Codger_64
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- Oct 8, 2004
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I am writing this for the benefit of those collectors who wish to conduct their own research on the Schrade knives which are of particular interest to them. I hope someone finds the information helpful. Published authors (which I am not yet) of knife collectors reference books could likely give you better directions to resources and techniques, but these pointers I am offering are the best I can do here.
Creative internet or library searching will turn up a lot of information. I suggest mining the archives here first, and of course the Schrades-R.us website Mr.Vickery has put so much work into, and members here contribute pictures from their collections and archives. Oregon Knife Club has some archived Schrade articles too.
Schrade, Ulster, Imperial, in all their name changes did some sort of advertising. Some of it was media advertising such as sporting and gentlemens magazines, some was point of sale like the displays. More common to find, and sometimes more detailed are dealer catalogs, though they contain errors that are difficult to detect without further study. Some magazine articles have been written over the years that either feature Schrade knives, or include illustrations of them as a part of a general knife related article. Knife World, Knives Illustrated, and some other trade magazines printed articles in 2004 about the closing, with some good interviews and history facts.
Next is packaging and information sheets sold with the knives. A lot can be learned from these, and a good deal applied to the chronology of production. Some of the later packaging and inserts have actual copyright dates which give you a made after timeline. It goes without saying that if the Schrade website is listed on either, they were produced after the site was set up in 1996.
Schrade logos changed over the years as well, as did slogans. Careful cross referencing between catalogs and ads of know dates gives a fairly reliable timeline as well. This is taking the SCHRADE-WALDEN to SCHRADE name change to a new level, as there were quite a few more minor changes in the logos and trademarked slogans both before and after mid 1973. Instead of now saying a certain knife was produced between 1946 and 1973, or 1973 and 2004, we can narrow the production to much smaller increments, sometimes only a year or two.
I know we are told by experts to ignore the markings on the knife, but this meaning can often be misunderstood. Of course just because the knife says Sears Craftsman or Ducks, or Bob, does not mean they made the knife. Careful examination of the construction is a dead giveaway as to who actually made the knife. I figured out how to roughly estimate the production of the Sharpfinger pattern knives by comparing hundreds if not thousands of tangstamp examples, and also the associated sheaths. Sheaths are degradable and replaceable however, so you must take care there to be sure the sheath is original to the knife. As for the tangstamps of this particular pattern, there are three main text styles used. On at least these three occasions when the tangstamp dies were made, the style of the type was slightly but noticeably changed. Pairing these observations with associated packaging, catalogs and advertising allows for a very good educated guess of the age of these knives. Of course, observing minor production design detail changes further refines this skill. Similar changes were made on the SFO knives (Special Factory Order) such as Sears. Familiarizing yourself with their logo changes, referenced to tangstamp and etch changes helps to date them as well.
Many books have been published which give insight to manufacturing techniques, older Schrades and commemoratives, though none has been published yet to my knowledge that really covers Schrade. John Goins books on markings, Clementes book on Old Timer and Uncle Henry patterns, Langstons book on switchblades, A.G. Russells early seventies reprint of the Schrade Cut CO catalogs are among those I recommend.
Last, but certainly not least is primary resources. Quite rarely will actual factory documents come on the market. That does not mean you should not watch for them. Salesman sample orders were commonly for 200 pieces, so it is quite likely that very many retired salesmen have stacks of documents such as new product information sheets. Talking with former employees and management has been a boon to my research, and has provided me with clues leading to the recovery of some long-thought-lost papers and other materials. Even eBay turns up an occasional nugget in this regard such as the Tractenberg folders I acquired. When you see me post information from them, you may say I found it in the Codger Files. Whether duplicates exist or not, I couldnt say. I suspect quite a few copies were circulated in the company for many of them judging by the distribution list on some of the sheets. At any rate, when I post research information that came from such files, I feel no need to footnote or give the source, since these files are my personal property and I own the rights to them. I have no intention of publishing or selling, giving them, or even posting whole reproducible copies since they do contain names of living persons and I have been entrusted to respect the privacy of those persons. The same goes for the people who choose to talk to me. Very, very few of these people wish to be quoted, but they also wish to see Schrade history preserved. And they are willing to give us the information, to the best of their memories, as long as their privacy is respected. Heck, respect is all most people ask for.
