Need help dating a yellow keen kutter

J

Justin Presson

Joined
Dec 4, 2013
Messages
891
Hi all,
My Dad recently acquired some of his Dad's old knives. One is this yellow keen kutter. Just wanting to see if any one can date it or point me in the right direction. I'm not having much luck googling it. Long story short his Dad died in 1983 and his stepmother just now gave him some of his old belongings.
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Do you have a picture of the tang stamp on the front of the main blade? That one was made by Schrade Walden I believe, early 1950's. Might be earlier but the stamp would determine that.

Eric
 
ea42 said:
Do you have a picture of the tang stamp on the front of the main blade? That one was made by Schrade Walden I believe, early 1950's. Might be earlier but the stamp would determine that.

Eric
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Let me get a picture of it, Dad has to send them to me so it might be later tonight.
 
Justin Presson said:
Let me get a picture of it, Dad has to send them to me so it might be later tonight.
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That sounds good. I'm certain that it's Schrade and almost 100% certain it's 1950's but I was always under the impression that Schrade stopped using that 4 cover pin setup in the 1940's. I could be wrong, or it's possible that they continued on with it for the Keen Kutter knives.

Eric

PS - Just checked some old catalogs and info and it seems that Schrade did indeed make the yellow handled 225's up into the 1950's with that pin configuration, so it's definitely from that era. I imagine your stamp will just be "Keen Kutter" inside that wedge symbol.
Paul I didn't even realize you posted that, you're spot on too 😋 :thumbsup:
 
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danno50 said:
Schrade made your knife for the Shapleigh Hardware Co. Even though it is the same as a Schrade 225, Shapleigh assigned their own pattern number of 824 to it.
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For those who aren't familiar with the history; The Keen Kutter brand was coined by E.C. Simmons Hardware of St Louis in the 1800's and was used exclusively by that company until 1940. In that year Simmons went bankrupt and Shapleigh Hardware, who used the term "Diamond Edge" on their knives and was also from St Louis, acquired all of the assets of Simmons including the Keen Kutter name. They survived until 1955 when they sold to Curtis Mfg. who continued operating under the Shapleigh name until the 1960's. Last I heard Val-Test now owns both the Keen Kutter and Diamond Edge trademarks. Schrade actually tried to purchase those trademarks in the 1970's or '80's but were unsuccessful.

So you can see as Dan mentioned the 824 is likely a Shapleigh number.

Eric
 
ea42 said:
For those who aren't familiar with the history; The Keen Kutter brand was coined by E.C. Simmons Hardware of St Louis in the 1800's and was used exclusively by that company until 1940. In that year Simmons went bankrupt and Shapleigh Hardware, who used the term "Diamond Edge" on their knives and was also from St Louis, acquired all of the assets of Simmons including the Keen Kutter name. They survived until 1955 when they sold to Curtis Mfg. who continued operating under the Shapleigh name until the 1960's. Last I heard Val-Test now owns both the Keen Kutter and Diamond Edge trademarks. Schrade actually tried to purchase those trademarks in the 1970's or '80's but were unsuccessful.

So you can see as Dan mentioned the 824 is likely a Shapleigh number.

Eric
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Wow great info, we live in Missouri so always have a place for Keen Kutter in our hearts and dad collects a few items.
So with just the keen kutter shield on the tang you think this is 50's era knife?
 
Justin Presson said:
Wow great info, we live in Missouri so always have a place for Keen Kutter in our hearts and dad collects a few items.
So with just the keen kutter shield on the tang you think this is 50's era knife?
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In my opinion, yes, it is a 50s era knife. In my limited experience, the wedge and bar shield (the shield on the handle), with Keen Kutter stamped inside, indicates a Schrade made Keen Kutter from the early to mid 50s.
 
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