Dwight Devine/Ulster Knife Co. of Ellenville ,NY. started making official Scout knives in 1923. Earliest knives have Dwight Devine and Sons. Later knives have a combination of D.D. & Sons and Ulster. The company was always referred to as Ulster in Scout catalogs. All early DD/Ulster's have a line in the bolster. Ulster quit making Scout knives in 1940. In 1947 the company was sold to the Imperial Knife Co. In 1963 a “new” Ulster USA was formed, the modern knives are listed elsewhere.
Need Image Which way does the eagle face. Bent pull can opener short screwdriver No lines on bolster Round pull, longer screwdriver Lined on bolster Same as #1 with pearl cracked handle. The pearl/cracked handle would be used by different manufacturers in the late 40's and early 50's
Bent can opener, early Round pull opener , later Some blades have numbers           Etched lines on some bolster
Smaller size, bent can opener pull longer screwdriver. No lines on bolster. Smaller size, Round can opener pull, longer screwdriver, lines on bolster. 3 blade type 2 can opener, longer screw driver.
2 Blade, long screwdriver Early LEFT facing eagle Permanent shackle Sea Scout Knife Type 8
There are color variations in bone handles. The bone was dyed, differences are created in the manufacturing process. I haven't investigated enough examples to determine if eagle left or right is more scarce. These knives were made for about 20 years. You can track improvements. Early models had a bent can opener pull and short screw driver. Later ones had a round pull on the can opener and a longer screwdriver. Decorative lines were added to the bolster on later knives. The Ulster name was reintroduced in later years. I show modern Ulster knives on a separate page.
Collecting earlier Dwight Devine-Ulster Boy Scout knives
Four Blade official Boy Scout folding pocket knives Early Ulster's
1.   4 blade, bone handle, etched 1st Class in shield, Eagle Right, permanent shackle. 3 1/2” size.       Bent pull on can opener, 1 3/8” screw driver. Tang stamped Dwight Devine and Sons. 2.   4 blade, bone handle, etched 1st Class in shield, Eagle Left, 3 1/2” size, round pull on can opener,      A. 1 3/4” screw A 1 3/4" screw driver B. 1 7/8” screw driver, marked Ulster Knife Co. 3C. Removeable shackle      2B has a line etched in the bolster. 3.   Same as Type 1 with pearl/cracked ice handle 4A  4 blade, bone handle, etched 1st Class in shield, Eagle Left, permanent shackle, smaller 3 1/4” size.      Bent pull on can opener, 1 3/8” screw driver, Ulster Knife Co. 4B  Round pull, 1 3/4” (longer) screw driver, line etched in the bolster, marked Ulster Knife Co. Three Blade official Boy Scout folding pocket knives early Ulster’s 5.   Three blade, etched 1st class in shield, 3 1/2” size, Blade & screwdriver, can opener separate.       Longer screw driver and round pull on can opener. 5A permanent shackle 5B removeable shackle. Two Blade official Boy Scout folding pocket knives early Ulster’s 6.   2 blade, bone handle, etched 1st Class in shield, Eagle unknown, NO shackle. Size unknown. 7.   2 blade, SEA SCOUT, bone handle, etched First Class in shield, Eagle Left, permanent shackle, 4” Blade Markings: Dwight Devine, Ulster Dwight-Ulster, Ulster. knives may be stamped differently. The improvements in Ulster's are easy to track. Earlier knives have the “bent” pull on the can opener. A shorter can opener and Right facing eagle. Later knives have a round pull on the can opener and longer screw drivers and left facing Eagles in the shield. About Type 2 A & B. Some may decide to make the longer screw driver a separate type.
Ulster made a folding Sea Scout knife. Sea Scouting was a small offshoot program of the BSA, it was the only older boy program until 1936. It was never a large program and most ships were attached to Scout Troops. The Sea Scout knives are scarce made between 1936-1940 and maybe even rare.
The sheath knife with spike was a standard pattern knife for the K Bar Co. The knife only has BSA etching on the blade. If the knife has much wear on the blade, it is indistinguishable from an ordinary KA-BAR knife. The folding Sea Scout knife was made by Ulster. It was a standard Ulster pattern and widely available without the BSA shield. Like the K-Bar only the shield on the Ulster makes it Official.