Codger
Creative internet or library searching will turn up a lot of information. I suggest mining the archives here first, and of course the Schrades-R.us website Mr.Vickery has put so much work into, and members here contribute pictures from their collections and archives. Oregon Knife Club has some archived Schrade articles too.
Schrade, Ulster, Imperial, in all their name changes did some sort of advertising. Some of it was media advertising such as sporting and gentlemens magazines, some was point of sale like the displays. More common to find, and sometimes more detailed are dealer catalogs, though they contain errors that are difficult to detect without further study. Some magazine articles have been written over the years that either feature Schrade knives, or include illustrations of them as a part of a general knife related article. Knife World, Knives Illustrated, and some other trade magazines printed articles in 2004 about the closing, with some good interviews and history facts.
Next is packaging and information sheets sold with the knives. A lot can be learned from these, and a good deal applied to the chronology of production. Some of the later packaging and inserts have actual copyright dates which give you a made after timeline. It goes without saying that if the Schrade website is listed on either, they were produced after the site was set up in 1996.
Schrade logos changed over the years as well, as did slogans. Careful cross referencing between catalogs and ads of know dates gives a fairly reliable timeline as well. This is taking the SCHRADE-WALDEN to SCHRADE name change to a new level, as there were quite a few more minor changes in the logos and trademarked slogans both before and after mid 1973. Instead of now saying a certain knife was produced between 1946 and 1973, or 1973 and 2004, we can narrow the production to much smaller increments, sometimes only a year or two.
I know we are told by experts to ignore the markings on the knife, but this meaning can often be misunderstood. Of course just because the knife says Sears Craftsman or Ducks, or Bob, does not mean they made the knife. Careful examination of the construction is a dead giveaway as to who actually made the knife. I figured out how to roughly estimate the production of the Sharpfinger pattern knives by comparing hundreds if not thousands of tangstamp examples, and also the associated sheaths. Sheaths are degradable and replaceable however, so you must take care there to be sure the sheath is original to the knife. As for the tangstamps of this particular pattern, there are three main text styles used. On at least these three occasions when the tangstamp dies were made, the style of the type was slightly but noticeably changed. Pairing these observations with associated packaging, catalogs and advertising allows for a very good educated guess of the age of these knives. Of course, observing minor production design detail changes further refines this skill. Similar changes were made on the SFO knives (Special Factory Order) such as Sears. Familiarizing yourself with their logo changes, referenced to tangstamp and etch changes helps to date them as well.
Many books have been published which give insight to manufacturing techniques, older Schrades and commemoratives, though none has been published yet to my knowledge that really covers Schrade. John Goins books on markings, Clementes book on Old Timer and Uncle Henry patterns, Langstons book on switchblades, A.G. Russells early seventies reprint of the Schrade Cut CO catalogs are among those I recommend.
Last, but certainly not least is primary resources. Quite rarely will actual factory documents come on the market. That does not mean you should not watch for them. Salesman sample orders were commonly for 200 pieces, so it is quite likely that very many retired salesmen have stacks of documents such as new product information sheets. Talking with former employees and management has been a boon to my research, and has provided me with clues leading to the recovery of some long-thought-lost papers and other materials. Even eBay turns up an occasional nugget in this regard such as the Tractenberg folders I acquired. When you see me post information from them, you may say I found it in the Codger Files. Whether duplicates exist or not, I couldnt say. I suspect quite a few copies were circulated in the company for many of them judging by the distribution list on some of the sheets. At any rate, when I post research information that came from such files, I feel no need to footnote or give the source, since these files are my personal property and I own the rights to them. I have no intention of publishing or selling, giving them, or even posting whole reproducible copies since they do contain names of living persons and I have been entrusted to respect the privacy of those persons. The same goes for the people who choose to talk to me. Very, very few of these people wish to be quoted, but they also wish to see Schrade history preserved. And they are willing to give us the information, to the best of their memories, as long as their privacy is respected. Heck, respect is all most people ask for.
Codger
There are a lot of good pointers there. Most of the info I have comes from catalogues & price lists I have purchased or were shared with me by other forum members. I also have a number of advertising fliers courtesy of LT. The bulk of the rest of my knowledge comes from collecting the knives, making some knives from blanks, (most of which I got from LT), but by far the majority of the info I have about Schrade comes from this forum and the sharing of members. Thank you one & all. :thumbup: 
:thumbdn: 