Imperial Kit Carson Trail Knife

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Drummerdave said:
Thawk...thanks for bringing the photo's from the link to the posting. How is that done?
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COPY the URL (Internet address) of the PHOTOBUCKET file, by clicking on the image with right mouse button choosing "COPY IMAGE LOCATION". Then go to listing and click on the little "postcard icon" which is a little yellow box with a mountain on it. Then paste the URL with a CTRL-V. This places the IMAGE TAGS around the URL. Just make sure your cursor is blinking on the correct line when you paste the image.

You can also COPY the URL with the IMAGE TAGS directly out of PHOTOBUCKET and PASTE it, same result.

It looks like this before you submit the POST:

 
Quote: "were these made for Kids?.."
not referring to this knife in particular, but Imperials were relatively inexpensive and displayed prominently in local hardware store windows and counters in Montreal during the 1950s when i was young boy. Working around the neighbourhood, snow shovelling, lawn mowing, paper route, etc., could earn a you enough money to proudly go into the corner hardware store and come out with neat Imperial knife, usually a folder but occasionally a fixed blade. nobody minded back then and we never caused any 'problems' with our knives. if i still had those knives, unused, today, they would be quite collectible.
roland
 
rprocter said:
Quote: "were these made for Kids?.."
not referring to this knife in particular, but Imperials were relatively inexpensive and displayed prominently in local hardware store windows and counters in Montreal during the 1950s when i was young boy. Working around the neighbourhood, snow shovelling, lawn mowing, paper route, etc., could earn a you enough money to proudly go into the corner hardware store and come out with neat Imperial knife, usually a folder but occasionally a fixed blade. nobody minded back then and we never caused any 'problems' with our knives. if i still had those knives, unused, today, they would be quite collectible.
roland
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You are correct Roland. Most Imperials during the 1970's were inexpensive and of lower quality than the Schrade cousins, but notice earlier in the flyer the Kit Carson was mentioned as being part of the Diamond Edge series, which was made of superior quality, along with the Frontier line. Here a are a couple in the corner of the display from when the Kit Carson came out. Probably off of the same line.

DE73-1.jpg

Imperial made a few nice quality pocket knives during this time too including some of the razor blade series.
 
Hal in my reminice above, i am not implying poor quality by "inexpensive". Simply that they were low priced enough that kids in a rather poor neighbourhood could still manage to scrape together and save enough to buy one. Most other items we desired were well out of our reach.
I don't recall seeing the DE line back then. Do you know when Imperial first brought these out ?
roland
 
rprocter said:
I don't recall seeing the DE line back then. Do you know when Imperial first brought these out ?
roland
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"DIAMOND EDGE" was an old Norvell-Shapliegh trademark dating back to 1905. Shapliegh used it thru c.1960. Imperial began using it c.1967. I think it may belong to Val-Test now (True-Value).
 
Thanks Michael. So that's why i never saw any Imperial DE knives in the 1950s !
roland
 
rprocter said:
Hal in my reminisce above, i am not implying poor quality by "inexpensive". Simply that they were low priced enough that kids in a rather poor neighbourhood could still manage to scrape together and save enough to buy one. Most other items we desired were well out of our reach.
I don't recall seeing the DE line back then. Do you know when Imperial first brought these out ?
roland
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Your point was well taken. And implied or not by you, I was. Much of the Imperial line was pretty cheap both in handle material and steel. I think the Imperial DE line came out around late 60's as a premium line, and eventually it lost it's it's lustre too. Honestly, I'll bet most places did did not stock the Diamond Edge and Frontier knives, because they were carrying Old Timers and Uncle Henry's, while some just had the more affordable Imperials.
 
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