BF opinions on Schrade

Bob Denman said:
You sound as if you grew up in Schrade Country...
Ulster County???
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No, I grew up in the Pacific Northwest. Clark County in Washington. Old Timers seemed to be everywhere growing up though. I was looking at some old school Schrades yesterday, I might have to get one for memories sake 🤙
 
Bob Denman said:
Schrade when they were building knives in Ellenville.
That factory closed in 2004.
The ones who saw what Wal-Mart did to the company.
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Dang, that's awesome. I'd love to hear some of their stories and history. That kind of stuff is priceless and very hard to come by.
 
I have one of the new large stockman knives.( Lumberjack?) I think. Straight up made in China. It was $27, I think, If I remember right. No play in the blades, they don't rub, and I put a hair splitting edge on it. Haven't used it much, but for the dollar spent it does just fine. It's not a status symbol, lol... Just a farm utility knife. We'll see how it does.
 
Used to be good knives. They made a laminated FB a lo-o-o-o-ng time ago. I have an Old Timer 80T, carbon steel blades. I wouldn't touch their knives now.
 
As I wrote earlier they are now having products made in the US by Bear and Sons.

Just because some are made in the US it does not mean they have any true connection with the original Schrade, who, I think, if it was as fantastic as some may remember should have still been in business, like Case and Buck (I have read the walmart story etc.).

The same way, a Buck or Spyderco that is not made in the US is still a Buck or Spyderco as it is under the QA/QC/supervision/mission/dream of the actual company that started the brand (I think).
A Boker does not have to be made in Germany to be a Boker (and I am not really a big fan of them).
 
There is/was so much excitement about the new Schat and Morgan, many missing the point that a company was just using the name and some old equipment to produce a product that has no real connection to the original, capitalising on the brand recognition of the original.

GEC is new, did take over some names of extinct makers, but people buy them because they like their current product (like seems to be an understatement these days) and not because they think they are buying from a very old brand (I am aware of the Queen connection/ experience of some of the staff).
 
calm said:
As I wrote earlier they are now having products made in the US by Bear and Sons.

Just because some are made in the US it does not mean they have any true connection with the original Schrade, who, I think, if it was as fantastic as some may remember should have still been in business, like Case and Buck (I have read the walmart story etc.).

The same way, a Buck or Spyderco that is not made in the US is still a Buck or Spyderco as it is under the QA/QC/supervision/mission/dream of the actual company that started the brand (I think).
A Boker does not have to be made in Germany to be a Boker (and I am not really a big fan of them).
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Sorry for OT, but Böker at least has a different product line I believe for China made knives, “Magnum”. So if you want a German/Solingen made knife you’ll look for the tree symbol I guess, but the price tag will be an indication too 😉
 
baxtrom said:
Sorry for OT, but Böker at least has a different product line I believe for China made knives, “Magnum”. So if you want a German/Solingen made knife you’ll look for the tree symbol I guess, but the price tag will be an indication too 😉
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I am aware of that, they have Boker Magnum, Boker plus and so on if they are not made in Germany. They are still using the name Boker and are recognised as part of the same company. They do not sell the knife as just " Magnum" or just "Plus".
 
calm said:
I am aware of that, they have Boker Magnum, Boker plus and so on if they are not made in Germany. They are still using the name Boker and are recognised as part of the same company. They do not sell the knife as just " Magnum" or just "Plus".
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It is unfortunate that some companies fall into the trap of dry milking their trademark. Over here in Sweden we have Bahco which to some extent has resorted to such activities when it comes to multi tools et c being of questionable quality. (I believe their main product line remains high grade though.)
Nothing new under the sun et c.

Edit: also, many brands have some products made overseas, like say Cold Steel making stuff in Taiwan. But I would assume that design and quality control remains under strict company control so they take responsibility for their products. I assume Böker’s budget lines are managed similarly. I have no idea about Schrade though?
 
I have a few BAHCO products and they are solid. I even have a couple of their cheap multitools bought over a decade ago - Not Leatherman quality but everything works fine (Think of LM PST, and they are similar).

