Exhibit 31.1


                            CERTIFICATION PURSUANT TO
                             18 U.S.C. SECTION 1350,
                             AS ADOPTED PURSUANT TO
                  SECTION 302 OF THE SARBANES-OXLEY ACT OF 2002

I, Maryjo Cohen, certify that:

    1.     I have reviewed this quarterly report on Form 10-Q of National Presto
           Industries, Inc.;

    2.     Based on my knowledge, this quarterly report does not contain any
           untrue statement of a material fact or omit to state a material fact
           necessary to make the statements made, in light of the circumstances
           under which such statements were made, not misleading with respect to
           the period covered by this quarterly report;

    3.     Based on my knowledge, the financial statements, and other financial
           information included in this quarterly report, fairly present in all
           material respects the financial condition, results of operations and
           cash flows of the registrant as of, and for, the periods presented in
           this quarterly report;

    4.     The registrant's other certifying officer and I are responsible for
           establishing and maintaining disclosure controls and procedures (as
           defined in Exchange Act Rules 13a-14 and 15d-14) for the registrant
           and we have:

           a)   designed such disclosure controls and procedures to ensure that
                material information relating to the registrant, including its
                consolidated subsidiaries, is made known to us by others within
                those entities, particularly during the period in which this
                quarterly report is being prepared;

           b)   evaluated the effectiveness of the registrant's disclosure
                controls and procedures as of a date within 90 days prior to the
                filing date of this quarterly report (the "Evaluation Date");
                and

           c)   presented in this quarterly report our conclusions about the
                effectiveness of the disclosure controls and procedures based on
                our evaluation as of the Evaluation Date;

    5.     The registrant's other certifying officer and I have disclosed, based
           on our most recent evaluation, to the registrant's auditors and the
           audit committee of registrant's board of directors (or persons
           performing the equivalent function):

           a)   all significant deficiencies in the design or operation of
                internal controls which could adversely affect the registrant's
                ability to record, process, summarize and report financial data
                and have identified for the registrant's auditors any material
                weaknesses in internal controls; and

           b)   any fraud, whether or not material, that involves management or
                other employees who have a significant role in the registrant's
                internal controls; and

    6.     The registrant's other certifying officer and I have indicated in
           this quarterly report whether or not there were significant changes
           in internal controls or in other factors that could significantly
           affect internal controls subsequent to the date of our most recent
           evaluation, including any corrective actions with regard to
           significant deficiencies and material weaknesses.


           Date:     August 11, 2003       /S/ M.J. Cohen
                                          ------------------------------
                                          M.J. Cohen
                                          Chief Executive Officer