G'day Codger, you mentioned my Imperial Hecho en Mexico Salesman's samples <photo attached of the 22 samples I have>....
So far we have been able to glean the following info re their history.....<the 'Imperial Heco en Mexico' and 'Cuchilleria Imperial Mexico' <Cuchilleria = Cutlery> tang stamping would seem to be very scarce to find>...Patent on Mexican Knife Nov. 1944 issued Xmas Day 1945 Michael Mirando patent.=Imperial Product.
Goins Encyclopedia of Cutlery Markings page 138 under Imperial Knife Company lists 'Imperial Mexico'.
Some info seems conflicting anyway I present it from the various sources....
From the 'Banquet' timeline table fact sheet at Imperial Knifes' Company Inc 50th Anniversary 1916 - 1966 "Imperial Highlights"...<I have an actual copy>..under 1944 'Planning ahead for peacetime,Imperial, in partnership Albert Baer and Henry Baer and the Foster Grant Co, established Cuchilleria Imperial Mexico, its first International venture..
In 1946 Albert Baer, Michael Mirando, Joe Fazzanno and other Industrialists met at a Conference in Monterey Mexico....so possible Mexico production must have remained in Alberts' mind.....then a Schrade collector who has always remained under collector radar never posting but often reading our forum, who lived in Walden/Ellenville environs for many years,& who knew both the Baers' personally..who only wants to be called "a reliable source"...has told me the following by email:
Quote..:'Around 1958 or thereabouts Albert Baer and Joe Foster Grant of the sunglasses Co. went to Monteray Mexico..they subsequently purchased the knife factory in a venture of making knives for Sears Robuck but it was short lived as the Mexicans stole the doors off the place and were rolling grinding wheels around and they could not get rid of it fast enough..very short lived..' end Quote.....
Another theory that has been put to me by a very knowledgeable Schrade collector is : 'bringing the Foster moulding machinery in thru Mexico was possibly how 'they' circumvented the Dupont forbidding of the import of the moulding machines to U.S. Apparently Dupont had a lock also on the plastic powder <pellets> used in the moulding process. They may well have been protos for the later/following Imperials. Steel injection moulds are not cheap, then or now.'......
My salesman's samples all have production example numbers on each...I have no idea how many <if any?> actually ever got made...few seem to show up..
One would assume the facts presented in print at the 1966 50th Anniversary Banquet stating 1944 was when Imperial established Cuchilleria Imperial Mexico would seem to be correct as both Albert and Henry would have been in attendance...so make of the above what you will...all very interesting in the Imperial Schrade timelines..
The history how these Imperial Salesman's samples survived in tact rather than suffering the fate of other Schrade artefacts at the infamous ""sale""...history really should be recorded whilst we still can so I supply the following...
Herman Williams has told me personally the following:....'They came from the sample room when Imperial in Providence closed down. I obtained all the Imperials and some other brands of knives that Schrade had, that also came from the Providence sale room....... Dave Swinden and I were in the safe, this was a large room where Albert's wife kept her glass collection, and there was a lot of cutlery related items stored in there...... Dave called my attention to the Imperial Knives..... Dave left me there and I started to go through the box of Imperials from the closed sample room..... I acquired some, however when I got back to NC I found the Mexican Imperials and so I sent the 22 Mexican Imperials back to Dave in the brown box..<I have that brown box in my collection>. Herman continues...'When we were putting the collector knives on display in Ellenville I never thought of those Mexican Imperials, neither did anyone, they were intended to be put up on display but "I just flat forgot' they were in there and remained in that safe/storage room.'...<and thus remained intact...rather than split up and sold separately>.
How interesting are all these Schrade facts/history recorded by those that were there?...who said knives are only boring implements?..Hoo Roo
Not that fine upstanding bunch. 
