Blister pack or box...?

T

travchat

Joined
Dec 11, 2013
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Would a knife in the blister pack be worth more/more collectable than one with box and papers..? Or vise versa...?
 
Good question. the word "worth" has to be defined. Can we restate this as value on the market? A knife's value is defined by it's desirability to potential buyers. An unpopular knife will not find much interest among collectors, thus not draw a very high price, regardless of it's rarity and utility. A knife popular among collectors, even if production and survival of pristine examples was high will normally attract more buyers competing for them.

If one buys a knife in a clampack (U.S. Pat. #4,789,042 - 1986-88 - M.L. Gardiner, J. Economos et al) one has a sealed package which allows limited viewing and prevents dust, fingerprints and to a large extent mold and moisture from affecting the contents. You can chickeneye it but not coonfinger it. The plastic does age, yellow, scratch and crack though. And once opened, you no longer have a NIP knife. Unopened and kept pristine, they can be a time capsule of sorts. But they are not generally popular with collectors as the packaging says "cheap".

If a knife is purchased in a box, the contents may be removed and examined, displayed and held. But boxes can be switched, damaged, lost as can the contents. And then the knife loses a part of it's context, how it appeared when shipped from the factory, what was included with the knife, and possible good clues for closely dating the knife.

Further, clampacks were liquidated from major and minor retailers by the cases when Schrade closed in July, 2004. A knife with a MSRP of $24.99 could be picked up at K-Mart for $7.99. But much of the packaging was shortly discarded. So on the secondary market they went cheap. As time has gone by, fewer and fewer pristine examples of these clampacked knives appear on the secondary market. So the few collectors seeking them to expand their collections have increased competition for the ones that do show up on occasion. It is not surprising to see that same $24.99/$7.99 knife resell today for $50 or more. Though the same item boxed brings that or more if comparably complete with sheaths. papers, polybags, blade sleeves etc and the box itself is not in poor condition.

Confused yet? Worth is in the eye of the beerholder. :)
 
Almost too much info, eh? :p Simplified, if you pay $10 for a clampacked knife (you offer and seller accepts), then that is the value of that knife to you and to the seller at that point in time. If you sell the same clampacked knife the next day for $100 (you offer and buyer accepts), then that is the value of that knife to you and to the buyer at that point in time. This is why collector price guides are really of little value other than for identification purposes. Market values swing wildly in short periods of time. What is popular and sought after today may not be tomorrow. Or next week or year.
 
In my experiences, the boxed knives sell higher than the clampacks. And the highest value Old Timer knives are the older models made before clampacks were even invented. ;)

As Codger points out, there are real reasons why clapacks should be just as collectible as boxed knives. But clampacks can age poorly - the plastic gets yellow, brittle, and disintegrates. They are also more inconvenient for storage.
 
Well, I went ahead and bought a 108ot in a clam-pack.... And now I have decided never to buy one again.... I removed it! You just can't display it very well in a piece of plastic, as you all know... However, I suppose it's fairly reassuring to know that this beautiful knife has never been touched by human hands since the factory. I would think it's most definitely a "mint" piece.... This is also my very first , the START to my collection of USA Schrades.... I have a question for you experienced collectors... Now that the knife is exposed to the elements.... What is the best thing that I can do to maintain, preserve , etc. this fine piece....?

Thanks...
 
Wipe it carefully with light oil to remove acidic skin oils from fingerprints and put it in a display which excludes dust and moisture. Of course if you sliced open the clampack from the rear you can always store it in there. And take it out occasionally to fondle it and call it "my precious". ;)

Here is one example of a display, but any glass enclosed frame will do.

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These are all 897UH variants in a four sided 24 place display.
 
I throw away the clampacks too, and keep the cardboard inserts.

travchat said:
I have a question for you experienced collectors... Now that the knife is exposed to the elements.... What is the best thing that I can do to maintain, preserve , etc. this fine piece....?
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Wipe your fingerprints off the blade and bolsters. Keep it in a "climate controlled" part of your house where it won't suffer wild extremes in temperature, and where it won't be subjected to excessive damp or humidity.
 
