By Tim Stetzer, Tactical Knives Magazine, January 2014
Blackie Collins Signature Series
Autos and Keychain blades that continue the legacy of a lost craftsman
Colonial Knife has a long history of producing both commercial and military knives. It has had great
success with its M‐724 autos, which are essentially updated MC‐1 parachute knives that Colonial
revamped with modern materials and construction techniques. As popular as the knives were with the
military, Colonial’s Steve Paolantonio knew there was more potential in the design for the commercial
market. He just needed the touch of an expert designer to bring it the next level.
Fast‐forward to 2011 and a fortuitous meeting with renowned knife‐designer Walter “Blackie” Collins
during a popular East Coast knife show. Steve and Blackie hit it off, and along with Blackie’s wife Jane,
they sat down and hashed out the details for Colonial/Collins collaboration. Blackie left the show with a
number of the Colonial ribbed and keychain series autos. Within a couple weeks, Steve received a call
that Blackie had come up with a set of new blades for the two styles of knives. Blackie had designed a
sleek tanto design for the ribbed auto and a fully serrated blade for the keychain. The two hammered
out a licensing agreement and some blade options. Prototyping of the blades began. Unfortunatley, in
July 2011 and within weeks of all this happening, Steve received a phone call informing him that Blackie
had died in a motorcycle accident. Blackie’s passing didn’t stop his legacy from continuing on, and by
working with Blackie’s widow, Jane, the Blackie Collins Signature Series knives were born.
Beefed‐Up M‐724 Military
The Signature Series consist of both autos and Quick Flick knives, but it’s the 100 series autos that we’re
going to focus on here. The 100 series knives use the beefed‐up design of the M‐724 military autos with
a number of enhancements. First is the ribbed grip frame, which is made of a nearly indestructible
polymer that’s used in hard hats, snowboard and tool casings. Next are the Blackie Collins designed
blades. The larger 105, 106, 107 and 108 models use a slick, modern tanto‐style blade of ATS‐34
stainless steel. The tantos come in both serrated and un‐serrated versions. (Models 105 and 106), and
with either a black handle and black, non‐reflective, serrated blade (Model 107) or a desert tan handle
with a black, non –reflective, serrated blade (Model 108). The blade length is 3 inches with a 4.25‐inch‐
long handle. Weight is a comfortable 2.3 ounces. A sturdy pocket clip is affixed for tip‐down carry.
The Models 210, 102 and 103 make up the Ameba keychain series. The keychain sized Ameba was
originally designed by Adam Smith of the Rhode Island School of Design and the updated with the blades
designed by Blackie Collins. They use an open framed design of the same rugged polymer and carry a
stubby, 1 ¾ inch, drop‐point ATS‐34 blade mounted to a 3.25 inch‐long handle. The 210 uses a satin‐
finished plain edge blade, and the 102 and 103 use a fully serrated blade. The 101 and 103 have blackhandles, while the 102 uses a bright easy‐to‐find, safety/hunter orange handle. A short pocket clip and a
ball keychain are provided with a Ameba knives.
Firing Mechanism
All of the Signature Series autos use the same style of firing mechanism. This consists of a push‐button
firing button located on the left side of the knife. Opening is fast and positive without a kickback that is
found on some automatic knives. A large, sliding safety button is mounted just below the firing button.
The safety protrudes further than the firing button so that there is no confusion between the two. The
big button also makes the safety easy to operate, even with gloves on. Push p for safe, and pull down for
firing. When I first got the autos, I noticed that the clip was very tight and very secure. You certainly
weren’t going to lose the knife once it was clipped to your gear or pocket, but it was sometimes tough to
clip on and rough on clothing when you went draw the knife. Thanks to a tip from Steve Paolantonio, I
discovered that you can adjust the tension on the clip to the level that suits you and your clothing best.
For my purposes, I loosened up the tension slightly and got a good mix of security and ease of draw that
didn’t tear up my clothes.
ALL of the Blackie Collins signature series autos are made in Warwick, Rhode Island, and come with a
lifetime warranty. They sell for an extremely reasonable suggested retail of $69.99, which offers the user
a heck of a value for a design that employs quality American manufacturing, top‐grade materials and the
talents of a famed knife maker.
By Denis Prisbrey, field tester for Tactical Knives magazine
These Colonial Knife Corp. fast one–handers are appropriately named.
