I am loathe to do anything with the No. 77 kit except put it carefully back into the case and box and let it sit for another couple decades!

 

[Private Lugnutz]

Here's the fold-out from the No. 77 set...

 

[rustyzman]

Very awesome case on that set. I have not seen one of those before.

 

[Private Lugnutz]

Very awesome case on that set.

Thanks.

I have not seen one of those before.

Ironically, I have! Last April I found one, used, missing the handle and one of the blades. Posted here. EDIT: Different decal on the lid.

 

[four.cycle]

^ Time capsule stuff there, buddy.

 

[Hal]

My original set, received as a gift Christmas 1966, is the one in the background and looks quite similar to yours, but I think your decal has faded from UV light. Mine's always been stored inside a cabinet out of direct sunlight.

The set in the foreground belonged to my late step-father, and I believe it's reasonable to assume it's most likely 1970's vintage. The box is just a bit different, and the latch is different. It also contains the large red plastic handle as opposed to the large aluminum handle in the earlier set.

The small blue-and-white paper wrappers those extra blades are packed inside of in your photos above causes me to believe your set pre-dates my early set. When I was buying spare blades from J.K. Gill Co. in the mid-1960s they were packaged in a printed paper sleeve similar to yours, but with completely different graphics, and the sleeve was inside a molded plastic sleeve.

That boxed set looks like the one I got in 1963-64, not sure of the year. It was a prize for selling magazine subscriptions.

My BIL “ borrowed” it some time in the early ‘70s, and that was the
last I saw of it.

 

[geocide15]

Does anyone know what decade this knife was made? The original head is below. I just put a fresh head on it bc I still use it. It was gifted to me in an old tool box with a bunch of other old tools. Haven't been able to find another one with that type of logo stamped into the aluminum like that. Thanks!

 

[isb cornbinder]

My area used to have really interesting garage sales. It was the persons the age of my parents that were moving and clearing out. I used to buy every EXACTO I saw. I know I have many left after gifting a few.
I have no interest in local garage sales, now. The bulk of junk are used shoes, hot pot and rice cookers. As much as I like rice, I am not going to cook rice in a used appliance,

 

[RTM]

Does anyone know what decade this knife was made? The original head is below. I just put a fresh head on it bc I still use it. It was gifted to me in an old tool box with a bunch of other old tools. Haven't been able to find another one with that type of logo stamped into the aluminum like that. Thanks!

Searching for the word Script in this thread might give you clues.

Search results for query: script

www.garagejournal.com

 

[Stubby1743]

I picked up this empty box at my small local car boot sale yesterday. Nice condition but I am surprised at the crude hinges and catch.

 

[Private Lugnutz]

Judging by the logo, it appears to be a more modern vintage, Stubby. I don't know anything about the long arc of X-Acto production, but if it's anything like most companies, quality began to wane or go offshore.

 

[Stubby1743]

Looking through earlier posts in this thread, I think that the box is probably from the 1970's. It would have had the black plastic inserts in the lid and box.

 

[Private Lugnutz]

Hmm. Could be. I was thinking 80's or later. But I haven't really been tracking dating features of the later production very closely. They were using a lowercase logo through at least 1970. I don't recall seeing a box with that clasp and logo before. What post #s?

 

[Catfishdan]

I picked this complete set today. I assume it’s from the 80’s based on the plaque. Seems like kind of an odd appreciation gift.

 

[RTM]

I picked this complete set today. I assume it’s from the 80’s based on the plaque. Seems like kind of an odd appreciation gift.

Maybe he made a 3D model of the new plans. Those were big in the 80s. We burnt thru more than a few XActo knives and blades in making one pair of models. Didn't have all them other goodies to play with.

 

[Private Lugnutz]

I picked this complete set today.

Looks like a No. 87, one of their largest and finest sets.

I assume it’s from the 80’s based on the plaque.

That era makes sense in comparison to my No. 87, too, which is from 1971. Everything about yours looks a tad newer.

Seems like kind of an odd appreciation gift.

 

[four.cycle]

^ beats hell out of a dust-collector trophy or some of the other useless "appreciation awards" I've seen.

 

[rustyzman]

Found a couple more at a nice little estate sale today. Two with slip over covers, have not experienced those previously. Also one with a nice sculptured aluminum handle, cap missing. Very comfortable shape.

 

[RTM]

Two with slip over covers, have not experienced those previously.

The slip covers are more modern, I first saw them in the 1980s when I started working a real job.

 

[rustyzman]

The slip covers are more modern, I first saw them in the 1980s when I started working a real job.

Interesting. These were a first for me, but I can see where it would be a good addition in industrial settings where the caps would always go missing. I know that happens where I work all the time.