I have some clampacked knives. Only two do I consider it to be of any consequence that I keep them as they are, unopened. One is the 100th anniversary lightweight. The other is an 897UH with some furrin sounding lanquage on it, "Le Canada, a choisi Schrade". It has one of those red fig leaves on it too and a bunch of other gibberish.

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So if I unpacked it, it would lose it's context.
 
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More examples? OK. Back in the heyday of the flood of Schrade on eBay, I picked up a set of "special-limited edition" collectors' knives, the Schrade Lightweights. They were there. They were cheap. They are another group that would lose their context if removed from the artworked packages. Value? I paid less for each than a happy meal would cost. COllectable? Hmmm. Interesting in that so few are seen today, them being cheap knives, cheaply packaged and made for sale thru the big box mass marketers.

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I forget how many different ones were in the series, all racing themed. "Hey kids! Collect all eight for your very own! Just send in six boxtops from Ovaltine..."
 
A light machine oil, such as sold for sewing machines. If you are going to put oil on a knife that may be used in cooking chores, food grade mineral oil is recommended. Only a light coating wiped nearly dry with a soft, lint-free cloth. Some collectors even add absorbent packs to their frames, cases or storage boxes. You can buy these from many gun/sporting goods dealers or often obtain them free from electronics sellers.
 
You have to be careful with oil. Some types will dry and harden, ruining the finish of the knife.

I've never had any problems with mineral oil. :thumbup:
Sometimes I've used 3-in-1 oil or gun oil, like Remington oil, without negative consequences.

Nice collection Codger. I'm glad that someone is keeping examples of many knives in store-new condition. :thumbup:
 
edbeau said:
Here is my only Lightweight. it was given to me for fixing another knife.
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Cool ! That is one I missed and probably not the only one. Some CP's lightweights were also made as fundraisers for Ducks Unlimited, in addition to the boxed ones.

I do note a recent uptick in clampacked knife prices, asking if not selling, due to the present derth of them on the market.
 
Lowenbrau or Heiniken. Miller ponies if they are near frozen and the weather is hot.
 
Codger_64 said:
The Schrade clampack, as the clear sealed packaging is called, was patented by two inventors, Imperial Schrade employees Mark L. Gardiner and James Economos. When the patent issued in 1988, it was assigned to the Imperial Schrade Corporation and titled “Knife Transport/Display Package”. The patent was applied for in 1986 and received in 1988 and the first use I find is in the 1985 ISC company advertising flyer, SC-85 from 1985...

...The clampack is the closest thing the Schrade collector has to a coin collector’s tamper proof sealed or slabbed coin from PCGS. For this reason,I believe the value of clampacked knives will climb in the future, though not for some time yet. Currently, they are undervalued in my opinion, generally selling for less than the same item in the folding cardboard box though this trend is already beginning to change incrementally.


Michael
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It seems that I was at least partially correct with my market forecast back in 2007.
 
Just my opinion, I feel clam packs are not as desirable as boxed knives, simply because the knives are trapped in the plastic, and most collectors like to take the knives out of the boxes to inspect them, oil them, and check the action of the blades. Some feel it is not good to leave them displayed for decades with the blades left in the open position.

I have bought and sold a lot of Schrade knives, and the ones that sold the best in packages are by far the plastic View Pack tubes and the knives packaged in the two piece wood grained boxes with white dust covers and the cardboard felt inserts. Of course the cream of the crop are the 8OT and 2OT bone handled beauties in the wooden hinged boxes.
 
I agree. But by and large, the knives that sell the best will not be found in clampacks anyway. After all the Waldens, all of the clear tubes, all of the hinged and sliptop boxes had been discontinued. There has been much considertation of the question of spring damage from leaving them in the partially open position in storage. The consensus from makers and repairers of knives has been that no damage occurs to backsprings, not to switchblade springs stored in tension. But it is an age old question that will never reach 100% agreement one way or the other. I agree that the clampack precludes handling. And loss of packaging, papers, sheaths etc. By design they keep the whole kit together, unmolested and in context as it left the factory. No lost or switched papers. No fingerprint rust. No slider marks on bolsters.
 
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