I shouldn't be telling you this but.........

T. Erdelyi

T. Erdelyi

Joined
Feb 3, 2001
Messages
32,359
Alright guys I' gonna let you in on a little secret, kind of a heads up.

We all know Schrades gone,(obligatory moment of silence while Taps play) :( , we all know Wally Mart is liquidating Schrade blades, :) but what we need to do is save the boxes and the packing material, 5 years from now 75% or more of the original packaging will be lost forever.

The last of the packaging will continue to increase in price as the remaing examples are lost or destroyed.

The packaging will be the most fragile part of Schrades history and as with most collectibles the first thing to disappear will be the boxes.

Schrade could well go the way of the Boyscout Knife, and become one of the hardest knives in mint condition to find 30 to 40 years from now.

Most mint Boyscout Knives are hard to find because most are lost to "destuction from use" they're just such a good knife for a good price they're used and abused till they're just thrown away, if you think it's hard to find a mint knife just try to find an mint box from 20 years ago.

Hang onto the boxes guys, that's what prompted this monologue, I was looking at the box of a Schrade Uncle Henry 897UH I just bought at Wallyworld Mart for $7 great deal, while looking at the box I noticed the Ellenville NY address when it dawned on me that the box and the address in all probability were the last paper link to Schrade and the Ellenville plant, nowhere on the knife does it Ellenville, or NY for that matter.

Any of you people who collected some of the older knives from the companies the went under in the 30's through the 50's know how hard it is to find mint examples of knives much less mint examples of packaging or printed artwork.

I apologize for the long rant, but one last thing if everyone who reads this goes out and buys a Schrade or Uncle Henry made the NY plant and puts it on a shelf or away somewhere for a grand kid or great grand kid you'll have preserved a piece of Scrade for future generations of collectors, and for future historians, who knows it might even be worth a substantial amount money.

I've seen boxes alone for some things sell for $500+, you never know but this one has all the earmarking of become a hard to find collectible over the next 10 to 20 years.
 
It never hurts to save boxes or paperwork or any item related to any collectible from GI joe dolls to Reggie candy bar wrappers. Yes items in pristene condition with the box are worth more but, what you are talking about is long term and in the instances of modern Schrade packing, are a large investment in space. I as some of you may know scoffed up every brochure every catalogue and every other bit of Schrade memoribilia possible and have items of this nature going back in some cases 100 years. I have a hand bill for the BB1 Buffalo Bill 1 New York Knife which will bring 300 to 400 dollars however it is 100 years old so the only point I am making is that these items like the ( comic books of the 40 tys that my mom threw out ) should not be counted on as an economic boon in ten or even 20 years and in this case there were a lot made. The new collector ( even though they should keep whatever they come across ) should not be going out and making this the priority on what they spend money on to collect. Always keep in mind that any Schrade item from now on will be a used item and no longer made item as such there are many items they produced which will increase in value much quicker than boxes ect. I often will sell a knife with an orlginal factory brochure ( not a reprint ) of the knife it certainly enhances its value but the knife itself is the main item, If you are an advanced collector and can afford whatever you want it is nice to have it all if unfortunately you must have prioritys do not let whether or not an article comes in the box be the mitigating circumstance for your purchase. ( Let rarity, price and how bad you want it decide what you should pay) However as is pointed out never throw this stuff away and if you can get it real right ( inexpensive or free ) than do not let it go by. LT
 
I agree. I am more of a gun guy, than knife guy, and having the original box will add to the value of just about any gun. The older the gun, the scarcer the boxes. Some of the older weapons boxes will add 10 to 20% to the guns value, assuming the gun, box and paperwork match each other. I will say though, it does make for a storage problem, especially with the larger boxes and the aggravating plastic blister packages. You really almost need to buy two of anything in a blister pack, one to keep intact and the other to open and enjoy.
 
I agree. Save the boxes. I don't though. I collect knives for personal satisfaction, not as an investment, and I don't want to fool with boxes. But that is just me. Saving the boxes is a very good idea.
 
You guys definitely need to throw ~your~ knife boxes away. And those factory edges need to be touched up, either by sharpening on the sidewalk, or using a grinding wheel. When using the grinding wheel method, you'll know the knives are sharp when the blade changes colors. :)

I will say though, it does make for a storage problem, especially with the larger boxes and the aggravating plastic blister packages.
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Those blister packs are a PITA. To me, collectibility is less important than knife-fondling. I remove the knives from the blister-packs, but keep the cardboard inserts.

A couple of weeks ago I offered a free BuckLite box on the Buck forum, no knife, just the empty box. There was an immediate taker...

-Bob
 
I hate boxes. I wish no one thought they were worth crap. I wish everyone would throw them away upon buying a new knife. I have a massive plastic container, I mean huge!, filled to the brim with the boxes from the knives I prefer to display. Hopefully my heirs will match them up before they cart them to the salvation army or wherever. Most likely, as in the case of so many knife estates, the boxes will just get tossed away.

We have discussed commemoratives in the past, and a fancy box is almost part and parcel with them. One of the initial dislikes among collectors and knife traders was the fancy packaging.. hard to carry a box in a knife roll.

I make frequent wholesale buys of knives; Just about every single company packages their knives in clamshells for retailers like K-mart and Gander Mt, or boxes for your local Knife shop. Wal-wart seems to get a lot of boxed knives, they fit nicely under the counter that way.

Phil
 
Anytime you collect knives its wise to keep all the boxes, paperwork, etc. I have knives I bought over 20 years ago that I have kept all the paperwoprk, boxes, etc.

The schrades that have the original boxes, warranty, etc. will be the ones that sell better (later). Its also nice to have all the "history" associated with it.
 
Even though I usually do throw the boxes away, I have to admit I keep them and the paperwork for the few drawer queens I have. The collector club knives and such.
 
I have boxes of boxes, sometimes I put the knives back in the boxes but then I feel like a knife store and then I take them all back out again.

As far as space for boxes, a lot of them fold flat taking up less room.
 
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