One of the lessons my grandfather learned early, and passed on down to me, was the necessity
for a man to have a knife on board during daily life. The knife Grandpa took with him
everywhere, every day, whether in bib overalls or church suit, wasn’t fancy. No super steel, no
exotic handle materials, no tactical leg harness, no trendy brand name and certainly no 12–inch
blade. It was a very simple and basic three–blade stockman folder with jigged bone slabs, and if
he paid more the $1.00 for it at the hardware store 14 miles from his home, I’d be astounded.
Even in this modern era with better steels, bigger blades, prettier handles and wider choice of
locks than were ever dreamed of not all that long ago, the primary purpose of a knife is to cut.
For 90 percent (and probably more) of the personal knife uses today, the buyer just needs a
nice little folder he or she can tote along in a pocket or purse, and one that only has to get its
owner through the trials and tribulations of everyday life. For the vast majority, this isn’t for
hacking through the jungles of Borneo, felling trees to build emergency log cabins along the
trail, skinning a dozen buffalo, splintering ammunition crates, reducing logs to firewood,
repelling a charging grizzly, or defending against a masked guy with a bloody chainsaw in the
woods. It’s the much more mundane things like farm or ranch chores, warehouse work, office
activities, and so on. Nothing glamorous–just every–day applications where a sharp edge beats
teeth, and scissors are not practical to carry in a pocket.
Given the basic idea, does a decent working knife have to have a designer’s name on the blade
and a $300. Tag on the box? No. Taking inflation and other factors into consideration, $25.00
today would be roughly the equivalent of $1 knife 50 years ago, and I’d argue that there is a
place in this day and age for a $25 knife. It’s even possible to get a bonus feature included for
the money. The Colonial Knife™ Corp.’s Quick Flick™ line may interest you if you should happen
to be on the lookout for a working folder. Besides some of the familiar and popular features
found through mid–sized folder knifedom in general, such as open construction, flat scales,
pocket clip and thumb–studded blades, all three of the Quick Flick models also use an assisted
opening “action”.
Neither a side–swinging switchblade nor a front popper, an assisted–action blade requires the
user to get things moving by starting the blade out manually on opening, not by pushing abutton or sliding “switch”, after which the spring takes over and “flicks” the blade the rest of
the way open top its locking position. While this can be a fun and showy way to impress people
at family get–togethers, it’s actually a useful feature when you either have only one hand
available to get the blade into use or need it in a hurry. ALL three Quick Flicks™ operate the
same general way and all are priced at $25.00.
$25 well spent–looking at the broad picture, these knives are a good buy for the hard–earned
$25 layout. No, 440A isn’t ATS–34, but it’s still stainless. You won’t feel any sticker shock or
buyer’s remorse, and you’re not going to worry about making it less “pretty” if you have to use
it hard. Will it hold an edge? Sure. How long? That depends entirely on you and what you do
with it. Use it a little, indefinitely; use it a lot, and you should learn how to sharpen a blade if
you don’t know how already. I didn’t do any testing–to–destruction on any of the three, but I
can tell you the 7005 cuts stiff hemp rope just fine, the 7002 slices up packaged beef strips
quite well for my quick and easy Ramen trail spaghetti recipe, and the 7001 opened up a couple
deliveries of strapped cardboard ammunition boxes every bit as well as 154CM would have.
Quality levels are nothing short of excellent, equal to many folders priced four or five times as
high. The fit and finish between scales and liners is first class, the actions open smoothly, the
blades are centered when closed, they show no wobble or play either closed or open, and the
handles can be tightened by user if they start to loosen a bit over time. The grinds are clean,
even and consistent, and all three clearly illustrate that the originating company’s specs and
quality control expectations on cutting tools are at least as important in considering a purchase
as the country of origin on imported models.
Many of us have high–dollar knives that we’re proud of. No matter how proud we maybe of a
$400 work of cutlery art, it’s not the one that goes to work in the corral, on the dock, in the
shipping/receiving room, up the cliff face or along the hiking trail. What does get the job done,
every day, all across America, is the equivalent of Grandpa’s $1 pocketknife. Ding it up–who
cares? Dull it–sharpen it. Lose it–you can afford to replace it. This is Colonial knife’s market for
these Quick Flick™, and assisted opening feature is a bonus.