They have some nice rebranded MORA knives and make very good folding saws.

They are famous for inventing the adjustable wrench/spanner and these are really top notch
 
calm said:
I have a few BAHCO products and they are solid. I even have a couple of their cheap multitools bought over a decade ago - Not Leatherman quality but everything works fine (Think of LM PST, and they are similar).

They have some nice rebranded MORA knives and make very good folding saws.

They are famous for inventing the adjustable wrench/spanner and these are really top notch
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I think I have the same bahco multitool in my car, it’s ok but has some funny idiosyncrasies like the can opener, which is located in a position making it impossible to use, at least for opening cans 😂

I also have a Chinese made bahco folder which seems to work ok but would likely not receive any standing ovations from BF, to put it mildly.

I believe that is a risky strategy, to put a 100+ year old brand on some semi-ok generic Chinese made products. Schrade at least was bankrupt so they had an excuse,
 
calm said:
I am aware of that, they have Boker Magnum, Boker plus and so on if they are not made in Germany. They are still using the name Boker and are recognised as part of the same company. They do not sell the knife as just " Magnum" or just "Plus".
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There's Boker Arbolito (Argentina), Tree (Germany), Magnum (China), Plus (anywhere from Taiwan, USA, Italy... any time they work with other designers/manufacturers, I think. My Boker Plus USB OTF is made by Cobratec, and there's a $450 Boker Plus M390 knife made by Fox in Italy.

Not comparable at all to completely selling out and making a zombie out of Schrade. At least Boker still puts out a lot of good, worthwhile products. Can't say that about Schrade.
 
chevyrulez1 said:
Yeah, I get that. And what adds insult to injury is that one of the companies that started the flood of cheap imported knives that ultimately ended up putting Schrade, Camillus, etc. out of business was Taylor. Although I should add that Frost, Parker, and others played a big part also.
I just find it weird that Schrade seems to have been singled out though, when other companies have been doing the same thing by buying up old brand names and moving production to China (Camillus, Marbles, Queen, etc.) but they don't seem to receive the same amount of hatred and their quality doesn't seem to be brought into question as much. I feel like in the knife community it is popular to hate on Schrade and Gerber, but I don't sense the same hatred toward other companies who are doing the same thing. Gerber for example, both Buck and Kershaw moved production of some stuff overseas to supply the demand for cheaper knives but people still seem to love them as a company while they despise Gerber and talk crap about them all the time for doing the same thing.
I guess Schrade doesn't bother me because I know they are not the same as the old ones, and I know what I am getting, but I like the traditional design and for a cheap beater knife that I am not afraid of damaging or losing they don't seem terrible to me quality wise. I cannot say that they have ever hidden the country of origin or materials that were used, so I can't really accuse them of being dishonest in their marketing. But I do understand why people wouldn't be interested in them, especially if they were a big fan of the old company it would seem like a cheap knockoff.
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I would say that it's probably because Camillus, Marbles, and Queen don't really sell many knives to people who post here. That said, you DO see Queen being derided over on the Porch in several threads, because SMKW bought the name, and outsourced the manufacture to China. Camillus is considered to be in the same boat. As for Marbles, the only thing that comes to mind with that name are those orange machetes and cheap stamped one piece hatchets I used to see at Academy Sports, so that might be why you aren't seeing them spoken of much here. I can't name a single knife that they sell.

I don't think Schrade is getting more hate than those companies, I would posit the idea that they aren't getting spoken of much at all, but yes, when they are mentioned (speaking of new products), it tends to be negative. For a modern company as an example that's in the same boat, search out threads here in General about Al Mar's Chinese-based resurgence. Al Mar fans are less than pleased. (I'm one of those.)

Also wanted to add, Gerber is trying to get their fans back by releasing several new knives made here. Are they the Gerbers of old? Eh, not really. But I respect that they're trying. Buck is given a pretty big pass because they're Buck, and their most iconic models are made here and always have been.
 
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