 

[rust in the eye]

Can you fella's put a date and set # on this one?

 

[Private Lugnutz]

That's a second generation logo from the mid 1940s. The first generation logo had interconnected letters and no US Patent and Trademark Office notice between the legs.

 

[WisJim]

I picked up an Xacto set in a wooden case at a garage sale. I'm not sure if it's complete, I'm guessing it is not. But it appears unused, so I bought it ($5).

 

[cody1325]

When did X-Acto mover production overseas? My personal one is Made in China, but I can swear I saw Made in USA not that long ago.

Of course, I could be thinking about Excel, who I think is still US-made for X-Acto type knives and blades.

 

[floyd]

From my wife’s grandfather.

 

[RTM]

Hey all, while doing some research on my tool chest, found back in Feb, I discovered this thread on another forum. Lots of high end cabinets pictured,, the #89, but newer than mine, and a mahogany set. You have to click on the links to see the images, they aren’t automatically there as thumbnails.

Picked up a Vintage NOS Xacto #89 tool cabinet - Ye Olde Rocket Forum

Picked up a Vintage Xacto #89 tool cabinet on ebay. Filled with NOS tools that are pristine. A particular seller refurbishes them. This is the large two-panel set that has most of the important Xacto tools. Xacto only made one larger set, the three panel #99. Several blades in the set I never...

www.oldrocketforum.com

Turns out mine is a #89 from 1949-52 based on the catalogs available at ITCL, advertised as The Fortyniner. I have all the shelving and hardware bits that go inside, but I am missing the bigger tools like the drill, coping saw vise and plane. Bummer also missing the wedge for the sanding block. Anyone have an idea on material? Wood or metal? Btw, the clamps of that era are magnesium, per the catalog, and I only have one

Bunch of glue joints are broken, so I stripped everything out last night, will try to correctly repair the broken out shelf, patch the 37 holes from previous repair attempts, close up cracks. The biggest downer is a big chunk of veneer missing on the face, also a small bit on the back, and water damaged. As the plywood is two thick veneers over a thick core, I think that just putting a new veneer layer on top will keep it more period than replacing the whole panel. The bottom edge is worn so much there is no finish left,so a color hunt will be in order anyway, and some protective poly.

Here is mine, before I pulled everything out and put it in safe storage. I have a few other vintage handles, and a saw kicking around here. The box the sanding block is sitting in is actually the lower right drawer, and has some semblance of the decal remaining. As you can see from the catalog, there is a knife blade rack, top right, which is hiding in the pile, I even found the tiny screw eye which is the right hand pivot loose in the box. The extra box sitting in there will get posted later.

Also hiding in there is a cheese knife and some other chunk o metal of unknown origin, roughly large bullet shape. Something for the Whatzit thread,

 

[d42jeep]

I found this box at a moving sale this morning.
-Don

 

[Private Lugnutz]

Snagged this X-Acto box packed with a diverse assortment of handles, blades, gouges, routers and accessories from several eras at the flea this morning. Second generation (late 40's) logo - placed in a very unfortunate position behind the clasp. @rust in the eye posted the same type of box from the same era with the same logo, holding what looks to be the same set upthread, here, and Don (@d42jeep) posted a very similar box for a very similar set, but with a later logo, just a few weeks ago (see post just above this one). I'll have to do some research to identify the set, find out what belongs, what's original, what is extra, etc.

 

[Private Lugnutz]

Well, thanks to the proprietor and the contributors at IA/ITCL, that didn't take long. It was not included in the 1949 catalog, but I found it in the 1952. It started life as the No. 75 Carving Chest.

 

[Private Lugnutz]

This thing is much more modern than I collect, and more modern than the 1979 catalog, the youngest on IA/ITCL, but it's kind of nifty. It's just for No. 19 blades. The dispenser part, which seems to hold at least a dozen blades, maybe twenty, is spring loaded. You press on the pile and pull back, and it releases one. You push down and forward to secure them again. That little slot (labeled "< USED BLADES") is to dispose your old worn blades, for safety. I guess when you go through them all, apparently you throw the whole thing away, because there is no way to retrieve anything from the disposal compartment. Or maybe I'm just not thinking this through properly.

 

[RTM]

guess when you go through them all, apparently you throw the whole thing away, because there is no way to retrieve anything from the disposal compartment.

Yup, that's right.

I saw thar in around '89 or later, when we started going thru lots of blades at work.

 

[Private Lugnutz]

^ Thanks.

 

[Private Lugnutz]

Even though this No. 86 Knife and Tool Chest is missing a few pieces and much later than I collect, I saw the original booklet and the spokeshave and couldn't leave it behind at the flea this morning.