Even without the dated package and blade etch the logos and markings on the package give good clues. That corporate logo on the bottom left for instance. First noted use was circa 1990-91, but they added the tiny "est. 1904" circa 1992. The papers and rear of the package have the Schrade website after mid 1998.
By the way there are some knives in this series you still need.
I am in the big hairy middle of noting and deciphering the Scrimshaw knives right now. Oh.
Brother. Whatever you do
DON'T date them by the signature date (F. Giogianni 79). Sometimes the artwork was done a year or more before it was used. And the artwork was often recycled on the same or even different patterns of knives years later both in regular production and on SFO's.
One eBay seller is saying that his circa 1997-2000 knife is a 1979 because of this. And several are giving misleading information about the series production dates like... they were all made before '84. Look at the accompanying papers and logos. In September of 1986 Walter Gardiner, at age 35, was named President and Chief Operating Officer of Imperial Schrade Corporation. Papers bearing a "Message from the President" postdate this.
An example:
QUOTE: "NOTE: ALL OF SCHRADES WHITE DELRIN IVORY AND WHALESTOOTH KNIVES WERE MANUFACTURED BETWEEN 1975 AND 1983. MANY OF THESE KNIVES WERE SCRIMSHAWED AND SOLD AT THE TIME OF THEIR MANUFACTURE BUT MORE WERE HELD FOR FUTURE RELEASE WITH VARIOUS SCRIMSHAW ARTWORK PROVIDED BY SCHRADES WORLD FAMOUS ARTIST, FRANK GIORGIANNI."
Mr. Giorgianni retired in 1992 and his successor as in-house artist was Mr. John Duffey. Additional Scrimshaw art was provided both before and after the Giorgianni/Duffey change by several other artists on contract. M. Barbour, Linda Karst and Bill Feeney to name but a few.
I have never found a complete listing of the Schrade Scrimshaw knives, not even from Schrade. Their guide listed 138 pattern/designs by 2000. These don't include SFO's other series and limited editions other than the
Scrimshaw Of The Great American Outdoors series.
I seriously need more copies of old SMKW catalogs to even come close to identifying all of the orphan Scrimshaws I have noted. I am just out of luck with K-Mart except for the rare instances where I spot examples NIB with the K-Mart paperwork.
I'm working on listing them several ways to make them easier to search.
1. By tang stamp number / pattern
2. By year
3. By Art Subject
5. By Series
6. By SFO retailer
There are more of them than you would believe. There is a Scrimshaw flyer section over on the collectors-of-schrades-r.us site. It includes the Imperial Schrade list which Voyles and several other authors worked from in compiling their lists. It is there for your use and enjoyment.
http://www.collectors-of-schrades-r.us/scrims/index.htm
Michael
