If one sells the particular balls below their minimum retail price, I have been told one will no longer get their products to sell. I cannot confirm this is true, it is what I have been told.
I have not named any brand here, it is however a major brand.

You're right GH, "big honker" #6 gone by 1952 ... good observation. Glad I have both those version #6 handles. I keep them loaded with different blades and both #6's get heavy use.

I noticed the same thing about the #6L that handle does look different.

Any style of #6 Xacto handle is great in my book.

Would really like to obtain a #6L and #5L handle, but figure it to be all but impossible.

What do the #5L and #6L handles look like ?

Do you have a pic ?

Dave F.

Dave, Click the link in post #16 and scroll to page 12 with the leathercraft tools.

The last versions of the #6L and #5L look just like the #6 and #5 handles, but with a wider collet slot to accommodate thicker material blades.

The first version of the #6L apparently has a "rounded" non-hexagonal handle unlike the standard #6 handle, per Earl's 1952 catalog posting.
Interested in any #6L/#5L.
Have been watching for week but no luck. Most likely "Needle in a Haystack" scenario.

Yeah, it took me a bit of looking at the illustrations in the 1952 catalog to understand that the handle on the 6L was 'rounded'. I could tell it was certainly not multi-faceted but was not sure at first just what the exact shape was they were trying to depict in the illustration. Then I finally figured it out that it was 'rounded'.

I have not been looking at Xacto stuff on ebay too very long now, just a few months, but I have not see one like that come up for auction. But you never know; I never thought those totally mint #80 carving sets with wooden boxes and still in the outer cardboard boxes would come up, but they did. And they are OLD; probably late 40s, but look (and smell!) absolutely mint. As I commented at the time, the guy out in California who ran the leather craftwork business that listed those must have had them well stored all those years...he was the original owner of the knives!

Earl

Amazing how well these tools hold up with just a modicum of care.
Like good firearms, should last several lifetimes.

But that doesn't mean we shouldn't buy some new ones to pass down along with the heirlooms! Nothing could be finer than to have a vintage Remington Model 11, 700, 870, or 1100 to go along with these fine vintage X-Acto examples. Just buy a new 700, 870, or 1100 (the 11 is long discontinued) to go with them and hopefully pull them out of bankruptcy. I haven't shopped for modern X-Acto products in over a decade. Do they produce anything now that we'd want to get our hands on?

P.S. I don't want to turn this into X-Acto vs Excel or Remington vs Browning vs Winchester. I'm just promoting collecting both vintage and new fine instruments. ;)

GH, I bet you never thought I'd weave a John Moses Browning design into this thread and have it fit! :D

https://www.ebay.com/itm/X-Acto-X32...fe/223834172410


Dave F.