Passing of a cutlery industry legend

glennbad

glennbad

Knife Moddin' Fool
Knifemaker / Craftsman / Service Provider
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Jan 13, 2003
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Some of you may already know this, Dave Swinden passed away on June 24th. There is no doubt in my mind the Imperial Schrade became what it was in no small part to the work of this icon.

Excerpt from obit...

As a young man he worked for Schrade Walden Knife Company and became a key player in the cutlery industry as a master cutler who held patents for the processing and manufacturing techniques he developed early with the company. He would go on to be the President of Schrade Cutlery and Imperial Schrade Corp. His career spanned fifty years with Schrade and Imperial from 1948-1998. He would then offer his skills to Canal Street Cutlery as a mentor and consultant from 2004 until his passing.


The Swinden key system was one of his babies.

http://www.google.com/patents/US2977678


R.I.P
 
Yes very sad times around here Glenn. His bench was right next to mine, I only wish I could glance over and see him happily toiling away just one more time. He was a consummate machinist, lived for it actually. He was in the shop just about every day, even at the age of eighty three, working on or improving one thing or another. Said he just loved the smell of a knife shop, couldn't find that mingling of steel, bone, wood and oil anywhere else. We all miss him, there's an emptiness in the shop without him there. RIP Dave.

Eric
 
February 15, 1932 - June 24, 2015
Ellenville, NY
David A. Swinden, Sr. of Ellenville passed away peacefully Wednesday afternoon, June 24, 2015 with his family by his side at Ellenville Regional Hospital. He was eighty-three.
Son of Edna and Fred Swinden, he was born on February 15, 1932 in Walden, NY.
As a young man he worked for Schrade Walden Knife Company and became a key player in the cutlery industry as a master cutler who held patents for the processing and manufacturing techniques he developed early with the company. He would go on to be the President of Schrade Cutlery and Imperial Schrade Corp. His career spanned fifty years with Schrade and Imperial from 1948-1998. He would then offer his skills to Canal Street Cutlery as a mentor and consultant from 2004 until his passing. A past Ellenville Hospital Board member and Pawling Bank board member, his talents were only surpassed by his desire to give back to the working people of the village of Ellenville. In his free time some would say he continued working, but the constant need for creation was evident in his persona. Building things never seemed to cease. From building three houses, a log cabin, several barns and a countless number of pet projects, Dave found no medium too challenging- concrete, steel, or wood. Some would also inherit his curiosity with motorcycles.
He will always remain an inspiration for his surviving family. His love for them could only be outdone by the love he got back from them, his wife, June Swinden; his sister, Leola Lee; his daughter, Marcy Arfa; son, David Jr. and wife, Cindy; his seven grandchildren: Lucasz D. Kogut, Danny North and his wife, Shannon, Lily Morehouse and her husband, Brandt, Michael Arfa, Brian North and his wife, Nicole, Tyler Swinden and Amber Swinden; his son in-law, Lucasz Kogut and his great grandchildren: Colin, Emily, Alexandria and Benjamin. Many nieces and nephews also make up his extended family from Michigan to Massachusetts and from Alabama to Maine.
He was predeceased by his daughter, Jeannie and his brothers: Robert and Phil.
Services will be private and at the convenience of the family.
In lieu of flowers, the family requests you make a donation to a foundation working to find cures for cancer.
Arrangements were under the direction of Loucks Funeral Home; for further information please call 845-647-4343 or visit www.loucksfh.com.com
 
Sad to learn of Dave's passing. Prayers go out to his family and loved ones.
 
I am saddened to read this. Schrade knives would have not been the same without him, especially the Old Timer series, likely the most popular line of pocket cutlery in the history of the United States.
 
Very sad news indeed.
The history & skills of these men is amazing to me...at a time in America where this country was growing & prospering.
Not sending jobs to other countries and importing the cheap finished product.
 
Very sad..don't the world want quality knives anymore?....or is it they are not prepared to pay for quality workmanship and materials....just pay crappp for chinese crappp...I will be interested to hear Eric's comment on this, since he works/worked? there...Hoo Roo
 
As with the previous closing of Schrade and then Camillus, no one factor to blame. Unless and until Eric wishes to discuss it here, there is a brief bit more of information posted by Phil Gibbs in the Traditional forum.
 
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