Elusive Schrades

paulhilborn · Jan 15, 2017

neal70 said:
Paul-I'm also liking the fact that those have a bit of a hawksbill to them. Again something I didn't pay attention too my first go 'round. Must be a little tired tonight, cause I haven't been indulging in anything. Except some double fudge chocolate cake, but I don't think that counts. Those are brilliant knives, more common than I would've thought? or are you and Charlie in cahoots?
Thanks, Neal

Neal, I believe it is a fact that chocolate cake is addicting so that works in your favor

...annnnnd, I would give most anything to be in cahoots with Charlie

waynorth · Jan 16, 2017

supratentorial said:
I think these little oddities are a lot of fun. It makes the knife even more special. Maybe they cut a whole sheet that way. Or maybe it was a leftover piece of the right size. One of the beauties of hand made knives !

Interesting - maybe they found they could get 20% more handles by cutting it that way!!

paulhilborn said:
Although not as nice as Charlies it is in very nice condition. I was curjous to the direction of the French Ivory and it runs the same direction as Charlies. I can't capture it in this light though will have to wait for natural lighting.

Maybe they came through production on the same day!!!

supratentorial · Jan 16, 2017

Maybe it was a SFO

http://i171.photobucket.com/albums/...usly-what-is-with-the-stripes_zpszgpqi5fe.png

ea42 · Jan 16, 2017

I'm guessing they probably had a sheet that wasn't quite wide enough to get the requisite length pieces out of (you usually cut the sheets to the handle length before cutting the pieces out for width). Say you have a sheet that's 43" by 43" and you need 4" length pieces. You'll get ten 4"x43" sheets and have a 3"x43" sheet left over. Too short for the handles but if you cut this piece the other way, against the grain, you have at least an extra four pairs of handles. Might look a little wonky but I guess they figured there weren't too many florists who cared that much about how their pruning knives looked. Very cool that you guys got them, I'm sure those are far more scarce than the regular ones.

Hey, I've got a couple of knives to add to this amazing thread!
First up is a nice scout in minty condition, and next is a nickel silver handled knife that at first glance might seem to be a plain vanilla run of the mill metal handled knife, until you notice the Schrade Cut. Co. GERMANY tang stamp on the scissors. This is a very rare stamp, mainly found on the very first scissors but also on some blades. We at the shop were of the opinion that perhaps George Schrade had some connections over there, but after WWI all sourcing from Germany was ceased. I believe this pattern was the 9456 in nickel silver form:

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Eric

waynorth · Jan 17, 2017

A couple of goodies, Eric! Both in nice condition.
Elusive indeed!!
I don't think I have ever held a German Schrade, or German Schrade parts in my hand.

ea42 · Jan 17, 2017

Thanks Charlie! It's definitely hard to spot, the Germany part is nearly buried below the liners. The stamp is a bit different as well, with "Cutlery" written out instead of abbreviated, and the o in "Co" is underlined and up. The nail pull is also a bit different from other Schrades.

Eric

waynorth · Jan 17, 2017

Those small details are what make collecting interesting!

tongueriver · Jan 17, 2017

I always love to see that wooden crate, Eric; I know there's going to be something good on it! :thumbup:

waynorth · Jan 17, 2017

Hey Eric!! How about some pictures of the crate??

Campbellclanman · Jan 17, 2017

Nice to see a favourite of mine pop up again ( this Thread)
I just wish I had more Elusive's to put up in here, great to see Eric posting as well.

Beautiful examples Gentlemen!

herder · Jan 17, 2017

ea42 said:
I'm guessing they probably had a sheet that wasn't quite wide enough to get the requisite length pieces out of (you usually cut the sheets to the handle length before cutting the pieces out for width). Say you have a sheet that's 43" by 43" and you need 4" length pieces. You'll get ten 4"x43" sheets and have a 3"x43" sheet left over. Too short for the handles but if you cut this piece the other way, against the grain, you have at least an extra four pairs of handles. Might look a little wonky but I guess they figured there weren't too many florists who cared that much about how their pruning knives looked. Very cool that you guys got them, I'm sure those are far more scarce than the regular ones.

Hey, I've got a couple of knives to add to this amazing thread!
First up is a nice scout in minty condition, and next is a nickel silver handled knife that at first glance might seem to be a plain vanilla run of the mill metal handled knife, until you notice the Schrade Cut. Co. GERMANY tang stamp on the scissors. This is a very rare stamp, mainly found on the very first scissors but also on some blades. We at the shop were of the opinion that perhaps George Schrade had some connections over there, but after WWI all sourcing from Germany was ceased. I believe this pattern was the 9456 in nickel silver form:

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Eric

Great examples, but the "Germany" stamped model is very unique. You may already know, but George Schrade lived and had a shop in Solingen Germany for about four years prior to WWI.
He left in 1916 when the German government confiscated all of his equipment and materials at the start of the war.

paulhilborn · Jan 18, 2017

Meant to get back to this thread sooner. Here is a closer look at the French Ivory covers like Charlies posted earlier with vertical stripes

A very SOLID well built knife:thumbup:

herder · Jan 18, 2017

Very nice example Paul, and I like the look of those subtle vertical handle stripes contrasting the wonderful strong lettering.

Campbellclanman · Jan 19, 2017

I agree Herder, Paul's Beauty there is a fine brother to Charlies, both great knives!

ea42 · Jan 19, 2017

waynorth said:
Hey Eric!! How about some pictures of the crate??

Oky Doky, here's the crate lol. This, along with another one I have from Canada Dry, was my grandfathers and came from one of the businesses he owned back in the early to mid-1900's. He had several bars and delicatessens over the years. The bottles were larger back then, somewhere around a quart or so. His brother actually lost an eye hoisting one of these when a bottle cap shot off one of the bottles. One of those crazy coincidences, but he had a good time popping his glass eye out and scaring the bejesus out of us kids.

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And here's a little 'ol knife on the crate:

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Herder and Paul, great info and pics!!

Eric

Gevonovich · Jan 19, 2017

Eric, I could not help but notice what looks like a spot weld on the nail file at the tang. Is the file sandwiched between two pieces of the tang and then spot welded in place? Beautiful knife and cool crate!

black mamba · Jan 19, 2017

Beauty Eric, love the file.

ea42 · Jan 24, 2017

Gevonovich said:
Eric, I could not help but notice what looks like a spot weld on the nail file at the tang. Is the file sandwiched between two pieces of the tang and then spot welded in place? Beautiful knife and cool crate!

Gevonovich, yes it is, although on close examination it looks as though they're pinned together. It's hard to tell from the photos but the circles on either side have incredibly clean crisp edges.

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Here's the file on that previous nickel silver senator I posted. Made forty years earlier give or take a decade. Same file but solid construction (note the lack of cross-hatching on those earlier files):

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Thanks for the compliments folks!

Eric

JupiterPaladin · Jan 24, 2017

My dad carries a Muskrat pattern Schrade like the OP has except never cleaned, heavily abused, and sharpened to a toothpick and a half now. I'm sure that thing was old before I was born (79).

Gevonovich · Jan 24, 2017

ea42 said:
Gevonovich, yes it is, although on close examination it looks as though they're pinned together. It's hard to tell from the photos but the circles on either side have incredibly clean crisp edges.

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Here's the file on that previous nickel silver senator I posted. Made forty years earlier give or take a decade. Same file but solid construction (note the lack of cross-hatching on those earlier files):

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Thanks for the compliments folks!

Eric

Excellent photographs and comparison, Eric! Sure looks like a pin rather than a spot weld. I wonder if it was heat welded as well, as well as pinned when made at the factory, before assembly. Thanks again for your time!